01-01 November Cover_Layout 1 17/10/2016 19:50 Page 1

available at the London Chess Centre - www.chess.co.uk/shop

A

The Power of PawnsChess Structures Fundamentals for Post-BeginnersJörg Hickl 192 pages - £14.99“Each chapter defi nes the structures, explains the typical characteristi cs and shows the plans for both White and Black.” Harry Schaack, KARL magazine“There are lots of valuable training lessons, in parti cular in areas where chess engines off er no help.”Harald Fietz, SchachMagazin 64

Timman’s TitansMy World Chess ChampionsJan Timman 320 pages - £22.95Jan Timman portrays ten World Champions: Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov.Fascinati ng stories, many revelati ons and a rich selecti on of illustrati ve games. Probably Timman’s best book ever.

The Fianchett o Soluti onA Complete, Solid and Flexible Chess Opening RepertoireEmmanuel Neiman & Samy Shoker 272 pages - £19.50You may not get a large advantage every ti me you play this system, but one thing is certain: aft er studying this book you can play the opening confi dently and you will be a bett er all-round player. For Black AND White!

The Big Book of World Chess Championships46 Title Fights – from Steinitz to CarlsenAndré Schulz 352 pages - £16.99Relive the magic of Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Tal, Karpov, Kasparov, Bobby Fischer and the others! Andre Schulz tells the stories of the ti tle fi ghts in fascinati ng detail, and has selected one defi ning game from each championship.“I like the selecti on of the games and the explanati ons are easy to understand. But the best part is how the story is told, complete with historical backgrounds and lots of anecdotes.” GM Karsten Müller

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for WhiteA Ready-to-go Package for Ambiti ous BeginnersVincent Moret 176 pages - $21.95“Simple systems for White about which the author explains many ideas, structures and typical manoeuvres.”Florian Jacobs, Max Euwe Center Amsterdam“A relati vely easy to learn yet reasonably sharp set of lines which could certainly be eff ecti ve at club level.”Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine (UK)

My First Chess Opening Repertoire for WhiteA Ready-to-go Package for Ambiti ous BeginnersVincent Moret“Simple systems for White about which the author explains many ideas, structures and typical manoeuvres.”Florian Jacobs, Max Euwe Center Amsterdam“A relati vely easy to learn yet reasonably sharp set of lines which could certainly be eff ecti ve at club level.”Sean Marsh, CHESS Magazine (UK)

New In Chess Magazine 2016#6The Club Player’s Magazine 106 pages - £8.99Annotati ons by Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Ruslan Ponomariov, Simen Agdestein, Jon Speelman and many others. Sinquefi eld Cup, Dortmund, Bilbao, Helsingor. Jimmy Adams on Gyula Breyer. Matt hew Sadler’s book reviews. Nigel Short relates his recent Iranian adventures. Judit Polgar’s column. Negi ’s Chess Gym. And much more.

New In Chess Magazine 2016#6The Club Player’s Magazine Annotati ons by Magnus Carlsen, Vladimir Kramnik, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Wesley So, Anish Giri, Ruslan Ponomariov, Simen Agdestein, Jon Speelman and many others. Sinquefi eld Cup, Dortmund, Bilbao, Helsingor. Jimmy Adams on Gyula Breyer. Matt hew Sadler’s book reviews. Nigel Short relates his recent Iranian adventures. Judit Polgar’s column. Negi ’s Chess Gym. And much more.

NEW!

NEW!

NEW!

Att acking Chess for Club PlayersImprove Your Skills to Overpower Your OpponentsHerman Grooten 352 pages - £22.50“Grooten writes very entertainingly, so reading the book is a real joy.” IM Dirk Schuh, Rochade Europa Magazine“Well-chosen examples and clear explanati ons are present throughout the book.” Internati onal Master John Donaldson

Att acking Chess for Club PlayersImprove Your Skills to Overpower Your OpponentsHerman Grooten “Grooten writes very entertainingly, so reading the book is a real joy.” IM Dirk Schuh, Rochade Europa Magazine“Well-chosen examples and clear explanati ons are present throughout the book.” Internati onal Master John Donaldson

NEW!

Black is Back!What’s White’s Advantage Anyway?Andras Adorjan 288 pages - £16.99Chess legend Andras Adorjan conti nues his crusade. This book will convince both club players and professionals that there is no reason to be afraid when playing Black. Instead you will start looking for creati ve soluti ons and beat White more oft en.

Black is Back!What’s White’s Advantage Anyway?Andras Adorjan Chess legend Andras Adorjan conti nues his crusade. This book will convince both club players and professionals that there is no reason to be afraid when playing Black. Instead you will start looking for creati ve soluti ons and beat White more oft en.

NEW!

NEW!

The Agile London SystemA Solid but Dynamic Chess Opening Choice for WhiteAlfonso Romero & Oscar de Prado 336 pages - £22.45Against every Black defense aft er 1.d4 it off ers White an easy-to-learn and reliable set of lines with interesti ng choices between strategic or more aggressive approaches, while avoiding tons of theory. Magnus Carlsen recently started playing the London System, too!

The Agile London SystemA Solid but Dynamic Chess Opening Choice for WhiteAlfonso Romero & Oscar de Prado Against every Black defense aft er 1.d4 it off ers White an easy-to-learn and reliable set of lines with interesti ng choices between strategic or more aggressive approaches, while avoiding tons of theory. Magnus Carlsen recently started playing the London System, too!

Train Your Chess Patt ern Recogniti onMore Key Moves & Moti fs in the MiddlegameArthur van de Oudeweetering 256 pages - £17.95“Gives you the very pleasant feeling of learning new things without spending too much eff ort!”GM Matt hew Sadler, author of ‘Chess for Life’“It is very amusingly writt en and it will easily improve your chess.”IM Dirk Schuh, Rochade Europa Magazine

NEW!

NEW!

www.chess.co.uk 3

ContentsEditorial.................................................................................................................4Malcom Pein on the latest developments in the game

60 Seconds with... Tim Kett........................................................................7The Welsh Champion loves playing, as well as teaching chess

In the Land of Fire ............................................................................................8An in-depth look at the Baku Olympiad by Kanwal Bhatia

How Good is Your Chess? ..........................................................................20Daniel King reports had mixed experiences in Baku

The Dragon Rises ...........................................................................................24Carl Strugnell with the inside story of the Welsh Olympiad team

Eljanov and Caruana’s Manx Triumph ...................................................26The Isle of Man International was stronger than ever

The Picture Chess Paints for Us..............................................................30Jeromyah Jones explains the story behind his father’s painting

Opening Trends...............................................................................................31

Some Memories of Mark Dvoretsky.....................................................32The late legendary trainer once visited Steve Giddins in Moscow

Never Mind the Grandmasters................................................................34Carl Portman enjoyed being back at the chess board

Find the Winning Moves .............................................................................36

Aspects of Defence ......................................................................................40Steve Giddins examines some important defensive features

In Other Words... ...........................................................................................42John Henderson spotted one of the first pocket sets for sale

Studies with Stephenson............................................................................43

The Immortal Draw .......................................................................................44Charles Higgie takes a look at the other immortal game

Forthcoming Events .....................................................................................45

Nepo’s Hour......................................................................................................46Ian Nepomniachtchi had a major breakthrough at the Tal Memorial

Paignton or Torquay .....................................................................................48Bob Jones has the latest news on the Paignton Congress

Home News.......................................................................................................50Steven Jones and Mike Surtees continue to rack up the wins

Overseas News ...............................................................................................52Jan Timman has finally defeated Anatoly Karpov in a match

Solutions............................................................................................................54

New Books and Software...........................................................................55Dynamic Decision Making in Chess impressed Sean Marsh

Saunders on Chess ........................................................................................58John can’t see Karjakin troubling Magnus in the big matchPhoto credits: Alina l'Ami (p.5), Roger Bennett (p.51, lower), Chess Magazine Archive (pp.33,40), Maria Emelianova (pp.8, 10, 11, 13, 17 bottom, 18, 26, 52), Bob Jones (pp.48-49),Sarah Kett (p.7), Daniel King (p.20), Eteri Kublashvili (pp.9 left, 17 top, 46), David Llada (p.58),Ray Morris-Hill (p.21), Matthew Read (p.51 lower left), Fiona Steil-Antoni (pp.5, 27-28), PaulTruong (p.9 right, 17 middle, 24), Wikimedia (p.52, right).

ChessFounding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc †Executive Editor: Malcolm PeinEditors: Richard Palliser, Matt ReadAssociate Editor: John SaundersSubscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington

Twitter: @CHESS_MagazineTwitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm PeinWebsite: www.chess.co.uk

Subscription Rates:United Kingdom1 year (12 issues) £49.952 year (24 issues) £89.953 year (36 issues) £125

Europe 1 year (12 issues) £602 year (24 issues) £112.503 year (36 issues) £165 USA & Canada1 year (12 issues) $902 year (24 issues) $1703 year (36 issues) $250

Rest of World (Airmail)1 year (12 issues) £722 year (24 issues) £1303 year (36 issues) £180 Distributed by:Post Scriptum (UK only), Unit G, OYO Business Park, Hindmans Way, Dagenham, RM9 6LN - Tel: 020 8526 7779 LMPI (North America)8155 Larrey Street, Montreal (Quebec), H1J 2L5, Canada - Tel: 514 355-5610

Views expressed in this publication are notnecessarily those of the Editors. Contributions tothe magazine will be published at the Editors’discretion and may be shortened if space is limited.

No parts of this publication may be reproduced without the prior express permission of the publishers.

All rights reserved. © 2016

Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by:Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RTTel: 020 7288 1305 Fax: 020 7486 7015Email: info@chess.co.uk, Website: www.chess.co.uk FRONT COVER:Cover Design: Matt ReadCover Photography: ??????????

US & Canadian Readers – You can contact us via ourAmerican branch – Chess4Less based in West Palm Beach, FL. Call toll-free on 1-877 89CHESS (24377).You can even order Subscriber Special Offers online via www.chess4less.com

Printed in the UK by The Magazine PrintingCompany using only paper from FSC/PEFC

suppliers www.magprint.co.uk

03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:03 Page 3

November 201618

Final Standings(Selected countries; the number in

brackets after the score is game points)

Open (150 teams competed)

1 USA 20/22 (31.5/44)2 Ukraine 20 (31)3 Russia 18 (32)4 India 16 (27.5)5 Norway 16 (26.5)6 Turkey 16 (30)7 Poland 16 (29.5)8 France 16 (30)9 England 16 (26.5)10 Peru 16 (26.5)......69 Scotland 12 (24)81 Ireland 11 (23)85 Wales 11 (19.5)

Women’s (140 teams competed)

1 China 20 (31)2 Poland 17 (33)3 Ukraine 17 (30.5)4 Russia 16 (29)5 India 16 (28)6 USA 16 (27)7 Vietnam 16 (27.5)8 Azerbaijan 16 (25.5)9 Israel 16 (26.5)......59 England 11 (29)70 Wales 11 (21.5)76 Scotland 10 (22.5)95 Ireland 9 (20.5)

Champions USA (left-right): Hikaru Nakamura, captain John Donaldson, Sam Shankland, Ray Robson, Wesley So and Fabiano Caruana.

Board Prizes in the Open Competition

Medal Player Rating Country TPR Played Points % Opp.Elo

Board 1

GOLD GM Baadur Jobava 2665 Georgia 2926 10 8.0 80.0 2686SILVER GM Lenier Dominguez 2720 Cuba 2839 10 7.5 75.0 2646BRONZE GM Fabiano Caruana 2808 USA 2838 10 7.0 70.0 2689...6th GM Magnus Carlsen 2857 Norway 2805 10 7.5 75.0 2610...7th GM Michael Adams 2738 England 2794 9 6.0 66.7 2669...8th GM Sergey Karjakin 2769 Russia 2782 9 6.0 66.7 2654

Board 2

GOLD GM Vladimir Kramnik 2808 Russia 2903 8 6.5 81.3 2652SILVER GM Anton Kovalyov 2617 Canada 2852 10 8.0 80.0 2612BRONZE GM Jorge Cori 2609 Peru 2810 10 8.0 80.0 2570

Board 3

GOLD GM Wesley So 2782 USA 2896 10 8.5 85.0 2600SILVER GM Zoltan Almasi 2684 Hungary 2845 9 7.5 83.3 2572BRONZE GM Eugenio Torre 2447 Philippines 2836 11 10.0 90.9 2453

Board 4

GOLD GM Laurent Fressinet 2664 France 2809 8 7.0 87.5 2425SILVER GM Ian Nepomniachtchi 2740 Russia 2804 10 8.0 80.0 2564BRONZE GM Aleksandar Indjic 2548 Serbia 2786 10 8.5 85.0 2490...6th GM Gawain Jones 2635 England 2738 9 7.0 77.8 2518

Board 5GOLD GM Andrei Volokitin 2647 Ukraine 2992 9 8.5 94.4 2548SILVER IM Sami Khader 2373 Jordan 2932 8 8.0 100.0 1978BRONZE GM Aleksej Aleksandrov 2547 Belarus 2760 8 6.5 81.3 2509...6th GM Nigel Short 2666 England 2681 9 6.5 72.2 2462

08-18 BakuOlympiad_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 19:44 Page 18

19-19 Thinkers Chess Advert_Layout 1 17/10/2016 19:59 Page 1

November 2016

Blowing open White’s kingside, althoughthere was nothing wrong with 29...Ìe6 30 Îed3Ëf7 31 Ëe2 Ëg6 when the d-pawn can’t betaken (32 Ìxd4? Îf2 33 Ëg4 Îf1+ 34 Îxf1Îxf1+ 35 Êh2 Ëxd3 36 Ìxe6 Ëd7 wins),and only Black can be slightly for choice. 30 Îxf3 Îxf3 31 gxf3 Ëxh3+ 32 Êg1Ëg3+?! Adams must have missed White’s 34thmove or he would have preferred to maintaincontrol with 32...Ìe6!, and if 33 Ëe4 (or 33Ëg2 Ëf5 34 Ëg4 Ëxe5) 33...Ìg5 34 Ëf4Ìxf3+ 35 Êf2 Ìg5 36 Ëxd4 Ëf3+ 37 Êe1Ìe6 when Black can never be worse with suchan active queen and much the safer king.33 Ëg2 Ëxe5 34 f4! Caruana has been outplayed, but like manya world-class player only needs one chanceto get right back into the game. This sacrificedoes give Black three pawns for theexchange, but suddenly the advantages of arook over a knight begin to be felt.34...Ëxf4 35 Îe1 Ëf6 36 Ëg4

36...Ìf7?? Obviously Black would like to improve hisknight, but this unfortunate choice costs him thegame. The calm 36...Êh7 was one improvementand after 37 Îe8 g6! 38 Ëe4 Ëg5+ it wouldlikely have ended in perpetual check.37 Îe8+ Êh7 38 Îe6! Ouch. Black is now forced to exchangequeens, but after that the white rook issimply far to powerful.38...Ëg5 39 Ëxg5 Ìxg5 40 Îe7 c5!? Even two sets of connected passed pawnswon’t save the unfortunate Adams, but if40...d3 41 Îxb7 Ìe4 42 Îd7 d2 43 Êf1 h544 b5! and White breaks through decisively.41 b5 axb5 42 cxb5 c4 43 Êf2 c3 44Êe2 Ìh3 45 Îf7 1-0

Brits-wise, we should mention too AlanMerry whose 2/2 start finally took his ratingover 2400 and so saw him complete therequirements for the IM title, while leadingLondon chess teacher, the Australian IMJohn-Paul Wallace, had one of his best evertournaments, defeating three grandmastersand after a draw with Peter Leko making aGM norm with a round to spare! Jovanka Houska hardly had a badtournament either, resisting well for a long timeagainst Caruana in the opening round (it was,

indeed, a very, very strong Open), and aftercomprehensively outplaying Mihail Marinfinished on ‘+1’ for a 2485 performance.Houska finished half a point behind DronavalliHarika, Nino Batsiashvili, Anna Ushenina andTania Sachdev, who took home £2,125 each asthe highest female scorers, but Jovanka was stilllevel with Hou Yifan. Even after being outplayedby Caruana the women’s world champion foundherself on a hardly shabby 4/6, but was thenoutplayed by Harika and finished with a furtherdefeat at the hands of Sabino Brunello.

Leading Scores:1-2 Pavel Eljanov (UKR), Fabiano Caruana (USA) 7½/9

3 Arkadij Naiditsch (AZE) 74-7 Wesley So (USA), Alexei Shirov (LAT),Saleh Salem (UAE), David Howell (ENG) 6½8-19 Hikaru Nakamura (USA), MichaelAdams (ENG), Maxim Rodshtein (ISR),Santosh Gujrathi Vidit (IND), LaurentFressinet (FRA), Gabriel Sargissian (ARM),Julio Granda Zuniga (PER), Nils Grandelius(SWE), Erwin L’Ami (NED), AleksandrLenderman (USA), Sabino Brunello (ITA),Chithambaram Aravindh (IND) 6.

Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Î Much more from the Isle of ManInternational next month, including annotationsfrom some of the star performers.

28

Even after seizing his chance in some style against Mickey Adams, Fabiano Caruana is forcedto look on as Pavel Eljanov raises the trophy watched too by chief organiser Alan Ormsby.

A packed tournament hall at the Villa Marina in the Isle of Man’s capital, Douglas.

26-28 IsleofMan_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:08 Page 28

29-29 QC Advert_Layout 1 17/10/2016 20:26 Page 1

November 2016

As a certain famous film star said on morethan one occasion – “I’ll be back”. Well, in factI am back, so listen up. I decided to annotate the first competitivegame on my return to chess, win, lose ordraw. As it transpires it was a loss (boo, hiss),but my opponent is rather good and anyway Ihave to say I just enjoyed being back at theboard. So here then is the game. As ever Iannotated the game the very next day, firstmaking my own notes, then checking withthe computer (Komodo 10 as it happens) tosee what aspects of the game I hadunderstood. This is a technique that the greatBotvinnik used to recommend. I understood one thing – chess remains avery difficult game, but it seems impossible towalk away from it; the competitive streak inme is too great to suppress. Here we go then.

C.Portman-M.PageBanbury B vs Kenilworth A 2016

King’s Indian Defence

How far Jerusalem? This is my first leaguegame since April 2015 and it feels good to beback at the board. It is the start of another effortto improve my game – particularly myunderstanding of chess. It is not just aboutgrades. Of course, I also wish to try to increasemy grade, but that will hopefully happen as a by-product of the first aspect. Can I get anywherenear 180 before I shuffle off this mortal coil? I was so close once, I know I am capable ofdoing it again. It is certainly a realistic target,but it will take hard work and no small amountof patience. For now though, I need a fewgames under my belt to get back into theswing of competitive chess. I spent severalhours preparing for my opponent, whom Ithought and expected would be AndrewPaterson. I had looked at some very interestinglines against the Dutch Defence, which Iassumed (dangerous thing, assuming) hewould play. Andy approached the board, shookmy hand (to just say hello), and sat on the nextboard! Oops. That’s all the prep gone then. Instead, Mark Page arrived and took the seatopposite me. It was at this point that Iremembered that preparing something for anopponent in the league could prove useful, butI had forgotten to formulate a plan B – what ifthat person does not arrive? To be fair to Mark,he never expected to play me either and hecommented that he thought I had retired fromchess. Well, as Jack Nicholson famously said in

The Shining: Here’s Johnny! I am back. Mentally I switched off from ‘going Dutch’and elected to play the d-pawn anyway justin case my opponent fancied 1...f5, and Icould after all make use of an afternoon’s hardwork at home. Numbers in brackets are theclock times. I am trying to manage this aspectof my game better.

1 d4 Ìf6 Bother! Now my plans will have to wait foranother day. The trouble is I am not a memberof the exclusive grandmaster club and unlikethem I am unable to commit all the lines Ilearn to memory for instant recall, so thelonger I wait for a Dutch, the less likely I willbe to implement my ideas.2 Ìf3 g6 3 c4 I considered 3 Íf4, but wanted to playsomething less stodgy. It’s a battle after all.3...Íg7 4 Ìc3 d6 5 e4 A King’s Indian it is. I could not remembermuch theory on this uncompromisingopening, but I kept telling myself just to play‘logical’ moves. If only it were that easy. Markis a very good player and at ECF 187significantly stronger than me, so I had tochoose my moves very carefully. The patternlooked about right. If it were blitz I may haveplayed h4 at some point, but that’s certainlynot an option in this situation.5...0-0 6 Íe2 Ìa6 I really like this square for the knight. It wantsat some point to come to c5 putting pressure on e4.7 h3 I remembered browsing through a chessmagazine and seeing that this move wasbecoming quite popular (I think Anand playedit a few times), and it is quite logical,preventing the bishop or knight on f6 fromgoing to g4, thereby restricting their scope.7...e5

Are you like, me dear reader? Do you oftenwrestle with confusing thoughts about whatto play in such positions? I always think ‘whynot just take the pawn?’, yet I never seem todo that. Next time I just might.8 d5 (8) 8 dxe5 was possibly better: 8...dxe5 9 Íe3Ìh5 10 0-0 Ìf4 11 Ëc2 and the game is on.8...Ìc5 (7) This proved to be an annoying thorn in my side.9 Ëc2 (15) After 9 Íg5 I remain unsure as to whatBlack plays next.9...a5! (12) Of course. I would have liked nothing morethan to have been able to play b4.10 Íe3 Ìh5 Good move. Moreover, it was the catalystfor me to devour a lot of time deciding on mynext move. It transpires that thinking longerdoes not necessarily equate to making abetter move than if you had thought for ashorter time. I noted here that I had not yetcastled and I wondered why that basicprinciple had been broken.11 Ëd2?! (28) It took me quite a while to play this. It was,though, probably the time to get rid of thisknight at the expense of my lovely dark-squared bishop with 11 Íxc5 dxc5 12 0-0-0Ìf4 13 Íf1.11...Ìf4!

12 g3? Let me be honest. I completely missed thefact that the knight could go to g2 with check.You will doubtless be reading this thinking: ‘Howcould anyone miss that? It is so obvious!’. Really, I was focussed on other linesincluding taking on h3. Only at the splitsecond before I put the pawn on g3 did I seethe g2 option. It was at that moment that I

34

Never Mind the Grandmasters...

Here come the amateurs - by Carl Portman (carl.portman@hotmail.co.uk)

34-35 NMTG_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:05 Page 34

39-39 LCC Ticket Details_Layout 1 17/10/2016 20:56 Page 1

Dynamic Decision Making in ChessBoris Gelfand, 284 pages, Quality ChessRRP £23.99 SUBSCRIBERS £21.59

Boris Gelfand’s first book for Quality Chess– Positional Decision Making in Chess –attracted rave reviews and won the ECF Bookof the Year award for 2015. The follow-upvolume turns attention to dynamic aspects ofthe game, and the art of “dealing withsomething concrete, right now.” Such aconcrete approach is unlike the generallyabstract themes presented in the first book. Nevertheless, the titles of some of theeight chapters do retain an abstract flavour.The first two are ‘Minsk 1979’ and‘Petrosian’. Gelfand attended TigranPetrosian’s school of chess three times andwas deeply influenced by the great champion. Minsk 1979 was the location and date of theSoviet Championship that made a big impressionon the young Gelfand. “I was incredibly lucky tohave the chance to be present [...] I would go theplaying hall and watch the games; every day,every minute.” The highlight of the chapter –and, indeed, one of the best games in the wholebook – is Geller-Anikaev, in which the formerproduced a dynamic masterpiece, leaving a bigimpression on Gelfand: “When I arrived homethat evening, I was in a state of shock. I had seensomething special, a miracle at the chessboard.It is not impossible that it determined the courseof my life.” A recurring theme is introduced at the sametime as the spectacular game. Geller wasalready 54 years of age in 1979 andnevertheless he won the Soviet Championshipin Minsk. Gelfand is keen to refute the trendynotion of chess being a young person’s game,citing the ages of both himself (“the oldestchallenger since Korchnoi”) and Anand (“theoldest World Champion since Botvinnik”) intheir title match as evidence. Another recurring theme is the humanversus computer debate. He confesses,“Kasparov played a few matches withcomputers, which I did not enjoy” beforedetailing a couple of offers he had to play

similar matches. “Would you allow the computer to playwithout an opening book?” “No.” “Why not?” “Because we want to beat you andincrease our sales. And in the end we willmeet someone who will play on our terms.” Indeed so; it is not so difficult to trade onthe human weaknesses of pride and dollarsigns. There is advice on when to use chessengines. “I suggest that those who start outyoung should study chess without computerassistance for years, in order to understandthe game before you use this powerful tool.”Furthermore, he advises online spectators toturn off analysis engines when watching livegames, but this requires more discipline thanmost will be able to muster. Two chapters discuss ‘Tactics at the TopLevel’ of chess, with one looking at mistakesand why they are made. Then there arechapters about Compensation, Time,Dynamic Masterpieces and DynamicDefence, for which the titles are self-explanatory. Gelfand’s own games are used asillustrative examples, but not exclusively so. The annotations are deep, but long lines ofanalysis are not as prevalent as one may suspectfrom the work of a Super Grandmaster. It is theprose of co-author/chief editor Jacob Aagaardthat elevates this book, and its award-winningpredecessor, beyond the reach of others.Gelfand shares his thoughts and opinions veryhonestly, freely presenting some of his worstmoves alongside his best. Here is a missed opportunity which shouldprove instructive.

B.Gelfand-P.LekoWijk aan Zee 2008

“In this position, I have an advantage nomatter what I do. But the point is that it iseasier to spoil the advantage than to exploitit, as I found out.” In the game, Gelfand played 38 Ëa6? andit ended in a draw after 49 moves. Themissed tactic occurs after 38 Ëb8! andWhite will win a pawn (38...Íc5 39 Ëc7! ande6 will fall). “As with the first book, my goal has notbeen to give a complete manual on dynamicchess, but to give an insight into somedynamic scenarios from my games anddiscuss them in detail. Playing chess well isabout making lots of good decisions, and thisis what this series and this book is about.” There is a curious appendix, offering threerecipes from Maya Gelfand’s How to Feed aChampion. Perhaps a missed trick here; theStuffed Fish could have been called The Caro-Carp. I don’t know how many volumes areplanned for this series, but there is areference to the fourth book, so we can lookforward to at least two more. Gelfand’scharacter and personality really shine throughin this ongoing set of books, which is shapingup as a definite must-buy series. Players upto – and including – grandmaster level willfind plenty of interest here, whether it is theoriginal anecdotes, the pieces of advice or thedeep annotations.

Sean Marsh

Instructive Chess MiniaturesAlper Efe Ataman, 128 pages,

Gambit PublicationsRRP £9.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.99

“Warning: this book is not justentertainment. The author wants to teachyou a lot about chess and improve the qualityof your play!” So states the back cover blurbof this new collection of short games.Furthermore, the author states: “It’s a knownfact that instructive games are basicresources for improving young chess-players,or in other words masters of the future”, and,

www.chess.co.uk55

New Books & Software

55-57 Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:46 Page 55

given the nature of miniatures, they are“really amazing and memorable.” With all of this in mind, I put the book tothe test both for lessons with students andfor my own use. Having spent some timeexamining the games and annotations, I amhappy to report the author has hit his target. For the avoidance of doubt, it is useful toremember: “A miniature is a decisive gamewon in 25 moves or fewer.” In this finecollection we are presented with 53miniatures, starting with Anderssen-Dufresne from 1852 and finishing with So-Kasparov, played just a few short months ago. Alper Efe Ataman, a FIDE Master fromTurkey, knows his target audience well and hisexperience as a trainer informs the material inthis book. The annotations are light, but in agood way. He will, for example, name theopenings of each game, but will not try andforce-feed readers any theoretical lines. Thedifferent types of tactics are named too, butat no point does the author fall into the trapof talking down to his audience. Thus heprovides inspiration for further research. Inevitably, some of the games will be familiarto most readers, but some will be able tosurprise as well as entertain, especially asminiatures tend to feature sparkling sacrifices.I don’t recall seeing this game before and Iwas pleased to make its acquaintance.

Gaisert-I.ZaitsevUSSR Team Ch., Moscow 1960

13...Îd2!! is an alarming shot. Whitemust accept the gift, but he didn’t last muchlonger (0-1, 20). This should serve as anindication of the sort of material to expect. Instructive Chess Miniatures is suitable forclub players and chess tutors looking for aninformative set of ready-made, entertaininglessons.

Sean Marsh

King’s Indian WarfareIlya Smirin, 352 pages, paperback

RRP £20.99 SUBSCRIBERS £18.89 The strong Israeli Grandmaster has spenthis career playing the King’s Indian and notwithout some little success, including a 2½-1½ score against legendary KID killer

Vladimir Kramnik. Smirin does not present arepertoire for Black à la Kornev’s new work(see below), but rather explains all about theopening and its main themes. StudyingSmirin’s favourite and clearly annotatedgames can but improve the understandingof even those with plenty of existing King’sIndian experience, with almost every readerlikely to pick up several new ideas. Please note both that it’s possible topurchase a hardback version of this work foran extra £4 and that we’ll have a full review ina future issue.

Chess Informant 129 – Big CatJosip Asik (ed.), 348 pages, paperbackRRP £29.99 SUBSCRIBERS £26.99

As well as all the latest novelties,languageless grandmaster games and thebest recent endgames, the modern reader ofInformator can enjoy plenty of fine articles.Highlights this time around include MichaelAdams on his fine run in Bournemouth,Karsten Müller’s tribute to Viktor Korchnoi,and Brazilian GM Rafael Leitao’s coverage ofthe recently topical London System. If you would also like Chess Informant 129– Big Cat in CD format, that option isavailable coming together with the bookversion for £37.50 (Subscribers – £33.75).

Chess Strategy for KidsThomas Engqvist, 128 pages, paperback

RRP £9.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.99 Gambit continue their successful seriesfor children based around 50 small lessons.Here the focus isn’t the different types ofcheckmate or miniatures, but rather how toplan. Engqvist has already produced a coupleof fine books for Everyman and here theSwedish IM rightly begins by focussing onthe pawn structure, showing what thepawns can achieve and which types ofconfigurations suit each of the pieces. Theupshot is that the strategic ability of thereader – who could easily too be a weakerclub player – should improve, especially ifthey have also solved all the accompanyingexercises.

A Practical Black Repertoire with Ìf6, g6, d6 Volume 2: King’s Indian Alexei Kornev, 380 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

As will quickly become apparent if it hasn’talready in this issue, defences for Black basedaround an early ...g6 are certainly in vogue.Here the Russian Grandmaster is determinedto strive for a fighting, uncompromising gameas Black, plumping in the process for theKing’s Indian Defence on which he maps outquite a decent, theoretical repertoire.Somewhat strangely Volume 1 of thisrepertoire, covering the Pirc and lines againstthe English, is due to follow later in the year.

Grandmaster Repertoire: Beating Minor Openings

Victor Mikhalevski, 584 pages, paperbackRRP £22.50 SUBSCRIBERS £20.25 It’s now some ten years since your editor’sBeating Unusual Chess Openings appearedand so Quality Chess have tackled the sameproject. Mikhalevski examines all White’salternatives to 1 e4 and 1 d4, recommendingagainst the English, 1...e5. One of the bestfeatures of this typically thorough newGrandmaster Repertoire work is its coverageof the flexible 1 Ìf3, with all of 1...d5,1...Ìf6 followed by 2...g6 and 1...Ìf6 andthen 2...b6 being examined from Black’sperspective, while a hardback version isavailable for an extra £4.

How to Exchange PiecesElisabeth Pähtz; ChessBase PC-DVD,running time: 4 hours, 35 minutes

RRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.45 Knowing which pieces to exchange and

November 201656

55-57 Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:46 Page 56

www.chess.co.uk57

when is a tough call for almost all chessplayers. The likes of Capablanca and Karpovhad an innate feeling for knowing when andwhat to exchange, and by looking at theirgames, as well as some of her own, Pähtzaims to develop that feeling within theviewer. Handy tips are given to considerwhenever one is weighing up an exchange inthis DVD aimed squarely at the club player.

New in Chess Yearbook 120Peter Boel & René Olthof (eds.),

256 pages, paperbackRRP £25.45 SUBSCRIBERS £22.90

The latest theoretical journal from Hollandpresents, as ever, a large number of topquality opening surveys, including two on theWinawer variation. The Forum sectioncontinues to grow and features a contributionfrom Ian Nepomniachtchi, while elsewhereJoel Benjamin examines the IQP in connectionto building an opening repertoire and AlexeyKuzmin takes a look at how Vladimir Kramnikapproaches the opening.

The Fianchetto SolutionEmmanuel Neiman & Samy Shoker,

272 pages, paperbackRRP £19.50 SUBSCRIBERS £17.55

Scared of being annihilated in the openingand keen to have a system you can playagainst everything, even with both colours?Yes, there is a solution: fianchettoing theking’s bishop at the start of the game. Herethe French FM and Egyptian GM, two expertson the Modern Defence and King’s IndianAttack, team up to present a reliable-lookingrepertoire based around an early g3 for Whiteand ...g6 for Black.

Timman’s TitansJan Timman, 320 pages, paperbackRRP £22.85 SUBSCRIBERS £20.55

Jan Timman was not only one of the west’sleading players for several decades, but isknown too, of course, for being an engagingwriter. Here he covers ‘My World ChessChampions’, the 10 champions who had amajor impact on his career. As one wouldexpect, the result is a very entertaining read,packed full of entertaining anecdotes, as wellas a fine selection of well-annotated gamesfor each of the world champions.

Your Opponent is OverratedJames Schuyler, 224 pages, paperbackRRP £17.99 SUBSCRIBERS £16.19

Positive psychology and the goal ofunsettling the opponent dominate this latestwork of the American author’s, subtitled ‘APractical Guide to Inducing Errors’. Schuylershows that dubious, sometimes even near-refuted gambits actually score pretty well atmany levels of the game, while looking too atsuch topics as time management,provocative play and handling a bad position.

Also new in stock, two exciting chesscomputers... Millennium ChessGenius PROChess Computer retailing at £99.95 (£89.95for subscribers), and the MillenniumChessGenius PRO Chess Computer retailingat £159.99 (£143.95 for subscribers). Forfurther details see the advert on page 49.

65th Herts Congress12 – 13 November

County Suite, County Hall, Hertford, SG13 8DQ

4 sections: Open, U170, U140, U110. £2000 + Prize FundFor further information and to enter online, visit: www.hertschesscongress.com

TRAVELCHESS SETSNow Available

MAGNETIC WALLET SET £4.99

Highly portable folding design,this wallet-sized set will fit easily

into any pocket. Algebraicnotation around edge of board.

Measures 150 x 80mm(closed), 240 x 150mm (open).

Call 020 7486 7015or order online

www.chess.co.uk

TRAVEL MAGNETICFOLD FLAT CHESS SET

£14.99This set is great for any

travelling analyst! Large size,measures 240 x 300mm when

open and due to the flatmagnetic pieces is only 3mm

thick when closed.

55-57 Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 17/10/2016 21:46 Page 57

59-59 ChessBase advert_Layout 1 17/10/2016 19:58 Page 1

1: Chess Informant 129 - Big Cat EditionVarious grandmaster authors, 348 pages, paperbackRRP £29.99 SUBSCRIBERS £26.99

2: King's Indian WarfareIlya Smirin, 352 pages, paperbackRRP £20.99 SUBSCRIBERS £18.89

3: Beating Minor OpeningsVictor Mikhalevski, 584 pages, paperbackRRP £22.50 SUBSCRIBERS £20.25

4: A Practical Black Repertoire with Ìf6, g6, d6Alexei Kornev, 380 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

5: The Fianchetto SolutionE.Neiman and S.Shoker, 272 pages, paperbackRRP £19.50 SUBSCRIBERS £17.55

6: Timman’s TitansJan Timman, 320 pages, paperbackRRP £22.95 SUBSCRIBERS £20.66

7: New in Chess Yearbook Volume 120Various grandmaster authors, 256 pages, paperbackRRP £25.45 SUBSCRIBERS £22.91

8: Your Opponent is OverratedJames Schuyler, 224 pages, paperbackRRP £17.99 SUBSCRIBERS £16.19

9: Legendary Chess Careers: Nona GaprindashviliTibor Károlyi, 130 pages, paperbackRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

10: The RookieStephen Moss, 416 pages, hardbackRRP £18.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.09

11: Chess Strategy for KidsThomas Engqvist, 128 pages, hardbackRRP £9.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.99

12: Endgame Manual - 4th editionMark Dvoretsky, 424 pages, paperbackRRP £29.95 SUBSCRIBERS £26.95

13: Dynamic Decision Making in ChessBoris Gelfand, 284 pages, Quality ChessRRP £23.99 SUBSCRIBERS £21.59

14: First Steps: The Colle and London SystemsCyrus Lakdawala, 240 pages, paperbackRRP £17.99 SUBSCRIBERS £16.19

15: Winning with the Modern London SystemNikola Sedlak, 222 pages, paperbackRRP £21.95 SUBSCRIBERS £19.76

16: Instructive Chess MiniaturesAlper Efe Ataman, 128 pages, paperbackRRP £9.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.99

17: Master ClassVolume 07: Garry Kasparov (PC-DVD) Various GMs, running time 9 hours! RRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.46

18: How to Exchange Pieces (PC-DVD) Elizabeth Pähtz, Running time 4 hours 35 mins, RRP £24.95 SUBSCRIBERS £22.46

19: Millennium ChessGenius (Not pictured)Playing ability of 2000 Elo (175 ECF) - see p.49 forfurther details. RRP £99.95 SUBSCRIBERS £89.95

20: Millennium ChessGenius Pro (pictured)Playing ability of 2200+ Elo (200+ECF) - see p.49 forfurther details. RRP £159.95SUBSCRIBERS £143.95

ONLY subscribers to CHESS MAGAZINE may order items at the prices and conditions shown on this

page. All offers expire 31/1/2017. These offers are POST FREE in the UK only. Please add 20%

(of the undiscounted price) for EU countries and 30% (of the undiscounted price) Rest of the World.

ALL ITEMS ARE POST FREE FOR UK CUSTOMERS

Subscribers Only NovemberOrder online*: www.chess.co.uk/shop - Call 020 7288 1305 - Or use the included carrier sheet

* Enter SUBSCRIBER in the ‘Coupon Code’ box to claim the subscriber discount when ordering online.* UK based readers should also enter SUBSCRIBERSPECIAL in the ‘Coupon Code’ box to ensure they receive free postage on their order.

1 2 3 4

5 6 8

9 10 11

12

201917

13 16

7

14 15

18

60-60 Subscriber Specials November_Layout 1 17/10/2016 19:53 Page 1