Category Archives: 2021

2021, Biographies, Games Analysis, Minor Pieces, Players, Remembering, Richard James

Minor Pieces 6: William John Withers

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Continuing my series about Arthur Towle Marriott’s Leicester opponents, we reach W Withers, almost certainly William. Apologies to those of you who’ve been eagerly awaiting this article, but I’ve been busy on other projects. You’ll find out more later.

Great song, and I hope you all have a lovely day, but this wasn’t William Harrison Withers Jr.

W Withers, sometimes WJ Withers (or were they two different people?),  first appeared in Leicester chess records in 1874, when he was elected Club Secretary, and continued his involvement, representing Leicester, and the smaller club, Granby, in matches against other Midlands towns and cities, until 1900. But who was he?

Withers is a surprisingly common name in the East Midlands. One of James Towle’s fellow Luddites bore the name William Withers, but his family were from Nottingham rather than Leicester and seem not to have been related to the chess player.

There were several gentlemen named William Withers in Leicester at the time. We can assume, because, as a young man he was the club secretary, that he came from an educated background. The only W Withers who fits the bill is William John Withers, who lived most of his life in Leicester, although his birth was registered in the St Pancras district of London in the second quarter of 1853, and who died in the Harrow/Hendon area on 23 December 1934.

William’s father, George Henry Withers, was the son of John Withers, born in the chess town of Hastings. John had a varied career. Originally a lace maker, he joined the police, rising to the rank of inspector. He then went to work on the railways, first as a station master, and then as a railroad contractor, before becoming a commission agent, and, finally, a clerk at a coal wharf. Was there any job he couldn’t turn his hand to? In between times, he found time to father eight children: seven sons and a daughter. Not for the first time in Minor Pieces, his seventh son was named Septimus.

George Henry Withers was John’s eldest son. Born in about 1830, he followed his father into the railways, a very common occupation at the time. When he married Mary Ann Caunt in 1849, he was a railway clerk, living in the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray, famous for its pork pies. He was described as being ‘of full age’: it’s not certain that this was true. By the 1851 census he was a station master living in Orston, Nottinghamshire.

This was presumably Elton Station, now called Elton and Orston, half way between those two villages, which had only opened to passenger traffic the previous year. In 2019/20, it was the second least used station in the country.

He didn’t stay there long. By 1853, when our man William was born, he was in the St Pancras area of London, perhaps working at one of the London railway termini: St Pancras itself, Kings Cross next door, or nearby Euston.

Just a few months later he’d moved again. Sadly, the death of his oldest child, Albert, was recorded in Grantham, and he was buried in the nearby village of Great Gonerby, whose inhabitants are known as ‘Clockpelters’, from their habit of trying to strike the face of the church clock with stones or snowballs.

We pick him up again in 1857, when, now working as a bailiff, he was appointed a Freeman of the City of Leicester. Later census records see him working as a commission agent, an accountant, a bookkeeper and a gardener. Like his father, a many of many skills and occupations.

It’s more than time to find out more about William John Withers. His first job was as a clerk in a coal office, and when he married in 1873, he was still in the same job.  His wife, Annie Clarke, was the daughter of a house painter, the same occupation that was followed by my grandfather Tom Harry James. Their first child, Horace, was born the following year, when William was also elected to the post of Secretary of Leicester Chess Club. It seems that he didn’t stay in that post long, though.

On 29 October 1880, he represented Leicester in a match against a visiting team from Nottingham Chess Club, where he faced Minor Pieces hero Arthur Towle Marriott.

The Leicester Chronicle (6 November 1880) reported what sounds like a convivial affair. Half way through, they all stopped playing to witness a presentation to Mr Sharland, the Leicester Club Secretary, who, in less than five years, had increased the club membership from 18 to 61. Various speeches were made before the gentlemen of Leicester and Nottingham resumed their games.

It seems that only one game was played on top board, while the other boards played two games each. Arthur Towle Marriott, the only Nottingham player to win both his games, seems to have been playing on too low a board.

Here’s his game with White.

The game followed well known (at the time) Evans Gambit theory for some way. Black’s 7th move is brave: 7… Nge7 and 7… d6 are most often played, but the engines like 7… Nf6 8. e5 d5. 10… b5 was also a bold choice: again 10… Nge7 would have been more circumspect. Marriott had stronger, but difficult, options on move 13, but his choice proved successful when the Leicester man blundered horribly in reply.

Three weeks later the Leicester chessers visited Nottingham for the return match, this time with a much weaker team. Mr Bingham’s restaurant provided an excellent supper, with speeches and toasts, before play started. Arthur Marriott, after his success in the earlier match, had been promoted to board 3, and again found himself facing William Withers.

The Nottingham Journal (27 November 1880) reported on an overwhelming victory for the home team. 11½-2½ was very different from the earlier 5-8 defeat.

These matches appear to have been social events rather than the competitive inter-club matches with which we’re all familiar. Although there was considerable interest in the result, the eating and drinking seemed just as important. Perhaps that’s how club matches should be.

Again, we have the game where Marriott played White against Withers.

This time, Withers chose to avoid the Evans Gambit, but playing 3… Nf6 without knowing the theory isn’t a good idea. Even then, it was known that 5… Nxd5 wasn’t best, giving White a choice of two strong options, 6. d4 and that primary school favourite, 6. Nxf7, the Fried Liver Attack.

Engines now confirm that 8… Ne7 in the Fried Liver is losing, but 8… Nb4 might just keep Black in the game. Marriott missed a couple of better moves, but Withers panicked on move 13, losing even more quickly and horribly than three weeks earlier.

By today’s standards, the chess of William John Withers makes a poor impression: a player with a patchy knowledge of opening theory along with tactical vulnerability.

Note that A F Atkins, who played for Leicester in these matches, was Arthur Frederick Atkins, originally from Coventry, and no relation to the great Henry Ernest Atkins, about whom more next time.

By now William had a new job: the 1881 census told us he was a bookseller in Loseby Lane, Leicester, only a few yards away from where a later and stronger Leicester chess player would, several decades later, also run a bookshop. You may well meet him in a future article. He was also just a short walk from what is now De Montfort University, the new home of the English Chess Federation library and also, as it happens, my alma mater.

An announcement in the Leicester Journal (5 January 1884) suggests that his bookselling business hit a problem.

It was time for him to turn over a new leaf. By 1891 he was an antiques dealer, having moved just round the corner to Silver Street, and doing well enough to employ a servant. The 1901 and 1911 censuses told the same story: in the latter year he styled himself a ‘dealer in genuine antiques’.

At some point after that, perhaps after the death of his father in 1913, he moved to London. The 1921 census, due for release next January, will reveal more.

We can pick William up again in 1932, when he made his last will and testament, granting generous bequests to his children and grandchildren. Still working as an antique dealer, his address was given as 48 George Street, Manchester Square, WC1, only a few minutes’ stroll from 44 Baker Street, where, had he been able to travel through time, he’d have been able to stock up on the latest chess books.

His antique dealing had clearly been very successful. He died in 1934, and probate records reveal that he left effects to the value of £15,240 17s  9d, which, depending on how you calculate it, amounts to anywhere between one and seven million pounds in today’s money.

So there you have it. While his chess playing didn’t impress, he played an important role in chess life in Leicester. Away from the board, in both business and family life, he seems to have done very well for himself. Well played, William John Withers!

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2021, Bobby Fischer, Books, Fischer, History, New in Chess, Reviews, Richard James

The Unstoppable American: Bobby Fischer’s Road to Reykjavik

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The Unstoppable American : Bobby Fischer’s Road to Reykjavik, Jan Timman, New in Chess, 17th May 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919788
The Unstoppable American : Bobby Fischer’s Road to Reykjavik, Jan Timman, New in Chess, 17th May 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919788

From the publisher:

“Initially things looked gloomy for Bobby Fischer. Because he had refused to participate in the 1969 US Championship, he had missed his chance to qualify for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca. Only when another American, Pal Benko, withdrew in his favour, and after the officials were willing to bend the rules, could Bobby enter the contest and begin his phenomenal run that would end with the Match of the Century in Reykjavik against World Champion Boris Spassky.

Fischer started out by sweeping the field at the 23-round Palma Interzonal to qualify for the next stage of the cycle. In the Candidates Matches he first faced Mark Taimanov, in Vancouver. Fischer trounced the Soviet ace, effectively ending Taimanov’s career. Then, a few months later in Denver, he was up against Bent Larsen, the Great Dane. Fischer annihilated him, too. The surreal score in those two matches, twice 6-0, flabbergasted chess fans all over the world. In the ensuing Candidates Final in Buenos Aires, Fischer also made short shrift of former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, beating the hyper-solid “Armenian Tiger” 6½-2½.

Altogether, Fischer had scored an incredible 36 points from 43 games against many of the world’s best players, including a streak of 19 consecutive wins. Bobby Fischer had become not just a national hero in the US, but a household name with pop-star status all over the world. Jan Timman chronicles the full story of Fischer’s sensational run and takes a fresh look at the games. The annotations are in the author’s trademark lucid style, that happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations.”

GM Jan Timman
GM Jan Timman

Where does history start? I’ve always thought history is what happened before you were born. For those of us, like Jan Timman and myself, who learnt our chess in the 1960s, perhaps chess history is what happened before World War 2. The events of the late forties were full of names familiar to us from tournaments of our time.

This book covers Bobby Fischer’s career in the years 1970 and 1971. More like current affairs than history for our generation. We all remember it well: we were around at the time and some of us will be familiar with many of the games. But, for younger readers, Fischer’s games from half a century ago will be ancient history. If we turn the clock back another five decades we reach 1921 and the Lasker – Capablanca World Championship match. Now that really does feel like ancient history, even to me.

Fifty years on, it seems like a good time to revisit the games with the aid of today’s powerful engines and greater knowledge. Jan Timman is ideally qualified to do just that.

Readers of Timman’s other recent books will know what to expect: clear annotations based on explanations rather than variations, along with entertaining anecdotes and background colour to put the games into context.

We have all 43 games (44 if you include a win by default) from the 1970 Interzonal and 1971 candidates matches, along with a selection of 19 games from earlier in 1970.

After withdrawing from the 1967 Interzonal, Fischer played in two relatively minor tournaments the following year, and, in 1969, played only one serious game, in a New York league match. The chess world was uncertain whether or not he’d ever play again, let alone fulfil what appeared to be his destiny and become world champion. Exciting, but also worrying times.

After an 18 month absence, Bobby agreed to take part in the 1970 match between the USSR and the Rest of the World, even ceding top board to Larsen. Chapter 1 takes us from this event, via Rovinj/Zagreb, the Herceg Novi blitz and Buenos Aires, to the Siegen Olympiad.

In round 7 of Rovinj-Zagreb, Fischer was black against one of the tournament’s lesser lights, the Romanian master Ghitescu.

Timman informs us: It has never been brought up before, but Fischer was demonstrably lost in this game, after having taken too much risk.

Here’s the critical position with Ghitescu to play his 23rd move. Where would you move your rook?

The exchange sacrifice 23. Rf4! would have been very strong. Black cannot accept the sacrifice, because he would have been strategically losing. Also after 23… Rg8 24. Re4 Rae8 25. Rf1, White is winning.

I may be wrong but I would have thought Rf4 would be automatic for master strength players today. Wouldn’t it also have been automatic for, say, Petrosian, back in 1970?

Instead, the game continued 23. Rd3 Rad8 24. Ng3 (24. b3 would have maintained the advantage) 24… Ba6, when Fischer took control of the game, eventually bringing home the full point. If he’d lost that game, perhaps chess history would have been very different.

Here’s the complete game.

The strategic insights Timman brings to positions like this are, for me, what makes this book so instructive. Here’s another example: Gligoric – Fischer from Siegen, with Gligoric to make his 39th move.

It’s not dissimilar to the previous example, and indeed both positions arose from King’s Indian Defences. Here, a white knight is fighting against a dark-squared bishop outside the pawn chain.

White could have obtained a winning position with 39. Nb1!. The strategic plan is simple: White is going to bring his knight to c4 and install his king on g4. Black has nothing to offer in exchange; his doubled c-pawn will be blocked, and his pieces are barely able to display any activity.

Again, the complete game:

Chapter 2 covers the 1970 Interzonal at Palma, Mallorca. You won’t find very many brilliant miniatures in this book, but Fischer’s win against Rubinetti is an exception.

Chapters 3-5 offer Fischer’s 6-0 shutouts against Taimanov and Larsen, and the final match against former champion Tigran Petrosian.

This position interested me. Any well-read player from my generation will recognise this as coming from the 7th Fischer – Petrosian game, where Bobby played 22. Nxd7+, a move garlanded with various numbers of exclamation marks by many commentators both at the time and later.

Here’s what Timman has to say.

The praise with which this move has been showered is unbelievable. Byrne commented: ‘This exchange, which wins the game, was completely overlooked by the press room group of grandmaster analysis. Najdorf, in fact, criticized it(!), suggesting the incomparably weaker 22. a4.’

Kasparov, too, was full of praise. ‘A brilliant decision, masterfully transforming one advantage into another (…) Petrosian was obviously hoping for the “obvious” 22. a4 Bc6 23. Rc1 Nd7 24. Nxd7+ Bxd7 with possibilities of a defence.

In Chess Informant 12, Petrosian himself and Suetin give two ‘!’s to the text move.

True, not all commentators were so pronounced in their praise. Spassky and Polugaevsky limited themselves to the conclusion that White exchanged one advantage for another and didn’t give an ‘!’ to the move.

However, the general drift was that Fischer had done something highly instructive, adding a new facet to strategic thinking in chess. I was very impressed at the time, but I also had doubts. There were no computers yet, and young players looked to the great players on the world stage as their examples. So, Fischer must have understood it better than I did.

Yet, I am almost certain that in this position, or a similar one, I would have opted for Najdorf’s move. And almost half a century after the event, it turned out that the Argentinian had simply been right!

Timman goes on to demonstrate that, indeed, 22. a4 is clearly winning, whereas Fischer’s 22. Nxd7+ Rxd7 23. Rc1 would have given Petrosian defensive chances if he’d chosen 23… d4 rather than the passive Rd6.

See for yourself:

What comes across from this book is the remorseless power and logic of Fischer’s play in this period, as well as his determination to play for a win in every game. Short draws were never on his agenda.

In the past, there was a tendency to annotate by result or reputation, and this seems to have been what happened here. These days, we can all switch on Stockfish and annotate by computer, while neglecting the human, the practical element.

Timman’s annotations, both here and in his previous books, strike me as getting the balance just about right. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d rather have verbal explanations than long engine-generated variations.

Older readers will enjoy reliving memories of the golden days of the Fischer era, while younger readers will learn a lot of chess history. Players of all levels will benefit from the annotations, which, because of their lucidity, are accessible to anyone from, say, 1500 upwards.

The many anecdotes add much to the book, although serious historians might feel frustrated that they’re not always sourced. There are also several pages of photographs: while their quality, as they’re printed on matt paper, isn’t perfect, they’re still more than welcome.

There are a few typos and mistakes regarding match scores and tournament crosstables which more careful proofing might have picked up, and the English, in one or two places (you may have noticed this from the extracts I quoted), might have been more idiomatic. Slightly annoying, perhaps,  but this won’t really impede your enjoyment of the book.

In spite of these slight reservations, this is an excellent book which is warmly recommended for players of all strengths. Next year will see the 50th anniversary of Fischer – Spassky. Might we hope that Timman will cover this match in a future volume?

One last thought: I wrote at the beginning of this review about how people of different ages have different perspectives of history. If Capablanca and Alekhine had been granted long lives, they would have lived to see these games. What would they have made of them? What would they have made of Bobby Fischer?

Richard James, Twickenham 10th August 2021

Richard James
. Richard James

Book Details :

  • Softcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: New In chess (17 May 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:9056919784
  • ISBN-13:978-9056919788
  • Product Dimensions: ‎ 17.27 x 2.54 x 23.62 cm

Official web site of New in Chess

The Unstoppable American : Bobby Fischer’s Road to Reykjavik, Jan Timman, New in Chess, 17th May 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919788
The Unstoppable American : Bobby Fischer’s Road to Reykjavik, Jan Timman, New in Chess, 17th May 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919788
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2021, Books, Opening Theory, Quality Chess, Repertoire, Reviews

Coffeehouse Repertoire 1.e4 Volume 1

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Coffeehouse Repertoire 1.e4 Volume 1, Gawain Jones, Quality Chess, 7 July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784831455
Coffeehouse Repertoire 1.e4 Volume 1, Gawain Jones, Quality Chess, 7 July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784831455

Gawain Jones is an English grandmaster, twice British Champion and winner of the 2020 European Blitz Championship.

GM Gawain Jones at the 2013 London Chess Classic courtesy of John Upham Photography
GM Gawain Jones at the 2013 London Chess Classic courtesy of John Upham Photography

From the publisher:

“Coffeehouse Repertoire is a 1.e4 player’s dream: an arsenal of ideas from a world-class grandmaster to surprise and confound your opponents, combining coffeehouse trickery with complete theoretical soundness.

In Volume 1, GM Gawain Jones shows how to put pressure on the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian and Alekhine’s Defences, using lines which feature a potent combination of surprise value, objective soundness and practical effectiveness.

The Coffeehouse 1.e4 Repertoire will be completed in Volume 2, which covers 1…e5, plus the French, Pirc, Modern, Philidor and other miscellaneous Defences.

Gawain Jones is an English grandmaster, twice British Champion and winner of the 2020 European Blitz Championship. He has defeated some of the world’s best players using the ideas recommended in this book.”

End of blurb…

Quality Chess live up to their name by being one of the few publishers who offer a hardback as well as softback version of all of their titles.

The production values are superb with a “McFarland-like” feel. Of course, you could save a few pence and go for the paperback version but we would definitely treat ourselves with an early Christmas present and savour the hardback. In addition, high quality paper is used and the printing is clear: excellent glossy paper has been used. The weight of this paper gives the book an even better feel to it!

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 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.

A small (but insignificant) quibble: the diagrams do not have a “to move” indicator (but they do have coordinates). There is an Index of the Main Games section which is most welcome.

Before we take our first sip of coffee Quality Chess have provided a pdf excerpt.

As before, we are examining Volume 1 which provides a repertoire for White starting 1.e4 against the Sicilian, Caro-Kann, Scandinavian and Alekhine defences. Volume 2 is expected in September 2021 and will cover other replies to 1.e4

Gawain is a consistent 1.e4 player and has scored 67.1% according to MegaBase 2020. Having said that he has scored even more convincingly with other first moves!

This is his fifth book having written four previous volumes on the Sicilian Dragon and Grand Prix Attack.

The books main content is divided into two main sections, Sicilian Defence and Other Defences and these sections are further divided into eight chapters viz:

  1. Carlsen Variation (of the Sicilian)
  2. 2…Nc6 3.Bb5
  3. 2…Nc6 3.Nge2
  4. 2…e6 3.Nf3
  5. Move 2 Alternatives
  6. Caro-Kann
  7. Scandinavian
  8. Alekhine

followed by a useful Index of Variations.

Before we continue further we have a warning. If, for you, the book title suggests a feast of dodgy gambits, tricks and cheapos to take to the chess club and online platforms then look away now. You will be disappointed.

Most space in Volume 1 is dedicated to ideas for White versus the Sicilian Defence and no doubt most would predict a Grand Prix Attack based repertoire from the author. Well, not quite.

Gawain recommends

and against 2…d6 we have the interesting

as favoured by Magnus Carlsen and Chapter 1 examines the less common positions that arise from this.

Here is an example:

Should Black prefer 2…Nc6 then the author provides both the Rossolimo Variation, 3.Bb5 (also examined by IM Ravi Haria) and the clever move-order Chameleon, 3.Nge2:

3.Nge2 is also an annoying move order nuance against Najdorf and Dragon experts.

Against 2…e6 Gawain advocates the flexible 3.Nf3 followed by f1 bishop development to either b5 or g2 dependant on what Black plays. For example:

For completeness Gawain devotes Chapter 5 to second move alternatives such as 2…a6, 2…g6 and even 2…b6.

Moving on to the Caro-Kann Gawain recommends the Exchange Variation but in really quite a novel way with an early jump of the f3 knight to e5. This is quite unusual and tricky to meet and CK players almost certainly will be quite surprised. He presents two related move orders:

and the more (according to GCBJ) outlandish:

breaking the “not moving the same piece twice in the opening guideline”.

An example game presented in the book is:

Next up is the Scandinavian Defence which quickly branches into 2…Qxd5 and 2…Nf6.

Against the former the author proposes the line in which White plays 3.Nf3 instead of 3.Nc3 and, at the right time, plays c4.

Here is a tough game in this variation:

For some time Scandinavian experts have realised that the c4 idea is tough to meet and probably therefore fear 3.Nf3 more than the routine 3.Nc3 getting in the way of the c-pawn.

Against 2…Nf6 Gawain recommends the “Modern Treatment” as dubbed by 2…Nf6 expert David Smerdon in his Smerdon’s Scandinavian from 2015 and the detailed analysis commences after:

Finally, we turn to the hyper-modern Alekhine Defence in which a more conventional approach based on the Four Pawns Attack is discussed.

Here is a significant stem game that Jones considers:

For each of Black’s move one replies Gawain presents an overview of the ideas including a “What We’re Hoping for” section. This is the followed by detailed theory with a few illustrative games sprinkled in. The discussion and explanations are friendly, clear and pragmatic talking about the responses one is likely to face rather than a torrent of engine analysis and “best move” labelling.

It is not clear who chose to use the word “Coffeehouse” in the book’s title. The repertoire choices are most definitely not speculative or bordering on unsound. This is a extremely playable set of recommendations and most are used by elite players in the current decade.

Our overall impression can perhaps be best conveyed by likening the repertoire to a collection of choices from the well-known “Dangerous Weapons” series from Everyman brought together under one roof.

We are convinced that, despite the title, this book will be found to be extremely useful by the strongest and club players alike. If you are a Blackmar-Diemer or Latvian Gambit fan then this, perhaps, it not the book for you.

We look forward to Volume 2 in September 2021 when Gawain gets to grips with 1…e5, 1…e6, 1…d6, 1…g6 amongst the remainders.

An excellent fifth book from Gawain.

John Upham, Cove, Hampshire, 7th August, 2021

John Upham
John Upham

Book Details :

  • Paperback : 432 pages
  • Publisher: Quality Chess UK LLP (7 July 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:178483145X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1784831455
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 2 x 24 cm

Official web site of Quality Chess

Coffeehouse Repertoire 1.e4 Volume 1, Gawain Jones, Quality Chess, 7 July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784831455
Coffeehouse Repertoire 1.e4 Volume 1, Gawain Jones, Quality Chess, 7 July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1784831455
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2021, Anniversary, News

Guildford Chess Club celebrates 125 years

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Guildford Chess Club

From early beginnings…

Guildford Chess Club was founded on Friday 10th April 1896 at the Guildford Institute, as the ‘Guildford and Working Men’s Institute (GWMI) Chess Club’. The minutes reported that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) who lived in Guildford for a period until his death in 1898, occasionally visited the Club.

 

Alice Through the Looking Glass in the grounds of Guildford Castle
Alice Through the Looking Glass in the grounds of Guildford Castle

On 10th April 1899, GWMI amalgamated with the original Guildford Chess Club, which had been in existence since at least 1887 although unfortunately no minutes appear to exist for that Club, so little is known about its background. It was decided to adopt the latter’s name and to make the Guildford Institute its home venue, which it has remained to this day. The minutes note: ‘The object of the Guildford Chess Club is to play, promote and teach the game of Chess’.

Over the years the Club has fulfilled its purpose by not only operating a wide range of teams who participate in the local leagues in Surrey, as well as in national team competitions, but by also actively promoting chess and helping people to develop their ability to play the royal game.

The Club celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1920 with an invitation to the legendary José Raul Capablanca to give a 42-board simultaneous display, which he graciously accepted and unsurprisingly won every game!

José Raul Capablanca
José Raul Capablanca

The Club also demonstrated its commitment to its original object of promoting and teaching chess by creating a junior section, which saw some very promising young talent coming through from the Royal Grammar School based in Guildford and this strong association between the Club and the School is still evident today. Amongst this talent were two very promising players, B.C. Gould and A.W.J. Down, both of whom went on to win British Boys Championships between 1929 and 1933.

In 1934, in keeping with its mandate, the Club invited Eugene A. Znosko-Borovsky, the noted Russian Chess master to give a lecture on ‘General Principles’.

Eugene Znosko-Borovsky in play during the 1948 British Chess Federation Congress at Bishopsgate Institute, 30th August, 1948. Keystone Press Archive.
Eugene Znosko-Borovsky in play during the 1948 British Chess Federation Congress at Bishopsgate Institute, 30th August, 1948. Keystone Press Archive.

Guildford’s reputation as a thriving club was further evidenced by an invitation to the reigning British Champion, Sir George Thomas, to give a 25-board Simultaneous display at the Royal Grammar School on 13th December 1935. Sir George met strong resistance, winning 17, drawing 6 and losing 2 – a fine result for Guildford members.

Sir George Thomas and Brian Reilly Sir George Thomas (left), leader of the British chess team, playing Irishman Brian Reilly at the Easter Chess Congress, Margate, April 24th 1935. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)
Sir George Thomas and Brian Reilly
Sir George Thomas (left), leader of the British chess team, playing Irishman Brian Reilly at the Easter Chess Congress, Margate, April 24th 1935. (Photo by Harry Todd/Fox Photos/Getty Images)
The Centenary

In 1996 Guildford Chess Club celebrated its centenary by organising a series of events, which included a 12-board match against the Surrey Border League, which the Club won 8-4, the restoration of an open-air chess board in the Castle grounds, running a ‘Chess Variants’ tournament at Charterhouse School in Godalming, conducting some local Simultaneous displays and holding a Centenary dinner with IM William Hartston as the keynote speaker.

The Club also invested more effort in the development of its Junior Section by creating a coaching programme which resulted in certificates being awarded to celebrate stages of achievement and the Club has continued to run a thriving Junior section up until the present day.

The last 25 years have been particularly successful for Guildford Chess Club which continues to do well in the local leagues as well as nationally, with its recent domination of the 4NCL for the last eight years. It has been an interesting and exciting 125 years for the Club, which has been based at the same venue for its entire existence and it is fair to say that during this time, thanks to the Club’s various achievements, it has evolved to become one of the most successful chess clubs in the country.

Today – the 125th Anniversary

To celebrate its 125th anniversary the Club is running a special event in Guildford High Street on Saturday 11th September from 10.30 – 16.30.

Chess fans are therefore invited to participate in a 125-Board Simultaneous display given by some of the top Chess players in England!

They include Grandmaster Gawain Jones, former British Champion and current European Online Blitz Champion and Grandmaster Nick Pert, former World Under 18 Champion!

GM Gawain Jones at the 2013 London Chess Classic courtesy of John Upham Photography
GM Gawain Jones at the 2013 London Chess Classic courtesy of John Upham Photography
GM Nick Pert at the 2014 British Championships courtesy of John Upham Photography
GM Nick Pert at the 2014 British Championships courtesy of John Upham Photography

Other Masters giving the Simultaneous include: Matthew Wadsworth, former British U18 and U21 Champion;

FM Matthew J Wadsworth
FM Matthew J Wadsworth

Akshaya Kalaiyalahan, former British Women’s Champion;

Akshaya Kalaiyalahan
Akshaya Kalaiyalahan

Andrew Martin, former Guinness World-record holder for playing the most games simultaneously;

IM Andrew Martin
IM Andrew Martin

Nigel Povah, former British Senior Over 50s Champion;

IM Nigel Povah
IM Nigel Povah

Harry Grieve, British Rapidplay Online Champion;

FM Harry Grieve
FM Harry Grieve

Alex Golding, the highest rated 17-year old in England;

FM Alex Golding
FM Alex Golding

Jessica Mellor, former European School Girls Under 11 Champion.

Jessica Mellor
Jessica Mellor
This is your chance to play against some of them for FREE!
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The event comprises of three playing sessions, starting at 10.30, 12.30 and 14.30 and you can book your place for any one, two or all three of these sessions, each of which is anticipated to last up to 1½ hours. Places will be secured on a first-come-first-served basis. It is of course possible that your game finishes quite quickly, in which case you can either depart or choose to play another game in one of the other Simultaneous displays, space permitting.

Participants should note that appropriate arrangements have been made to ensure the event will go ahead, even if we are faced with inclement weather!

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2021, Books, Endgame, Everyman Chess, Reviews, Studies, Tactics

Tactical Training In The Endgame

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Tactical Training in the Endgame, Cyrus Lakdawala, everyman Chess, Cyrus Lakdawala, 23rd July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781945865
Tactical Training in the Endgame, Cyrus Lakdawala, everyman Chess, Cyrus Lakdawala, 23rd July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781945865

From the publisher:

“Goethe once wrote, “Everything is both simpler than we can imagine, and more complicated than we can conceive.” He could well have had chess endgames in mind. Endgames have fewer pieces on the board than middlegames but this does not necessarily make them “easier” to play or understand.

Tactical expertise is, understandably, generally associated with middlegame (and sometimes opening) positions. However, tactics are also crucial in endgames – a point that is sometimes overlooked. Even some quite simple looking pawn endgames can feature complex tactical ideas. Tactics in endgames also tend to be very different to middlegame tactics.

As well as the familiar themes of pins, skewers and forks, endgames also feature unique concepts that rarely occur in middlegames such as pawn breakthroughs, manoeuvring for zugzwang and active use of the king as an aggressive unit.

In this book the highly experienced chess author and coach Cyrus Lakdawala guides the reader through the complexities of endgame tactical play. Lakdawala assembles positions that are most effective to improve tactical ability. Work your way through this book and you will undoubtedly see the results in your own games.”

end of blurb…

“Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master, a former National Open and American Open Champion, and a six-time State Champion. He has been teaching chess for over 30 years, and coaches some of the top junior players in the U.S.”

IM Cyrus Lakdawala
IM Cyrus Lakdawala

Here is an extract in pdf format.

The reviewer is a fan of this type of book which is a really good endgame puzzle/training tome: this title does not disappoint.  The examples are a pleasing mixture of endgames from high level games; composed studies and a final chapter consisting of composed mate in two problems.

In the introduction, the author addresses the common objection to studies and problems “they are artificial and also too difficult”. He recalls a piece of advice from GM Bill Lombardy: “You don’t have to solve them. Just try for a few minutes and then look up the answer.” This is the point, the act of attempting to solve the study/problem followed by a close study of the answer will improve your analytic ability and enlarge your toolbox of recognised patterns. A lot of studies have very memorable moves/themes which once seen are never forgotten.

The reviewer can recall a particular knight and pawn endgame where I jeopardised an easy draw by missing a study like move (lack of imagination in cruise mode) but redeemed myself by scrambling a study like draw (desperation but only found because my imagination had been improved by studying studies).

Cyrus goes on to discuss training techniques to improve students’ calculation skills, tactical awareness and tactical/strategic imagination: he and the vast majority of trainers regard studies as an essential tool to aid the development of endgame mastery.

In the main seven chapters, I like the way the author breaks down the more difficult studies to aid a student/reader to solve them: it’s almost like a brain dump of his assessment/analysis process as he goes about solving the problem.

The over the board endgames include many games from masters of the endgame such as Botvinnik, Capablanca, Karpov, Smyslov, and Tal. Tal may not be immediately recognised by some as a maestro of the endgame, but his calculation skills and imagination were second to none and this made him a superb endgame player.

The studies include giants such as Afek, Grigoriev, Mitrofanov, Pogosyants, Réti, Troitzky.

The book is divided into eight chapters, the first two sections are kind of introductory followed by five chapters with different piece combinations. The final section is a set of mate in two problems.

The reviewer will showcase three or four positions from each chapter to give the reader a taster.

Here are some interesting positions from Chapter One – Deadly Simplicity.

Chigorin-Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Move 50
Chigorin – Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Move 50

This position is from the game Chigorin v Tarrasch Ostend 1905. White looks to be in terrible trouble here as black’s king is going to outflank white’s king and win material.

White played the resigned 50.gxf6 and lost shortly.  However, white does have a dastardly defence which once seen is always remembered.  50.Kg4!! Ke4 51.g6! Now white creates a stalemate defence or he can create a future passed pawn. 51…hxg6 (51…h6 52.Kh5! and the f-pawn cannot be captured as it is stalemate!)

Chigorin-Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Variation 1
Chigorin-Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Stalemate Defence

52.fxg6 f5+ 53.Kg5 f4 54.h5 f3 55.h6

Chigorin-Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Simultaneous Promotion
Chigorin-Tarrasch Ostend 1905 Simultaneous Promotion

55…gxh6+ 56.Kh6 f2 57.g7 f1Q 58.g8Q drawn

Next I shall show a lovely study which looks deceptively simple!

J.Dobias 1926
J.Dobias 1926 White Win

White to play and win.

The obvious approach to black’s pawn such as 1.Kf4? or 1. Ke5? fails to 1…Kc4 2.Kg5 Kd3 3.Kxg6 Ke4 and black gobbles the f-pawn to draw. 1.Kd5? looks tempting to shoulder barge the black king, however 1…Kb4! draws 2.Ke5 (2.f4 Kc3! draws is a major point) Kc4 3.Kf6 Kd4 4.Kxg6 Ke4 draws.

1.Kd4!! is the only way preventing the side approach, now 1…Kb4 (1…Kc6 2.Ke5 Kd7 3.Kf6 wins) 2.f4! The key point 2..Kb3 3.Ke5 Kc4 4.Kf6 wins

A really instructive problem and very game like.

The next study is white to play and win. I  remember being shown this study as a kid and solving it.

S.Kryuchkov 1927
S.Kryuchkov 1927 White Wins

1.Re8+ !! (1…Kg7 2.f6+ wins black’s rook) 1…Kxe8 2.g7 Rg8 3.f6 Zugzwang 3…Rf8 4.exf8Q+ Kxf8 5.Kd7 Kg8 6.Ke7 and wins the f-pawn and the game.

Chapter 2 – Recognizing Patterns

C.Lakdawala-Position For Analysis
C.Lakdawala – Position For Analysis White To Play

What is happening here with white to play? White can draw easily with 1.Rxe7 or 1.gxf7. Can white do better?

1.f6 looks interesting with the idea of 1…Rxe8 2.gxf7

C.Lakdawala-Position For Analysis Move 2
C.Lakdawala-Position For Analysis Move 2

Surely white is winning with 3.fxg7 to follow after black moves his rook. But analyse further! 2…Rd8!! wins as after 3.fxg7 Ke7!+ wins both pawns and the game. Cyrus had set this position as an exercise for some students, most of whom complained bitterly when they fell into the trap. The author responded that he did not specify a “white to play and win” position, he just gave them a position to analyse, just like a game! A great learning experience.

Here is a didactic opposite coloured bishop endgame.

Stein-Tarnowski Bucharest 1961 Move 51
Stein – Tarnowski Bucharest 1961 Move 51 White to move

How does white make progress here? 51.Be7 allows Kc7 blocking the king’s path into black’s position. 51.Bb8! does the trick and black resigned 1-0. If 51…Kxb8 52.Kd6 Kc8 53.Kxe6! Kd8 54.Kf6 Kd7 55.Kg7 Ke7 56.Kxh7 Kf7 57.e6+ decoying the black king, winning after 58.Kg7 and 59.h7

Here is some Troitzky magic: white to play and draw.

Troitzky 1899
Troitzky 1899 White Draws

White looks to be in desperate straits as the black’s outside passed h-pawn looks to be the decisive factor.

1.Kb6! threatening 2.a6 1…Kc8 2.a6 Kb8 3.a7+! Ka8 4.Kc7! h5 5.Kxd6 h4 6.Kxd7 h3 7.e5 h2 8.e6 h1Q 9.e7 Qd5+ This looks lost for white as an e-pawn on the seventh normally loses against a queen 10.Kc7! Qe6 11.Kd8 Qd6+ 12.Kc8! Qxe7 stalemate

Chapter 3 – King And Pawn Endgames

Here is an important idea that does occur in practice. Alexei Shirov lost a game to this idea.

Polerio 1590
Polerio 1590

This position looks to be drawn after a move like 1.Rg1 a1=Q as white wins both pawns but black’s king gets back in time to secure the draw. However white has an elegant idea to win: 1.Ra1! Kxa1 Forced as 1…Kb3 2.Kc1 Ka3 3.Kc2 wins the a-pawn and the game easily 2.Kc2 Zugzwang 2…g5 3.hxg5 h4 4.g6 h3 5.g7 h2 6.g8Q h1Q 7.Qg7#

Here is a famous finish to a game demonstrating the potential power of a breakthrough and Reti’s theme with king paths.

Em.Lasker-Tarrasch St. Petersburg 1914 Move 41
Em.Lasker – Tarrasch St. Petersburg 1914 Move 41 White To Play

White looks to be lost as after 1.Kf6 c4 2.bxc4 bxc4 3.Ke5 c3! 4.bxc3 a4 the black pawn promotes. 1.Kg6!! threatening h5 forces 1…Kxh4 2. Kf5 Kg3 3.Ke4 Kf2 4.Kd5 Ke3!

Description File URL: http://britishchessnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Em.Lasker-Tarrasch-St.-Petersburg-1914-Move-45.jpg Copy URL to clipboard ATTACHMENT DISPLAY SETTINGS Alignment None Link To None Size Medium – 300 × 300 Selected media actions 1 item selected Clear Insert into post
Em.Lasker-Tarrasch St. Petersburg 1914 Move 45

5.Kxc5 Kd3 6.Kxb5 Kc2 7.Kxa5 Kxb3 draw (A really instructive endgame lesson – kings do not have to take the most obvious path.)

Some Vasily Smyslov magic next.

Aronin-Smyslov Moscow 1951 Move 46
Aronin-Smyslov Moscow 1951 Move 46 Black To Move

White had had a vastly superior (winning) rook ending and decided to enter this king and pawn ending which he assessed as easily winning for white as he has a potential passed outside h-pawn and his king can enter via c4.   Smyslov shattered that illusion with 46…g4!! 47.h4 (47.hxg4 does not help as the potential passed pawn has disappeared and black’s king now can enter white’s position via g5 leading to a draw.) 47…c5 48.Ke2 Kh7! 49.Kd3 Kh6 waiting

Aronin-Smyslov Moscow 1951 Move 50
Aronin-Smyslov Moscow 1951 Move 50

50. c3 (white’s intended 50.Kc4 loses to the breakthrough move 50…f5! 51.exf5 e4! 52.c3 a5! zugzwang and the e-pawn promotes)  50…a5 51.cxb4 axb4 drawn (A brilliant escape for the endgame master)

Chapter 4 – Rook Endgames

A famous study but worth reproducing called Lasker’s manoeuvre/steps/ladder. This has occurred in practice in GM games.

Lasker 1890
Lasker 1890 White Wins

1.Kb8! Rb2+ 2.Ka8 Rc3 3.Rf6+ Ka5 4.Kb8 Rb2+ 5.Ka7 Rc2+ 6.Rf5+ Ka4 7.Kb7 Rb2+ 8.Ka6 Rc2 9.Rf4+ Ka3 10.Kb6 Rb2+ 11.Ka5 Rc2 12.Rf3+ Kb2 13.Rxf2! (13.Kb6?? only draws 13…Kb1! 14.Rxf2 Rxf2 15.c8=Q Rb2+ drawing by perpetual) 13…Rxf2 14.c8=Q wins

Here is some more Troitzky magic which is very game like.

Troitzky 1933
Troitzky (Extract)1933 White Wins

Black appears to be ok as his h-pawn should be enough to draw.

1.e5! fxe5+ (1…h3 2.exf6 wins as the black king will exposed to a decisive rook check) 2.Ke4! h3  3.Rh8! Rxa7 4.Rh6+ Ke7 5.Rh7+ securing the rook and the game. A very common idea in rook and pawn endgames.

Here is the end of a game Judit Polgar v Nigel Short Monte Carlo 1993.

J. Polgar-Short Monte Carlo 1993 Move 62
J.Polgar – Short Monte Carlo 1993 Move 62 White To Play

This is instructive: 61.h6+! Kf7 (61…Kxh6 62.Kf6 wins threatening mate and the rook) 62.g5!! fxg5 63.Rd8! and black cannot stop the h-pawn without giving up the rook, 1-0 in a few moves after a few spite checks.

Chapter 5 – Queen Endgames

Queen endgames are notoriously tricky and complex.

Here is an entertaining study.

J.Behting 1907 White To Play And Win
J.Behting 1907 White Wins

White looks to be in trouble as 1.Qe3!! is met by 1…f4 forcing promotion, but look further: 2.Qf2! d1=Q 3.Kc3!! zugzwang 3…f3 4.Qe3+ Kb1 5.Qb6+ Kc1 6.Qb2#

Here is an amusing study. How does white win here?

E.Pogosyants (extract) 1974 White To Play And Win
E.Pogosyants (extract) 1974 White Wins

After 1.Qxg8+ Kxg8 white can play 2.h7+ which only leads to stalemate or 2.hxg7 and although white wins the a-pawn, black’s king reaches the a8 corner in time to draw.

1.Qh8!! Qxh8 2.h7 a3 3.Kd7 zugzwang 3…Qg8 forced 4.hxg8Q+ Kxg8

E.Pogosyants (extract) 1974 White To Play And Win Move 5
E.Pogosyants (extract) 1974 Move 5

5.Ke7! Kh8 6.Kd6 Kg8 7.Kc5 Kf8 8.Kb4 Ke7 9.Kxa3 winning

Here is an amusing finish from a game Adams-Dimitrov.

Adams-V. Dimitrov Move 68
Adams-V. Dimitrov Move 68 Black to play

Black played 68…e3?? no doubt looking forward to a win over his illustrious opponent. Adams reply soon disabused him: 69.Qh3+! 69…Qxh3 stalemate (Lesson: the queen is powerful, always be on the look-out for mating and stalemating ideas)

Chapter 6 – Minor Piece Endgames

Here is a study by the great Grigoriev which shows a bad bishop endgame, but how does white breakthrough?

N.Grigoriev 1931 White wins
N.Grigoriev 1931 White wins

1.g4 creating a passed h-pawn does not win as white has no entry point for his king. So the only idea to win must be Bxh5 but white must prepare this move without allowing black’s bishop to get out of its cage.

1.Bf3 Bb7 2.Ke3! (2.Ke4? would allow black’s bishop to improve its posting 2…Bc8 and draws) Ba8 3.Ke4! Bb7 4.Kf4 Ba8 5.Bxh5! (Now black’s bishop is on its worst possible square)  Kxh5 6.g4+ Kxh4 (6…Kh6 7.g5Kg7 8.h5 Bb7 9.h6+ Kf7 10.gxf6 Kxf6 11.h7! Kg7 12.Ke5 Kxh7 13.Kd6 winning) 7.g5 fxg5+ 8. Ke4! (8.Ke5 also wins but takes much longer)  Kh5 (8…g4 9.f6 g3 10.Kf3! Kh3 11.f7 g2 12.f8Q g1Q 13.Qh8#) 9.Ke5! g4 10.f6 g3 11.f7 g2 12.f8Q g1Q 13.Qh8+ Kg4 14.Qg7+ winning the queen

Here is more Smyslov magic:

Smyslov-Yastrabov Moscow 1936
Smyslov – Yastrabov Moscow 1936

How does white breakthrough? Black looks to have a fortress.

1.b4!!  axb4 (1…cxb4 2.Bxb6 b3 3.Kd3! Be1 4.c5 Bf2 5.Kc3 Kf5 6.Kxb3 Kxe5 7.Kc4 Kxf6 8.Bd8+ Ke5 9.Bxa5 f5 10.Bc3+ Ke4 11.a5 and white pawns are faster) 2.Bxc5! bxc5 (2…b3 3.Kd3 bxc5 transposes) 3.a5 b3 4.Kxd3 Bxf6 5.a6! winning

Here is an elegant study with some brutal counterplay that is brilliantly suppressed.

A.Gulyaev 1940
A.Gulyaev 1940 White wins

1.g7!! f2 2.Be7! f1Q 3.Bf6! Qxf6! 4.gxh8Q+ Qxh8

A.Gulyaev 1941 Move 5
A.Gulyaev 1941 Move 5

5.d4! zugzwang 5…Qg7 6.hxg7 h5 7.e6! h4 8.e7 h3 9.Kd7 h2 10.e8Q+ wins

Here is Botvinnik, the master at play.

Kotov-Botvinnik Moscow 1955 Move 59 Black To Move
Kotov – Botvinnik Moscow 1955 Move 59 Black To Move

 59…g5!! 60.fxg5 d4+! 61.exd4 Kg3 (The position below demonstrates the very important “one diagonal” principle in opposite coloured bishop endings. Black’s bishop fulfils two roles on one diagonal: protecting his own b3-pawn whilst simultaneously preventing the advance of white’s passed pawns.)

Kotov-Botvinnik Moscow 1955 Move 62
Kotov-Botvinnik Moscow 1955 Move 62

62.Ba3 Kxh4 63.Kd3 Kxg5 64.Ke4 h4 65.Kf3 Bd5+ 0-1 Black wins the bishop which has to give itself up for the h-pawn and then simply captures white’s pawns winning easily.

Chapter 7 All Other Piece Combinations

Tal – Trifunovic
Palma de Mallorca (5) 1966

Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 45
Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 45

Tal had to seal in this position and he played the best move beginning a ten move combination.

45.e6! Bxe6 46.Ra7+ Bd7 47.Kh2 Rh5!

Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 48
Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 48

48.b5! Rxc5 49.Bxh3 f5 50.bxc6 Rxc6 51.Bxf5 Rd6 52.Kg3 Ke8

Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 53
Tal-Trifunovic 1966.Move 53

53.Rxd7! A neat simplification Rxd7 54.Bxd7+ Kxd7 55.Kg4 Ke6 56.Kg5 Kf7 57.Kf5 1-0

Here is  a jointly composed study with one of the composers being Leopold Mitrofanov of Qg5!! fame. If the reader doesn’t know what I am on about, then look it up for a real treat – arguably one of the greatest studies ever.

D.Gurgenidzw, L.Mitrofanov 1979
D.Gurgenidze & L.Mitrofanov 1979 Draw

1.Be4+ Kg3 2.Bf3! Kxf3 3.f7 Bd6+ 4.Kxd6 d1Q+ 5.Kc7!! Qxc2+ 6.Kd7 drawing (Black’s king is one square too far from the winning zone.)

Here is a superb study by Yochanan Afek.

Y.Afek 2000 White wins
Y.Afek 2000 White wins

1.b7 Qc6 2.Bd7! Qxd7 3.Rxe4+ (These checks avoid black’s stalemate defences, I will leave the reader to work them out) Ka5 4.Re5+ Kb6! (4…Ka6? 5.b8N+ wins) 5.b8Q+ Ka6

Y.Afek 2000 Move 6
Y.Afek 2000 Move 6

White is threatened with mate and has no checks. 6.Rb5!! Qxb5 7.Qa7#

Chapter 8 Composed Mates In Two

Here is a problem  – white to play and mate in two moves.

S.Dowd 2020 Mate In 2
S.Dowd 2020 Mate In 2

1.Qf1! There are four different mates. I shall leave the reader to figure them out.

In summary, an excellent endgame coaching/training manual to improve your analytic powers with some instructive, beautiful and entertaining games, studies and problems.

FM Richard Webb
FM Richard Webb

FM Richard Webb, Chineham, Hampshire, 27th July 2021

Book Details :

  • Hardcover : 432 pages
  • Publisher:Everyman Chess (23 July 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:1781945861
  • ISBN-13:978-1781945889
  • Product Dimensions: 17.02 x 23.5 cm

Official web site of Everyman Chess

Tactical Training in the Endgame, Cyrus Lakdawala, everyman Chess, Cyrus Lakdawala, 23rd July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781945865
Tactical Training in the Endgame, Cyrus Lakdawala, everyman Chess, Cyrus Lakdawala, 23rd July 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1781945865
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2021, Coaching, New in Chess, Reviews, Richard James, Training

How to Study Chess on Your Own

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How to Study Chess on Your Own, Davorin Kuljasevic, New in Chess, June 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919313
How to Study Chess on Your Own, Davorin Kuljasevic, New in Chess, June 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919313

From the publisher:

“Every chess player wants to improve, but many, if not most, lack the tools or the discipline to study in a structured and effective way. With so much material on offer, the eternal question is: “”How can I study chess without wasting my time and energy?””

Davorin Kuljasevic provides the full and ultimate answer, as he presents a structured study approach that has long-term improvement value. He explains how to study and what to study, offers specific advice for the various stages of the game and points out how to integrate all elements in an actionable study plan. How do you optimize your learning process? How do you develop good study habits and get rid of useless ones? What study resources are appropriate for players of different levels? Many self-improvement guides are essentially little more than a collection of exercises.

Davorin Kuljasevic reflects on learning techniques and priorities in a fundamental way. And although this is not an exercise book, it is full of instructive examples looked at from unusual angles. To provide a solid self-study framework, Kuljasevic categorizes lots of important aspects of chess study in a guide that is rich in illustrative tables, figures and bullet points. Anyone, from casual player to chess professional, will take away a multitude of original learning methods and valuable practical improvement ideas.”

“Davorin Kuljasevic is an International Grandmaster born in Croatia. He graduated from Texas Tech University and played in USCL 2007 and 2008 for Dallas Destiny, the team that became US champion in both these years. He is an experienced coach and a winner of many tournaments.”

GM Davorin Kuljasevic
GM Davorin Kuljasevic

‘Study’ is the operative word here.

When I was learning chess in the 1960s and playing fairly seriously in the 1970s, chess wasn’t something you studied unless you were a top grandmaster. I’d play in club matches and tournaments. I’d read books and magazines because I enjoyed reading them, and, if I learnt something as well then so much the better. It wasn’t anything resembling serious study as you might study a subject at university. In those days, of course, you didn’t have a lot of opportunity to do much else.

In those days we couldn’t have imagined having a multi-million game database and a computer program capable of playing far better than any human on our desk, or being able to play a game at any time against opponents from anywhere in the world.

It’s not surprising, then, that ambitious players at any level are, if they have the time, keen to raise their rating by studying chess seriously.

We also know a lot more than we did, even 20 or 30 years ago, about the teaching and learning processes: lessons that can be applied to chess just as they can to other domains.

In the past, chess books told you what you should learn. Now, we’re seeing books, like this one, that teach you HOW you should learn. There’s a big difference.

Let’s start, controversially, at the end.

Chapter 9: Get organized – create a study plan

The author advises us to create a weekly timetable. Table 9.1 is based on the assumption that you’re at school in the morning, when you can spend 3 hours every afternoon and 2 hours every evening studying chess.

In my part of the world, if you’re an older teen you’re probably going to be at school in the afternoon as well as the morning, and have three hours of homework to do when you get home. Not to mention family commitments, other interests, hanging out with friends, eating, sleeping… I wonder how many chess players actually have time to study 4-5 hours a day, or even 1-2 hours a day, on a regular basis. On the other hand, 12-year-old Abhi Mishra, who has just become the youngest ever Grandmaster, spends at least 12 hours a day studying chess.

Returning to the Preface, the author anticipates your question: who will benefit the most from this book? “In my view, it would be self-motivated players of any level and age who are serious and disciplined about their chess study and have enough time to put the methods from the book into practice.”

If you fall into this category, read on. Even if you don’t: if you only have an hour or two a week to study, rather than 4-5 hours a day, you might still learn a lot.

What we have is 9 chapters looking at different aspects of studying chess, each concluding with a helpful list of bullet points. It’s not just a book of technical advise on how to study, though.  There’s a lot of chess in there as well, mostly taken from games you probably won’t have seen before. The first eight chapters have, as is the case with many books from this publisher, some exercises for you to solve, based on the most interesting positions from the chapter. The tactics and middle-game chapters also have questions for you to answer: do they tally with the author’s solutions given in Chapter 10?

In Chapter 1, the author asks “Do you study with the right mindset?”. Now, he doesn’t mean mindset in this sense, although that will come in useful. Instead, he suggests that mastering chess requires both time and intelligent study. There’s no substitute for study time. He quotes the example of English GM Jonathan Hawkins, only an average club player at 18, but through hard work, much of which involved with studying endings, became a GM by the age of 31.

A proper chess study mindset means, in Alekhine’s words, ‘a higher goal than a one-moment satisfaction’. Four typical mistakes are: lack of objectivity, shallow study approach, short-run outlook and playing too much. Kuljasevic talks about the correct balance between playing and studying. He quotes Botvinnik as saying that chess cannot be taught, only learned, which he interprets as meaning that everyone learns in a different way, and that it’s you, rather than your coach, who will make yourself a stronger player.

Kuljasevic was shocked to read a well known GM’s coaching advert: “I have produced numerous top-level players”. “Excuse me, but chess players are not ‘produced’! Every chess player’s learning process is their unique experience that cannot be replicated on someone else.”

These days there are many study methods available, and Chapter 2 provides a guide to fifteen you might consider, and giving them all scores out of 5 for practical relevance, study intensity and long-term learning potential. The three methods which score a maximum of three fives are Deep Analysis, Simulation (pretending to play a real game by guessing the next move) and Sparring (playing a pre-arranged game or match with a training partner for a specific reason).

As an example of what is meant by Deep Analysis, this is Aronian – Anand (Zurich 2014) with Black to play. Anand played 58… Ke7 here, but Re1+ would have been a more stubborn defence. Kuljasevic wanted to prove that White can always win positions of this type, and here spends seven pages doing just that.

Of course such an approach won’t suit everyone, but this chapter will help all readers determine the most useful methods for them. The point is not so much the relevance or otherwise of this particular ending, but the process itself used to analyse it.

Chapter 3 is about identifying your study priorities. At this point the author divides his readership into five categories:

  1. Intermediate player (1500-1800 Elo)
  2. Advanced player (1800-2100 Elo)
  3. Improving youngster (1900-2200 Elo)
  4. Master-level player (2100-2400 Elo)
  5. Strong titled player (2400+ Elo)

He suggests that, in general, you should spend 10% of your time on openings, 25% on tactics 25% on endgames, 20% on middlegames and 20% on general improvement. What proportion of your study time do you spend on openings? I thought so!

He then makes suggestions about how readers in each category might prioritise their studies.

If you’re an intermediate player you should concentrate on improving your tactical and endgame skills, while choosing a simple opening repertoire. Once you reach 1800 strength you can start working on more strategically complex openings. Club standard players should spend a large proportion of their time studying endings (Jonathan Hawkins would agree, as would Keith Arkell) and players of all levels would benefit from solving endgame studies on a regular basis.

Chapter 4 is about choosing the right resources for your study plan. Here we have a list of online resources: chess websites, the categories for which they are suitable, and, in each cases, the specific study opportunities they offer. Then we look at the best websites for each of the study methods from Chapter 2. An extensive list of recommended books for each of the five categories of player from Chapter 3 follows, arranged by subject matter. The books include classics by authors such as Alekhine, Spielmann and Chernev as well as more recent books. GM Grivas is quoted: “Reading the autobiographical games collections of great past players is like taking lessons with some of the greatest players in history”.  Unlike Kuljasevic, I’m not convinced that Chernev’s Logical Chess, excellent though it is for novices, is suitable for anyone much over 1800, though. There’s also some very useful advice on the best way to use ChessBase and other database software.

Chapters 5 to 8 each focus on one specific aspect of chess: openings, tactics, endings and middlegames.

Chapter 5 tells you how to study your openings deeply. The author starts with a warning: “I have met many people, and I’m sure you have, too, who have fallen into the trap of spending too much time studying openings. If they were to study other aspects of the game as zealously as openings, I am sure that they would be more complete, creative, and, most likely, stronger chess players. Young players and their coaches should especially keep this in mind.” He quotes, with approval, Portisch’s opinion: “Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middle game”, and advises simplicity and economy when deciding on your openings. The study material in this chapter, then, is more suited for master level players and above.

This, for example, is an example of a ‘static tabiya’: you may well recognise it as coming from the Breyer Variation of the Ruy Lopez.

“This is one of the most well-known opening tabiyas, not only in the Ruy Lopez, but in chess in general. Over 1000 tournament games have been played from this position, from the club to the super-GM level. There is something appealing about this static type of structure for both sides as it contains a lot of potential for creative strategic play. I would like to present my brief analysis of a fairly rare idea: 17. Be3!?”

17. Bg5 is usually played here, meeting 17… h6 with Be3, happy to spend a move weakening the black king’s defences. Be3 has a different attacking plan in mind: Nf3-h2-g4-h6+ and possibly also Qf3. This is discussed over 3½ pages: I think you have to be a very stong player with a lot of study time available to go into this sort of detail, though.

Chapter 6 advises you to ‘Dynamize’ your tactical training. We’re all used to solving puzzles where we play combinations to win material or checkmate the enemy king. We could do more than that, though, by studying dynamic positions, complicated, double-edged tactical positions and positional sacrifices. We can also improve our tactical imagination by solving endgame studies and problems.

At the end of this chapter we get the chance to take a tactics test: “20 exercises consisting of tactical puzzles, positions for analysis, endgame studies, and problems for the development of dynamics and imagination”.

It’s Black’s move in this tactical puzzle. Your challenge is to solve it blindfold.

This is taken from Xie Jun – Galliamova (Women’s World Championship 1999). Black played 30… Qc7 here and eventually lost. She should have preferred 30… Qc8! (Nd2+ also wins) 31. Rc1 Qg4!, an attractive geometric motif winning either rook or queen.

Here, by contrast, is an endgame study, composed by FK Amelung in 1907. It’s White to play and win. Again, you’re challenged to solve it without moving the pieces.

The solution is 1. Rd8+ Ke1 2. Re8+ Kd2 3. Nc3! c1Q+ 4. Nb1+ Kd1 5. Rd8+ Ke1 6. Rf8! and wins.

There’s a lot more to tactics training than sac, sac, mate!

Studying endings can seem rather dull, so it’s good to know that Chapter 7 tells you how to make your endgame study more enjoyable.  Kuljasevic advises that, instead of reading books from beginning to end you look at practical examples, including your own games, and, (yes, again) endgame studies. He agrees with Capablanca that “Study of chess should commence with the third and final phase of a chess game, the endgame”.

Chapter 8 is all about strategy: how to systemize your middlegame knowledge. This is the hardest aspect of chess to study. The author looks at studying the pawn structures that might arise from your opening repertoire in a systematic way, and then goes on to discuss piece exchanges: understanding when exchanges might be favourable or unfavourable rather than just seeing them as a way to simplify towards an ending.

The chapter concludes with a short quiz on this subject. Here’s the first question: would you advise White to trade rooks, to give Black the option of trading, or to move his rook away?

This was Mamedyarov – Carlsen Baku 2008

White correctly moved his rook away, playing 25. Rf1, and later won after a Carlsen blunder. The coming kingside attack will be much stronger with the rook on the board, and Black can do nothing on the c-file.

Chapter 9, as we’ve seen, looks at how you might devise your own study plan – on the assumption that you have several hours a day to study, and Chapter 10 provides solutions to the quiz questions.

So, what to make of all this? I found it an extremely impressive book on an increasingly important aspect of chess: ‘how to learn’ as opposed to ‘what to learn’. Davorin Kuljasevic has clearly put an enormous amount of thought and hard work into writing it. If you’re within the target market – you want to improve your chess and have a lot of time available for that purpose – I’d give this book a very strong recommendation.

Even if you only have a few hours (or even less) a week, rather than a few hours a day to set aside for chess study, you’re sure to find much invaluable advice about how to make the most of your time.

There’s a lot of great – and highly instructive – chess in the book as well, so you might enjoy it for that alone. Much of it, though, I felt, was aimed more at the higher end of the rating scale. It would also be good to read a book on how to study chess written more for average players with limited study time.

Kuljasevic’s previous book (there’s an excellent review here) was shortlisted for FIDE’s 2020 Book of the Year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this book was similarly honoured. He’s clearly an exceptional writer as well as an exceptional coach.

Richard James, Twickenham 22nd July 2021

Richard James
. Richard James

Book Details :

  • Softcover: 384 pages
  • Publisher: New in Chess (1 May 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:9056919318
  • ISBN-13:978-9056919313
  • Product Dimensions: ‎ 17.27 x 2.54 x 23.62 cm

Official web site of New in Chess

How to Study Chess on Your Own, Davorin Kuljasevic, New in Chess, June 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919313
How to Study Chess on Your Own, Davorin Kuljasevic, New in Chess, June 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9056919313
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2021, Books, Opening Theory, Reviews, Thinkers Publishing

1.e4! The Chess Bible: The Chess Bible – Volume 1

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1.e4! The Chess Bible: The Chess Bible - Volume 1, Justin Tam, Thinker's Publishing, 13th April 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9464201123
1.e4! The Chess Bible: The Chess Bible – Volume 1, Justin Tam, Thinker’s Publishing, 13th April 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9464201123

“Justin Tan is an International Grandmaster who has represented Australia in numerous international events. He is currently based in the UK and was previously British under-21 champion, British blitz champion and joint second runner-up at the British Championship. Justin has been a 1.e4 specialist throughout his playing career and is recognised for his deep opening preparation, especially in the open games. He is a monthly columnist for ChessPublishing’s section on 1.e4, where he publishes his analyses of key 1.e4 games and the latest trends.”

GM Christian Bauer
GM Christian Bauer

From the publisher via Amazon we have this blurb:

“‘1.e4! The Chess Bible’ (in three volumes) is a complete and authoritative repertoire for White based on sound main lines and the latest cutting-edge analysis. Existing theory is revisited and expanded with several fresh ideas, novelties and refutations which will appeal to dedicated 1.e4 players and theoreticians alike. However, each section is also carefully designed to be easily digested by players of all standards, with an opening overview, illustrated diagrams of key concepts, and instructive and annotated games.This book is an essential practical resource for any 1.e4 player and will greatly reward those who are looking to master their understanding of the open games.The openings covered in this volume are: The Scandinavian Defence, The Alekhine’s Defence, The Nimzowitsch Defence, The Pirc & Modern Defences and The Philidor Defence. ”

End of blurb…

and IM John Donaldson provided this review:

“Judging from the first volume of GM Justin Tan’s intended trilogy, there will be no such omissions in his 1.e4! The Chess Bible series. This massive 460-page volume covers the Alekhine, Nimzowitsch, Scandinavian, Pirc, Modern and Philidor in detail from White’s perspective.

While this is a big and detailed book there is plenty of prose to accompany the analysis, making this it accessible to players 2000 on up. Do note the suggested lines run the gamut from positional to aggressive, from the Classical variation versus the Pirc (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2) to the Four Pawns Attack against the Alekhine (1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.d4 d6 4.c4 Nb6 5.f4).

Tan has used all the existing tools to him, including strong engines, but his voice is always front and centre. This leads to advocacy for a number of previously unknown ideas. One example is his recommendation that 1.e4 Nc6 be met by 2.Nf3. One might think this purely a practical suggestion to sidestep learning extra theory, but they would be wrong. Tan believes 2.Nf3 to be the most principled to meet the Nimzowitsch as he is of the opinion that 1.e4 Nc6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.c3 e6 5.f4 f6 6.Nd2 g5! leads to astounding complications not unfavourable for the second player.

The main line of the Classical Pirc (1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Be2 0-0 6.0-0 Bg4 7.Be3 Nc6 8.Qd2 e5) has always enjoyed a reputation as a solid equalizer after 9.d5 and 9.dxe5. Tan proposes to sidestep this variation with 7.h3 Bxf3 8.Bxf3 e5 9.d5 Nbd7 10.g3!? with his main line continuing 10…Ne8 11.Kg2 f5 12.h4 f4 13.h5 g5 14.Rh1 Bh6 15.g4 with a slight but very pleasant edge as White has long-term prospects on the queenside and Black limited counterplay.

1.e4! The Chess Bible is a first-rate effort that even titled players will find of interest and can be recommended without reservation for players of expert strength and above.”

end of JD review

Justin in an Australian Grandmaster who is an 1.e4 specialist and known for his deep opening preparation. In this large book he looks at six popular defences to 1.e4 viz:

  1. The Alekhine
  2. The Nimzowitsch
  3. The Scandinavian
  4. The Pirc
  5. The Modern
  6. The Philidor

with 1…e5, 1…c5, 1..c6 and 1…e6 all being deferred for (a) separate volume(s).

Each chapter starts with an overview which serves to give the reader some basic foundations and highlights the general concepts of each of the above.

We will examine his choices one at a time.

Against the Alekhine Defence the author prefers the dangerous Four pawns attack 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 Nb6 5 f4

Several model games are given such as Kotronias v Short, Gibraltar, 2003. It is not often that Nigel has played the Alekhine as he usually plays 1…e5 or 1…e6 and here he is the runner-up.

Since this book is written from the White side the choice of these games is naturally designed to show how to play the White side.

The lines looked at in the Alekhine include the Fianchetto Variation 5…g6 The Alekhine Benoni 5…de5 6.fe5 c5 and the Main Line 6…Nc6.

Against the rarely played but interesting Nimzowitsch Defence 1…Nc6 Justin suggests 2.Nf3 when Black can go into the open game with 2…e5 (but, of course, this is not really in the spirit of this defence) which is not shown in this volume but will I expect to be covered in a subsequent volume.

Justin takes a look at the unusual move 2…f5 which has been played against myself on a few online occasions.

In Tony Miles favourite(!) openings book, author FM Eric Schiller dubs 2…f5 the Lean Variation or Colorado Counter: as Maurice Micklewhite famously never said: “And not many people know that!

The two main moves are, of course, 2…d5 which leads to a tricky line in the Scandinavian and the Main Line of 2…d6.

(Keen students of this web site will know I reviewed a specialist monograph on 1…Nc6 recently.)

Moving to colder climes we examine The Scandinavian Defence and Justin kicks-off by looking at 1.e4 d5 2.ed5 Nf6 3.d4 Bg4 which is the interesting Portuguese Variation but 4.f3 is the suggested test of Black’s play.

Justin is not impressed with this line showing that White remains in command. He then looks at the main line 3…Nd5 but 4.c4 Nb6 5.Nf3 is good for White.

The more popular 2…Qd5 3.Nc3 has analysis on 3…Qd8 considered inferior by Justin and then the popular Pytel-Wade (3…Qd6) Variation often played by Magnus Carlsen in banter blitz. It seems that Black is worse after 5…Bg4 6.h3

or 5…g6 6.Nb5 Qb6 7.a4.

More common is 5…c6 or 5…a6 but 6.g3 is a tricky line where both players need to know their theory in detail.

Justin next considers the Mieses Variation (3…Qa5) and best after 4.d4 Nf6 is 5.Bd2 which is a move that will make Black players think as it is unusual.

If the game continues 5…c6 6.Bc4 Bf5 7.Nf3 e6 8.Nd5 which has been played by Shirov.

If 5…Bg4 White can play 6.f3 where we see why Nf3 has been delayed.

The Modern 1..g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nf3 here the Gurgenidze System is Black’s most interesting reply of 3…c6 4.Nc3 d5 5.h3.

David Navara shows how to play if 5 de4 is played.

The Pribyl or Czech System 1..d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 c6 4.f4 Qa5 where 5.Bd3 the move I play leads to interesting play.

I once beat John Hickman in a game at Paignton in this line in 1998 and was surprised to win the best game prize.

In the Pirc 1…d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 bg7 a move that was popular with Anatoly Karpov is given.

After 5.Be2 00 6.00

and now 6…c6 6…a6 6…bg4 and 6…Nc6 are all analysed but White has a space advantage making life more easy for him to play.

Finally, the modern Philidor is examined. I was surprised to note that Justin does not look at the “old” Philidor 1…e5 2.Nf3 d6 but I expect this will appear in a later volume when he considers 1…e5 lines. The Modern Philidor is 1…d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 when Black does not mind an exchange of pawns on e5 and a Queen exchange. It is now seen as better to try 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.Bc4 when 5…Be7 is analysed. Now 6.a4 is regarded as best.

White is likely to follow-up with 00, h3 and Re1.

In summary, an interesting book for 1.e4 players with many original ideas. I’m looking to future volumes to learn what Justin recommends against Blacks two most popular moves 1…e5 and 1…c5 plus the Caro-Kann and the French.

Colin Lyne, Farnborough, Hampshire, 19th July, 2021

Colin Lyne
Colin Lyne

Book Details :

  • Paperback : 464 pages
  • Publisher: Thinkers Publishing; 1st edition (13 April 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9464201126
  • ISBN-13: 978-9464201123
  • Product Dimensions: 17.02 x 2.79 x 23.37 cm

Official web site of Thinkers Publishing

1.e4! The Chess Bible: The Chess Bible - Volume 1, Justin Tam, Thinker's Publishing, 13th April 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9464201123
1.e4! The Chess Bible: The Chess Bible – Volume 1, Justin Tam, Thinker’s Publishing, 13th April 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9464201123
 Save as PDF
2021, Books, Opening Theory, Reviews, Thinkers Publishing

The Modernized Anti-Sicilians : Volume 1, Rossolimo Variation

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The Modernized Anti-Sicilians - Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker's Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055
The Modernized Anti-Sicilians – Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker’s Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055

From the publisher:

“For too long, Anti-Sicilian rhetoric has centred on the logic of simplicity, geared towards reaching playable positions with easy plans while simultaneously avoiding depths of theory. The danger of this logic is the ease with which we can fall into the trap of inactivity; of mindlessly playing an opening without striving to trouble Black; of solely playing an Anti-Sicilian to avoid theory. In contrast, throughout the volumes I will advocate an active approach – with continuous underlying themes of achieving rapid development, dynamic piece play and dominant central control, with an important focus on denying Black the counterplay that he seeks when choosing the Sicilian Defence.”

IM Ravi Haria, 2019 British Championships, Torquay, courtesy of John Upham Photography
IM Ravi Haria, 2019 British Championships, Torquay, courtesy of John Upham Photography

“Ravi Haria (born 1999) is one of England’s youngest International Masters, and the current holder of the British U21 title. Alongside his career as a chess player and trainer, Ravi reads History at University College London. This is his first book for Thinkers Publishing and his first book ever.”

As with every recent Thinkers Publishing publication high quality paper is used and the printing is clear. We were hoping that the excellent glossy paper of previous titles would be used for this one but never mind.

Each diagram is clear and the instructional text is 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 and each diagram has a “to move” indicator and a “position after: x move” type caption.

There is no Index or Index of Variations but, despite that, content navigation is relatively straightforward as the Table of Contents is detailed.

After

Rossolimo starting position
Rossolimo starting position

the main content is divided into five Parts viz:

  1. Sidelines
  2. 3…Nf6
  3. 3…d6
  4. 3…e6
  5. 3…g6

In the BCN office we have on our shelves

Sicilian Defence 9, Rossolimo Variation, LM Picket, The Chess Player,`1977, ISBN-13 : 978-0900928918
Sicilian Defence 9, Rossolimo Variation, LM Picket, The Chess Player,`1977, ISBN-13 : 978-0900928918

from 1977 and to spend 77 pages covering a third move minor alternative to the Open Sicilian (3.d4) was unusual for this time.

In 2021 we have the first book from IM Ravi Hari impressively weighing in at just under 1 kg and covering 520 densely packed pages.

Rossolimo ponders his move at a simultaneous exhibition, 1951.
Rossolimo ponders his move at a simultaneous exhibition, 1951.

In 2021 3.Bb5 is easily the second most popular alternative to Morphy’s 3.d4 Open Sicilian. Megabase 2020 (with updates) records 67354 games as against 246585 games for the “main line” so the market for a comprehensive treatise is overwhelmingly compelling.

Here is the detailed Table of Contents:

Table of Contents for The Modernized Anti-Sicilians - Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker's Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055
Table of Contents for The Modernized Anti-Sicilians – Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker’s Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055

and here is an excerpt of the content.

Before we delve into the meat and potatoes here is a game from the author himself in this very line:

This superb book is suitable for anyone wishing to play a sound, dynamic system against 2…Nc6 in the Sicilian. The author stresses that the aim of the publication is to provide active lines to make black’s life difficult and stifle the counterplay that Sicilian players crave. Many of the world’s top players play this system including the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen.

I wouldn’t describe the book as a pure narrow repertoire book of the type “white to play and win against a particular opening” as it’s coverage of the opening is extensive and suggests alternative white systems against all of the main lines. As the author points out, this variation of opening preparation is vital to avoid being too predictable. Nevertheless, the title is targeted more towards the white side.

It is perfectly suitable for any club player who wishes to learn this system from scratch or any old hand of the the Rossolimo who wishes to refresh their opening knowledge. Despite my comment above, the volume is also extremely useful for a black player preparing against the Rossolimo.

One of the great strengths of the tome is the textual clarification of the ideas and plans; there is some dense analysis where necessary but it is accompanied with erudite explanation.

Part 1 covers the sidelines.

In the Queen’s Gambit series, Beth Harmon plays 3…Qb6?! against Vassily Borgov at their first over the board encounter.

Sideline Qb6
Sideline 3…Qb6

Borgov replies 4.a4 and wins a good game.

However, the author recommends the more natural 4.Nc3

Position after 4.Nc3
Position after 4.Nc3

4…e6 4…g6 5.d4!

Position after 5.d4!
Position after 5.d4!

4…Nf6 5.e5 Ng4 6. Bxc6

Position after 6.Bxc6
Position after 6.Bxc6

6…bxc6 (6…dxc6 7.0-0 g6 8.Re1 Bg7 9.h3 Nh6 10.Ne4 0-0 11.d3 with a huge edge) 7.h3 Nh6 8.0-0 Nf5 9.Na4 Qa5 10.b3 followed by 11.Ba3 with a massive advantage.

5.Bxc6! Qxc6 6.d4 cxd4 7.Nxd4

Position after 7.Nxd4
Position after 7.Nxd4

White has a significant lead in development which is definitely more important than the bishop pair.

7…Qc7 8.0-0 a6 9.Re1

Position after 9.Re1
Position after 9.Re1

White has a healthy lead in development. Now there are ideas of Nd5 and Nf5

9…d6 10.Bf4!

Position after 10.Bf4!
Position after 10.Bf4!

10…e5 11.Nd5 Qd8

Position after 11...Qd8
Position after 11…Qd8

12.Nf5!?

12.Be3 is the positional continuation which is also good, a possible continuation is 12…Nf6 (12…exd4? 13.Bxd4 followed by Bb6 and Nc7+ exploiting the weak dark squares) 13.Ne2 Nxd5 14.Qxd5

Position after 14.Qxd5
Position after 14.Qxd5

14…Qc7 15.Qd2 Be7 16.Nc3 Be6 17.Nd5! Bxd5 18.Qxd5 and white has a pleasant  positional edge.

12…exf4 13.Qd4!

Position after 13.Qxd4!
Position after 13.Qxd4!

13…Ne7 (13…Nf6 14.Nb6 Be6 15.Nxa8 Qxa8 16.e5 dxe5 17.Qxe5 Rg8 18.Rad1 winning) 14.Nxg7+ (Stockfish prefers 14.Nf6+ gxf6 15.Nxd6+ Qxd6 16.Qxd6 Ng6 17.Qxf6 Be6 18.Rad1 Be7 19.Qg7 Rc8 White has a queen and 2 pawns for two bishops and knight but black is solid.)

 14…Bxg7 15.Qxg7 Kd7 16.Qxf7 Qf8 17.Qxf8 Rxf8 18.Nb6+ Kc6 19.Nxa8 Be6 20.Rad1 Rxa8 21.Rd3 With a superior endgame but black can fight.

Position after 21.Rd3
Position after 21.Rd3

Part 2 covers 3…Nf6

After 4.Nc3 this position is reached:

Position after 4.Nc3
Position after 4.Nc3

Here we are going to cover 4…e5? which has been played by both Carlsen and Kramnik. The bust is shown by Ravi.

5.Bxc6 dxc6 (5…bxc6 6.Nxe5 Qe7 7.Nf3! Nxe4 8.0-0 winning) 6.Nxe5

Position after 6.Nxe5
Position after 6.Nxe5

Nxe4 (6…Qe7 7.f4 wins a pawn) 7.Nxe4 Qd4 8.Qe2! Qxe5 9.f4!

Position after 9.f4!
Position after 9.f4!

9…Qxf4 10.d4 Qh4+ 11.g3 Qe7 12.Bg5!

Position after 12.Bg5!
Position after 12.Bg5!

12…Qe6 13,0-0 h6 14.Rae1! hxg5 15.Rxf7!

Position after 15.Rxf7!
Position after 15.Rxf7!

With a winning attack. One possible continuation is 15…Be7 16.Qf2 Qg6 17.Nxg5 Qxg5 18.h4 Qd5 19.Rfxe7+ Kd8 20.dxc5 Bd7 21.R7e5! Qaz2 22.Rd1 winning

Position after 22.Rd1!
Position after 22.Rd1!

For example 22…Re8 fails to 23.Rxd7+

Section 3 covers 3…d6

After these moves:

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.Bb5+ Nc6 4.0-0 Bd7 5.Re1 Nf6 6.c3 a6 7.Bf1 Bg4 8.d4 cxd4 9.cxd4

Here is one of the important positions in this line. Black has a key choice here about which pawn to push to challenge white’s pawn duo in the centre 9…e5 or 9…e5. The two moves lead to significantly different type of positions.

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 9
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 9 Black to move

I shall show a variation from 9…d5 10.e5

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 10
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 10

Black has three knight moves here 10…Ne4, 10…Nd7 and 10…Ng8

After 10…Nd7 white has an interesting pawn sacrifice to disrupt black’s position. 11.e6!

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 11
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 11

Black can recapture with the bishop or the pawn, after 11…Bxe6 this short line shows the typical dangers for black 12.Nc3 Nf6? A natural move that leads to big problems for black. 13.Rxe6! fxe6 14.g3! How does black defend the e6 pawn and develop?

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 1 Move 14
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 1 Move 14

A typical line could be 14…g6 15.Bh3 Bg7 16.Ng5 0-0 17.Nxe6 Qc8 18.Kg2 with a big plus for white who can improve his position further before taking back the exchange.

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 1 Move 18
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 1 Move 18

After 11…fxe6

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 12
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 12

12.Nc3 the game continued 12…e5?! A desperate freeing move, 12…g6 is much better

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 13
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 13

This is decisively refuted by 13.Nxd5 Qa5 

A pretty line is 13…Nxd4 14.Nxd4! A lovely queen sacrifice, the horses trample over black

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 14
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 14

14…Bxd1 15.Ne6 Qc8 16.Ndc7+ Kf7 17.Ng5+

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 17
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 17

17…Kf6 (17…Kg6 18.Bd3+ e4 19.Bxe4+ Kh5 20.Nxa8 winning)18.Nd5+ Kg6 19.Bd3+ Kh5 20.Rxd1 winning

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 20
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Variation 2 Move 20

The king will be mated after h3 and g4 whilst black’s sleeping army looks on.

Back to the game: 14.Bc4 Bxf4 15.gxf3 e6 16.Bd2 Qd8 17.Nf4! with a huge attack.

Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 17
Pospisil-Rodriguez ICCF email 2017 Move 17

Section 4 covers 3…e6  which is one of the main continuations. The author gives two distinct variations here: 4.0-0 followed by d4 or the slower 4.0-0 followed by 5.Re1.

Here is a smooth game by Magnus Carlsen against Boris Gelfand in the second system suggested.

Magnus Carlsen (2872) – Boris Gelfand  (2740)
FIDE Candidates London (10)  27.03.2013

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 e6 4.0-0 Nge7 5.Re1 a6
6.Bf1 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.d4 Nf6 9.Be3

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 9
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 9

9…cxd4 (9…Nd5 has been tried 10.Bg5! The critical move 10…f6 11.Bc1! (11.c4!? is also slightly better for white) 10.Nxd4

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 10
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 10

10…Bd7 (10…Nxd4 11.Bxd4 Be7 12.a4!?)

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation 2 Move 12
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation 2 Move 12

With the idea of Na3  and Nc4 leading to a slight edge for white.

11.c4

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 11
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 11

This is the idea. White has a bit more space and a queenside majority. Black of course has a healthy and solid position though. 11…Nxd4 (11…Be7 12.Nc3 0-0 13.Nf3!? White has been quite successful with this move, and this is an argument for Gelfand’s choice, securing relieving exchanges before it is too late.;
11…Bb4!? is simply wrong: 12.Nc3

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation 1 Move 12
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation 1 Move 12

Bxc3 13.bxc3 0-0 14.Nb3 White’s activity and powerful dark squared bishop more than compensates for the structural weaknesses. 12.Bxd4 Bc6 13.Nc3 Be7 14.a3!?

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 14
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 14

a5!? (14…0-0 15.b4 is what White wants, but as usual only a slight edge.) 15.Qd3 0-0 (15…a4?! is an ambitious attempt, but after 16.Rad1 0-0 17.Qg3 White’s initiative is powerful)

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 16
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 16

16.Rad1 The author likes 16.Nb5! exploiting the hole, after 16…Bxb5 17.cxb5 white has the bishop pair but black has d5 for the knight.

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 16 Black To Move
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 16 Black To Move

16…Qc7 16…a4 17. Qg3! Qb8 18.Nd5!

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation Move 18
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation 3 Move 18

 17.Be5 Qb6 18.Qg3 Rfd8 19.Rxd8+ Qxd8 20.Rd1

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation Move 20
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Variation Move 20

Qb6 [20…Qf8!? this defensive move is better, after 21.Bd3!? White remains comfortably placed.] 21.Bd4 Qb3 22.Rd3 22…Qc2 23.b4! axb4 24.axb4 Nh5 25.Qe5 Bf6 26.Qxh5 Bxd4 27.Rxd4 Qxc3 28.Qa5! The point behind 23.b4, without this, White wouldn’t even be better. But now with this intermezzo, White just manages to coordinate in time, and thus his queenside majority secures a huge edge. 28…Rf8 29.Qb6 White went on to win a nice game.

Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 29
Carlsen-Gelfand London 2013 Move 29

Section 5 covers 3…g6 which is arguably the critical continuation. The author offers two different systems against this line: either capturing on c6 immediately or playing 4.0-0 and 5.c3.

Here is an instructive game using the first suggested system which is a superb win by Michael Adams over Vladimir Kramnik in 2000, which was played just before Kramnik defeated Garry Kasparov for the Classical World Chess Championship.

Michael Adams (2755) – Vladimir Kramnik (2770)
Dortmund Super GM  (4), 10.07.2000

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 4
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 4

Black’s has a major decision here on which way to recapture the bishop. The recapture with the b-pawn is more aggressive.

4…dxc6 5.d3 Bg7 6.h3 Nf6 7.Nc3

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 7
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 7

A key early position in this line.  Black normally arranges to play e5 here to increase his share of the centre. There are essentially three different ways to do this. Kramnik chooses the direct route with a standard knight manoeuvre  to d7 to support the e5 advance. This knight is then often routed round to d4 via f8 & e6.

7…Nd7 8.0-0 e5 Preventing d4 for the time being 9.Be3 0-0

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 10
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 10

A tabiya in this line.

Ravi accompanies this diagram with some typical erudite advice about white’s plans here:

“It’s worth taking a step back and understanding what we’re playing for. As Black has castled quickly, he’s signalled that he doesn’t mind us playing Be3, Qd2 and Bh6 – in an attempt to exchange off the dark-squared bishops. The resulting positions will always be slightly better for White, but Black will maintain that he’s very solid. As there are often a great deal of possibilities, I’ve elected to show some model games rather than analyse endless variations- but the model games are excellent in demonstrating key ideas in these lines. Our plan usually remains the same – exchange off dark-squared bishops, attempt to create a queenside weakness with a2-a4, and at the right moment push f2-f4, possibly entering into an endgame if circumstances are favourable.”

10.Qd2 Re8 11.Nh2

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 11
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 11

White’s position is harmonious and certainly easier to play. He has a lead in development as black has yet to activate his queenside. The bishop pair is not really an advantage in this type of position, but black is hoping that the bishop pair will be a long term factor. White has three minor pieces to exploit the weakened black squares on black’s kingside whereas black has only two to defend them.

11…Qe7 (11…b6 has been played in many correspondence games 12. Bh6 Bh8 13. Rae1 a5!? 14.Nd1!

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 1 Move 14
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 1 Move 14

An excellent repositioning suggested by the author to improve the horse, followed by Ne3 and f2-f4) 12.Bh6 Bh8

Black keeps this bishop, 12…Nf8 is an alternative but the author demonstrates with two example games how quickly black can succumb with his weakened kingside. The reviewer will showcase one of these games. 13. Bxg7 Kxg7

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 2 Move 14
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 2 Move 14

The obvious move 14.f4 is good here, as well as Robin  Van Kampen’s 14.Ne2. Stockfish  prefers 14.f4 and gives 14…gxf4 15.Rxf4 Ne6 16.Rff1! avoiding the queen exchange after 16…Qg5 17.Qf2! as pointed out by Ravi. After 14.Ne2 Ne6 15.Kh1 b6 16.a4! Classy play creating queenside weaknesses.

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 2 Move 16
Van Kampen-Ribera Bazan Tromso 2014 Move 16

16…a5 17.b3 Ra7 18.f4! exf4 19.Nxf4 Nxf4 (19…Nd4 looks better retaining the good knight) 20.Rxf4

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 2 Move 20
Van Kampen-Ribera Bazan Tromso 2014 Move 20

This position is much better for white as black’s dark squares are weak and his bishop is snuffed out by white’s superb pawn structure. White’s rooks will also be very active on the half open f-file. It’s not surprising that black collapsed quickly. 20…Qe5 (20…f6 21. Raf1 Rf8 22. Qc3 white is clearly better: 23. Nf3 followed by e5 looks good) 21.Raf1 Kg8 22.Rf6!Be6 23.Qh6 Qd6 24.Nf3 Qf8 25.Qf4 Rd7 26.Ne5 winning

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 2 Move 26
Van Kampen-Ribera Bazan Tromso 2014 Move 26

13.Ng4

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 13
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 13

13…Nf8 (13…Nf6 14.f3! Nh5 15.Ne2! Nf4 16.Nxf4 exf4 17.c3 g5 18.h4 f6 19. g3!)

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 3 Move 19
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Variation 3 Move 19

Black’s position is crumbling on the dark squares.

 14.Bg5! A typical probing move

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 14
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 14

14…f6 15.Nh6+ Kg7 16.Be3 Ne6

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 17
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 17

The author suggests 17.Rae1 as an improvement athough Stockfish likes 17.Kh1 as well.

17.Ne2 Ng5

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 18
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 18

18.Ng4 (18.f4! also leads to a white advantage 18…exf4 19.Bxf4 Kxh6 20,h4) 18…h5 (18…Bxg4? is a positional mistake, see Leko-Van Wely Monte Carlo 2003) 19.Nh2

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 19
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 19

Although white’s knight has been pushed back, black has had to weaken his kingside to do this. This is exploited neatly by Adams. As Arnie says, “I’ll be back”.

19…Rd8 20.Qc3 Ne6 (Finally completing the manoeuvre started on move 7) 21.f4 Nd4 22.Rae1 Kh7 23.Nf3 Be6 24.fxe5 fxe5 25.Ng5+ I’m back! White is more comfortable here but black can hold. His super knight on d4 is the pride of his position.

Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 25
Adams-Kramnik Dortmund 2000 Move 25

25…Kg8 26.Nxe6 removing the better bishop 26…Nxe6  White has a definite edge here, but black is solid. Adams went on to outplay Kramnik in this position.

In summary, this is an excellent book which will give any white player a very good grounding in the Rossolimo Variation. All the major variations are covered with a significant number of original suggestions and analysis. Buy this book !

The reviewer is looking forward with great interest to the next volumes in Ravi Haria’s Anti-Sicilian series. I am guessing that he will cover the Moscow Variation 3.Bb5+ against 2…d6. I am intrigued as to what the author will suggest against 2…e6.

FM Richard Webb
FM Richard Webb

FM Richard Webb, Basingstoke, Hampshire, 18th July 2021

Book Details :

  • Hardcover : 280 pages
  • Publisher:Thinkers Publishing; 1st edition (28 Jan. 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9464201053
  • ISBN-13: 978-9464201055
  • Product Dimensions: 17.02 x 23.5 cm

Official web site of Thinkers Publishing

The Modernized Anti-Sicilians - Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker's Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055
The Modernized Anti-Sicilians – Volume 1: Rossolimo Variation, Ravi Haria, Thinker’s Publishing, 2021, SBN-13 : 978-9464201055
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2021, Books, Reviews

The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!

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The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!: Jonathan Arnott & Rosie Irwin

The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!, Jonathan Arnott & Rosie Irwin, Steel City Press (17 May 2021), ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1913047245
The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!, Jonathan Arnott & Rosie Irwin, Steel City Press (17 May 2021), ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1913047245

From the publisher:

The game of chess has hundreds of child-friendly books, but what about the adult beginner inspired by The Queen’s Gambit Netflix series? Rosie Irwin is the perfect example: just like the title character, she’s had her own struggles with mental health and trauma. She accepted the challenge, and chess has developed the confidence. Coached by Jonathan Arnott – a former teacher, politician and chess Candidate Master – it’s been a steep learning curve. In January 2021, Rosie knew nothing about chess but the rules of the game. She’s now playing matches against opponents with 40+ years of experience.

This book is a must for any aspiring player. To go from reading Dostoyevsky to Dvoretsky would be a total culture shock. Whilst claiming to be neither, the authors’ conversational style offers a rare insight into the thought processes needed to move from beginner to tournament player. It is a ‘gateway’ book with stories and anecdotes mixed with chess learning, helping the reader to get to know Rosie whilst joining her on her chess journey. The title of this book (The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!) illustrates Rosie’s acceptance of the challenge and the chess terminology that any gambit can be ‘accepted’. Don’t expect a dry chess book full of diagrams and notation without any story.

Rosie Irwin never considered playing chess until she saw The Queen’s Gambit and was inspired to take up the game, identifying with the lead character’s emotional struggles. Within a couple of months, she had learned enough from Jonathan to compete in league matches against experienced opponents.

Rosie Irwin
Rosie Irwin

Jonathan Arnott has decades of teaching and chess coaching experience. He has captained the Yorkshire county side, represented White Rose in the European Club Cup (the ‘Champions League’ of chess) and captained Chessable White Rose to victory in the inaugural online Four Nations Chess League.

Jonathan Arnott
Jonathan Arnott

A story I remember, a very long time ago now, concerned a young boy who was passionate about butterflies and moths. He saw a title in a bookshop which sounded like just what he wanted, but when he took it home he was disappointed with the contents. The book was called Instructions for Young Mothers.

Likewise, if you buy this book because you’re eager to find out what to play after 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4, you’ll also be disappointed. You have to spot the dash, and perhaps also the exclamation mark.

This is a book for adult beginners, targeting in particular those who perhaps learnt the moves in childhood and developed an interest after watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix. It works on two levels. At one level it provides a lot of helpful advice for beginners, but at another level it tells Rosie’s story about how chess can help those who are struggling with some aspect of their lives.

At the start of the book, Rosie introduces herself.

Beth Harmon is messed up. So was I. I still am, in fact…

I’ve suffered some serious trauma and depression. I’ve battled with self-harm and all kinds of issues, just like Beth…

I have Aspergers. I can sometimes panic in social situations. Too many people, too much crowding, can be a problem. On 64 squares, nothing else matters. 

While spending time with her parents she happened to watch The Queen’s Gambit, got hooked on the game and contacted Jonathan, a chess playing friend, asking for help.

After an introduction offering 10 things you need to know before reading the book, we start at the end.

This is a very good place to start as well. There’s so much Rosie can learn from this position. In general, when you can and can’t win with king and pawn against king. The opposition. And, when you promote successfully, how to mate with king and queen against king.

Jonathan is clearly an excellent teacher. He understands that learning to do simple things well is more important than trying to do complicated things badly. His teaching style involves using Socratic questioning to lead Rosie to the correct answers, and to improve her play.

The next chapter takes a different approach: Impostor Syndrome. The feeling that you’re not good enough, that you don’t deserve what you’ve got. Although the chapter itself is, more generally, about lack of self-confidence, and Impostor Syndrome is only one of many reasons for lacking self-confidence.

Rosie, like many players at this level, loses a quick game against the Fried Liver Attack, which dents her self-confidence and exacerbates her already present anxiety. Jonathan invites her to play online against some junior beginners he’s also coaching, but she feels unable to do so.

Here’s Jonathan:

When you’re coaching chess, you never teach opening theory to beginners. The last thing you want is for a beginner to learn a few moves parrot-fashion without having the slightest clue what they mean. 

I agree with him, but, as he explains, there are exceptions, and this is one.

There’s no reason for a beginner who doesn’t know the position to play anything other than 5… Nxd5 here, but experienced players will be aware it’s a poor move. So Jonathan shows Rosie 5… b5, an excellent move at this level. Beginners are very unlikely to find 6. Bf1, the only move to pose Black any problems.

The book continues with a mixture of instructive tips from Jonathan, extracts from Rosie’s games, and psychological insights.

In this position Rosie has built up an impressive attack and now found the splendid 17… Ng4!, when capturing either piece leads to immediate mate so White had to give up material with Rf2. Jonathan adds that 1… Bxg3!! 18. hxg3 Qxg3+ 19. Kh1 and now the same idea, 19… Ng4, was even stronger. Some instructive attacking ideas there, I think.

Here’s Rosie, explaining how the chess pieces might help with her depression:

Take all the pieces off the board. Look at each one in turn and gain a deeper understanding of each of them. My family? The King.  My friendships? The Rook. My faith? The Bishop. My love life? The Knight. And many many pawns: my crafts, my hobbies…each of them contribute to the ‘position’ of my life.

And me, you ask? Well, obviously, I must be the Queen…

I suppose readers of a certain age might be reminded of this, but, coincidentally, I had occasion to write something similar about how I saw the pieces only the other day. It’s all about the power of chess to enable you to tell stories which can help explain and improve your life.

Here’s another snapshot from one of Rosie’s games.

She’d learnt about sacrifices on f7 and thought this position looked like an ideal opportunity.

The game continued 6. Bxf7+? Kxf7 7. Ng5+ Kf6?? 8. Qf3+ Nf5, when 9. Nd5 would have been a pretty checkmate. She missed that, but still won a couple of moves later. Jonathan correctly pointed out that if Black had preferred 7… Ke8 she’d have had very little for the sacrificed piece.

This sort of thing happens over and over again at this level. I remember, about 45 years ago, teaching Légal’s Mate at Richmond Junior Club. I knew that one of my pupils had a school match coming up that week and, next Saturday I asked him how he got on. “Mr James!”, he exclaimed. “You made me lose!” It transpired he’d tried the same thing in a slightly different position where there was no mate, so he just lost his queen. An important lesson for him, and for me as well. Rosie was fortunate to get away with her unsound sacrifice here.

It’s great that books are now being published which consider the psychological aspects of chess. Instruction in any skill-based discipline should include generic skills, of which these are a part, as well as domain-specific knowledge and skills.

The important subject of confidence – which, if you like, is one aspect of mindset – is covered in several places. We learn, as you’ve already seen, about the dangers of lacking self-confidence, and, later on, about over-confidence.

Rosie makes good progress, but then things become too easy, she starts playing too quickly on autopilot, and, by now playing stronger opponents, she made mistakes and lost game after game.

She describes this as the Dunning-Kruger Effect, but my understanding of D-K is something slightly different: overestimating your ability at the start rather than becoming over-confident as you improve.

While I’m no expert myself, just an interested layman, I’m not sure this book always uses the right terminology.

(On a slightly different point, because of recent allegations concerning Hans Asperger’s supposed Nazi sympathies – see here, for example – many people prefer not to use his name as it might cause offence. Perhaps Jonathan and Rosie are both unaware of this.)

Although it’s not a complete course for adult beginners (you’ll have to look elsewhere for that), it still contains a lot of chess wisdom. This book is to be welcomed for several reasons. It will be a great purchase – or a great present – for anyone who has been inspired to take up chess by watching The Queen’s Gambit, especially those who can empathise with Rosie in some way. If you’re a female who wants to play like Beth Harmon, if you’re struggling, or have struggled in the past, with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues, or if you’re on the autism spectrum, I’m sure you’ll find much of value here, for its psychological as well as its chess insights. Players above the beginner level may also find it helpful in many ways, as will anyone involved in coaching adult beginners.

For several decades now, the chess world has been unhealthily obsessed with young children, prodigies and champions. My view is that chess, in general, is much more suited to older children and adults, and, equally, that older children and adults are more suited to competitive chess than younger children.

Perhaps the world will come to its senses and we’ll see more books written for older beginners, novices and improvers. Perhaps we’ll also see a greater understanding that everyone, from beginners to grandmasters, can benefit from chess in all sorts of ways. Perhaps we’ll also realise that chess can be attractive to girls and women, not just to boys and men.

 

Richard James, Twickenham 22nd June 2021

Richard James
. Richard James

Book Details :

  • Softback : 224 (softback)  pages
  • Publisher:  Steel City Press (17 May 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10:1913047245
  • ISBN-13:978-1913047245

Official web site of Steel City Press

The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!, Jonathan Arnott & Rosie Irwin, Steel City Press (17 May 2021), ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1913047245
The Queen’s Gambit – Accepted!, Jonathan Arnott & Rosie Irwin, Steel City Press (17 May 2021), ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1913047245
 Save as PDF
2021, Books, Opening Theory, Reviews, Thinkers Publishing

Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3

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Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3, Pentala Harikrishna, Thinker's Publishing, 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9492510976
Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3, Pentala Harikrishna, Thinker’s Publishing, 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9492510976

“GM Pentala Harikrishna is an established elite player who has been in India’s Olympiad team for over two decades. Since November 2016 Harikrishna has often entered the top 10 of the world rankings, and has consistently stayed in the top 20.

His peak rating is 2770 and he is well known for his exceptional endgame skills as well as for the ability to convert positions with a slight or even no advantage. Harikrishna learned chess from his grandfather at the age of 4, and swiftly progressed up through age-group tournaments until he became a grandmaster at age 14.

He has been World Junior Champion (2004) and Asian Individual Champion (2011). As part of the Indian national team, he has won bronze medals at the World Team Chess Championship, gold and bronze at the Asian Games, and silver (twice) at the Asian Team Championship. He has also won many major open and invitational tournaments, including the Marx Gyorgy Memorial (2006), Tata Steel Group B (2012), Biel MTO (2013), Edmonton International (2015) and Poker Stars Isle of Man (2015).”

GM Pentala Harikrishna
GM Pentala Harikrishna

From the publisher  we have this extensive blurb:

“The French Defence was my main opening with Black while I was striving towards the GM title at the turn of the century. Quite often, I was able to use it to drag my opponent into a complicated maze of deep analysis, so I have intimate knowledge of the tricks used on the other side of the ‘barricades’. This helped me craft a solid base for our present repertoire, and many of the ideas presented in the book have brought me fine victories against some of the strongest French exponents as well.”

“At times, this means suggesting the 2nd or 3rd choice of the engine. He builds on the material from his earlier French course (Chessable, May 2019) and has expanded it with new analysis in all the lines, especially the 3…Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 variation. Harikrishna analyses both 5.Nce2 and 5.f4, so that the reader may make an informed choice about their personal preference. The driving force throughout is to keep the book clear-cut and practical. A good example of a practical weapon is the deceptively simple 3…Bb4 4.exd5 line. There are also fresh and interesting suggestions against the side lines you are likely to encounter, especially at shorter time controls. The entire Thinkers Publishing team joins with the author in wishing you enjoyment and success from this exceptional book”

End of blurb…

It is rare that one of the  World’s top ten players would write a book on opening theory but here Hari, as he is commonly called,  obliges. He has had a peak rating  of 2770 and has been a member of India’s very strong Olympiad team for around two decades .

So, the starting position of this rather large (456 pages) tome is

and this book is written from the perspective of the first player striving to take on the French Defence with 3.Nc3. Of course it will also be of considerable interest to the second player.

Chapter 1 is entitled “Odds and Ends” in which Hari examines  unusual Black 3rd moves .

He kicks off with 3…c5 which is a good move in a Tarrasch (3.Nd2) context  but a clear mistake against 3.Nc3 as White trivially wins a pawn after White takes on d5 and c5 ending up with a 4 to 2 queen side majority and the d4 square in his control  with the following position after 8.Ne4:

Next comes 3…a6 where both 4.Nf3 and 4.Bd3 are discussed . The most critical line here would appear to be 4.Nf3 Nf6; 5.e5 where in the main line Whites Q eventually comes to g4 putting black under pressure on the K side.

3…h6 is a curious third move alternative, but, as Hari points out it stops Black from getting in the Nimzowitschian style …f6 break as now g6 is horribly weakened.

Finally, 3…Be7 is covered but after 4.e5 c5; 5 Qg4 then puts black under pressure.

Both Chapters 2 and 3 look at the black reply 3…Nc6 (a idea of Aron Nimzowitsch) which has always seemed an illogical move to me in the French by blocking …c5.

After 3…Nc6 Hari first looks at 4.Nf3 then in the Chapter 3 4.e5 when 4…f6 is given as the black’s main line usually followed by 5.Nf3 Bd7; 6.Bd3 fxe5; 7.dxe5 Nb4; 8.Ng5 turns out to be good for white according to the author:

In this line black can play 5…fxe5 immediately but after 6.dxe5 Nh6 7.Bg5! again leaves White with advantage.

Chapter 4 brings the reader to the Rubinstein Variation (also ECO code C10) where black plays 3…dxe4 when after 4.Nxe4 options such as 4…Nf6 4…Qd5 and 4…Bd7 attract attention.

According to the author none of these achieve equality but 4…Bd7 is given the most analysis since it is not easy to show an advantage for white. Furthermore, 5.Nf3 Bc6; 6.Bd3 alternatives such as 6…Be4; 6…Nf6 and 6…Nd7 are all interesting tries. White usually plays ideas including c3 and Ne5 to maintain an edge.

Chapter 5 continues to look at the Rubinstein when 4…Nd7 is considered to be the main line. Hari recommends an usual approach for white which we will not reveal here: buy the book!

Chapter 6 progresses to more classical territory with the hugely popular 3…Nf6 (ECO C11 – C14) when 4.e5 Nfd7 and now 5.Nce2 is analysed in considerable depth through to the end of chapter 9.

Club French players will be expecting (and hoping for no doubt) 5.f4 or 5.Nf3 and therefore 5.Nce2 could well throw them off their stride. 5.Nce2 scores well at the highest levels (56%) and is in the armoury of Carlsen, Grischuk, Anand and Nepomniachtchi and consequently deserves much respect.

In this line White intends the usual c3 following …c5 and often will relocate his N from e2 to f4.

Having said all of that 5.f4, which Hari starts to look at in Chapter 10, seems (to me at least) to be the “best” move. Clearly it is the most popular continuation.

The “main line” continues 5…c5; 6.Nf3 where 6…Be7; 7.Be3 b6; 8.Qd2 00; 9.Nd1 is given.

Although this line leads to a white advantage the more aggressive “Williamsesque” 9.h4 which features in some of the other lines should be considered by white players, especially those who love to attack.

Chapter 11 consider 6…Nc6; 7.Be3 Be7; 8.Qd2 is looked at and Black can play …a6 and …b5 here but Whites plan here is Be2 and 00 as Q side castling is somewhat playing into blacks hand.

Instead Black can try 8…00 instead when White is best capturing on c5.

The older line 5.f4 c5; 6.Nf3 Nc6; 7.Be3 Qb6 has always been regarded as slightly suspect and Hari takes a look at this in Chapter 14.

Usually White plays b4 and black sacrifices a piece and although it leads to exciting chess the verdict remains the same. A well prepared white player should be delighted to see this line. The key word in all of this is, of course, “well”

Better perhaps is 7…cxd4 and Chapter 15 examines this: probably much tougher for white to crack. After 8.Nxd4 Qb6 the author provides a large quantity of analysis in this poisoned pawn style line where White sacrifices a pawn with 9.Qd2 and black rightly accepts the challenge with 9…Qxb2.

Finally(!) Hari leads us to the Winawer Variation but here he shocks the white player with his suggestion. To find out what this is you will need to buy the book!

I generally play the Tarrasch but my next bunch of email and postal games will definitely feature 3.Nc3 ! I’m keen to try out the authors suggestions and so should you be!

Colin Lyne, Farnborough, Hampshire, 19th June, 2021

Colin Lyne
Colin Lyne

Book Details :

  • Paperback : 456 pages
  • Publisher: Thinkers Publishing; 1st edition (28 Jan. 2021)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 9492510979
  • ISBN-13: 978-9492510976
  • Product Dimensions: 16.51 x 2.54 x 22.86 cm

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Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3, Pentala Harikrishna, Thinker's Publishing, 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9492510976
Beat the French Defense with 3.Nc3, Pentala Harikrishna, Thinker’s Publishing, 2021, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-9492510976
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