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ContentsEditorial.................................................................................................................4Malcom Pein on the latest developments in the game

60 Seconds with... IM Craig Hanley .........................................................7We caught up with one of the star performers from the British

Personal Bests ...................................................................................................8Wojtaszek triumphed at Dortmund and MVL shone in St. Louis

Radjabov Returns...........................................................................................16Steve Giddins on a small upset at the Geneva Grand Prix

An Appeal from IM Mike Basman............................................................19

Find the Winning Moves .............................................................................20Can you do as well as the players at the South Wales International?

Keeping up with the Joneses....................................................................24Gawain Jones won an enthralling speed play-off in Llandudno

Making Your Own Fortune.........................................................................26Craig Hanley certainly made the most of his return to the board

Best of British .................................................................................................30Luke McShane & Gawain Jones on their best games from the British

A Close-Run Thing.........................................................................................33Roger Emerson reports on the hard-fought British Over-65s

That Missed Draw ..........................................................................................34Jonathan Speelman spotted a draw in a famous bishop endgame

How Good is Your Chess? ..........................................................................36Daniel King presents a fabulous attacking gem by Ray Robson

Forgetting Our Intention ...........................................................................40Amatzia Avni on a peculiar type of error and how to avoid it

Falling Into It...................................................................................................42Matthew Lunn on why we might want to fall into an opening trap

Never Mind the Grandmasters................................................................44Carl Portman always enjoys playing in a chess tournament

Which World Champion Are You? ...........................................................46Like many, Milos Pavlovic has his favourite world champion

Forthcoming Events .....................................................................................48

Home News.......................................................................................................49Agon founder and former ECF President Andrew Paulson has died

Overseas News ...............................................................................................50Hour Yifan and Wei Yi have been making headlines

Solutions............................................................................................................53

New Books and Software...........................................................................55Sean Marsh enjoyed two new works from Gambit

Saunders on Chess ........................................................................................58John reflects on the change to the format of the British

Photo credits: Valera Belobeev (p.16), Maria Emelianova (pp.6, 37), James Essinger (p.49), Alina L’Ami

(p.53), Phil Makepeace (pp.7, 27-28, 30-33), Lennart Ootes (pp.4-5, 12-15, 22), Niki Riga (p.52),

Georgious Souleidis (pp.8-11), Fiona Steil-Antoni (p.18), Paul Truong (p.50), Maria Yassakova (p.19).

ChessFounding Editor: B.H. Wood, OBE. M.Sc †Executive Editor: Malcolm PeinEditors: Richard Palliser, Matt ReadAssociate Editor: John SaundersSubscriptions Manager: Paul Harrington

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Chess Magazine (ISSN 0964-6221) is published by:Chess & Bridge Ltd, 44 Baker St, London, W1U 7RTTel: 020 7288 1305 Fax: 020 7486 7015Email: info@chess.co.uk, Website: www.chess.co.uk FRONT COVER:Cover Design: Matt ReadCover photography: Arnold Lutton

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03-03 Contents_Chess mag - 21_6_10 20/08/2017 21:21 Page 3

20 September 2017

Find the Winning MovesTest your tactical ability with these positions grouped in rough order of difficulty.

The games come from various recent events, not least the South Wales

International in Cardiff. Don’t forget that whilst sometimes the key move will

force mate or the win of material, other times it will just win a pawn.

Solutions on page 54.

(1) J.Jenkins-C.GartsideGloucester 2017

White to Play

(2) R.Taylor-J.MenadueCardiff 2017Black to Play

(3) R.Bates-D.HowellLondon (rapid) 2017

White to Play

(4) J.Rudd-J.FathallahCardiff 2017White to Play

(5) M.Popov-R.OvetchkinPolugaevsky Memorial, Samara 2017

White to Play and Draw

(6) A.Naiditsch-M.WarmerdamGerman Bundesliga 2017

White to Play

Warm-up Puzzles

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September 2017

Notes by Gawain Jones

J.Houska-G.JonesRound 7

Modern Defence

1 d4 g6 2 e4 A surprise. I didn’t think Jovanka had playedany 1 e4 set-ups in the past few years.2...d6 3 g3 Ìf6 4 Íg2 Íg7 5 Ìe2 c5 6 c3 Now the game has more of a c3 Siciliancharacter. The knight on e2 has meant Whiteis able to defend her e-pawn with the bishopand so hasn’t had to commit a knight to c3.The downside is the e2-knight isn’t on such agood route and lacks potential.6...Ëc7 I wanted to avoid the queen swap. A high-powered blitz game continued 6...0-0 7 0-0Ìc6 8 h3 (as in our main game, changing thestructure with 8 d5 was critical) 8...e5 9 Íe3cxd4 10 cxd4. Here in Karjakin-Carlsen, Moscow(blitz) 2009, 10...d5 would have at least equalised.7 0-0 0-0 8 h3 Ìc6 9 Íe3 Jovanka makes sensible developing movesaround here, but that gives me time to coordinatemy pieces. During the game I thought 9 d5 eitherhere or on the next couple of moves was critical.9...b6 10 Ìa3 A critical line I had to check during the gameran 10 e5 dxe5 11 dxe5 Îd8 12 Ëxd8+! (if12 Ëc1 Ìd5) 12...Ëxd8 13 exf6 Íxf6 14 Íxc6Íxh3 when material is roughly level. I decided thatI shouldn’t be worse with my lead in developmentand White’s slightly vulnerable kingside.10...Ía6

11 Îe1?! I think this is too slow. This was Jovanka’slast chance to play 11 d5, harassing my knight.After 11...Ìa5 12 b3 Îae8 13 c4 e6 14 Ëc2(and not 14 Ìc3?! Ìxd5!) 14...exd5 15 exd5Íc8 White is probably slightly more comfortablewith the extra space, but Black seems to haveenough room to manoeuvre. The out-of-playknights on the a-file cancel each other out. There’s also 11...Ìe5!? when I have to becareful that my knight doesn’t get trapped:12 f4 (12 b3!? c4 13 f4 Ìd3 is also verymessy) 12...Ìc4 (side-stepping 12...Ìd3?!13 c4!) 13 Ìxc4 Íxc4 14 b3 Ía6. Whitehas grabbed a lot of space, but has to becareful to keep control. It’s important that 15 c4 can be met with 15...b5.11...e5 12 d5 The pressure on White’s centre obligedJovanka to close the position and now thegame resembles a Fianchetto King’s Indian. Ithink it’s a good version for Black as I have aready-made plan of attacking on thekingside, while White’s queenside counterplayisn’t so convincing.12...Ìe7 13 b4 13 c4, bringing the knight to c3, looksmore logical to me.

13...Ëd7 Played not so much with ideas to preventb4-b5, but to control the a4-square, and soto stop White bringing her queen into play. 13...Ìd7, getting on with things on thekingside, was a good alternative.14 Îb1 Ìh5

15 b5 Closing the queenside is not exactly idealfor White as that’s where she needs to getcounterplay, but I thought there was aconcrete reason for the move. Instead, 15g4? would be premature: 15...cxb4! 16 cxb4Íxe2! 17 Ëxe2 Ìf4 and White will haveproblems on the dark squares.15...Íb7 15...Íc8!? was also interesting. This way Iwould have more pressure on h3, but the a8-rook is still out of play.16 Ëd2? White cannot afford to give Black free playon the kingside. I thought 16 g4! had to beplayed. The big difference is I can no longercapture on e2 so White retains control of thef4-square. Here I was examining various waysof sacrificing my knight: a) 16...f5!? really tempted me. The piecesacrifice is only temporary and the kingsideexplodes. Following 17 gxh5 f4 18 Íd2 bothsides have various options, but withcomputer precision it seems White is better:for example, 18...f3 19 h6! fxg2!? (after19...Íh8 20 Íf1 fxe2 21 Íxe2 White isbetter as she’ll take control of the lightsquares; likewise, after 19...fxe2 20 Ëxe2Íf6 White should be better with her extrapawn, although both sides have various

Two pivotal encounters from Llandudno with notes by the winners, Gawain Jones and Luke McShane

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Best of British

Gawain Jones defeated Luke McShane in theplay-off final to become the British Champion!

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The realisation that one has fallen into anopening trap is one of the most sickening feelingsin chess, bringing the game to an unhappyconclusion before it has really got started. Todeliver your opponents into such a trap is,conversely, enormously satisfying. It feels, rightlyor wrongly, like a just reward for the knowledgethat you possessed and your opponent lacked. Yet there are traps which the openingbooks might pronounce as winning, but requirea certain amount of technical precision tobring home the point. Which begs thequestion: are there situations where we canwander into these traps freely, and surprise ouropponents with a test of their understanding? Though this strategy will revolt many whoequate chess with the search for truth, thereis something admirable about challenging thegame’s widely held conceptions – statementslike “Everyone knows that this line is winningfor X” – as it speaks of a fearless and creativeapproach, and joy in the intricacies of combat.

A.Shirov-S.SulskisTromsø Olympiad 2014Two Knights Defence

1 e4 e5 2 Ìf3 Ìc6 3 Íc4 Ìf6 4 Ìg5 d5 5 exd5 When I was younger, I adored the Fried Liver– the frequency with which I reached this position,for my opponents to unthinkingly recapture.5...Ìxd5!? Now an enjoyable finish was in store (5...Ìa5is far more sensible, and a lot less fun), and thegame could be chalked off as a win. Yet after...6 Ìxf7 A move which I hope will send a rush ofnostalgia through many of you.6...Êxf7 7 Ëf3+ Êe6

...is the win really all that trivial? WhenAlexei Shirov found himself in this positionagainst highly experienced GM opposition, Ican only imagine he was a little morecircumspect than my younger self.8 Ìc3 Ìcb4 9 a3! Shirov decides that he only needs ahandful of pieces to win the game. 9 0-0 and 9 Ëe4 are popular alternatives,increasing the pressure on Black’s centre.9...Ìxc2+ 10 Êd1 Ìxa1 11 Ìxd5

Now Fritz suggests the extraordinary11...Ëh4!, offering the rook, and generatingpotential counterplay along the fourth rankand d1-h5 diagonal. Playing these linesaccurately is no easy task, and if Blackprepares well, White might find himselfthoroughly flummoxed. Instead, in the game, Sulskis played11...Êd6, and became the victim of aglorious attack (1-0, 28).

This is a particularly dramatic example oftesting an opening trap. Black’s king is veryexposed in these lines, and we will not faceopponents of Shirov’s attacking pedigreeevery day. Nevertheless (and forgive me forstating the obvious), no opening trap can bewritten off as a win without proof. If theproof is neither self-evident, nor simple, thenthe line must surely be playable, even if itcarries a fair amount of risk. Your analysis willhopefully decide if the Fried Liver falls intothis category. A less hair-raising opportunity can be foundin one of our game’s most famous positionalsacrifices, which occurred in the second matchbetween Garry Kasparov and IBM.

Deep Blue-G.Kasparov6th matchgame, New York 1997

Caro-Kann Defence

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Ìc3 dxe4 4 Ìxe4 Ìd75 Ìg5 Ìgf6 6 Íd3 e6 7 Ì1f3 h6 A bluff – Kasparov, underestimating theextent of Deep Blue’s programming, believedthat the knight would retreat, and after 8 Ìe4Ìxe4 9 Íxe4 Ìf6 Black has very little to fear.8 Ìxe6! In the ensuing middlegame Black’s horrifyinglight squares, inert bishops and unsettled kingwill give White more than enough for the piece.8...Ëe7 Writing for Quality Chess, Parimarjan Negisuggests that 8...fxe6 is the lesser evil, but thathe would “not wish to play either line with Black”.9 0-0 Not 9 Ëe2, allowing 9...Ëxe6.9...fxe6 10 Íg6+ Êd8 11 Íf4

Deep Blue went on to win in 19 moves.

And yet there are numerous examples ofextremely strong players playing this sacrificeas White, and going on to lose. The followinggame from the 2015 Reykjavik Open was theinspiration for this article; a surprisingminiature which challenged my perceptionsof opening strategy.

H.Stefansson-J.Granda ZunigaReykjavik 2015

Caro-Kann Defence

1 e4 c6 2 d4 d5 3 Ìd2 dxe4 4 Ìxe4Ìd7 5 Ìg5 e6 6 Íd3 Ìgf6 7 Ì1f3 h6

September 2017

Matthew Lunn on why we sometimes might want to fall into an opening trap

Falling Into It...

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My Secrets in the Ruy LopezLajos Portisch, 160 pages

Gambit PublicationsRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

With its promise of “Unpublished ideas andanalysis from decades of elite-level chess,”this book marks the debut volume for Gambitby one of the all-time greats of the game.Portisch states it is his “duty” to share hissecrets, because “If I fail to do this, a hugeamount of material, the overwhelming partof which was prepared by the old methods –that is, by hand and on paper – will end up inthe flames of the bonfire sooner or later.” Portisch, for many years Hungary’s topplayer and permanent Candidate for theWorld Championship, presents his thoughtsand analysis on a range of Ruy Lopez lines,including the Exchange variation (traditionaland delayed), Steinitz Defence (Old andModern), set-ups including an early d3 andthe Central Advance (an early d4), beforefinally turning his attention to the main linesin which he had the greatest experience, withthe accent firmly on the Breyer System,where Black redeploys the knight from c6 tod7 via b8. This is the part of the book wherewe find some real heavyweight encounters,with Portisch upholding the honour of theBreyer against Fischer, Spassky, Timman,Ljubojevic and Browne. There are 80 main illustrative games, withthe vast majority played by Portisch himself.Admittedly, there is nothing on the BerlinDefence or the Marshall Attack (Portischowns up to being one of “the group of chess-players, like Karpov or Korchnoi, who preferto take a pawn rather than sacrifice one”).Indeed, in the style one would expect of agreat gentleman, he “always made the move7...d6 immediately, in order to assure myopponent not to think, even by chance, I wouldpossibly ‘frighten him’ with the Marshall.” Amid the weightier material, Portischshows numerous humorous touchesthroughout the book, starting with anexplanation as to why he appends 3...a6 withan exclamation mark. It is because his formerfriend and rival Paul Keres gave the sameannotation to 3 Íb5, although he adds, “Ofcourse, it is a fundamental condition that wemust not be afraid of the Exchange Variation.” This is an interesting comment becausethe first game in the book is that famousbattle at the 1966 Havana Olympiad, inwhich Fischer brought 4 Íxc6 back on to themap of respectable theory.

R.Fischer-L.PortischHavana Olympiad 1966

Portisch played 11...Ìe7 here, which isrespectable, but Fischer played a novelty with12 Íe3 and went on to win after 34 moves.Portisch makes a fascinating comment herewhile discussing an alternative move. “To be honest, such a move as 11...Ìh6did not come to my mind during the game.But even if I had thought of it, I do not knowif I would have had the courage to play thismove under the circumstances: playing at theOlympiad, and against Bobby Fischer, whowas already one of the best in the world atthat time. 12 Íxh6 (12 Ìc3 Ìg4 13 h3Ìe5; 12 h3 Ìf7 13 Íe3 0-0 with muchbetter piece-play than in the game) 12....gxh6. “You can imagine the criticism I wouldhave received if my team-mates, or thecoach, or the fearful accompanying personsof those days, who were all leaders of theMSZMP, the leading so-called socialist – butrather communist – party of the country, hadtaken a glance at the position and I hadeventually lost the game... Still maybe this isthe continuation to cause the most difficultdecision for White. The position is not thatsimple, lines are opening, and the bishop-pairfights against the pair of knights.” Most club players will identify with theaspect of not wishing to receive funny looksand criticism for playing a strange-lookingmove, but it is very clear from Portisch’scomments just how much pressure he wasunder when he leading the Hungarian team. Portisch’s notes are absolutely delightful,combining personal reflections on hiscontemporaries with excellent analysis to thegames. He is quite prepared to take a full pageor more to talk of Fischer, Karpov and others,and the anecdotes are quite revealing. For

example, after Fischer settled for a while inHungary in 1993, Portisch re-establishedcontact via Torre and Fischer was very keento obtain some insider knowledge on theBreyer Defence, favoured by Spassky in theircontroversial 1992 match. They discussed other matters, but Fischersoon turned to two of his latter-day favouritesubjects: “the Russians” and prearrangedgames. “When I could not share his opinion, hegot very angry.” Nor would Fischer be thrownoff the scent when Portisch pointed out thathe had been Karpov’s second in one of thematches against Kasparov. “What was I doingthere!?’ he asked, whereupon Fischer claimed:‘You were there to disguise the match!”. It was a great move by Gambit to bringPortisch out of the cold and into their fold; nowthey need to keep him there. I like this book verymuch and the voice of Portisch comes throughloud and clear on every page. It must represent,however, merely the tip of the iceberg ofknowledge, wisdom and memories he is able toshare. Wanted: books by Portisch on Fischer, 1 d4,the Sicilian Defence and a full autobiography. Summing up, this is a fabulous book – oneof the best of 2017, without a doubt – fullyaccessible to club players and with sufficientdepth to entice strong tournament players toenter its entertaining and instructive pages.

Sean Marsh

Understanding the SicilianMikhail Golubev, 240 pages

Gambit PublicationsRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

Another book on the Sicilian Defence? Yes,but instead of presenting a regurgitation ofunfeasibly long lines of theory, this one doesoffer a different approach to the norm. Golubev has been playing – and playingagainst – the Sicilian for more than 35 years;since the age of 10, in fact. “In this book I’mshowing all that I have played in the Siciliansince becoming a serious player, and sharing allmy essential experiences with these systemsand variations.” This he does via 120 illustrativegames of his own, arranged by variation, witheach one enjoying an average of two pages ofannotations. His opponents include Kramnik,Svidler and Shirov. This is definitely a ‘warts andall’ approach by the author, as by no means allof the games see him emerging victorious. Not all popular variations are covered (theNajdorf with 6 Íg5, Richter-Rauzer against theClassical, and 6 Íe2 against the Scheveningenall fall outside of Golubev’s repertoire, for

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New Books & Software

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example), and those that are included receivevarying degrees of coverage. The book will beespecially interesting for fans of the Dragonand of the Sozin/Fischer Attack (6 Íc4 againsta variety of Sicilians). These are sharp linesand the games are full-bloodied encounters. Elsewhere, as every Sicilian player knows,there can be difficulties in drumming up activeplay against a plethora of early deviations, suchas 2 c3 and 3 Íb5(+). Golubev admits to“being lazy when it comes to ‘boring’ openingsystems”, which stymied his development ofdecent ways to play against the technicallyduller lines in which the first player often seeksrefuge, which is why it took him a while to getaround it studying 1 e4 c5 2 c3 Ìf6 properly,from Black’s point of view. Previously he hadrelied on “the more or less playable 2...d6.” It iscomforting to know grandmasters have someof the same problems as the rest of us when itcomes to studying openings. However, it would not be an easy task toput together a practical repertoire from thisbook and readers would need more materialto fill in the gaps. For instance, the Grand PrixAttack – still popular at club level – is airilydismissed in a single sentence when f2-f4 isplayed on the second move and in just onesentence more after 2 Ìc3 and 3 f4. The index of variations is very nicely done,covering four pages, but the book could havedone with an index of games also. It wouldalso have been good to see a properintroduction, or at least a succinct summary,to each of the variations. Nevertheless, this is an entertainingcollection of games, reaching its peak at theheight of the tactical fireworks, when bothsides are trying to land a knockout blow. Thisexample certainly caught my eye.

M.Golubev-Z.HracekGerman Team Cup 1994

It looks like Black is in trouble, thanks to thealarmingly-passed pawn on g7 and the fragileexistence of the bishop on g2. Yet, as usual inthese hurly-burly Sicilian slugfests, there areunexpected resources and Black found theextraordinary rejoinder 27...Îg4!!. Golubevlost after playing 28 Îd4?? (0-1, 36). “Inserious time-trouble”, he did see 28 Ëxg2!Îxg2+ 29 Îxg2, but “could not believe that

Black had no win after 29...Ëxd1+” when infact both 30 Êh2 and 30 Êf2 would hold onfor the draw as Black must force perpetualcheck to prevent White from queening. This snippet shows the best qualities of thebook, namely the analysis of an assortmentof great Sicilian battles, the likes of which weno longer see often enough at the top levelsof chess. Perhaps Kasparov’s imminent returnto action will change that state of affairs.

Sean Marsh

365 Chess Master LessonsAndrew Soltis, 384 pages, paperbackRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

The prolific American Grandmaster’s latestwork for Batsford could well have beenwritten for those with very little time mostdays to study chess. For each day of the yearSoltis has created a lesson, based around ashort but instructive game and often with apuzzle to solve. ‘Don’t rush to repair a weakpawn that may not be weak’ is just oneexample of the extremely varied topicmaterial within, and for the player who likesto dip in and out of their books, plenty ofhighly accessible tips and pointers can be found.

A Practical Black Repertoire with d5, c6Volume 1: The Slav and Other Defences

Alexei Kornev, 308 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

The Russian Grandmaster hasn’t long finishedpresenting a detailed and decent repertoirewith ...Ìf6, ...g6 and ...d6, so this new seriescertainly came as a surprise, as did the lessdynamic choice of opening. That said, dullnessis thankfully not high on the Kornev agendaand after 1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 Ìf3 Ìf6 4 Ìc3Black is advised not to exchange on c4, butrather to enter the complexity of the Semi-Slavwith 4...e6. The Meran is defanged with 5 e3 a6,but against 5 Íg5 it is the ultra main line of theBotvinnik, i.e. 5...dxc4 6 e4 b5 7 e5 h6 8 Íh4g5 9 Ìxg5 hxg5 10 Íxg5 Ìbd7, whichreceives a huge amount of detailed coverage.

Chess Behind BarsCarl Portman, 312 pages, hardbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

Our columnist is also the ECF’s Manager ofChess in Prisons and a firm believer of the rolethat chess can play in rehabilitation. Here Carltackles the rules of chess and some famousgames, while presenting plenty of tips andpuzzles to solve. Of course, he also devotesplenty of space to his experiences of teachingchess in prisons and the impact he has seenthe game making in such an environment. Inshort this work really is, as the cover blurbputs it, “A smorgasbord of chess, seen froman unusual angle” – there is something for allchess fans including those who wish to learn.

Chess Informant 132Sahovski Informator, 328 pages, paperback

RRP £31.99 SUBSCRIBERS £28.79 Following Josip Asik’s departure to set upAmerican Chess Magazine, gone are the jazzy

title and cover from the latest Informator.The columnists also appear much moreSerbian than international, as had been thecase under Asik, but at least the meat of thecontent remains the same – the latesttheoretical novelties and leading gamesanalysed in languageless fashion. Please note that it’s also possible to purchasethis volume along with a CD of the samecontent for £39.99 (Subscribers – £35.99).

ChessBase Magazine 179ChessBase PC-DVD

RRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29 The latest edition of CBM is for‘August/September 2017’ and has a specialfocus on the main events of June: NorwayChess and the World Team Championship.Elsewhere there are the usual opening surveys,as well as video contributions by Daniel Kingand Simon Williams, the former taking a look athow to meet the Exchange Lopez.

Deep ThinkingGarry Kasparov, 304 pages, hardback

RRP £20.00 SUBSCRIBERS £18 Kasparov has been very busy promotingthis new book of late, as we saw in our Julyissue where Kanwal Bhatia touched on hisrecent talk at the British Library. Subtitled‘Where Machine Intelligence Ends and HumanCreativity Begins’, Kasparov is convinced thatthe best way forwards for mankind isunsurprisingly to work in tandem withmachines, not against them. However, this bookis not just a guide to the modern world and thefuture, discussing the various ethical dilemmasassociated with AI, as Kasparov also takes theopportunity to put across his side of the storywith his infamous battle with Deep Blue.

e3 PoisonAxel Smith, 392 pages, paperback

RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 When the author of the best-selling PumpUp Your Rating wanted to clinch his final GMnorm, he elected to deploy a repertoire basedaround a set-up with d4, c4, Ìf3 and e3.Such a repertoire is fairly ideas-based, butmove order still plays an important role andthe many possible ones are most certainly notignored in e3 Poison. This ‘21st CenturyOpening Repertoire’ doesn’t advocate 1 e3,but follows strongly in the footsteps ofCarlsen and more specifically Kramnik, ratherthan the theoretical, Kasparovesque school. Ifyou like clear plans, manoeuvring, not toomuch theory, and also chances of a simpleedge, Smith’s repertoire might just be for you. As with most Quality Chess titles, if you wouldprefer e3 Poison in hardback format, pleasejust add £4 to the cover price when ordering.

Fighting the London SystemKiril Georgiev, 196 pages, paperbackRRP £18.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.09

One of the more surprising theoreticaldevelopments of recent times has been theevolution and popularity of 1 d4 followed by

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2 Íf4. That every grandmaster now has totake the London seriously can be seen fromthe fact that Chess Stars have released thistheoretical take on how the black playershould counter the opening. The former long-term Bulgarian no.1 presents a few differentoptions for Black, including 1 d4 d5 2 Íf4Ìf6 3 Ìf3 g6 and 1 d4 d5 2 Íf4 c5.

Foxy 172: Kasparov’s Killer Scotch for the Tournament Player 1

Ron Henley; DVD, running time: 4 hoursRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

The American GM returns to the Foxy Videostudio to present a repertoire with 1 e4 e5 2Ìf3 Ìc6 3 d4 based around that of no less aplayer than Garry Kasparov. Henley begins bycovering both the Philidor and then in the ScotchBlack’s unusual third move alternatives to3...exd4, material which immediately revealsthat even the weaker club player has mostcertainly not been forgotten during production. Henley follows up with Foxy 173: Kasparov’sKiller Scotch for the Tournament Player 2, whichexamines all Black’s alternatives to 4...Ìf6after 4 Ìxd4, and Foxy 174: Kasparov’s KillerScotch for the Tournament Player 3, wherethe main line, 4...Ìf6 5 Ìxc6 bxc6 6 e5 Ìd57 Ëe2 Ëe7 8 c4, comes under the microscope.Both DVDs are also available at £15.29 andaround the four-hour mark, while aimedsquarely at the club player who is looking foran attacking line as White after 1 e4 e5. Please note that all three DVDs on Kasparov’sKiller Scotch are available together for thespecial price of £50 or just £45 for Subscribers.

Foxy 175: Play the London System Like Kamsky and Kramnik for the

Tournament Player Part 1Ron Henley; DVD, running time: 4 hoursRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

Arguably less appropriately for a formersecond of Anatoly Karpov, Henley has alsobeen busy of late examining 1 d4 d5 2 Íf4 insome detail on DVD for the club player. In thisseries Kamsky and Kramnik are very much themain role models for the many illustrative gamespresented. Part 1 sees Henley discuss thetheory of the London, its recent topicality andsome general ideas before getting started onthose instructive games. In Foxy 176: Play the London System LikeKamsky and Kramnik for the Tournament PlayerPart 2 Henley really gets into the meat of thetheory, looking especially at lines where Blacktries to exploit White’s move order with anearly ...Ëb6 and/or ...Íf5, ideas which receivea fair bit of attention in this DVD’s 4 hours, 23minutes. Then in Foxy 177: Play the London SystemLike Kamsky and Kramnik for the TournamentPlayer Part 3 Henley tackles some rare secondmoves from Black, but especially too the mainline characterised by Black setting up with ...e6,...Ìf6 and ...c5. This DVD runs to 4 hours, 37minutes and, overall, one can once again purchaseall three DVDs together for the special price of£50 (Subscribers – £45), or for £16.99 each.

Gyula Breyer: The Chess RevolutionaryJimmy Adams, 880 pages, hardbackRRP £40.95 SUBSCRIBERS £36.85

Gyula Breyer’s life and chess career wereboth tragically short, but by the time of hisdeath in 1921 he had certainly stamped hisauthority on both the Hungarian chess worldand chess thinking in general. Indeed, thehypermoderns owed much to Breyer, asbecomes fully clear in this fine, detailedbiography by our former editor, whichincludes some 242 of Breyer’s games. We’llhave a full review in the coming months.

Mastering Complex EndgamesAdrian Mikhalchisin & Oleg Stetsko,

412 pages, paperbackRRP £27.99 SUBSCRIBERS £25.19

The famous Slovenian GM and coach hasbeen reunited with his old ally, Oleg Stetsko,the USSR’s former chief trainer, for this newwork for Thinkers Publishing. Mikhalchisin andStetsko have not set themselves an easy task,but while the endgames covered are certainlyquite complex at times, the positions chosenare often both useful from a practicalperspective and pretty instructive.

New in Chess Yearbook 123Peter Boel & René Olthof (eds.),

256 pages, paperbackRRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.35

Sean Marsh reviewed the New in ChessYearbook series in our July issue. This latesttheoretical offering covers all manner ofopenings amongst its 25 opening surveys,not least the Najdorf on which Jan Timmananalyses some critical stuff after 6 Íe3,while after 1 e4 c5 2 Ìf3 Ìc6 3 Íc4 Ìf64 d3 h6 5 0-0 d6 6 c3 the Austrian no.1,Markus Ragger, reports on his adventureswith 6...g5!?.

Reinfeld on the Endgame: 21st Century Edition

Fred Reinfeld, 96 pages, paperbackRRP £14.99 SUBSCRIBERS £13.49

Russell Enterprises continue to bringseveral of Fred Reinfeld’s better books backto life. In this instance the title is slightlymisleading, as the focus is very much on thetransition between the middlegame and theendgame. Reinfeld examines how we shouldknow which types of piece to exchange insuch a scenario, as well as what types ofendgames are often favourable for thematerial-up side to head for, while, as ever,not ignoring the practical aspect either.Indeed, both common transition mistakes intime trouble and advice for the defenderreceive good coverage.

The Chess Player’s Mating Guide Vol.2 –Weakened Kingside

Robert Ris, PC-DVD, running time: 5 hoursRRP £26.99 SUBSCRIBERS £24.29

Following on from his earlier DVD for theclub player on exploiting an uncastled king,

the Dutch IM turns his attention to thetypical ways in which a castled-but-under-defended king can be attacked. The mainemphasis is on exploiting weaknesses in theking’s pawn shield with the material andpresentation both very clear, just as we havecome to expect from Ris.

The Closed Sicilian: Move by MoveCarsten Hansen, 464 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

Meeting 1 e4 c5 with 2 Ìc3 and 3 g3 haslong been viewed as a sensible way of side-stepping theory while aiming to take controlof the position. The Danish FM and highlyexperienced author has been playing theClosed Sicilian off and on for the past 30years with success. Here Hansen examines allthe main lines with both 6 Íe3 and 6 f4,while not ignoring Black’s early alternatives to2...Ìc6 3 g3 g6 4 Íg2 Íg7 5 d3 d6. Gooduse is made of the Move by Move series’squestion-and-answer format, while the workalso benefits from a typically fine tighteningjob by Everyman editor Jonathan Tait.

The Modern Chess Instructor

Wilhelm Steinitz, 288 pages, paperbackRRP £24.99 SUBSCRIBERS £22.49

Steinitz’s magnus opus appeared in 1889,setting forth the “modern” principles bywhich he played and believed the gameshould be played. That work was, however,only a ‘Part 1’ and here Russell Enterpriseshave also included the much less well-known‘Part 2’ from 1895. Even in 2017 one has tobe impressed by Steinitz’s original ideas,which are clearly displayed in this newalgebraic edition that incorporates too aforeword by Andrew Soltis.

The RookieStephen Moss, 408 pages, paperback

RRP £8.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.09 We are delighted to say that StephenMoss’s popular work is now available too inpaperback. If you’re yet to read this booksubtitled ‘An odyssey through chess (andlife)’, you may wish to add it to the Christmaslist. Moss intersperses his own attempts tomaster the game with a number offascinating encounters with many colourfulfigures in the chess world, all in a fast-flowing, entertaining manner. Highly readable.

TP Chess Puzzle Book 2016Georgios Souleidis & Dirk Sebastian,

312 pages, paperbackRRP £24.99 SUBSCRIBERS £22.49

Also new from Thinkers Publishing is thispuzzle book by two German IMs designed forthe average club player upwards. Eachchapter begins with a few simple enoughpositions, but after a while you’ll certainlywant to get the board and pieces out – unlessvery keen to improve your visualisation – andspend 10 or even 20 minutes in coming upwith the best move.

55-57 Books_Chess mag - 21_6_10 20/08/2017 20:55 Page 57

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1: The Closed Sicilian move by moveCarsten Hansen, 466 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

2: Gyula Breyer: The Chess Revolutionary Jimmy Adams, 880 pages, hardbackRRP £40.95 SUBSCRIBERS £36.86

3: Chess Behind BarsCarl Portman, 312 pages, hardbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

4: Deep ThinkingGarry Kasparov, 304 pages, hardbackRRP £20 SUBSCRIBERS £18

5: e3 Poision: A 21st Century Opening RepertoireAxel Smith, 392 pages, paperbackRRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

6: Mastering Complex EndgamesAdrian Mikhalchisin & Oleg Stetsko, 411 pages, paperback RRP £27.99 SUBSCRIBERS £25.19

7: My Secrets in the Ruy LopezLajos Portisch, 160 pages, paperbackRRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

8: Reinfeld on the Endgame: 21st Century EditionFred Reinfeld, 96 pages, paperbackRRP £14.99 SUBSCRIBERS £13.49

9: A Practical Black Repertoire with d5, c6 Vol 1:The Slav & Other Defences Alexei Kornev, 308 pages,paperback RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99

10: TP Chess Puzzle Book 2016 Georgios Souleidis & Dirk Sebastian, 310 pages, paperback RRP £24.99 SUBSCRIBERS £22.49

11: Fighting the London SystemKiril Georgiev, 196 pages, paperbackRRP £18.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.09

12: New in Chess Yearbook Volume 123Various GM contributors, 256 pages, paperbackRRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.36

13: 365 Chess Master Lessons Andrew Soltis, 384 pages, paperback RRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

14: The Rookie: An odyssey through chess (and life)Stephen Moss, 408 pages, paperback RRP £8.99 SUBSCRIBERS £8.09

15: The New in Chess Book of Chess ImprovementSteve Giddins (ed.), 352 pages, paperbackRRP £20.99 SUBSCRIBERS £18.89

16: GM Preparation: Thinking inside the BoxJacob Aagaard, 408 pages, hardbackRRP £23.99 SUBSCRIBERS £21.59

17: ChessBase Magazine 179 (PC-DVD)Various GM contributors,RRP £16.99 SUBSCRIBERS £15.29

18: Reti - a Repertoire for White (PC-DVD)Victor Bologan, Running time: 5 hoursRRP £25.99 SUBSCRIBERS £23.39

19: Rocket Repertoire: The Four Knights (PC-DVD)

Simon Williams, Running time: 5 hoursRRP £25.99 SUBSCRIBERS £23.39

20: The Chess Player's Mating Guide Vol.2 -Weakened Kingside (PC-DVD) Robert Ris, Running time:5 hours RRP £26.99 SUBSCRIBERS £24.29

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