| Gambit Publishing (www.gambitbooks.com) continues to produce books of the highest quality. Two new offerings, 50 Essential Chess Lessons (2006, 160 pages, figurine algebraic, paperback, $24.95), by Steve Giddins and Understanding the King's Indian (2006, 208 pages, figurine algebraic, paperback, $27.50) by Mikhail Golubev are aimed at different audiences. 50 Essential Chess Lessons by FM Giddins is an instructive games manual along the lines of Logical Chess, Move by Move. Giddins does not actually have an annotation for every single move to each of the 50 games that are presented, but there is lots of explanatory prose. The games are organized around five chapters: Attacking the King, Defense, Piece Power, Pawn-Structure, and End Game Themes. The games themselves run from classics from the past like Schlechter-Rubinstein, San Sebastian 1912, to contemporary classics like Short-Timman, Tilburg 1991 (remember the White King marching towards h6 in the middle game?). This book could be compared in some ways with John Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by Move, produced by the same publisher in 2001. Giddin's book is likely to be more accessible to players from 1600 to 2200, whereas Nunn's, which has many more concrete variations, would be better suited for players from 2000 to 2400. Keep in mid that these rating guidelines are approximate. Those who are highly motivated would be able to stretch the boundaries. 50 Essential Chess Lessons is a solid work with well chosen, but not so well known, examples that would be useful reading for most club and mid level tournament players. Recommended Gambit's other offering, by Ukrainian Grandmaster Golubev, is a considerably more ambitious project. In the space of not much more than 200 pages, this life long KID practitioner seeks to share his experiences with this uncompromising defense. Clearly, these space limitations means that the author has had to be selective in what he's included. Using 56 of his own games, Golubev has covered all of White's major tries in a book which is definitely designed for the second player. Golubev offers the following repertoire: Classical - primarily...e5 and ...Nc6 with some examination of alternatives including the ...Na6 lines. Saemisch -...Nc6 and...a6 Four Pawns Attack - 6... Na6 Averbakh - 6... Na6 Fianchetto Variation - systems with ...Nbd7 and ...e5 Readers who have Play the King's Indian (Everyman, 2004) by Joe Gallagher will note that there's some overlap in the two authors' repertoires, but also some significant differences, particularly against the Saemisch and the Four Pawns Attack. Understanding the King's Indian is quite through in what it examines. For example, several years ago, Golubev, who is on the staff of Chess Today, annotated a game he lost against fellow Ukrainian GM Borovikov for that publication. The game, in which White had prepared the first 26 moves, looked to be the death blow for the old Gallagher Variation against White's Fianchetto's system. Now, Golubev has shown that things are not so simple. He looks at the position after White's 23rd move and suggests a different continuation for Black, which leaves matters unresolved. To support his conclusion he gives a half a page of analysis, which might not seem like that much until you realize that these are typical, oversized Gambit pages (9 1/2 by 6 1/4). This is a book aimed at a high audience, primarily Masters and above. Despite this being a theoretical work, Understanding the King's Indian in no way resembles a datadump. The author directly interjects himself into each page and his desire to impart hard earned wisdom is evident throughout. Golubev is quite objective. The last game in the book versus the Latvian veteran Petkevich sees the author getting slaughtered in a line that is supposedly innocuous for White. Looking up the game afterward, Black is perplexed to discover that his memory during the game was right. He had been following a famous example by Botvinnik (Black against Doda at Wijk aan Zee, 1969), only Petkevich had not been so accommodating and played the natural and strong 13.a3! instead of Doda's 13.Nf1. Golubev then writes: This brings us to the final observation in this book: chess is so complicated that nobody (not even, say, Botvinnik or Kasparov) can be trusted entirely. 'How can I trust Golubev then?', the reader may ask. Well, you cannot and should not. However, please trust that I've tried to do my best. He has. Anyone who already plays the King's Indian or is thinking of taking it up cannot help but benefit from this book. Highly recommended. |