| Modern Endgame Practice (Batsford 2003, www.batsford.com, paperback, 208 pages, figurine algebraic, �14.99) by Alexander Beliavsky and Adrian Mikhalchishin is the third in a trilogy of endgame books that the Ukrainian Grandmasters have written for Batsford. This latest work is a potpourri of material covering all aspects of endgame theory with an emphasis on identifying typical mistakes made by Grandmasters. A quarter of the material in this book is taken from super tournaments held from 1996 to 2001 and the impact of the change to the Game in 90 minutes (plus 30 second increment) time control is felt. The two authors show some terrible howlers committed by strong GMs who may well have been playing solely on the increment (30 seconds a move!) by the time they got to the endgame. In the future those that don't know better may think that modern players can't play endgames compared to old-timers, forgetting the latter had adjournments and civilized time controls to aid them. Particularly appalling are the examples from the chapter "Shameful Mistakes" where 2650+ Epishin is shown failing to win B+ N versus King! He is not the only GM to not to win this ending. The authors mention that after Grandmaster Gufeld failed to beat Klaric at the Murcia event in 1990 some of his colleagues proposed stripping him of his title! Lest one think the authors put themselves above the fray, rest assured three are several examples of Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin stumbling in this book. The chapter on the connection of the opening and ending is particularly good with interesting little-known examples taken from the Catalan and Queen's Indian. There are a great many rook and pawn endgames, reflecting their common occurence in tournament practice. Recommended for players rated over 2000 who are willing to put in some serious work. Chinese School of Chess (Batsford 2003, www.batsford.com, paperback, 288 pages, figurine algebraic, �16.99) by Liu Wenzhe, is a thick book devoted to the impressive rise of Chinese chess players the last twenty five years. Who better to tell that tale than Wenzhe, who created a sensation by winning a pretty miniature against GM Donner at the Olympiad in Buenos Aires in 1978 and has worked as a leading trainer in China for many years. Reading this book one cannot help but be impressed by the determination of the Chinese, who with the old Soviet-style model of state support have risen to the top in Womens chess and have several men rated over 2600. Wenzhe explains how this came about, repeatedly pointing out the positive influence of Chinese chess on developing talent for the international game. The best-part of this book is the 37 very well-annotated games by players as Ye Jiangchuan, Zhang Zhong, Xie Jun and Zue Chen. There is plenty of interesting opening analysis, some of it quite original. One word of warning, IM Wenzhe, loves statistics and the openings of several of the annotated games, particularly from the Xie Jun-Ioseliani match, are filled with move by move break downs of what move has been played how many times in that position. One can understand the joy that Wenzhe must have felt when he got his first computer, as he explains several times throughout the book the Herculean copying jobs he was often forced to do to help prepare his players in the dark ages. Those of a non-statistical bent will wish he had curbed his enthusiasm, but this is only a small quibble in an otherwise interesting read. Recommended |