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My cautious response was that, in light of my recent writer’s block (translation: spending too much time working on my blog, http://jeromegambit.blogspot.com/, and not enough time producing book reviews) we probably should wait until there are a few more contestants. All of which delays the crowning of what has to be the pre-emptive (and preeminent) choice for top honors (during whatever time period we use): the Chess on the Edge three-volume set by FIDE Master Bruce Harper and International Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan, with contributions by International Master Gerard Welling and an introduction by International Master Lawrence Day. If you haven’t ordered at least one of the volumes (from the Chessville Book Store, of course) by the time you’ve finished reading this review – well, quickly re-read it, and then give yourself another try. As the commercial used to say: you deserve it. Canadian Duncan Suttles became an International Master at the age of 22 in 1967; received his International Grandmaster title in 1972; and also received his International Grandmaster of Correspondence Chess title in 1982 (making him one of the few GMs who is also a GMC). Suttles enjoyed playing in the Olympiads, and played a ton of games at Tel Aviv 1964, Havana 1966, Lugano 1968, Siegen 1970, the Mayaguez Student Olympiad 1971, Skopje 1972, Nice 1974, Lucerne 1982, and Thessaloniki 1984. In fact, the story goes that he was denied his Grandmaster title by FIDE in 1968 (due to some Cold War legerdemain) on a technicality – something about playing too many games, and ugly ones at that. Yes, indeed, Suttles was an Uber-Ugly-Meister, like his contemporary Tigran Petrosian – and equally underappreciated by many. (Shameless plug: review - Petrosian vs the Elite, 71 Victories by the Master of Manoeuvre 1946-1983 and interview - GM Raymond Keene). As the authors note in their Prologue:
So – what was Suttles into? Well, if you’ve played (or faced) 1…g6 or 1.g3, you’ve probably run across some of his games (if you were lucky). G.S. Botterill and R.D. Keene wrote The Modern Defense in 1972, referring to 1…g6 as a “universal reply” to 1.e4, 1.d4 and 1.c4, but Suttles preferred the moniker “the Rat,” a title popular in Canada and the Pacific Northwest. As IM Day writes, “Duncan always played 1…g6.”
Duncan Suttles was to strategy much like Mikhail Tal was to tactics: how the latter’s critics yelled Unsound! Unsound! as he detonated combinations all over the board – knowing well that you get the full point for winning the game, not the post mortem. The puzzling thing about playing over these games is that when the Grandmaster has the pawn center, it is to his advantage; yet, when he attacks a pawn center, he seems to be doing quite well, also. When his pawn structure is sound, it is to his benefit; yet he seems to get great mileage out of blown up chains, as well. When he has the initiative, he is near victory; when he seems to be noodling around, that’s when his opponent should really worry. The authors of the Chess on the Edge trilogy have tracked down and annotated over 600 of the Canadian Grandmasters games. Such a collection, alone, would be worth owning for its instructional and entertainment value it offers. But there is more. Harper and Seirawan have seriously dug into Suttles’ play with great vigor and appreciation, and they present their understandings quite well – even for club level players, such as this reviewer. They have a remarkably palatable style of writing that goes down like a single malt whiskey. (These guys could make calculus look sexy.) Just one more glass… Volume 1 features 100 selected games, with the myriad of play indicated by the chapter titles, as the games are grouped by theme: The “Suttles Style”; Pawns; Positional Play; Space; The Center; Positional Sacrifices; Attacks; Knights; Bishops; Rook Pawns; King Walks; Weird Maneuvers; Psychology; Just Plain Funny; Blow Outs; Tricks; Normal Openings; Opening Disasters; Crash and Burn; Fischer and Spassky; and Masterpiece; plus Appendix I: The Rat and Appendix II: The Suttles System. If that looks to you like an instruction manual on chess play, it’s probably not accidental. (You could do far worse.) By the way, did you catch “Crash and Burn” in that list? The authors are clear: play chess on the edge (of the board, of the knife) and sometimes you fall off. Sometimes, they admit in all honesty, Suttles is “flattened completely.” But they’re there to pick up the pieces. Volume 2 and Volume 3 have more of Suttles games (annotated), the former with those grouped by opening under the “A” nomenclature used by the of the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings and the latter for games that fall into the ECO opening categories “B” through “E.” In a useful touch, the games from Volume 1 are represented by their first ten moves in Volume 2 and Volume 3 to show how the battles fit in the opening typology, with a reference to the first volume for the rest of play. Volume 2 focuses on the Rat (1…g6), the flexible 1.g3, the English Opening (1.c4) and the “Suttles System”. Since Suttles often opened 1.e4, Volume 3 has many interesting approaches to the Alekhine, Caro Kann, French and Siclian Defenses. The Closed Sicilian was a specialty for Suttles, as was the Vienna Game and Gambit. Choosing a representative excerpt for readers to enjoy is an absurd task. I could choose a position or two, like the following from Suttles – Winterton, Canadian Open, 1964 (1-0, 40)
or the prelude to a quick loss by White in
Dimitriadis – Suttles, Thessaloniki Olympiad, 1984:
and leave it at that, I guess. Here’s one game randomly plucked out of Volume 1. Filipowicz – Suttles
The Chess on the Edge set is a great present (to yourself, if need be) and a fun way to start off the New Year. Frankly, if you’re looking for a “Play 1…g6 and Win in 20 Moves” style tome – pass on these three books. If you’re one of those chess players who actually plays over and even studies games of the Grandmasters – with the idea of improving your chess – then Duncan Suttles is someone you really should get to know better. Ah… Just one more sip, pass the Ardbeg, if you would…
(Chessviller
readers take note: if my review seems “too positive” for you, please check
out
International Master Maurits Wind’s review of Chess on the Edge
in the brilliant quarterly magazine, Kaissiber). From the website www.suttlesbook.com: Sample Pages
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I was swapping emails with Chessville
editor David Surratt when he suggested that in light of several publishers
making note of their books as winners, it might be time to award another
round of 
