katar wrote on 06/23/15 at 23:04:51:


I've just received my copy of the new Art of Sacrifice book. Only had time to flick through the pages, but it looks very well written and i am really looking forward to reading it.

I usually dont read Nunn's books because they're usually loaded with variations, but his book on Lasker isnt. So, i've also picked this up. 

RoleyPoley wrote on 06/24/15 at 23:15:47:


For a modern player Judit Polgar's recent books are very good and instructive!  (In truth I read the first one and it was GREAT!  I am assuming the remaining two books stay at that high level of quality)

ReneDescartes wrote on 07/04/15 at 15:56:54:


I never knew that. Thankyou. I'm picking up the books from the shop this week and am really looking forward to reading them.

That is one of the things that i admire about Tal. His ability to be liked by virtually anyone. I think even Fischer took time to visit him in hospital.

ReneDescartes wrote on 07/02/15 at 00:20:32:


Tal is my hero. I havent read many biographies or games of the masters so maybe in time that might change. When i was first starting to play regularly about 20 years ago, Bronstein and Keres were the players i first admired, perhaps because i was playing the Kings Gambit .

I then began reading up on Tal after i started trying out the Benoni. I had read stories about him in other books (Neil McDonald mentions playing him in the introduction of his Kings Gambit book - his hero took the pawn, swapped off all the pieces and ground out the win in the endgame  ). But nothing compared to his own book - life and games, a delight to read.

ReneDescartes wrote on 06/25/15 at 02:21:17:


Thanks Rene. I'll look at picking these up too. As long as he doesnt spend too much time talking about when he beat my hero 

Volume 1 of Botvinnik's Best Games from Moravian Chess is the best work, and the whole series is better-written even than his earler works. Though it's not a textbook, Botvinnik writes this three-volume chronological collection in some ways like a cumulative class, referring in the games of second and third volumes to principles established in the games of the first.

4-1 is being kind. The ratio is unfavorable for one seeking instruction more than entertainment. There is often a mere morsel of chess information at the end of a large purple passage. If the chess content were written in the style of Tarrasch, the books would be the length of a pamphlet.  On the other hand, there are some exercises.

The best player-writers in chess history--Tarrasch, Bronstein, Botvinnik, etc.--filled their books with priceless verbal chess content equal in volume to Lackdawala's florid imagery, and did so with wonderful style that conveyed their personalities.

Botvinnik:
                                     "16. dxc5
Another positional error. The weakness of so-called "hanging pawns" at c5 and d5 cannot be exploited when there is a large number and concentration of minor pieces, or by attacking these pawns from the back rank. Moreover, White parts with his last strongpoint in the centre -- his d4 pawn, the black bishops become active, the tempo of the 'battle' increases, and all the time he now has to reckon with a possible advance of the black pawns, in particular ...d5-d4."

And here is Botvinnik's personality coming through: [Smyslov plays]
                                     "53...Qh2
But suppose the opponent does not notice the 'threat' of 54...Qxg3 55 fxg3 f2...
                                      54. Qe1
He noticed it! Black Resigns."

Well, here's Larsen's witty and instructive style: "11. Qd2? White had to castle. The text move is typical for those who think that such a move played with the White pieces may be enjoyable." And later: "21.f4. If 21 Nc7 Qg4. After 21.f4 Black has an instructive combination under the theme desperado. 21. Bxd5 cxd5 22.Bxd4! This was all there was to it. If 23. Qxd4 Qxd1, winning the exchange."

And here's Lackdawala's witty and instructive style: "46...Nxe5 The slaughterhouse gutters clog and overflow with the warm, cloying blood of the newly dead, as White's pawns hang from their hooks in eviscerated ruin." And: "Rg6! The rook, a creature of the heavens, refuses to debase himself with earthly sorrows like aging, sickness, and death. He flits about, like a fly who just sits on the wall for no reason, then just as randomly glies off to nowhere in particular. The text is much stronger than grabbing b6, as Rg5 is now in the air."

By the way, whatever collection others read, Larsen's game collection from NIC is not sparsely, but very richly annotated, without hugely long variations, and is available in electronic form from ForwardChess.