BCN wishes Happy Birthday to GM Joseph Gerald Gallagher (04-v-1964)
Streatham & Brixton becoming BCF National Club Champions in 1989. The team was Tony Kosten, Mark Hedben, Daniel King, Nigel Povah (Captain), Joe Gallagher and Julian Hodgson : quite a strong team
GM Joe GallagherWinning With the King’s Gambit, Batsford, ISBN 0-7134-6944-7Beating the Anti-Sicilians, Batsford/Henry Holt and Company, ISBN 0-8050-3575-3Beating the Sicilian 3Beating the Anti-King’s Indians, Batsford/International Chess Enterprises, ISBN 1-879479-36-2The Trompovsky, Chess Press, ISBN 1-901259-09-9101 Attacking Ideas in Chess, Gambit Publications, ISBN 1-901983-20-XThe Magic of Mikhail Tal, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-266-0Starting Out: the Caro-Kann, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-303-9Starting Out: King’s Indian, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-234-2Starting Out: The Pirc/Modern, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-336-5Play the King’s Indian, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-324-1
Dr. Fazekas (left) playing Bob Wade at an Ilford Congress, photographer unknownSignature of S Fazekas from a Brian Reilly “after dinner” postcard from Southsea 1951.
BCN remembers Dr. IM István (Stefan) Fazekas who passed away in Buckhurst Hill, Essex on Wednesday, May 3rd, 1967 and the death was recorded in the district of Redbridge.
The probate record of June 7th, 1967 is thus:
June 7th 1967 probate record for Dr. Stefan Fazekas
István Fazekas was born in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary on Wednesday, March 23rd 1898. He adopted the name Stefan subsequently. Satoraljaujhely is very much on the Hungary – Czechoslovakian border and records for Fazekas variously show both countries as his country of birth.
The September 1939 register records Stephen Fazekas as being married, a refugee, and a general practitioner living with his wife Helen (born 17th July 1900) at 21, Old Gloucester Street, Bloomsbury, Camden, London WC1. The “household” had a total of fourteen residents and this building in 2021 appears to be part of the Mary Ward Centre and presumably was providing temporary accommodation.
The 1948 London Gazette records that on June 16th he lived at 281 Buckhurst Way, Buckhurst Hill, Essex and that he and Helen had a son, George. On this day Stefan was granted UK naturalisation following the swearing of an oath of allegiance:
The London Gazette, 1948
The above notice is further validated by the official record stored at The National Archive, Kew, reference HO 334/234/4061.
281, Buckhurst Way, Buckhurst Hill, Redbridge, Essex, IG9 6JB
From British Chess Magazine, Volume LXXXVII, Number 7 (July), pages 195-6 we have an obituary written by Peter Clarke :
The death of Dr. Fazekas on May 3rd has deprived British chess of one of its leading and most colourful figures. Ever since he came to this country nearly thirty years ago he took an active part, in the game at all levels, from club to international, rarely missing the chance – even when not in the best of health- to test his strength in competition and express his ideas afresh.
Stefan Fazekas was born on March 23rd, 1898, at Sitoraljaujhely on the Hungarian-Czechoslovak border, but it was not until a few years after the Great War, in which he served and was wounded, that he got the opportunity to play serious tournament chess. By present-day standards, however, events were few and far between, and the game always had to take second place to his medical work.
The Doctor’s best international performances, for which he was later awarded the master title by F.I.D.E., came in the ‘thirties. In 1931, for instance, he was 2nd at Kosice, 3rd at Brno and 3rd at Prague. As it remained throughout his career, his play was excessively variable: fine conceptions were always liable to be ruined by blunders or impetuosity. The following game, played at Munchentratz in 1933, shows all going well; it earned inclusion in Le Lionnais’ anthology Les Prix de beauté aux échecs.
In 1939 Dr. Fazekas brought his family to England and established himself as a successful and much loved G.P. at Buckhurst Hill, Essex. He soon took a dominating part in county chess and went on to win the championship eleven times. In national events his inconsistency seemed too great a handicap, but at Plymouth in 1957, after so many tries, he astounded everyone by winning the British Championship in front of, among others, Alexander and Penrose.
(Ed. He was the oldest person to win the British Championship at 59 years of age.)
{[%evp 0,81,19,31,19,-16,-9,6,41,42,89,64,42,44,45,32,77,47,44,42,54,51,59,36,
44,17,23,29,16,31,35,59,41,34,34,34,180,159,174,29,129,55,48,73,66,44,63,63,62,
65,46,62,50,55,57,57,57,57,126,111,134,117,206,177,209,80,133,154,147,137,511,
131,251,249,359,259,716,725,725,783,772,674,800,688]} {Notes taken from
British Chess Magazine, 1957, page 326. This is BCM game #12,137.} 1. d4 d5 2.
c4 e6 3. Nf3 c6 4. e3 (4. Nc3 dxc4 5. a4 Bb4 6. e3 b5 7. Bd2 a5 {BCN : was
what GA was hoping for and presumably SF wished to avoid this.}) 4… f5 {
BCN : Abraham’s signature method of entering a Dutch Stonewall via a trangle
variation of the Semi-Slav Defence. GA would have hoped for 4.Nc3 inorder to
enter the Abrahams-Noteboom Variation.} 5. cxd5 {This exchange is premature
and allows Black easy equality.} ({The mainline in 2021 is} 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O
Bd6 7. b3 Qe7 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Qc1 b6 10. Ba3 Bb7 11. Bxd6 Qxd6 12. Nc3) ({
Preferable are both} 5. Nc3) ({and} 5. Ne5) 5… exd5 6. Bd3 Bd6 (6… Nf6 7.
O-O Bd6) 7. O-O $146 Nh6 8. b3 {HG : The only feasible way of developing his
Queen’s bishop is by exchange, a not entirely negative virtue as he does at
least get rid of Black’s most dangerous minor piece.} O-O 9. Ba3 Bxa3 (9… Qe7
10. Bxd6 Qxd6 11. Nc3 Nd7 12. Ne2) 10. Nxa3 Nd7 11. b4 a6 12. Qb3 Nf6 13. Nc2 {
HG: Preparing an attack on the Queen’s side by a4 and b5.} Ne4 14. a4 {[#]} g5
$6 {HG : Before making this advance he should complete his development.} ({HG :
} 14… Be6 15. b5 c5) 15. b5 $1 g4 ({HG : It would still have been better to
play} 15… c5 {It is Black’s King side that is laid bare by this move, not
White’s.}) 16. Bxe4 fxe4 17. Ne5 Nf7 $2 18. bxc6 $18 Nxe5 19. dxe5 ({HG : He
could have also played to win a pawn here by} 19. cxb7 {and if} Bxb7 ({HG :
but is presumably afraid of the fierce attack Black might gain after} 19…
Nf3+ 20. gxf3 gxf3 21. Kh1 Bh3 22. bxa8=Q Bg2+ 23. Kg1 Qxa8) 20. dxe5) 19…
bxc6 20. Qc3 Qe8 21. Rab1 a5 22. Nd4 Ba6 23. Rfd1 Bc4 24. Rb6 Qxe5 ({If} 24…
c5 25. Ne6 Rf7 26. Nxc5 {followed by e6 with a won game.}) 25. Rxc6 Rf6 {
otherwise White plays 26.Re6} (25… Kh8 26. Re6 Qc7 (26… Qg7 27. Nc6) 27.
Nb5+) 26. Rxf6 Qxf6 27. Rb1 Rf8 28. Rb2 h5 ({He should defend his Queen’s
Rook’s pawn by} 28… Qa6 {and if then} 29. Nb5 Qf6 30. Qxf6 Rxf6 {with good
drawing chances for Black.}) 29. Qxa5 Rc8 30. Qe1 h4 {Black thinks he is
attacking on the King’s side; but in reality he is busy stripping his King of
its defences.} 31. Qd1 Qg6 32. a5 g3 33. hxg3 hxg3 34. fxg3 Qxg3 35. Rf2 Rc7 ({
if} 35… Qxe3 36. Qg4+ Kh7 37. Nf5) 36. Nf5 Qg5 37. Rf4 Kf8 {Black must have
regretted now his h4. White threatens to win the Queen with Rg4.} ({If} 37…
Kh8 38. Rh4+ Rh7 39. Qd4+) 38. Qd4 Ke8 39. Qb6 Kd7 40. Nd4 {[#]} Qg7 $2 {
A blunder in a hopeless position; White threatens 41.Qe6+ Kd8 42.Rb8#.} ({
Against} 40… Qe7 {White has two methods of winning: he can play} 41. a6 ({or
} 41. Rf6)) 41. Qxc7+ 1-0
[/pgn]
The next year fate struck him a cruel blow when he was left out of the B.C.F. team for the Munich Olympiad. Yet after returning the trophy in protest he overcame his bitterness and took his place once more in the championship tournament-he could not resist the thrill of the struggle.
Knowing that his best over-the-board days were behind him, the Doctor decided to go in for correspondence chess in 1959, and he at once found himself surprisingly at home in it. Here his old weaknesses could be set aside and his vast experience put to good use. Moreover, his great love for chess enabled him to devote hours of work to the analysis of a single move if necessary.
His rapid successes in this field won him a place in the Semi-Finals of the 5th World Correspondence Championship (where he finished 4th out of 14) and led to his being chosen as Board 1 for the British team in the 5th Olympiad. On the results of these events he was awarded the title of international C.C. master. That he deserved it may be judged from this fine strategic win against a grandmaster (C.C.) opponent in the individual tournament.
At the time of his death Dr. Fazekas had made a score of 5 out of 7 in the Olympiad Final and was still engaged with Zagorovsky of the U.S.S.R., a performance which showed his correspondence play to be close to grandmaster standard. And to end one’s days actually playing a World Champion is a distinction which I am sure would have appealed to this Doctor’s rich sense of humour.
While Dr. Fazekas’ social work as a humanist was for the peace of the world, in chess he was noted as a great fighter, in some ways reminiscent of Lasker. There was no retirement for him.
At Ilford in 1965 and 1966 he eagerly took on and held his own with a generation fifty years his junior, and this year he had once again qualified to play in the British Championship. The tournament at Oxford will not seem quite the same without him. I and his many friends will miss his wit and ebullience, his generosity, his love of life and chess.-P. H. C.
From The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Batsford, 1977), Harry Golombek OBE:
“International Master and British Champion 1957. A dangerous attacking player but weak in positional play. Fazekas was born at Satoraljaujhely on the Hungarian-Czechoslovakian border. In the earlier part of his career he was Czechoslovak. This period comprised his international career and he was awarded the title of international master many years later after he had emigrated to England in 1939.
It was his results in 1931 that gained him the title: 2nd at Kosice, 3rd at Prague and 3rd at Brno ahead of Honlinger, Mikenas, Noteboom and Rellstab.
In England he became much-respected general medical practitioner, and was therefore really an amateur at chess since he devoted himself to his profession. But he played much club and county chess and was eleven times champion of his county, Essex.
In 1957, almost out of the blue, he won the British Championship in a strong year that included Penrose and Alexander.
He played a number of times in the championship after that, but never looked like gaining the title since increasing years took their toll. He was in fact the oldest player ever to have won the British Championship.
In 1959 he took up correspondence chess and became an international correspondence chess master.”
From The Encyclopaedia of Chess (Robert Hale, 1970 & 1976), Anne Sunnucks:
“International Master (1953), International Correspondence Chess Master and British Chess Champion in 1957.
Fazekas was born in Satoraljaujhely on the Hungarian-Czechoslovakian border, on 23rd March 1898. He was awarded the title of International Master for his performances in the 1930s, which included 2nd at Kosice 1931; 3rd at Brno 1931 and 3rd at Prague 1931.
In 1939 he emigrated to England, where he practised as a general medical practitioner at Buckhurst Hill in Essex. Chess always took second place to his profession, and his tournament appearences were limited. He played regularly in county and club events and was 11 times champion of Essex.
In 1957, to everyone’s surprise, he won the British Championship, ahead of such players as Penrose, Alexander, Clarke, Wade and Milner-Barry. Shortly after this victory came a bitter blow to Fazekas when he was not selected as a member of the British Chess Federation team for the 1958 chess Olympiad at Munich.
Fazekas returned the championship trophy in protest at his exclusion and the controversy over whether he should or should not have been selected raged for many months.
Dr. Fazekas’s love of chess eventually overcame his resentment and he continued to appear regularly in the British Championship, but never again repeated his success.
In 1959, he took up correspondence chess and reached the semi-finals of the fifth World Correspondence Chess Championship and was selected to play on top board for the British team in the Fifth Correspondence Chess Olympiad. This event was still in progress at the time of this death. He died on 3rd May 1967, at his home in Buckhurst Hill.”
In his early days he was a successful composer of problems:
Fazekas, Istvan Magyar Sakkvilag, 191, Meson database PID: 191037Fazekas, Istvan Pesti Naplo, 1913, Meson database PID: 190116
From Chessgames.com :
“Dr Stefan (ne Istvan) Fazekas was born in Satoraljaujhely, Hungary. Awarded the IM title in 1953 and the IMC title in 1964, he was British Champion in 1957 and is the oldest player ever to have won the title. He passed away in 1967 in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, England.”
David Hooper, from The Encyclopaedia of Chess, Harry Golombek, Batsford, 1977. The tie is an Old Whitgiftians.
BCN remembers David Hooper who passed away in a Taunton (Somerset) nursing home on Sunday, May 3rd 1998. Probate (#9851310520) was granted in Brighton on June 24th 1998.
Prior to the nursing home David had been living at 33, Mansfield Road, Taunton, TA1 3NJ and before that at 5, Haimes Lane, Shaftesbury, Dorset, SP7 8AJ.
For most of the time between Reigate and Shaftesbury David lived in Whitchurch, Hampshire.
David Vincent Hooper was born on Tuesday, August 31st 1915 in Reigate, Surrey to Vincent Hooper and Edith Marjorie Winter who married in Reigate, Surrey in 1909. On this day the first French ace, Adolphe Pégoud, was killed in combat. He had scored six victories.
David was one of six children: Roger Garth (1910-?), Edwin Morris (1911-1942), Isobel Mary (12/01/1917-2009), Helene Edith (1916-1982) and Elizabeth Anne Oliver (1923-2000) were his siblings.
David attended Whitgift School, Croydon, and (thanks to Leonard Barden) we know that “although there was no chess played there in his time he was proud of later accomplishments and often wore an Old Whitgiftians tie, especially for posed photos including this article’s title image and the one in the Chess Notes article by Edward Winter (see the foot of this article).
Recorded in the September 1939 register David was aged 24 and living at 94, High Street, Reigate, Surrey:
Historical Map showing 94, High Street, Reigate, Surrey
In 2021 this property appears to be a flat (rather than bridge) over the River Kwai Restaurant:
94, High Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2 9AP
Living with David was his sister Isobel who was listed a “potential nurse”. David’s occupation at this time was listed as Architectural Assistant and he was single. We think that three others lived at this address at the time but they are not listed under the “100 year rule”. We know that David was also a surveyor and went on to attain professional membership of the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA).
In the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette May 27th 1944 there appeared this report of a simultaneous display on Empire Day (May 24th) at Dr. Marsh’s house:
Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, May 27th 1944
and from The Western Morning News, 9th April 1947 we have:
Western Morning News, 9th April 1947
and then from The Nottingham Evening Post, 16th August 1949 we have:
Nottingham Evening Post, 16th August 1949
In 1950 aged 35 David married Joan M Higley (or Rose!) in the district of South Eastern Surrey.
David Hooper (seated right) in play at the West of England Championships in Bristol, Easter, 1947. His opponent , ARB Thomas , was that year’s champion. Among the spectators is Mrs. Rowena Bruce, the 1946 British Ladies’ Champion. BCM, Volume 118, #6, p.327. The others in the photo are L – R: H. V. Trevenen; H. Wilson-Osborne (WECU President); R. A. (Ron) Slade; Rowena Bruce; Ron Bruce; H. V. (Harry) Mallison; Chris Sullivan; C. Welch (Controller); F. E. A. (Frank) Kitto.
Leonard Barden kindly provided us with these memories of David:
“He liked to drive very fast while keeping up a stream of talk with his passenger. I recall his transporting me to the 1950 British Championship in Buxton and feeling in a state of low-key terror the whole journey. When we reached a sign Buxton 30 I felt a great sense of relief that the ordeal was nearly over. Returning two weeks later, some miles down the road we passed Milner-Barry and Alexander in a small car, slowly and carefully driven by M-B whose head nearly reached the roof. As we swept by David gave a celebratory hoot.
I thought this was just me being unduly nervous, but years later Ken Whyld told me he felt the same as a Hooper passenger and that so did most others. David was actually very safe and I don’t think he ever had an accident.
David worked in Middle East for some years and was the chief architect for the construction of a new airport at Aden.
A Guide to Chess Endings was 90% written by David, with chapters then looked over by Euwe and his chess secretary Carel van den Berg. All David’s endgame books are lucidly written and it is a pity where they are not available in algebraic.
When The Unknown Capablanca was published I asked for and received from David an inscribed copy for Nigel Short‘s ninth birthday., which I presented to him personally at an EPSCA team event. Curious to know how it was received, I phoned Nigel’s father (David) a couple of days later and was informed “He’s already on to Capa’s European Tour” (which is I think about 100 pages into the book).” – Thanks Leonard!
Ken Whyld wrote an obituary which appeared in British Chess Magazine, Volume 118 (1998), Number 6, page 326 as follows :
DAVID VINCENT HOOPER died on 3rd May this year in a nursing home in Taunton. He had been in declining health for some months. Born in Reigate, 31st August 1915, his early chess years were with the Battersea CC and Surrey.
David Hooper (left) in conversation with Alan Phillips. Location and photographer unknown.
He won the (ed. Somerset) County Championship three times, and the London Championship in 1948. His generation was at its chess peak in the years when war curtailed opportunities, but he won the British Correspondence Championship in 1944.
His highest place there was at Nottingham 1954, when, after leading in the early stages, he finished half a point behind the joint champions, Leonard Barden and Alan Phillips.
David was in the British Olympic team at Helsinki 1952, and in the same year accidentally played top board for England in one of the then traditional weekend matches against the Netherlands. British Champion Klein took offence at a Sunday Times report of his draw with former World Champion Dr. Euwe on the Saturday and refused to play on Sunday. Thus David was drafted in to meet Euwe, and acquitted himself admirably. Even though he lost, the game took pride of place in that month’s BCM.
Alan Phillips plays David Hooper on August 20th 1954 in round five of the British Championships in Nottingham, photographer unknown
In the following game, played in the Hastings Premier l95l-2, he found an improvement on Botvinnik’s play against Bronstein in game 17 of their 1951 match, when 7.Ng3 was played because it was thought that after 7.Nf4 d5 it was necessary to play 8 Qb3.
In his profession as architect David worked in the Middle East for some years from the mid-1950s, and when he returned to England he made his mark as a writer. His Practical Chess Endgames
Practical Chess Endgames (Chess Handbooks), David Hooper, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1968, ISBN 0 7100 5226 X
has an enduring appeal. Two of his books appeared in the Wildhagen biographical games series on Steinitz, and Capablanca. The last was written jointly with Gilchrist.
William Steinitz : Selected Chess Games, David Hooper
With Euwe he wrote A Guide to Chess Endings;
A Guide to Chess Endings, Dover (1976 reprint), ISBN 0-486-23332-4
with Cafferty, A Complete Defence to 1.e4;
A Complete Defence to 1.P-K4 A Study of Petroff’s Defence, Bernard Cafferty & David Hooper, Pergamon Press, 1967, ISBN 0 08 024089 5
A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames;
A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames, David Hooper, Bell & Hyman Limited, London, 1970, ISBN 0 7135 1761 1
A Complete Defence to 1.d4;
A Complete Defence to 1d4: A Study of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, Bernard Cafferty & David Hooper, Pergamon Press, ISBN 0-08-024102-6
and Play for Mate;
Play for Mate (1990), DV Hooper and Bernard Cafferty, ISBN-13: 978-0713464740
with Brandreth The Unknown Capablanca,
The Unknown Capablanca, David Hooper & Dale Brandreth, Batsford, London, 1975, ISBN, 0 7134 2964
and with Ken Whyld, The Oxford Companion to Chess.
The Oxford Companion to Chess, 1st Edition, David Hooper & Ken Whyld, Oxford University Press, 1984, ISBN 0 19 217540 8
Ken Whyld
From The Encyclopaedia of Chess by Harry Golombek :
British amateur (an architect by profession) whose best result was =5 in the British Championship at Felixstowe 1949 along with, amongst others, Broadbent and Fairhurst.
Hooper abandoned playing for writing about chess and has become a specialist in two distinct areas. He is an expert on the endings and has a close knowledge of the history of chess in the nineteenth century.
His principal works : Steinitz (in German), Hamburg, 1968; A Pocket Guide to Chess Endgames, London 1970.
“The secret of its success may be its anti-positional looks. The pawn thrust g2 – g4 is often so counter-intuitive that it’s a perfect way to confuse your opponents and disrupt their position. Ever since World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik started using it to defeat the elite grandmasters of his day, it has developed, on all levels of play, into an ever more popular and attractive way to fight for the initiative.
Grandmaster Dmitry Kryakvin owes a substantial part of his successes as a chess player to the g2 – g4 attack. In this book he shows how it can be used to defeat a number of important Closed Defences: the Dutch, the Queen’s Gambit, the Anti-Nimzo Indian, the King’s Indian and the Slav.
With lots of instructive examples Kryakvin explains the ins and outs of the attack on the g-file: the typical ways to gain tempi and keep the momentum, and the manoeuvres that will maximize your opponent’s problems. After working with this book you will be fully equipped to use this modern battering ram to define the battlefield. You will have fun and win games!”
GM Dmitry Kryakvin
“Dmitry Kryakvin is an International Grandmaster from Russia and an experienced chess trainer and author.”
A first glance at the title and you might think The Grob / Borg has, as promised, returned (to assimilate everyone). Have no fear, this book suggests deploying g4 somewhat later than move one !
This interesting book has a constant theme : the use of x…g2-g4 as a “battering ram” type move by White in various positions arising from main stream Queen’s pawn openings. They range from as early as move two versus the Dutch Defence
[fen]rnbqkbnr/ppppp1pp/8/5p2/3P2P1/8/PPP1PP1P/RNBQKBNR b KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
to a number of moves later with varying degrees of surprise and effectiveness. The author’s inspiration for this theme comes, perhaps from a surprising but reliable source : the games of Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik.
The author has divided up his content into eight parts (with further sub-chapters) as follows:
Botvinnik’s heritage
The Dutch Defence
The Queen’s Gambit Declined
The Nimzo-Indian Defence
The Anti Nimzo-Indian
The Slav Defence
The King’s Indian Defence
The Grünfeld Indian Defence
Each Part has a significant and interesting introduction establishing the historical context of the opening ideas espoused. For example, Chapter 5 (Attacking with a cast-iron alibi) discusses
[fen]rnbqkbnr/pp4pp/2p1p3/3p1p2/2PP2P1/2N1P3/PP3P1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
an idea of Gerald Abrahams and includes an appreciation of Abrahams himself.This chapter is based around four high quality games analysed in detailing employing the Abrahams idea.
Maybe the most famous early g4 idea is the familiar Shabalov-Shirov Gambit in the Semi-Slav Defence, Meran Variation :
[fen]r1bqk2r/pp1n1ppp/2pbpn2/3p4/2PP2P1/2N1PN2/PPQ2P1P/R1B1KB1R b KQkq – 0 1[/fen]
which the author covers in great detail with ten master games.
One of the more shocking ideas is that of Murey Attack vs the Grünfeld Indian Defence. This is
[fen]rnbqkb1r/ppp1pp1p/5np1/3p4/2PP2P1/2N5/PP2PP1P/R1BQKBNR b KQkq – 0 1[/fen] and features in Part VIII.
As with every recent New in Chess publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. The book can easily be laid flat next to the board and does not require weights to prevent it from “self-closing” (a particular bugbear of ours !). Each diagram is clear and the instructional text is (mostly !) typeset in two column format, which, we find, enables the reader to maintain their place easily. Figurine algebraic notation is used throughout and the diagrams are placed adjacent to the relevant text.
So, what we have here is a veritable potpourri of aggressive ideas to spice your White openings. This book is aimed at the player who perhaps plays main lines most of the time and would like a sort of “something for the weekend” addition to their repertoire for those “must win” situations. You will probably win more games with these lines but you might also lose more games. At any rate fewer draws are likely. The ideas are all “sound” at the level normal humans plays and probably all sound in the hands of Magnus Carlsen.
To take a look yourself try the “Look Inside” feature on Amazon. Of course, the book may be purchased from any good chess retailer !
This book is probably not for the London, Torre, Stonewall, Colle system players who like a peaceful start to their games getting the pieces out in routine fashion.
For completeness players of the Black pieces might want to be prepared to face these aggressive lines that might become more fashionable following its publication.
We focus on the British Chess Scene Past & Present !
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