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Recent Reviews

[Complete index of reviews]

The Final Theory of Chess by Gary M. Danelishen, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Some observers predict that the progress of chess-playing computer software will ...cause the end of the Royal Game, by finally answering the question, “Is chess a win or a draw with best play – and for who?”.  While initial silicon efforts at pawn-pushing were amusing in their time, current titles can beat most people, and some programs can beat all players.  Against that background, consider Gary M. Danelishen and his The Final Theory of Chess..."
Mastering the Chess Openings Volume 4 by IM John Watson  (Gambit, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "I could easily say that the first four chapters of this book by themselves would have made a fine piece of work.  Doing that would however ignore the real value of Mr. Watson’s labor on this volume.  As a manual to help players understand the Reti Opening those four chapters would be the equal of anything on the market, at least of what I have seen.  Of course it also works as the final piece in the work on openings in general.   What really comes through is Mr. Watson’s approach to understanding openings..."
Chess Praxis by Aron Nimzowitsch, new translation by Ian Adams, Quality Chess (2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Aron Nimzowitsch (1886 - 1935) was arguably one of the top half-dozen chess players in the world from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s, taking 1st or 2nd place in a string of tournaments..He was one of the leading voices in the “hypermodern” school of chess, which challenged various accepted strategic notions of chess play...  He introduced a bevy of strategic and positional concepts...  It is hard to find a modern grandmaster who has not been influenced by Nimzowitsch’s works..."
Attacking the Spanish by Sabino Brunello (Quality Chess, 2009), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "Defenses in the Ruy fall into two categories: solid lines aiming at equality in the middle game and active lines seeking counterplay with chances right from the opening.  This book covers three different lines, all of them from the second category.  Any player who defends the black side of the Ruy Lopez (Spanish Game) will do themselves a big favor by reading this book..."
Two Books by Richard Moody Jr. - Magic: Black to Move and Win! (self-published, 2007) and Universal Chess: The Search For Truth And Beauty (self-published, 1999) both reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "To fully appreciate Magic, it is helpful to read (or at least be familiar with) Moody’s earlier book on similar themes, Universal Chess...  The Universal Attack serves both as an easy-to-learn opening repertoire (with the provided analysis) and as an example of a “Universal Position”...  Moody expands upon his theory of Universal Positions, finding examples of them in modern grandmaster chess..."
The New Dragon Sicilian by Simon Williams (Everyman Chess, 2009), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "What once was old is now new again.  Chess openings adhere to this statement at least as well as any other idiom.  The great Danish GM Bent Larsen made this clear in the mid 1960’s.  With a seeming minimum of effort Larsen won games against the best players in the world by playing openings that were at least 30 years out of date.  Well, it has - kind of - happened again..."
Social Chess by Christopher Beverly, PhD (iUniverse, 2007) reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "I came across Dr. Beverly’s Social Chess, subtitled What Role Do You Occupy In Your Relationships?  Looks interesting, no?  Chess as a metaphor for social interactions.  In fact, the author, with a PhD in Organizational Development, looks at group interactions – as large as in a business, as small as in a relationship – and visualizes the group as a chessboard..."
Chess Step by Step: From Beginner to Champion, Book One by Aleksandr Kitsis (Lulu, 2009) reviewed by David Surratt.  "Kitsis does a good job of integrating each new concept into the knowledge base established in prior chapters, and keeps the student involved in active learning throughout the process.  Occasional "Did You Know?" boxes scattered around the book add to the student's interest..."
Dangerous Weapons: The Pirc and Modern by Richard Palliser, Colin McNab and James Vigus, reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "My past experiences with the “Dangerous Weapons” series had been that some fun lines were brought to light, but not really heavy stuff... Dangerous Weapons: the Pirc and Modern is a bit different than that, likely because in these defenses the structure and direction of the game is declared in the first three moves.  Consequently, the material in this volume comes closer to critical points...
True Combat Chess - Winning Battles Over the Board by IM Timothy Taylor (Everyman Chess, 2009), reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "International Master Timothy Taylor feels your pain.  As the author of True Combat Chess, he’d like to help you spread that pain around a bit amongst your opponents.  "The players who wrote me were not IMs or GMs, but their struggles were essentially the same as my own.  I have a hard time beating GMs – a B player has a hard time beating A players...  I get a won game – and don’t win – everybody who plays knows this one..."
Adolf Albin in America, A European Chess Master’s Sojourn, 1893-1895 by Olimpiu G. Urcan, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "We may have come across Tomasz Lissowski’s article at the Chess Archeology website, “Adolf Albin: The Teacher of Nimzovich?” but know not much else about this creative and aggressive master.  So what is the attraction of the recounting of three years of Albin’s adventures in turn-of-another-century America?  Simply put: Chess. Lots of interesting chess, by lots of interesting people..."
Starting Out: The Reti by GM Neil McDonald (Everyman Chess, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "Starting Out: The Reti is neither a compendium nor a repertoire book; it is, as the title indicates, a book to introduce the reader to the opening.  McDonald says that part of the appeal to him of this opening is that the appeal of the Reti is not in memorized lines, but instead in having a feel or understanding of the positions..."
Alekhine Alert! A Repertoire for Black Against 1.e4 by IM Timothy Taylor (Everyman Chess, 2010), reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "All of the games and notes do a fine job of getting the reader a base from which to work.  I found a lot of the material of great value and applaud the author for his work here.  That said, I had some problems with the book.  The author’s goal is to offer a repertoire book for Black and not another compendium such as the five books listed by the author.  However, Taylor failed to note..."
Play 1.b3! - The Nimzo-Larsen Attack: A Friend for Life by IM Ilya Odessky (New In Chess, 2008) reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Odessky [is] an accomplished chess player, coach, and author...[n]or do I think that I disparage him by likening his writing style to that of David Bronstein – after a couple of glasses of Stolichnaya...Play 1.b3!, however, is equally as much about how a modern master looks at an opening, how he evaluates a position, how he works backward from it and how he works forward from others.  It is a powerful illustration of a chess mind at work..."
Secrets of Opening Surprises Volume 11, Edited by Jeroen Bosch, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "When I was a kid, DC Comics, in its House of Mystery series, ran maybe a couple dozen issues with “Dial H for Hero” stories.  In them, teenager Robby Reed had a gadget that he could use to dial (like a phone in those days) and become different kinds of superheroes.  All sorts of adventures, of course, followed..."
Win with the Stonewall Dutch by Sverre Johnsen, IM Ivar Bern & GM Simen Agdestein, reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "I have only played the Stonewall Dutch once in a tournament.  I won’t say that I played it on a dare, but the best player I know was playing at the table next to me and thought I was criminally insane.  Success followed me that day, but I couldn’t bring myself to repeat the Stonewall.  Well, that might have changed..."
Fighting the Ruy Lopez by GM Milos Pavolvic, reviewed by NM Bill McGeary.  "Marshall’s attack in the Ruy Lopez has an extremely unique identity.  For decades players trying to play the attack as Black had analysis in Marshall’s book to work from, a few games from Geller and Spassky contributed in the 1960’s, and then Harding’s book in the mid 1970’s.  It was another dozen or so years until Harding’s collaboration with Nunn in 1989; then some small bits of work were published, and now - another 20 years later - there appears a new book concerning The Marshall..."
Chess in Action (Sterling Publishing Co, Inc., 2010) by Paul Mantell and Dean Ippolito, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "There are many books written to introduce children to chess.  Most do their job well.  Some do it with style.  To stand out in this crowd, a book has to have “something” extra. For example..."
The Greatest Ever Chess Opening Ideas by Christoph Scheerer, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Put three chess players in a room, and you’re bound to have at least four opinions and at least five arguments…  More than anything else (other than an easy mate) players love a good, er, discussion.  From pawnpusher to grandmaster, devotees of the Royal Game should take a look at Christoph Scheerer’s The Greatest Ever Chess Opening Ideas.  There’s a whole lot to love there..."
Improve Your Chess At Any Age by Andy Hortillosa, reviewed by Andy Hortillosa.  "In 2008 Chessville proudly introduced a new columnist to our readers - Andy Hortillosa.  We called his column The Whites of Their Eyes, A Fresh Perspective on Mastering Tactics.  Andy wrote: "Most authors believe, as evidenced by the books and software available in the market, that puzzle exercises and solving them are the best approach to learning tactics.  They could never be so wrong.  The best way to learn tactics for most people is to actually learn them by seeing the transition point in its entirety from the opening phase to the beginning point of the puzzle..."
Dangerous Weapons: The Queen’s Gambit by Richard Palliser, Glenn Flear and Chris Ward, reviewed by Rick Kennedy.  "Nitroglycerine.  A little bit of it is a powerful muscle relaxant.  A whole lot of it is a dangerous explosive.  Take Dangerous Weapons: The Queen’s Gambit.  Steadied by the information within its pages, playing either Black or White, you can calmly face your opponents.  Across the board from you?  Boom!..."


The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the author of the review,
and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Chessville or it's Publisher.

 

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