Remembering William Ewart Napier (17-i-1881 06-ix-1952)
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Happy Birthday IM Lorin D’Costa (05-ix-1984)
We wish Happy Birthday to IM Lorin D’Costa.
Lorin Alexander R D’Costa was born on Wednesday, September 5th 1984. “What’s Love Got To Do With It” by Tina Turner was number one in the UK singles chart. His mother’s maiden name was Antheunis. He studied Dutch and Management at University College, London. See here for an interview.
According to Wikipedia : “Lorin is a masculine given name. The meaning of Lorin derives from a bay or laurel plant; of Laurentum (wreathed/crowned with laurel). Laurentum, in turn is from laurus (laurel), from the place of laurel trees, laurel branch, laurel wreath. Laurentum was also a city in ancient Italy.”
Lorin was born in Lambeth, London and became a FIDE Master in 2004 and an International Master in 2008.
His first ever BCF/ECF grading was 36D in July 1994 aged 10 but his grading very quickly improved :
His peak FIDE rating was 2485 in April 2009.
Lorin has the unique distinction of gaining the title of “Strat” four times for winning the UK Chess Challenge Terafinal in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Only four other players have won the title more than once : Peter Poobalasingam, Félix José Ynojosa Aponte, Marcus Harvey and Koby Kalavannan.
Lorin plays for Hendon in the London League and 4NCL Barbican in the Four Nations Chess League.
Lorin was Southern Counties (SCCU) champion for the 2008-09 season.
Lorin became a Director of Lorinchess Ltd in March 2020 and currently resides in Wembley, Middlesex.
Lorin started his 4NCL career in 1999 with Barbican and has been loyal all the way to 2019.
With the white pieces Lorin prefers the Queen’s Gambit but does also play 1.e4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 so a fairly wide repertoire.
As the second player Lorin prefers the Sicilian Kan and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.
Here is a convincing win against Ian Nepomniachtchi from Budva, 2009 :
In 2012 Lorin and Nick Murphy created Chess on Toast and published a series of introductory DVDs including :
Lorin has authored several chess books and DVDs including :
and several Chessbase DVDs including :
Save as PDFIn the Zone : The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
From the rear cover :
“A winning streak in chess, says Cyrus Lakdawala, is a lot more than just the sum of its games. In this book he examines what it means when everything clicks, when champions become unstoppable and demolish opponents. What does it mean to be “in the zone”? What causes these sweeps, what sparks them and what keeps them going? And why did they come to an end?
Lakdawala takes you on a trip through chess history looking at peak performances of some of the greatest players who ever lived: Morphy, Steinitz, Pillsbury, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Fischer, Tal, Kasparov, Karpov, Caruana and Carlsen. They all had very different playing styles, yet at a certain point in their rich careers they all entered the zone and simply wiped out the best players in the world.
In the Zone explains the games of the greatest players during their greatest triumphs. As you study and enjoy these immortal performances you will improve your ability to overpower your opponents. You will understand how great moves originate and you will be inspired to become more productive and creative. In the Zone may bring you closer to that special place yourself: the zone.
“Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master and a former American Open Champion. He has been teaching chess for four decades and is a prolific and widely read author. His Chess for Hawks won the Best Instructional Book Award of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA). Other much acclaimed books of his are How Ulf Beats Black, Clinch It! and Winning Ugly in Chess.”
Most of you will be aware of Cyrus Lakdawala’s style of writing. You’ll know that he polarises opinions: some love his books while others hate them. From what I’d read, I’d always thought his books weren’t for me: I’ve never bought one, although a friend gave me a copy of his recent book on the French Defence last year.
So I could write a very brief review. If you’re a Lakdawala fan, and there are many around, you’ll certainly want to read this book. If you’re not a fan you should stay well clear.
I guess you’re expecting me to say more, and there’s quite a lot to say.
This is an excellent and original idea for a book. We meet some of the greatest players from Morphy onwards and look at their peak performances. You get a broad view of chess history over the past 160 or so years, witness how chess knowledge has accumulated and how styles have changed over that time. You also get to see a lot of great chess, with some very (too?) familiar games being contextualised by their juxtaposition with less familiar games played by the same player in the same event. It might even inspire you to get ‘into the zone’ yourself in your next tournament, whenever that might be.
The chapters feature:
- Morphy 1st American Chess Congress 1857
- Steinitz match v Blackburne 1876
- Pillsbury Hastings 1895
- Lasker New York 1924
- Capablanca New York 1927
- Alekhine Bled 1931
- Botvinnik World Championship Tournament 1948
- Fischer 1963/4 US Championship
- Tal Riga 1979
- Kasparov Tilburg 1989
- Karpov Linares 1994
- Caruana Sinquefield Cup 2014
- Carlsen Grenke Chess Classic 2019
In total there are 120 games: some complete, some just the conclusion, almost always won by the heroes of each chapter, all annotated in Lakdawala’s trademark lively style. As a highly experienced author and teacher, he knows just how to get the balance right between words and variations, and has used a modern engine to check the analysis. You’ll find lots of Exercises (for you to solve), Principles (to help you improve) and Moments of Contemplation (to think about an interesting position).
This has always been one of the author’s favourite games, but you’ll have to buy the book to read the annotations.
Cyrus Lakdawala is clearly some sort of crazy (to use one of his favourite words) genius. I’m in awe of his productivity, his work ethic, his imagination, his general knowledge, his wide range of references. It’s well worth listening to this interview on Ben Johnson’s excellent Perpetual Chess Podcast in which he explains how and why his brain doesn’t work like anyone else’s.
But – and, for me, at any rate, it’s a very big but, he comes across as a writer who rushes to complete the book without double checking everything, and who lacks any awareness as to whether or not his light-hearted asides and fanciful analogies are helpful or appropriate. He’s also, by no means uniquely among chess authors, a lot stronger writing about contemporary players than about historical figures.
There are various mistakes which might not be important, but are unnecessary and, at least for this reader, annoying. Blackburne’s first names appear at various points as ‘Joseph Henry’, ‘Henry Joseph’ and ‘Henry’. In the heading of a game between Lasker and Marshall, Emanuel’s name becomes Edward, confusing because they both played at New York 1924. In Fischer’s Famous Game against Robert Byrne the heading is correct, but a few lines further down Robert turns into his brother Donald, who, again, was playing in the same event. These errors should really have been picked up by the editor or proofreader.
Then there’s the hyperbole. “Paulsen routinely took eight full hours to make his moves.” “Marshall’s normal temperament was that of a belching, gurgling volcano…” “Alekhine destroyed every stick of furniture in his hotel room, in a near psychotic rage.” Sentences like this would induce a near psychotic rage in several chess historians I could mention.
Most seriously, many of the more frivolous asides might be considered by some to be in poor taste. We have throwaway references to Jeffrey Epstein, Michael Jackson and, on several occasions, the British Royal Family. Then, what do you make of this? “Blunders like this one are a first-rate reason why no sane person should voluntarily take up chess as a hobby. It’s basically like marrying a spouse who beats you up on a daily basis.” Or this, after mentioning that Raymond Weinstein has been in a psychiatric hospital since 1964? “Thanks a lot, Ray! This does a lot to help eradicate the stereotype that we chess players are just a touch crazy!” You might think domestic abuse and mental illness are inappropriate subjects for levity in a book of this nature.
Now I don’t want to knock the author, any more than I’d knock Reinfeld and Chernev. I’m all in favour of people whose brains work in a different way. I’m all in favour of teachers and writers whose communication skills enable them to share their passion and enthusiasm for chess. There’s always a place within the chess world for authors who can bring our game to a wider audience, and Lakdawala’s colourful writing style, although not for chess and linguistic purists like me, offers a lot of pleasure to a lot of people.
On the other hand, he can easily go over the top, and perhaps it’s the responsibility of his publishers to be more proactive. With a pair of scissors to remove the pointless and sometimes tasteless analogies and a red pen to correct the mistakes and typos this could have been an excellent and – 50 pages shorter – addition to chess literature. Nevertheless, if you’ve enjoyed Lakdawala’s previous volumes and can live with the faults, you’ll like, and perhaps learn a lot from, this book.
Caveat Emptor.
Richard James, Twickenham ?th September 2020
Book Details :
- Paperback : 400 pages
- Publisher: New in Chess (7 Aug. 2020)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 905691877X
- ISBN-13: 978-9056918774
- Product Dimensions: 17.15 x 1.91 x 23.5 cm
Official web site of New in Chess
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Happy Birthday IM Sam Collins (05-ix-1982)
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Sam Collins (05-ix-1982)
Samuel E Collins was born on Sunday, September 5th, 1982 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
He attended Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin (founded in 1950) famously very active at chess and then studied at University College, Dublin (UCD).
Sam spent three years in London and one year in Japan where he found time to win their national championship.
Sam became a FIDE Master in 2003 and an International Master in 2004 and holds three GM norms.
His peak FIDE rating was 2495 in August 2014 at the age of 32.
According to chessgames.com :
“Collins won the Irish Championship twice, in 2002 and 2014, and the Japanese Championship in 2009.”
According to The Tarrasch Defence, move by move :
“Sam Collins is an International Master with tree Grandmaster norms, and a former Irish and Japanese Champion, He has represented Ireland at eight Olympiads, winning an individual gold medal at Bled 2002. He has a wealth of teaching and writing experience, and has produced many books, DVDs and magazine articles on chess.”
According to An Opening Repertoire for White :
“Sam Collins is a chess writer who regularly contributes to Chess, British Chess Magazine, Chess Mail and Chess Today. He is a former Irish Champion and Olympic gold medal winner.”
Sam is an accomplished writer with several titles to his name both on paper and on DVD. Some of these titles are listed below.
Sam started his 4NCL career with Barbican in 2001 through to 2019 moving to Gonzaga in 2020.
With the white pieces Sam essays 1.e4 and prefers a main line Ruy Lopez when possible along with open Sicilians.
As the second players Sam enjoys the black side of a main line Ruy Lopez and main line Slavs.
Firstly an aperitif :
and then the main course :
Sam is an active coach has this page on Lichess where he is known as The Chairman.
Sam has been the Games Editor at British Chess Magazine.
Here is his Wikipedia entry
Here is Sam talking about his Alapin Sicilian DVD from GingerGM
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Happy Birthday GM Stephen Gordon (04-ix-1986)
We wish Stephen Gordon all the best on his birthday, this day (September 4th) in 1986.
Stephen John Gordon was born on Thursday, September 4th 1986 in Oldham, Lancashire where he has lived since.
He attended The Blue Coat School in Oldham
He became a FIDE Master in 2004, an International Master in 2006 and a Grandmaster in 2009.
In 2012 he shared first place with Gawain Jones in the British Championships in North Shields.
According to Felice his peak FIDE rating was 2556 in September 2012 at the age of 26.
Stephen plays for 3Cs in the Manchester Chess League and for Wood Green in the London League and for 4NCL 3Cs in the Four Nations Chess League.
With the White pieces Stephen almost always plays 1.d4 aiming for a Queen’s Gambit and other main lines.
As the second player, Stephen plays the Sicilian Najdorf and the Nimzo-Indian Defence.
From Wikipedia :
“Stephen J. Gordon (born 4 September 1986) is an English chess grandmaster.
In September 2004 he took a break from his A-level studies at The Blue Coat School, Oldham to compete in the thirteenth Monarch Assurance Isle of Man International.
In 2005, while still a FIDE Master, he finished 6th in the British Championships ahead of a Grandmaster and several International Masters.
At the EU Individual Open Chess Championship held at Liverpool in 2006, he led the tournament after eight rounds and finished a very creditable (joint) second, a half point behind winner Nigel Short and level with Luke McShane among others.
Probably his best result to date however, was second place in the 2007 British Championship, narrowly losing his share of the lead in the final round. In previous rounds, he defeated both tournament victor Jacob Aagaard and previous champion Jonathan Rowson.
By 2008, his rating had reached grandmaster level, although the title itself had not yet been secured. At the British Championship in Liverpool, he almost repeated his performance of the previous year, by taking a share of third place. He was the British under-21 Champion each consecutive year between 2005 and 2008. He became a grandmaster on 1 August 2009.
He has been one of the co-presenters of the chess podcast The Full English Breakfast since its inaugural show in October 2010.”
For more see Wiki Entry for Stephen Gordon
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Best Wishes GM Michael Stean (04-ix-1953)
We send best wishes to GM Michael Stean on his 71st birthday,
Michael Francis Stean was born Michael Francis (some say Frank) Stein on Friday, September 4th, 1953 in Pancras, London. His mother’s maiden name is / was Jean Feldman. Michael has a brother, Howard.
He attended Latymer Upper School and Cambridge University and his early chess days were spent at Richmond and Twickenham Chess Club.
He became an International Master in 1975 and England’s third (OTB) Grandmaster in 1977 winning £2,500 from the Jim Slater Foundation.
He was the chess correspondent of The Observer.
Some notable opponents that he has a plus score against include:
John Nunn: 3.5/5
Jonathan Speelman: 2.5/4
Gert Ligterink: 2.5/3
Robert Bellin: 2.5/3
Brian Eley: 2.5/3
Vladimir Liberzon: 2/3
and others.
With the white pieces Michael played 1.e4, 1.c4 and 1.Nf3 but rarely 1.d4 preferring the Ruy Lopez, Exchange Variation.
With the black pieces he played the Sicilian Najdorf (and was a leading expert), the Nimzo-Indian and the Queen’s Indian defences.
He has the dubious honour of being the first Grandmaster to lose a blitz game to a computer (Chess 4.6) in London, 1977. Stean exclaimed, “This computer is a genius!”
His peak FIDE rating was 2540 in January 1979.
His mother (Jean) presented a trophy to the Marlow Congress (now the Berks and Bucks Congress) which became the Mrs. Jean Stean Cup.
According to British Chess (Pergamon, 1983) by Botterill, Levy, Rice and Richardson :
“Stean was educated at Cambridge University, He was equal first in the British Championship, Clacton, 1974, although only 4th in the playoff. He has been an important member of Korchnoi’s team for the last 5 years, and this perhaps has been responsible more than anything for the rounding out and maturing of his style from the sharp tactical play of the early 1970s to the solid positional GM (especially with the White pieces) of today.
Stean is a fine author; Simple Chess and the Sicilian Najdorf are both excellent books.
Temperamentally he is generally pleasant, good humoured and self confident, although he suffers from intermittent poor health which might help to explain his at times erratic results.”
According to Chessgames.com :
“Michael Francis Stean was born on the 4th of September 1953 in London, England. He finished 3rd at the 1973 World Junior Chess Championships behind Alexander Beliavsky and Tony Miles. Awarded the IM title in 1975 and the GM title in 1977 (The third Englishman to attain the title after Miles and Keene).
He finished 1st= in the 1974 British Championship but lost the play-off. He played on 5 English Olympiad teams from 1974 – 1983 and has won 1st prizes at Vrsac 1979, Smederevska Palanka 1980 and Beer Sheba 1982.
A specialist in Opening Theory he served as one of Viktor Korchnoi’s seconds in the 1977 – 1981 period. He is the author of Simple Chess, an introduction to chess strategy.”
Harry Golombek wrote this about Michael in a 1980 Dataday chess diary :
“The fact that he has sprung up into second place among English players as regards Elo ratings demonstrates the considerable advance Michael Stean has made in the course of a year.
In the 1978 diary I wrote that it would not be long before he gained the grandmaster title since he already possessed one norm of the title. The forecast proved to be correct as he duly acquired the title a few months after I wrote the prophecy.
He had though to take two more bites at the cherry before he managed to gain the required norms since the tournaments in which he played were not long events. They were Montilla in August 1977 where he came third below Gligoric and Kavalek and the Lord John Cup Tournament in London in September 1977 where he was equal 2nd with Quinteros and Mestel, first place being occupied by the Czechoslovak grandmaster, Hort.
Before that he had assisted Keene in seconding Korchnoi in his candidates match versus Polugayevsky and had done this to such effect that Korchnoi asked him and Keene to act as his seconds at his final match in the Candidates at Belgrade and later on still at the World Championship match against Karpov in the Philippines.
He also played successfully in Yugoslavia in 1977 (equal 2nd at Virovitica and equal 2nd at Bar). In 1978 he was 3rd at Beersheba below Korchnoi but head of Keene. Five points out of nine at the very strong Swiss System tournament at Lone Pine was followed by an excellent equal 4th with Miles at the tournament at Las Palmas. He has shown that he not only possesses the title of grandmaster but also plays like one.
A good example in the following game (Stean-Sax) against one of the joint first prize winners at the Las Palmas event. It was awarded the prize for the best game :”
From The Oxford Companion to Chess (OUP, 1984) by Hooper & Whyld :
“English player, International Grandmaster (1977). At Nice 1974, in the first of his several Olympiads, he won the brilliancy prize for his game against Browne.
Since then he has had several good results: Montilia 1976, equal second with Kavalek and Ricardo Calvo (1943— ) after Karpov; Montilia 1977, third (-1-3 = 6)after Gligoric and Kavalek ahead of R. Byrne, Taimanov, and Andersson; London 1977. second (+4=4—1) equal with Mestel and Quinteros after Hort ; Vrsac 1979, first (+ 8=5—1); Smederevska Palanka 1980, first (+7-6); Beersheba 1982, first, Stean was one of Korchnoi’s seconds in the world championship cycles of 1977-8 and 1980-1, and the two became close friends.
In particular Stean provided help with the openings, a subject on which he specialises. He published a book on the Najdorf variation of the Sicilian defence in 1976, and Simple Chess, a guide to the understanding of positional ideas, in 1978.”
From Wikipedia :
“Michael Francis Stean (born 4 September 1953) is an English chess grandmaster, an author of chess books and a tax accountant.
The game below (Stean-Browne) was the first winner of the World Brilliancy Prize established in 1974 by Isador Samuel Turover. The value of the prize was $1,000.”
See Michael Stean’s Wikipedia entry for more
In 1983 at the height of his powers Michael left the chess work and became a tax accountant. He is now a senior partner at RSM UK.
Apparently :
“A cross disciplinary tax partner, Michael’s experience spans both corporate and non-corporate taxation for clients spanning a wide range of companies (listed and private) as well as high net worth individuals. Areas of activity include advice on transactions and structures, dealing with enquiries conducted by the tax authorities and forensic tax services in tax disputes.
As a member of the large business and international tax sub-committee of the tax faculty of the Institute of ICAEW, Michael was an active contributor to the consultation and development of the so-called ‘GAAR’ (general anti-abuse rule) law enacted in 2013.
Formerly a professional chess grandmaster, Michael brings an analytical approach to the field of tax.”
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Happy Birthday IM Joseph McPhillips (04-ix-1997)
BCN says Happy Birthday to IM Joseph McPhillips (04-ix-1997)
Joe became a FIDE Master in 2015 and an International Master in 2018.
His peak FIDE rating is 2434 as at August 2019 and we predict it will increase.
In Joseph won outright the Kecskemet IM Tournament :
In 2016 Joseph won the Delancey UK Chess Challenge Terafinal to become a “Strat”* for the first time.
*Only Mike Basman knows what this means!
Joseph plays for Bolton and for Wood Green in the Four Nations Chess League.
Joseph won outright the Budapest First Sunday IM tournament in 2018 :
With the white pieces Joseph prefers a main line Ruy Lopez and the Open Sicilian and he has recently started dabbling with 1.d4
As the second player Joseph employs the Classical French and the Queen’s Indian Defences.
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Happy Birthday IM Ezra Kirk (02-ix-1996)
BCN wishes Happy Birthday to IM Ezra Kirk (02-ix-1996)
Ezra Gillie Kirk was born on Monday, September 2nd 1996 in Waltham Forest, Essex.
Ezra attended Varndean College, Brighton and then the University of Bath to read Natural Sciences and was an intern at AIR INDUSTRIE THERMIQUE and is currently a Data Product Consultant at the Kubrick Group and is based in France.
He edits chess books written by non-English speaking authors and is an accomplished musician publishing works on Spotify.
Ezra became a FIDE Master in 2013 and an International Master in 2018
His peak rating is likely to be in the future but currently is 2445 in December 2018 aged 22.
Ezra plays for 4NCL Cheddleton in the Four Nations Chess League.
Here is one of Ezra’s best wins :
Save as PDFThe Best I Saw in Chess: Games, Stories and Instruction from an Alabama Prodigy Who Became U.S. Champion
From the rear cover :
“At the U.S. Championship in 1989, Stuart Rachels seemed bound for the cellar. Ranked last and holding no IM norms, the 20-year-old amateur from Alabama was expected to get waxed by the American top GMs of the day that included Seirawan, Gulko, Dzindzichashvili, deFirmian, Benjamin and Browne. Instead, Rachels pulled off a gigantic upset and became the youngest U.S. Champion since Bobby Fischer. Three years later he retired from competitive chess, but he never stopped following the game. In this wide-ranging, elegantly written, and highly personal memoir, Stuart Rachels passes on his knowledge of chess. Included are his duels against legends such as Kasparov, Anand, Spassky, Ivanchuk, Gelfand and Miles, but the heart of the book is the explanation of chess ideas interwoven with his captivating stories. There are chapters on tactics, endings, blunders, middlegames, cheating incidents, and even on how to combat that rotten opening, the Réti. Rachels offers a complete and entertaining course in chess strategy. At the back are listed 110 principles of play–bits of wisdom that arise naturally in the book’s 24 chapters. Every chess player will find it difficult to put this sparkling book down. As a bonus, it will make you a better player.”
Stuart Rachels only had a short international career which came to an end almost 30 years ago. He’s now, like his late father James, a philosopher, specialising in ethical theory. Why, you might ask, does he deserve a 400+ page book? It seems rather like a vanity project, doesn’t it?
Let’s look inside and find out.
What you don’t get is a chronological account of the author’s career. Instead you get 24 chapters of varying length discussing a wide variety of aspects of chess and offering, in total, 124 games or extracts from his earliest efforts onwards. The book is also full of stories and anecdotes, many of which are highly entertaining. Rachels writes in a friendly style, alternating, perhaps slightly uncomfortably, between self-deprecating humour and arrogance: he might almost be sitting across the board from you explaining his games.
The first few chapter headings will give you some idea of what to expect: Losing Benonis to Kasparov, Five Stories and Their Positions, Two Rogue Sozins, Tactical Snippets, Beware the Sickly Pawns.
Yes, Rachels enjoyed tactics, favouring openings like the Sicilian Dragon and the Modern Benoni, while disliking the ‘rotten Réti’ and the English (‘Is there a Nobel Prize for Worst Opening as White?’), so you’ll see a lot of exciting play. At the same time, his trainer, Boris Kogan, played like Petrosian (‘You must play seemple chess’) and instilled in him a love of endings, again strongly represented here.
His opponents include many of his illustrious contemporaries, whom he met in international junior tournaments: you’ll find games against Anand, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Adams and others here.
Although much of the book is US-centric, there’s also a lot to interest British readers. In 1983 Rachels spent some time in England, where, apart from playing in a simul against Kasparov, he lost a training match against David Norwood (‘the best tactician for my age I’ve ever known, aside from Anand’) which has its own chapter.
In the early 90s Rachels studied at Oxford University for two years: in the 1992 Varsity Match it was he who owned the aforementioned sickly pawns in a thrilling victory over Jonathan Wilson. After the game Ray Keene, suitably impressed, asked him to provide annotations. Rachels was surprised to see one of his sentences quoted verbatim in The Spectator. “Who would’ve suspected that the 44-year-old Brit cribbed that sentence off a 22-year-old American?”
There’s also a tense draw against Tony Miles (‘unpretentious, good-humored, and easy to be around’) from the 1989 US Championship. (Tony had satisfied the residency qualification by renting a post box in New York.) The ‘Foolish Drinker, Optimistic Patzer’ of the chapter heading is Rachels, not Miles. You’ll have to read it yourself to find out why.
In the final chapter Rachels offers his two best games. One played against his friend Kyle Therrell at the age of 11 (‘… might this have been the best game ever played by someone under the age of 12, as of March 29, 1981?’), and his win, given below, against Sergey Kudrin, again from the 1989 US Championship. If you buy the book you’ll be able to read his annotations.
The book concludes with three appendices. Appendix A explains adjournments (‘… a 20th century phenomenon, mostly occurring in high-level events’). Not in my part of the world: I had an adjournment from a local league game hanging over me at the start of lockdown: it was eventually agreed drawn via email. Appendix B, Principles of Play, offers some maxims which you may or may not find helpful, and Appendix C is what looks to me like a fairly arbitrary list of recommended books.
The format of the book does mean you miss the trajectory of his career, but at the same time the constant switching between topics will ensure you never get bored. Although Rachels is a relatively minor figure in chess history who retired nearly 30 years ago, he still has an infectious passion for chess, writes well, annotates lucidly and tells a great story. It’s often very funny too: a hugely entertaining and engrossing read which I thoroughly enjoyed. If you like games collections and biographies you shouldn’t hesitate to snap this one up.
Richard James, Twickenham 31st August 2020
Book Details :
- Paperback : 372 pages
- Publisher: New in Chess (7 July 2020)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 9056918818
- ISBN-13: 978-9056918811
- Product Dimensions: 17.02 x 2.79 x 23.37 cm
Official web site of New in Chess
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