Here is my brief review for the 3Cs website:
The Ragozin Complex – A Guide for White and Black, by Vladimir Barsky (translated by Steve Giddins)
New in Chess 350 pages, softback
One of the most prized items in my chess library is a somewhat battered blue hard-back book that was published in Kiev in 1956. It’s in Russian. The title means Questions of Modern Chess Theory. The author is Isaac Lipnitsky (1923-59). Lipnitsky was a very strong player; he never competed internationally, but played three times in the immensely strong championship of the USSR, his best achievement being a share of second place in 1950, behind Keres. The first 200 pages of the book deliver what the title of the book promises: a discussion of the theory of the openings and the links between the opening and the middlegame. The approach is startlingly modern and “concrete”, anti-dogmatic.
The final 220 or so pages of the book apply the ideas developed in the first half to the study of one particular opening complex: the Ragozin system, which can arise from various move orders but is essentially a hybrid of the Nimzo-Indian and the Queen’s Gambit, often arising, for instance, after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 d5 4 Nc3 Bb4. Black is prepared to accept the blocking of his c-pawn (5 Qa4+ forces 5…Nc6) and usually intends to free his position with …e5 instead of …c5.
Lipnitsky’s book was remarkably influential; references to it can be found, for instance, in the writings of Fischer, Botvinnik, Shereshevsky and Dvoretsky. Fischer is said to have studied Russian just so that he could read it, and early in his career he played several games with the Ragozin, although it has to be admitted that it was not his most successful black opening.
My own knowledge of Russian is limited to what one might call “chess-Russian”, developed by trying, with the aid of a dictionary, to understand the pages of Russian chess magazines in the late 1960s. Therefore I was delighted when in 2008 the publishers “Quality Chess” issued an English translation of Lipnitsky’s legendary book. This was great – as far as it went… The publishers decided to issue only the first part of it, omitting the second section on the Ragozin and replacing it with some of Lipnitsky’s annotated games. Still, this is a good book and I am pleased to be able to appreciate Lipnitsky’s ideas more deeply through the fluent translation by John Sugden.
Now, in 2011, my happiness is (almost) complete: the publishers New in Chess have issued a 350 page book by Lipnitsky-fan International Master Vladimir Barsky, offering an extensive study of the Ragozin and presenting the state of its theory in 2011, but based on Lipnitsky’s approach and division of the material. The author also makes extensive use of relevant quotations from Lipnitsky’s book, including a translation of his important section on “How to study a concrete opening”.
Viacheslav Ragozin himself (1908-1962) appears in the book far less than Lipnitsky, although six of his seminal games receive extensive annotation.
Some readers might be disappointed by the fact that this is not really a repertoire book; instead it is based on the “complete annotated games” approach. It contains 65 annotated games, grouped into seven chapters. There is an index of players, a list of games, an index of variations and a bibliography.
Two slightly sad notes: the only photograph presented of Lipnitsky is a blurred one from 1939. And the photo purporting to be of Ragozin (page 9) is in fact one of Boleslavsky. I hope this can be corrected in any subsequent edition of this interesting book.
Verdict: One can learn a great deal from this book, both from Lipnitsky’s insights and the more up-to-date theory provided by its 21st century author, IM Barsky, for whom this book was clearly a labour of love. Highly recommended to players wishing to develop a feel for the Ragozin complex. For many players this will provide a good answer to the question of what to aim for when White avoids the Nimzo-Indian by playing 3.Nf3. ****(*)
A contents list and sample can be downloaded in pdf from
http://www.newinchess.com/The_Ragozin_Complex-p-954.html
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Barsky on Ragozin (Read 53696 times)
