| Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual (Russell Enterprises, Inc - www.chesscafe.com, 2003, 384 pages, figurine algebraic, paperback and electronic versions available (the latter in ChessBase Format) $29.95 list - publisher has a special for $27.95) by IM Mark Dvoretsky is one stop shopping when it comes to endgame study. The noted Russian trainer has produced a classic guide to learning the endgame that not only teaches you essential theoretical positions but also important concepts like "zuzwang", "shouldering" and "pants" - creating widely separated passed pawns in opposite-colored Bishop endings liked flaired trouser legs. This is a big book but Dvoretsky has helped the student concentrate on what is most important by highlighting in blue what he considers essential material to master. There is plenty of prose to explain things and exercises to test the reader. Study this book carefully and you will soon be defending the weak side of f and h pawn Rook endings like Smyslov! Highly recommended 60 Years on with Caissa and Friends Chess: 60 Years on with Caissa and Friends (2003; Caissa Editions - PO Box 151 Yorklyn, DE 19736; figurine algebraic, 144 pages, paperback, $19.95 pp.) by Alan Phillips is the sort of book that I wish would appear more often. Game collections are usually restricted to World Champions and strong Grandmasters, but strong masters with lengthy careers often have plenty of interesting to say. Here the 1954 Joint British Champion and participant in the 1956 Chess Olympiad has written not just one, but actually two books. Phillips not only examines his own career, but also covers the top British players from just before World War Two up until the wave of English professionals ushered in by the late Tony Miles. Among those represented in the two hundred games in this book are such well-known figures as Alexander, Golombek, Milner-Barry, Winter, Sir George Thomas, Abrahams, Barden, Penrose and many others. Each of the games is prefaced by interesting observations by the author who knew pretty much everyone in British chess for many decades, especially the 1950s and 60s. One nice extra in this book are the many photos. I counted close to 40, including one of the author singing with Smyslov! Some of the photos are of Phillips but the majority are of top British players of the 1940s and 50s. Indices of players and games finish off an attractively produced book. Recommended My Great Predecessors The second volume of Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors (Everyman Publishing- www.everymanchess.com, 2003, 480 pages, figurine algebraic, hardback, $35) has just been released. This volume covers the careers of World Champions Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, and Mikhail Tal, plus greats David Bronstein, Paul Keres, and Yefim Geller. To my mind, it is a clear improvement over volume one for at least two reasons. One, the historical material is more accurate and two and most importantly, Kasparov was personally familiar with most of the people he writes about. The selection of games and annotations are of a high standard, but what is most revealing are Garry's personal observations. He writes extensively about his complicated relationship with Botvinnik and about whether Bronstein was forced to lose his match to Mikhail Moiseevich (his answer is no, Bronstein's play though brilliant at times was not quite stable enough). This attractively produced hardback book belongs in every chess player's library. Highly Recommended |