bookReviews41

Book Reviews by IM John Donaldson

The English publisher Everyman Chess (www.everymanbooks.com) is a prolific producer of high quality chess books. Three new issues give confirmation of its high position.

Everyman has two series of opening books. Their traditional line is devoted to specific topical opening variations and is aimed at a market of players from 2000 on up. More recently they have come out with their �starting out series,� which features fewer games and more explanatory prose. These books are not aimed at beginners, but rather players from 1600-2000, with those 2000 -2400 also finding things of interest. The latest in the series is the first book by the Scottish IM John Shaw.

Starting out: The Queen�s Gambit (2002, 144 pages, paperback, figurine algebraic, $16.95) introduces the reader to all the main systems in the Queen�s Gambit, including the Accepted, Declined, Tarrasch, Slav, Semi-Slav, Noteboom, Chigorin and various odds and ends. The reader gets an introduction to each line, with an explanation of strategic themes and ideas, followed by model games. All told, there are 73 annotated games featured in this book.

Given his limited space (many of these lines could have entire books written about them), Author Shaw has done a good job of presenting his material. Club players could definitely get by playing some of the lines in this book with just the information presented. The book has more utility for those who want to play 1.d4 as White and could probably serve as a single volume guide for those below master level.

An example of more specialized chess literature is Unusual Queen�s Gambit Declined (2002, 160 pages, paperback, figurine algebraic, $19.95) by Chris Ward. This book is devoted solely to the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5), the Baltic Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Bf5) and the Chigorin Defense (1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nc6).

Many players below the master level pass on these openings, preferring to play the King�s Indian and the Grunfeld, but to their detriment. All three systems covered by Ward feature plenty of sharp play with lots of tactics and attacks against the King. This especially goes for the under rated Albin, which is a perfect laboratory for mastering the fundamentals of a lead in development, attacking the King and King safety.

Ward does a good job of covering the Albin and the Baltic Defense, but just really doesn�t have enough space to do justice to the Chigorin, which has blossomed under it�s advocacy by FIDE 2700 Alexander Morozevich. One example of how he has had to deal with his lack of space is his coverage (one single game) of 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nc6 and now Kramnik�s choice, 3.Bf4 and the commonly seen 3.g3, which leads to a type of Veresov in reverse.

This book is all you need if you want to play the Albin or Baltic for either color and should suffice for those wishing to play the White side of the Chigorin. Those looking to employ it as Black will want to use it along with other recent sources.

Danish IM Jacob Aagaard is not only at the front of the FIDE rating list, but is also one of Everyman�s mainstays. His recent book, Queen�s Indian Defense (2002, 144 pages, paperback, figurine algebraic, $19.95) is another solid work. from this interesting and opinionated author.

Entire books have been written about variations of the Queen�s Indian, so author Aagaard has his work cut out for him. He manages to present a great deal of material in the 66 model games (10 feature Karpov the great expert on the QID) working around his space disadvantage by presenting almost entirely high quality examples from Grandmaster practice. Unlike a lot of other books in the Everyman series, these games range from a much wider time span with examples going back until the early 1980s. This reflects the author�s desire to present material he feels will best help the reader develop a feel for this opening.

Another way Aagaard deals with space is by weighting his material. If you play either side of the old classical main line 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.g3 Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 8.Qc2 Nxc3 9.Qxc3 this is not the book for you as there is only one game with this line featured. On the other hand, if you play lines with �Ba6 against g3 you will find 21 games and a very good explanation of systems where �Bb7, �d5, and �Na6 are played. Karpov championed this approach in the 1970s via the main line 7.Nc3 d5 8.Ne5 Na6, but it ran into problems when White found precise methods to deal with it. Today this type of setup is again popular via 4�Ba6 and �Bb4+-e7, where White may find himself winning tempi (b3 and Bd2) that may often hurt him more than help him. Aagaard does a good of explaining these nuances.

One last point. This book does cover 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.Nc3 Bb4 which often arises from the QID move order, but often is only examined in books on the Nimzo-Indian. Those wishing to take up the Queen�s Indian will find this an inspirational book.