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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) New book on the English. (Read 22842 times)
alyechin
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #35 - 06/06/10 at 13:00:57
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akita wrote on 06/05/10 at 06:58:28:
Hi All

Has anybody got this new book and if so is it any good?

Thanks

Akita


Carlstedts book is, in my opinion, a guide for club-players. For newbies to the "Bremer Partie" I suggest to get startet with the English with this book (+ some database research).
  
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akita
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #34 - 06/05/10 at 06:58:28
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Hi All

Has anybody got this new book and if so is it any good?

Thanks

Akita
  
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trw
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #33 - 03/18/10 at 02:51:55
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Antillian wrote on 03/12/10 at 08:55:44:
I remember reading somewhere that one should  approach an opening book as an illustration of how leading players have solved typical opening problems. Personally, that is my approach, which I why I rather have a book with lots of good verbal explanations and complete games. Marin's series may be long, but it rich in prose - it is by no means encyclopedic. However, I find even in books where verbal explanations are lacking, one can still gain a lot of insight by going through the various lines and side lines.



I agree completely. This is why sometimes I buy older books even if their "theory" isn't uptodate. I find less datadumps in some older books and way more in the way of explanation as there is no computer switch to flip.
  
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Paddy
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #32 - 03/16/10 at 00:25:41
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Paddy wrote on 03/12/10 at 02:05:16:
I know a few IMs and GMs personally. They mostly use databases and TWIC but do also use books, particularly if a colleague recommends one as high quality; also if they want to learn a new opening quickly - one IM told me that when taking up a new opening he just needs:
1) a good book (not necessarily a repertoire book and not necessarily the most up to date) that explains the ideas and lays out the structure of the opening;
2) to find out who are the leading exponents of the opening he wants to play, then it's switch on the computer and look for important or recent, preferably well annotated, games by those guys.

None of the titled players I know has a whole repertoire mapped out on paper or in a database in fine detail. Fewer and fewer strong players even have a fixed repertoire any more; they have their favourite openings, or the openings that they feel most comfortable with, and in the breaks between tournaments they'll maybe try to find some new ideas, or specific novelties, but they'll mostly rely on preparing for specific opponents, round by round at the tournament itself.

OK, we're not talking the very top players here; of course, they and their helpers do extensive and detailed computer research (there's a recent article about Nakamura's methods in this respect).

A couple of random references a propos that spring to mind:

GM Vinay Bhat wrote recently on his blog that he used Reynaldo Vera's book "Chess Explained: The Semi-Slav" to learn this opening - hardly the most advanced or complete book on the subject.

Some years ago IM Edward Dearing wrote in the magazine "Scottish Chess" that he prepared the English for White by reading Kosten's book on the train on the way to a tournament in Hungary where he gained an IM norm, and he found the book "Pirc Alert" much more helpful than the much more thorough and detailed book by Nunn and McNab.

I seem to detect a form of chess snobbery going on in this thread, and also the one clobbering young Naroditsky, World U12 champion, 2388 at age twelve and climbing. Of course he is capable of writing something that we patzers might find worth reading!

Regarding the forthcoming book by Jonathan Carlstedt (born 1990), it's based on his own experience of getting to his present level (FM) and is targeted at keen amateur over-the -board-players with limited study time. It may well turn out to be very suitable for that readership - and maybe more.  Let's just wait and see.


Gm Vinay Bhat has elaborated on using books in preparation in a reply at his blog:

http://vbhat.wordpress.com/2010/02/25/theoretical-discussions-continued/#comment...

By the way, concerning my comments about snobbery and chess books, a GM I know told me that one of the most useful books on the Gruenfeld he had found (this was at least a decade ago, so don't rush out and buy it) was a trashy looking book by Shamkovich and Cartier from Hays Publishing, not exactly the most prestigious of chess publishing houses.
  
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TonyRo
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #31 - 03/12/10 at 15:57:11
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I too like the Chess Stars Format, and think that some of the openings that I've picked up from this format are the ones I play best. Specifically, I think the Sveshnikov is one of the strongest openings in my repertoire, and it's mostly due to The Easiest Sicilian.
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #30 - 03/12/10 at 15:15:13
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Antillian wrote on 03/12/10 at 08:55:44:
@Moahunter, I am fascinated by your constant use of the word "memorize". Another poster used this word too when lamenting about the length of the Marin series. I found it odd then because it never occurred to me that this is really how many chess amateurs approached opening books. It has since dawned on me that this is exactly how many persons do in fact approach chess books. If one feels that one has to memorize everything in a book, then it makes sense that one would feel a book or series of books is too long. No wonder there is a bunch of folks over on the Quality Chess forum right now fretting because the GM Rep 2 did not include a reply to every move considered by Rybka! Even on this board, I could never understand the obsessive need to address every omission. Do players really prepare a reply to every possible move?

Maybe this is what is causing books to sprawl out beyond the needed length? There is a worry that someone will post on this thread or a chess review, that it didn't consider "this" move or "that" move, when in reality no book can ever provide a perfect repertoire of everything. Or out of a worry that people will complain because "every" transposition is not covered (which was an "issue" with Pritchetts book)?

There will always be an element of memorization in any opening preparation. The best memorization though isn't to find the line that produces the best "+", but rather, is based on understanding of the reasons for the moves, and how to reach a position that is well understood and can be exploited. I think when opening repertoire books grow to long, this is lost in the excessive verbiage on illustrations and lines that aren't really critical to being able to play the opening well. Instead of the author having the skill to highlight what really is needed, what is ended up with is something that is too overwhelming to be quickly used before a tournament or similar by a player who doesn't have the expertise to know what is important, and what isn't.

I thought the GM book "Playing the Queens Gambit" was about spot on in terms of level of detail. The author there was smart enough to limit to the repertoire to that opening, and I think the end result was outstanding for many players because of it. Chess Stars format is a favourite of mine as well, as the quick repertoire format is exactly what a lot of people need to get started, or to quickly refresh when things go off the rails.
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #29 - 03/12/10 at 14:10:36
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One of my all-time favorite opening books is Queen's Indian Defense: Kasparov System by Mikhail Gurevich.  It clocks in at 102 pages, including postscript and a list of illustrative games.

What makes it special is its inclusion of tabias and problem positions that are typical of the opening.  It doesn't pretend to have answers for every possible variation and even better, doesn't sugar-coat white's chances.

Even so, it is written for a very high level of player.  Its scope is part of the reason it's so successful, at least for me.

A slender book devoted to a huge repertoire such as 1.e4, 1.d4, or 1.c4 will usually have a much different audience in mind than something like the Grandmaster Repertoire series.  My own complaint with the 1.c4 series is that it was advertised as a two volume series and is now three.  I still look forward to Marin's books, but may not buy them. 

I have no complaint at all with Carlstedt's book. I haven't even seen it.  But I don't expect it to solve intractable opening problems either. If it presents the reader with these problems and shows some ways for the reader to understand them, then it will be successful.  If, as many opening books do, it tries to gloss over the problems, it will not be useful. At least to me.
  
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Antillian
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #28 - 03/12/10 at 08:55:44
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This thread is beginning to remind me of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This book is too long....this book is too short.

@Moahunter, I am fascinated by your constant use of the word "memorize". Another poster used this word too when lamenting about the length of the Marin series. I found it odd then because it never occurred to me that this is really how many chess amateurs approached opening books. It has since dawned on me that this is exactly how many persons do in fact approach chess books. If one feels that one has to memorize everything in a book, then it makes sense that one would feel a book or series of books is too long. No wonder there is a bunch of folks over on the Quality Chess forum right now fretting because the GM Rep 2 did not include a reply to every move considered by Rybka! Even on this board, I could never understand the obsessive need to address every omission. Do players really prepare a reply to every possible move?

I remember reading somewhere that one should  approach an opening book as an illustration of how leading players have solved typical opening problems. Personally, that is my approach, which I why I rather have a book with lots of good verbal explanations and complete games. Marin's series may be long, but it rich in prose - it is by no means encyclopedic. However, I find even in books where verbal explanations are lacking, one can still gain a lot of insight by going through the various lines and side lines.
  
"Breakthrough results come about by a series of good decisions, diligently executed and accumulated one on top of another." Jim Collins --- Good to Great
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Paddy
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #27 - 03/12/10 at 02:05:16
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I know a few IMs and GMs personally. They mostly use databases and TWIC but do also use books, particularly if a colleague recommends one as high quality; also if they want to learn a new opening quickly - one IM told me that when taking up a new opening he just needs:
1) a good book (not necessarily a repertoire book and not necessarily the most up to date) that explains the ideas and lays out the structure of the opening;
2) to find out who are the leading exponents of the opening he wants to play, then it's switch on the computer and look for important or recent, preferably well annotated, games by those guys.

None of the titled players I know has a whole repertoire mapped out on paper or in a database in fine detail. Fewer and fewer strong players even have a fixed repertoire any more; they have their favourite openings, or the openings that they feel most comfortable with, and in the breaks between tournaments they'll maybe try to find some new ideas, or specific novelties, but they'll mostly rely on preparing for specific opponents, round by round at the tournament itself.

OK, we're not talking the very top players here; of course, they and their helpers do extensive and detailed computer research (there's a recent article about Nakamura's methods in this respect).

A couple of random references a propos that spring to mind:

GM Vinay Bhat wrote recently on his blog that he used Reynaldo Vera's book "Chess Explained: The Semi-Slav" to learn this opening - hardly the most advanced or complete book on the subject.

Some years ago IM Edward Dearing wrote in the magazine "Scottish Chess" that he prepared the English for White by reading Kosten's book on the train on the way to a tournament in Hungary where he gained an IM norm, and he found the book "Pirc Alert" much more helpful than the much more thorough and detailed book by Nunn and McNab.

I seem to detect a form of chess snobbery going on in this thread, and also the one clobbering young Naroditsky, World U12 champion, 2388 at age twelve and climbing. Of course he is capable of writing something that we patzers might find worth reading!

Regarding the forthcoming book by Jonathan Carlstedt (born 1990), it's based on his own experience of getting to his present level (FM) and is targeted at keen amateur over-the -board-players with limited study time. It may well turn out to be very suitable for that readership - and maybe more.  Let's just wait and see.
« Last Edit: 03/12/10 at 15:33:28 by Paddy »  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #26 - 03/12/10 at 00:24:44
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Gueler wrote on 03/11/10 at 22:20:34:
In my opinion that's not the question. Kosten's book tried to provide a easy to learn opening repertoire, with a solid overview of plans and strategies, which I think would be suitable for players in the 1600-2000 range who previously didn't have any or only limited exposure to the English. Maybe it would be beneficial to players above 2000 but I would have to assume that the value decreases, the higher you get on the ELO ladder.

I find this paragraph sort of interesting. At some point, as players get well above 2000, perhaps opening repertoire books don't really make much sense? You can try to memorize another players repertoire, but at what point is it easier to create your own for your own strengths and weaknesses using chessbase or aquarium? For better players, it is probably just as easy to learn with the later, and more rewarding as well. I expect most grandmasters did not become grandmaster by memorizing the repertoires of other grandmasters. Rather, I think they memorize critical games / positions and how to exploit that, which is what we can see illustrated in Karpov's English opening book.

I can't help thinking that some of the longer repertoire books are basically self indulgent. The player writing the book is trying to find the "truth" for them, for their perfect way to play. But another player can't pick that up, memorize it, and be happy. The whole point of such in-depth analysis it seems to me, is to find positions that suit you, not the masses, so I am not sure how appropriate it is to cash in from this personal quest.

In that way, I think these shorter books can be more valuable in that they point players in a direction, and verbalize ideas. Kosten's book was very popular as it did this. I hope this new book turns out like that as well (if it ever gets translated into English). A monograph on the current state of theory to a limited depth in the opening is very interesting as well (like Bagirov's English books, or perhaps Watson's which I don't have).  I just struggle to see the point in the longer works that aren't of a reference nature, I rarely think a good chess book is too short, but I do think some types of books can be way to long.
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #25 - 03/11/10 at 23:51:57
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Yeah, I have some slender opening books myself and there is certainly a market for them.  I was mostly commenting on Markovich's query regarding the Symmetrical English with 2.Nc3.  That was the source of my scepticism (or skeptisim... I just found out that I've been spelling it the English way all my life.  I had thought there was no difference.).
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #24 - 03/11/10 at 22:49:32
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Smyslov_Fan, I respect that.

But I wonder, what are you sceptical about and why?

I think than Kosten's book with about 150 pages provided more information that just to get into trouble.  Having that said, wouldn't it be possible that we also see a similar success with Carlstedt's book which has a comparable page count and target audience?
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #23 - 03/11/10 at 22:30:38
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Well said, Gueler.

But I too am sceptical. I remember a review of one opening book stating that it gave the reader just enough information to get into trouble.  I wonder if this book will enjoy the same criticism.
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #22 - 03/11/10 at 22:20:34
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I think the problem with reviewing books on this forum, and especially with books which have not been published yet, is that people tend not to consider the objective of the book in question or its target audience.

Nobody is claiming that Carlstedt's book will be a trailblazer and enhance theory, or that it will be as detailed as Marin's book. One would have to be rather naive to assume that, given that it only has 150 pages (and by the way, do you guys realize that this book comes with a CD with annotated games from the author plus extracts from Nigel Davies's chessbase DVD?)

This book on the English may still be an excellent book despite its 150 pages if it achieves its purpose.

Earlier in this thread it was questioned if Kosten's book was comprehensive and if there weren't any shortcuts. In my opinion that's not the question. Kosten's book tried to provide a easy to learn opening repertoire, with a solid overview of plans and strategies, which I think would be suitable for players in the 1600-2000 range who previously didn't have any or only limited exposure to the English. Maybe it would be beneficial to players above 2000 but I would have to assume that the value decreases, the higher you get on the ELO ladder.

Assuming that this is what Carlstedt tries to accomplish, the question should not be how he fares in comparison with Marin, but rather what he has to offer that wasn't already offered by Craig Pritchett's or Tony Kosten's books or Nigel Davies DVD.

Don't look at a Fiat Uno and be skeptical if it will perform like a Ferrari.
  
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Re: New book on the English.
Reply #21 - 03/11/10 at 15:49:08
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It's no problem, don't worry about it!  Grin

I too, am completely jazzed to see what Marin is throwing out there against all the lines you mentioned, particularly 1...c5 and the KID stuff. Hopefully it will be worth it. If there's nothing new against some of the critical lines, it devalues the set somewhat in my opinion. But then again, it's the English, so Black will find some way to equalize anyway.  Wink
  
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