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

Grandmasters Down Your Local ....................................................................8Tim Wall’s Northumbria Masters saw plenty of fighting chess

Brought to Book ................................................................................................14Teeside continues to blaze the way for CSC, as Sean Marsh explains

Find the Winning Moves.................................................................................17Can you do as well as the players at Gibraltar and the 4NCL?

Vintage Vishy......................................................................................................20The World Rapid Champion triumphed at the Tal Memorial

The Stars of the 4NCL ....................................................................................24Tamas Fodor leads the 4NCL big hitters with 6/6 thus far

How Good Is Your Chess? .............................................................................26Daniel King looks back on a classic victory by Levon Aronian

The Bunratty Experience...............................................................................30Chess novice Tanya Jones checks out Ireland’s best weekender

Beer, Blitz and Bunratty ................................................................................32There was much exciting chess during the 25th Bunratty Congress

60 Seconds with...Tim Wall ..........................................................................35The North East chess impresario no longer watches Newcastle United

Different Thinking ............................................................................................36Amatzia Avni compares over the board play with chess compositions

Never Mind the Grandmasters ....................................................................40Carl Portman likes to talk to his pieces - and it can work

Forthcoming Events.........................................................................................42

Opening Trends ..................................................................................................43

Instincts: Optimism & Pessimism ..............................................................44Matthew Lunn has been troubled by his instincts letting him down

Studies with Stephenson ...............................................................................46Brian reports on the Winton British Chess Solving Championship

Home News ..........................................................................................................47Weekend success for Gary Quillan, Jack Rudd and Matthew Turner

Overseas News ...................................................................................................50Vladislav Kovalev won the Aeroflot Open and is now off to Dortmund

Solutions ...............................................................................................................52

New Books and Software ..............................................................................54Wesley So’s new DVD is one of a bumper four reviews

Saunders on Chess............................................................................................58John enjoyed catching up with David Jones at the Varsity match

Photo credits: Alan Burke (p.49), Paul Charlton & Forest Hall Chess Club (pp.10-12),Adrian Gilmore (p.31), Bob Jones (p.48), Eteri Kublashvili (pp.20-23), Lennart Ootes (p.25), John Saunders (p.58), Fiona Steil-Antoni (pp.30, 33-34) Sophie Triay (p.27), WorldChess (pp.4-6).

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

Twitter: @CHESS_MagazineTwitter: @TelegraphChess - Malcolm PeinWebsite: www.chess.co.uk

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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: 123rf.com

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April 2018

Chess in Schools and Communities (‘CSC’)has been going strong in schools since 2010.Recently there have been increased efforts toexpand on the considerable success of theschools side of the project and to push outinto the community at large. Under the auspices of CSC’s NationalLibrary Coordinator Dan Staples, there arenow chess sessions in libraries all the wayfrom Aldgate to York (if one follows theappropriate alphabetical progression). In the words of the CSC website:

Libraries – How We Can Help

CSC believe that chess and libraries are anexcellent fit. Chess has a huge number of bookswritten about it – a recent search of Amazonproduced over 19,000 results. By running aregular chess club at your library you would beproviding a great service to your community. We have helped a number of libraries setup and run chess clubs – and we are keen tohelp more. We can provide equipment and help youfind someone to run it. We run regular trainingcourses on teaching chess which would equipsomeone with the skills to run a club. Placeson the courses would be free to library staffand volunteers and we would provide support. We started our Teesside library projectduring the Summer holiday of 2017 and ithas been a great success. There are four basic parts to establishingchess in libraries. The first step is to confirm the support ofthe CSC, who will supply all of the chessequipment and advice required. The next step is to approach the librariesto see if they interested in the project andable to provide a suitable space, free ofcharge. The sessions are free to all too. After that we need to work with localchess clubs to identify suitable volunteers torun the sessions. Once identified, thevolunteers will need to go through theDisclosure and Barring Service (‘DBS’)process (via CSC). If successful, the volunteerwill then receive a DBS certificate which is anessential acquisition when working withchildren. In former times this was known as aCriminal Records Bureau (‘CRB’) check. It isalso recommended that volunteers attendone of the dates on the CSC Training DayTour, details of which can be found on theCSC website.

Once the staff, volunteers, venue andstarting date have all been sorted out, thefinal prelude to action is all about publicity.Our three libraries all produced excellentposters which are prominently displayed intheir own premises and we all contribute tospreading the word via all the usual socialmedia outlets. The first two libraries I contacted wereStockton Central and Middlesbrough Central.I had already organised a chess tournament atMiddlesbrough Central, back in 2012, as partof my series of Mike Closs Memorial events,so I already had good contacts there. The timings of the sessions were sortedout by the library staff and the volunteers.From my point of view it turned out well, asMiddlesbrough chose the Saturday morning(10.00 a.m. - noon) and Stockton favoured theafternoon (1.00p.m.-3.00 p.m.), which meantI could go along to see both sessions in action. David Smith, former British SeniorChampion and Middlesbrough Chess Clubstalwart, runs the Middlesbrough sessions,ably assisted by Paul Weightman, and SeanCassidy of The Buffs Chess Club delivers thesessions at Stockton, with Alan Stockley ashis main assistant. We were not at all sure how many peoplewe would attract to the sessions, despite theextensive publicity campaign and we had tokeep all scenarios in mind. In fact the numberof people who attended the initial sessionswas a very pleasant surprise, especially as itfeatured both juniors and adults. Some of the

juniors were already known to me throughour CSC schools and I was very grateful fortheir support and for their help in spreadingthe word. The numbers grew and a short time agopeaked at 36 at Stockton Central Library,which is an extraordinary amount of peopleand far beyond our expectations. There is no set formula for the librarysessions and the volunteers are very free toarrange them in any way they want to. Somewill deliver a formal lesson followed by aplaying session whereas others will feel morecomfortable to dispense with the formalstructure and base their sessions on creatinga suitable playing environment. As always, inany teaching situation, flexibility is the key tosuccess. It will take a number of weeks todetermine the best approach for a particulargroup but a good organiser will always findthe best way forward. With Stockton and Middlesbrough both upand running, it was time to see if we couldexpand elsewhere. Brian Whitaker,Chairperson of the Cleveland ChessAssociation and founder member ofThornaby Chess Club, had already attendedsessions at both Middlesbrough andStockton, and expressed an interest instarting something at Thornaby CentralLibrary. Brian has fellow Thornaby chess starsPaul Douglass, Francis Batchelor and NickTadd all helping at the sessions. In addition to providing the very valuablequality of altruism, the volunteers understand

Teesside continues to blaze the way for CSC’s projects, as Sean Marsh explains

Brought to Book

14

David Smith (left) and Sean Marsh (right) flank librarian Ruth Cull at Middlesbrough Library.

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there is a great opportunity to attract newmembers – of all ages – to their respectivechess clubs. Indeed, in these days ofplummeting memberships, clubs should jumpat the chance to reverse the trend. I amdelighted to report that the three clubsclosest to the libraries have all benefited bythe acquisition of new members. In fact thishappened in one case immediately after thevery first session. It wasn’t long before we teamed up withthe libraries to present some special events.The first of these was the incredible HarryPotter Book Night at Stockton Central Libraryin February. This very special evening broughtmore than 500 people to the library to enjoythe many activities on offer, including liveanimals, archery, a magician and, of course,chess. I, together with Sean Cassidy andRachel Scott, was on hand with a patio chessset (borrowed from Yarm Preparatory School,who have always been more than willing tohelp with pushing chess into the community),to teach and play all-comers. We thought we would be up against it withsuch competition from the other activities,but heard, on more than a couple ofoccasions, parents trying to talk their childreninto going off to see something else and thechildren stating, in no uncertain terms, thatthey preferred to stay and play chess for theduration of the evening. Three hours later, we were trying to winddown as the library was about to close andwe were still surrounding by an unfeasiblylarge amount of Harry Potter and associatedlookalikes. Mind you, we were dressed aswizards too. One simply has to enter into thespirit of things on such a magical evening. Another special event occurred whenStockton Central Library agreed to host myone-man show, ‘30 Years on 64 Squares’,which was part of Project 30 (a year-longseries of special events to celebrate my 30years of teaching chess in schools). LucyCarlton-Walker and her fabulous library teamorganised everything for me, right down toproducing and printing the promotionalposters and flyers. I delivered a talk on my 30years which was followed by an extraordinaryquestion and answer session lasting a full

hour (which would have gone on for longer ifwe hadn’t had to start winding down) and,finally, a book-signing session. 38 peoplebooked places for the evening, including theeditor of this very magazine. Such was thesuccess of the evening that we are alreadyplanning a sequel.

The chess in libraries project has proved tobe a very rare case of a win/win/win scenario,as simple as ABC: a) Libraries, who provide the facilities, arevery keen to get anybody through their doors. b) Chess clubs provide the volunteers andthey experience the benefits of having new

Did you recognise our reporter and regular reviewer dressed as a wizard alongside Rachel Scott?

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April 2018

members in their clubs. c) CSC provides the equipment and adviceand creates more opportunities for people toplay, which is particularly useful for childrenwho have enjoyed their sessions at primaryschool, but go to a Secondary School thatdoes not have a chess club. Despite the success we are enjoying onTeesside, it is important to remember that itis not always easy to create and maintain newprojects. A lot behind-the-scenes effort isrequired to set up things in the first place andthen the library staff and volunteers have to

be very much on the ball to keep everythingrunning smoothly. We are committed tofuture expansion of the project, but it isimportant not to try too much, too soon. If you would like to become involved in thelibraries project then please head for the CSCwebsite – www.chessinschools.co.uk – and clickon the ‘In the Community’ tab to establishcontact and to register your interest. We are all in this together, so let’s get moreand more people enjoying chess. It is our gameand our responsibility to create a strongerplatform for future growth and success.

16

All ages are involved at Stockton Library’s CSC-organised Chess Club every Saturday afternoon.

A little birdjust told me

chess24.com - @chess24comGrischuk: “It’s possible to name favouritesfor the Candidates Tournament: those areKramnik, Karjakin, Ding Liren, Aronian,Mamedyarov, Caruana and So” :)

Magnus Carlsen - @MagnusCarlsenSo supposedly @anishgiri will be secondingKramnik during the candidates. Before Tata(an unbeaten +7 with just a few draws forVlad) this would have been a clear cut caseof “if you can’t beat em, join em”. Now it’srather “if you can’t draw em, join em”.

Anish Giri - @anishgiriIn wake of the World Championship qualifier,someone appears to be more nervous thanall of the 8 candidates put together!??(Hint: it is not me or MVL).

Magnus Carlsen - @MagnusCarlsenCome on, that’s just weak. Win a tournamentfor the first time in your life, and maybepeople will start taking you seriously.

Hikaru Nakamura - @GMHikaruArrive in Moscow at 2AM, play the ProChess League at 5AM, and then theAeroflot Blitz from 10AM till 4:30PM...allin a days work!

Sue Maroroa - @WIM_MaroroaMade it home after such a fun weekend@bunrattychess1 - I don’t drink but I stillenjoyed it so much. Looking forward tosome sleep, chess work, rugby training inthe month of March! #bunratty25 Welldone @GMGawain on 1st= and myself ona draw with a GM, IM and FM.

John Saunders - @johnchessI’ve just had a lovely chat with two chess-playing Davids: one, @DavidHowellGM,and the other, David Jones, who played inthe Varsity chess match of 1942.

Judit Polgar - @GMJuditPolgarIsn’t this funny that my daughter foundherself having a quiz related to me in herOxford Student book;)?

Tania Sachdev - @TaniaSachdevHey @vishy64theking it’s a challenge!Take the #PowerlessQueen challenge onhttp://www.PowerlessQueen.com and tellus if you can win without the Queen.

Vishy Anand - @vishy64thekingAmazing insight to connect chess withwomen empowerment. I agree with a#PowerlessQueen, it’s difficult to win. Inchess or in society.

A round-up of what the topplayers and chess personalities

have been saying on Twitter

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Twitter: @richjunchess, @rich_rapid

14-16 CSCinLibraries_Chess mag - 21_6_10 16/03/2018 16:46 Page 16

World Chess ChampionshipCarlsen vs. Karjakin: New York, 2016 336 pages, 470 diagrams, and 105 full-colour pictures

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April 2018

Albert Beauregard Hodges: The ManChess Made

John S. Hilbert & Peter P. Lahde, 542 pagesMcFarland & Co

RRP £24.99 SUBSCRIBERS £22.49

“Albert Beauregard Hodges is a legendamong chess aficionados. One of the mostwell-known American chess players of thelate 19th and early 20th centuries, he playedan important role in transforming chess froma pleasant pastime into a social institution.” So states part of the publicity material onthe back of this hefty volume. I came to itrecognising Hodges’ name and knowing that heparticipated in the Anglo-American CableMatches which took place more than a centuryago, but ignorant of anything else concerninghis life. Even this was more than my chessplaying friends, none of whom recognised hisname. Several months later, I appreciate hisplace in the history of American chess. Hodges was born on 21st July 1861 inNashville, Tennessee, the son of a druggist(pharmacist). The third child of six to Samueland Eveline D. Hodges, his middle name isthat of Confederate General Pierre GustaveTouant Beauregard, signalling his parents’sympathies. Sources indicate that he learnedto play chess around the age of 19 at localchess rooms and improved rapidly. By 1884 Hodges was chess editor of theNashville Daily American newspaper and beingdubbed ‘The Tennessee Morphy’. Moving to St.Louis in the mid-1880s and working as a railroadauditor, he became acquainted with Max Judd,contesting a match with him in the summer of1887. It was suspended and never completedwith Hodges leading 3½-2½. The following JanuaryJudd defeated Hodges in another match, winningfive games and losing two with no draws. Around 1889 or 1890 – the exact date isunclear – Hodges took up residency in NewYork. With Judd’s help, he spent time as anoperator of the automaton ‘Ajeeb’. Hodgessubsequently obtained the post of Chief Clerk(Secretary) of the Sailors’ Snug Harbor – ahome for ageing seamen – where heremained employed for over 20 years.

Sensibly never relying upon chess for a living,he considered such a lifestyle unsustainablefor all but a few of the very best players. While residing in New York, Hodges was anactive member and official of several chessclubs, facing the strongest American playersof the era, as well as many European masterswho were touring or had taken up residencyin the USA. Most memorably, he was the onlyplayer on either side to compete in all thirteenof the Anglo-American Cable Matches,remaining unbeaten with 5 wins and 8 draws.(These contests receive extensive coverage,although there is less information about thefinal few matches in which the Americanteams did less well.) It is unfortunate that invitations to participatein international tournaments came Hodges’way when he was no longer at the height of hispowers. The results he obtained are not a fairrepresentation of his earlier abilities. During the1920s he played fewer competitive games andthe final encounter quoted here dates from1930. He died of a heart attack on 3rdFebruary 1944 at his home on Staten Island. This April 2013 paperback edition is areprint of the library bound edition firstpublished in 2008. It is split into a biography(pp.5-328), a games collection (pp.331-505),and a section comprising chess problems,several appendices and indices plus threeobituaries (pp.507-542). The introductions,annotations and games analysis are taken fromcontemporary newspaper column sources. To derive full benefit from this work, it isimportant to read the extensive footnotesthat appear throughout the text. Theyfrequently correct errors that appeared incontemporary sources and give bothsequences of moves when alternativeexplanations are available. I favour this layout,but that may simply be a matter of taste. Thelengths to which the authors have gone toresearch their subject is outstanding. On thatbasis, and having regard to the quality ofproduction, the purchase price is entirelyappropriate. Highly recommended.

David Mills

Dismantling the SicilianJesus de la Villa & Max Illingworth,

368 pages, New in ChessRRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.35

For as long as I have played chess, I havebeen proud to be a ‘Sicilian Basher’, i.e.someone who plays the main lines against allblack systems. My original repertoire wasbased on that 1995 classic Beating the Sicilian3, but since those heady days producing asingle-volume white repertoire book hasbecome exponentially more difficult. This is not surprising given the increasingamount of information that has to bechecked, new ideas that have to be analysed,and material that has to be presented. Jesusde la Villa’s Dismantling The Sicilian was onebook that seemed to manage this difficulttask reasonably well. Therefore, when I sawthat, 8 years on, a ‘new and updated edition’had been released, I was eager to take a look. And that description seems apt indeedbecause, with the aid of co-author GM MaxIllingworth, the original work has been givensuch a serious overhaul that to merely describeit as ‘updated’ would be extremely wide of themark. For starters, in order to present thereader with a repertoire that is still cuttingedge, numerous modifications have been made,and the result is a significantly less user-friendlywork. This isn’t a criticism, but rather due noticeto prospective readers that they will need toinvest greater time and effort to derive thesame level of benefit as from the first edition. This is because lines with similar ideas andplans, such as the English Attack set-ups againstthe Dragon, Taimanov and Najdorf, are out.Instead, in comes 9 0-0-0 d5 10 Ëe1 againstthe Dragon; the Taimanov is now met by 6 Íe3and Ëf3; and the primary weapon against theNajdorf is the modern main line 6 h3, with 6 Íe2 e5 7 Ìf3 being offered as a back-updue to both lines leading to similar structures. The other major repertoire changes arethat the Sveshnikov is now met with 9 Ìd5 Íe710 Íxf6 Íxf6 11 c3 instead of 9 Íxf6, and,in line with the Anti-Dragon recommendation,the Accelerated Dragon is now met with theMaroczy Bind. Furthermore, sidelines havebeen given their own chapters based onminor second moves, 2...Ìc6, 2...e6, and2...d6, which makes the book a much easierwork to navigate than its predecessor. The chapter format has also undergonesome modifications. The short introductionsand historical overview of each variation havebeen removed, and the heavily-annotated

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This Month’sNew Releases

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games have been replaced by illustrative gamesand a theoretical overview. This makes thework accessible to both a wider range of playingabilities and people with less experience ofOpen Sicilians than the first edition. Playingthrough the illustrative games alone would armthe prospective reader with the skeleton of therepertoire, and they can then use thetheoretical overviews to flesh out theirknowledge as little or as much as they wish. The analysis presented in the theoreticaloverviews is generally of a very high quality,and novelties abound. Furthermore, despite theamount of material presented, the excellentformatting means the pages in no way seemcrowded. However, I did have one seriousconcern with the Keres Attack analysis.

Kotronias and Semkov in Attacking The FlexibleSicilian devote 15 pages of analysis to non-6...h6 alternatives. However, De la Villa andIllingworth simply provide one line after 6...e5and 6...d5 and the comment, “Other moves giveWhite a turbocharged English Attack with g4-g5/Íe2/h2-h4”. This seems wholly inadequate forsuch razor-sharp opposite-side castling positions. I liked the chapter, ‘What others recommend...and why I disagree’, where Illingworth looks atlines that have been recommended for whitein other works and offers analysis to supporthis reasons for rejecting them. I found thischapter to be a veritable treasure trove ofsurprise weapons and new analysis, andSicilian players of both colours could use it asa starting point for further investigations. Overall, de la Villa and Illingworth havepresented the reader with a high-quality anddurable repertoire that has the potential to causesignificant theoretical and practical problems toSicilian players. I was admirably impressed thatthe authors managed to show that a single-volume Open Sicilian repertoire work is stilljust about feasible, and I sincerely hope thatthis book is not the last of a dying breed.

Paul Hopwood

My Secret Weapon: 1 b3Wesley So; PC-DVD

running time: 2 hours and 50 minutesChessBase

RRP £30.95 SUBSCRIBERS £27.85

It is unusual to see one the world’s eliteplayers delivering DVD presentations onopening theory. This is one of two newChessBase products featuring Wesley So (theother one features the Italian Game fromBlack’s point of view). 1 b3 – or the Nimzo-Larsen Attack, as itwas always called, back in the day – canhardly be called a regular opening choice atany level, but in the current climate wheremore and more players choosing to steerclear of mainline theory, we may yet see thisunassuming opening move infiltrating therepertoires of the masses. The presentation adopts a different style tothe norm, with So in the role of the expertbeing asked numerous questions by host OliverReeh over the course of nine video lectures.The reason for this approach would seem to beSo’s very self-conscious persona when in frontof the camera. He can often be observedstaring into the camera and smiling at theviewer. Consequently, the viewing experienceis a little disjointed and not as fluid as normal –especially when the duo interrupt each other. Few can resist name-checking BobbyFischer when talking about 1 b3 and hisfamous 1970 victory over Tukmakov is thesubject of the very first lecture. The remainingvideos cover Black’s four main replies to 1 b3,namely 1...e5, 1...Ìf6, 1...d5 and 1...c5. Adatabase of 140 games is included too, but itis almost entirely without annotations. So stresses the scope for creativity due tothe comparative paucity of existing theory,which is one of the reasons free spirits Jobavaand Rapport are attracted to 1 b3. Indeed,one of the illustrative games shows theformer reach an advantageous positionagainst So himself last year, where the latterwent astray in unfamiliar territory and cameclose to be completely outplayed.

B.Jobava-W.SoFIDE World Cup, Tbilisi 2017

Black’s e-pawn has been overextended for

some time and So now lent it some supportwith 19...f5?!. However, Jobava was able toincrease the pressure with 20 f4! when thethreat of taking a tin-opener to the kingsidewith 21 g4 led to So’s reply 20...exf3, andafter 21 gxf3White’s advantage grew. Blackhas absolutely no counterplay and must playvery well to have a chance of holding thisposition. Nevertheless, So did exactly that and,assisted by some inaccuracies from his opponent,managed to draw the game after 54 moves. Having Wesley So on board represents asignificant coup for ChessBase, but thisparticular DVD falls somewhat short of themark. Oliver Reeh is undoubtedly a strongenough presenter to deliver all of this materialhimself, although in terms of intended salesSo is clearly the intended spearhead. Summing up, this DVD doesn’t quite hitthe target. So’s expert thoughts areinteresting, but the approach taken herewould probably work much better on a ‘bestgame’ collection of his own chess battles. Apresenter such as Daniel King, Andrew Martinor Nigel Davies would have put together amore fluid repertoire for White, whereas herethe viewer is given some very interestingideas, but will have to think carefully on howto put the whole thing together to get thebest out of 1 b3.

Sean Marsh

The Shereshevsky Method to Improve in Chess

Mikhail Shereshevsky, 352 pagesNew in Chess

RRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.35 The subtitle tells us the method inquestion is: “To improve in chess from clubplayer to master”, and other blurb highlightsinclude that “The Shereshevsky Methodoffers a unique opportunity to improve yourgame with one of the supreme examples ofRussian chess training excellence.” This is not merely the publisher’shyperbole, as anyone familiar withShereshevsky’s previous works will no doubtconfirm. Anyone searching for a copy of TheSoviet Chess Conveyor (Semko, 1994) willneed to be prepared to part with a three-figure sum according to an Internet search,although Endgame Strategy (PergamonPress, 1992 and Everyman Chess, 1994) ismuch more easily obtainable. The good news is that this new volumecontains significant segments from itspredecessors and has some additionalmaterial, too. The older parts have undergonea “Thorough revision and checking withpowerful modern engines.” The bad news is

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that significant amounts have been left out ofthis compendium. The material is split into three parts. Partone includes prime cuts from The SovietChess Conveyor (on constructing an openingrepertoire and studying the chess classics),the second part offers revised material fromEndgame Strategy (including the famouslyinstructive advice ‘Do not hurry!’), and thethird presents the brand new articles, “Wherewe discuss the changes in the chess worldand chess training over the past 25 years.”The new material covers 143 pages, thusinstantly answering the question of whetheror not readers who own the previous editionsneed to get this new one. Being familiar with Shereshevsky’sprevious books, one can recommend the firsttwo parts of the book without hesitation(keep the older editions, by the way, as thereis a lot that has been left out on thisoccasion). The main area of interest for this reviewconcerns the third section. There are 10chapters, covering diverse subjects such asthe status of chess players and trainers, chessbooks and laziness. It is very interesting toread the author’s thoughts on these matters.He rates the books of Valery Beim, John Nunnand several others very highly and is happy toquote them several times. There is a very interesting essay on geniusand chess, with a special examination ofKarpov’s play. Shereshevsky witnessed thisgame firsthand and the play of the greatchampion made a lasting impression.

A.Karpov-V.KupreichikUSSR Team Ch., Riga 1975

“Black has an extra pawn, but White hasthe advantage of two bishops, and his piecesare aimed at the black king. In addition, themotif of a pin by the bishop along the longdiagonal, with a collateral attack on the b2-rook, could be decisive. This suggests 36 Íe5!.Today the computer immediately reports thatafter 36...Ìxe5 37 Ëxe5 Îd2 38 Íc4White wins. The thoughts of all those presentwere in this direction, but, in time-trouble,Karpov played...” 36 Ëc1?!! (and 1-0, 42). “I was amazed at how much Karpov’s glancespread over the whole board. The white queen

hangs over the position of the black king, whichseems to be about to collapse. And yetsuddenly, the queen retreats to c1. And nobodywas looking in this direction!” Shereshevsky is keen to elevate theperception of Karpov’s play, which wassomehow devalued after he was finallydisplaced by Kasparov, who inherited the‘genius’ tag too: “I never thought that I wouldhave to publicly speak out about a seeminglyquite obvious thing: the genius of AnatolyKarpov as a chess player.” This is such a good book it makes mewonder if it would have been better to split itinto more than one volume, enabling as muchmaterial as possible to be retained from TheSoviet Chess Conveyor and Endgame Strategy.There is certainly enough new material onwhich to base an entire second volume. Nevertheless, this book is highlyrecommended to anyone who would like tolearn more about the methods of one of theformer Soviet Union’s top trainers and to usethose methods to help themselves improve atchess. The big bonus is being able to readShereshevsky’s thoughts on a whole range ofother chess subjects, offering a refreshingnew angle on a diverse set of topics. Welldone, New in Chess! Now sign up the authorfor another book, as soon as possible.

Sean Marsh

A Complete Guide to Queen’s Gambit PlayGlenn Flear, Neil McDonald, Alexander Raetskyand Maxim Chetverik, 619 pages, paperback

RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 This latest compendium volume fromEveryman Chess covers three works fromtheir famous Starting Out series which wereall devoted to play after 1 d4 d5 2 c4: Raetskyand Chetverik’s Queen’s Gambit Accepted,McDonald’s Queen’s Gambit Declined andGlenn Flear’s work on the Slav and Semi-Slav.

Attacking 101 Volume #004Joel Johnson, 372 pages, paperbackRRP £29.99 SUBSCRIBERS £26.99

American Master Johnson once againexamines his own games against opponentsrated between 1700 and 2100, aiming toinstruct the reader while highlighting typicalmistakes made by players of that level. Once

again, all the games feature 1 e4 with the vastmajority either Alekhines or St. George Defences.

Íc4 against the Open GamesAlexander Delchev, 248 pages, paperbackRRP £18.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.09

The Giuoco Piano and related lines havebeen rather topical of late, so it’s no surpriseto see a Chess Stars work appearing toutingthem for White. Delchev covers both a 2 Íc4Ìf6 3 d3 and 4 Ìf3 move order, as well as 2Ìf3 Ìc6 3 Íc4 and 4 d3. The author hasapparently been playing such lines off and onfor 25 years, racking up the rather impressivescore of +30 =7 -3, but the BulgarianGrandmaster does not merely re-examine oldtheory. Indeed, he looks in some detail at twotopical approaches: an early a2-a4 from Whiteand the rediscovery of the effects of an earlyÍg5. Overall, those who want to glean the keyideas behind the Giuoco while discovering arepertoire containing some bite and new ideascould do far worse than examine Delchev.

Fighting Chess with Black: Anti-King’s Indians and Anti-Sicilians

Yelena Dembo & Richard Palliser, 460 pages, paperback

RRP £19.99 SUBSCRIBERS £17.99 Another compilation job from Everyman,devoted to works which proved fairlypopular, no doubt because they showed howBlack should handle and fight back againstall those pesky Anti-King’s Indians and Anti-Sicilians.

Carlsen vs. KarjakinLev Alburt & Jon Crumiller, 336 pages, paperback

SPECIAL PRICE £22.50 SUBS’ £20.25 Last month Sean Marsh reviewed thismodern take on the latest worldchampionship match. See the March issue orpage 53 of this one for further details.

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Crucial Chess Skills for the Club Player: Volume 1

Robert Ris, 240 pages, paperbackRRP £25.95 SUBSCRIBERS £23.25

Leading Dutch chess coach, IM and DVDpresenter Robert Ris has turned to ThinkersPublishing for his first book. His target audienceis the club player and in this first volume theendgame and middlegame come under hismicroscope. The majority of the endgamecoverage is on rook endings, although there isalso a very useful chapter on the transition to apawn ending. Likewise, plenty of themiddlegame chapters will immediately resonatewith the reader, not least that on ‘Playingagainst your opponent’s pieces’.

First Steps: Caro-Kann DefenceAndrew Martin, 240 pages, paperbackRRP £17.99 SUBSCRIBERS £16.19

Andrew Martin has been busy of late withall his junior chess teaching andadministration, including playing a key rolebehind the scenes at that large girls’ event inBramley we reported on in last month’s HomeNews, as well as with his DVDs, but now picksup his pen once again to cover 1 e4 c6.Coverage is surprisingly thorough, at least interms of all the lines covered, although attimes Martin has had to make a repertoirechoice and the majority of coverage on themain line, 2 d4 d5 3 Ìc3 dxe4 4 Ìxe4, isdevoted to 4...Íf5. The illustrated games arelargely instructive, good use made of theseries’ special features and the average clubplayer very much the target audience.

Foxy 178: Dominate the Endgames Like13 World Champions for the Tournament

Player Vol. 1Ron Henley, DVD; running time: 92 minutes

RRP £12.95 SUBSCRIBERS £11.66 One tends to associate Foxy Videos with

opening repertoires for the club player, buthere American GM and former Karpov helperRon Henley has elected to examine theendgame, beginning by looking at how oneside can dominate the play. As such, viewersget to see the bishop-pair expertly handledby the likes of Steinitz and Carlsen, whilethere is also a fair amount of instructivematerial on rook endings. Also new from Foxy Videos are Foxy 179:Domination Studies Ghenrikh Kasparyan forthe Tournament Player Vol.2, which is basedon some Kasparyan’s famous studies and runsto two hours and five minutes, as well as Foxy180: Domination Studies Bernhard Horwitzfor the Tournament Player Vol. 3, whereHenley turns his attention to Horwitz’s workover two hours and 15 minutes. Foxy 179 and Foxy 180 are also available tosubscribers for £11.66 each, or you can buyFoxy 178, Foxy 179 and Foxy 180 togetherfor a subscribers only price of £34.96.

Strike like the World ChampionsOliver Reeh, PC-DVD; running time: 9 hours,

30 minutesRRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25

The combination of Oliver Reeh andWesley So might not have worked brilliantly inChessBase’s Hamburg studio, but now we getto see the German IM and experiencedpresenter in his own right, and there will beno complaints about the length of this DVD.Reeh’s choice of subject is the most brilliantattacks and concluding combinations playedby the 16 world champions, which are allpresented in interactive format, meaningkeen viewers can try and work out thesolutions for themselves. Some of the gamesare rather well known, but plenty are not andthe club player relatively new to the game, orlooking for an inspirational refresher course,should be well educated by the wealth ofsacrifices on offer which are largely clearlyexplained by Reeh.

The Surprising Sicilian – Shock YourOpponent with an early ...Ëb6

Andrew Martin, PC-DVD;running time: 5 hours, 19 minutesRRP £26.95 SUBSCRIBERS £24.25

Andrew Martin has certainly been busy of

late and here promotes the Kveinys variationas an ideal weapon for the club player, as wellas a surprise weapon for even strongerplayers. And what is the Kveinys? 1 e4 c5 2 Ìf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Ìxd4 Ëb6 can lead toScheveningen-type play, but ideally whereWhite is away from the comfortable blanketof his or her knowledge of opening theory. Atlower levels there are some pitfalls whiteplayers must avoid and even if they knowtheir theory, the main lines are playable forBlack, as shown by Peter Svidler and Judit Polgar.

36TH ST.ALBANSCHESS CONGRESSThe 2016 ECF Congress of the Year

Saturday 14 - Sunday 15 April

OPEN /U181 /U161 /U141 /U121A 5-round Swiss to be held at

St Columba's College, King Harry Lane,St Albans AL3 4AW

- Well-lit and comfortable Playing Hall- Ample free parking - Close to M1 & M25- Thameslink & Watford Junction trains

- Food & Drink available- Bookstall provided by Chess & Bridge

- Eligible for Tradewise Grand Prix

Over £3,250 in prizes!including Veteran, Junior & Grading Prizes

www.StAlbansCongress.com

NEW IN STOCK

A fantastic new large-size set with extra-strong magnetic pieces. Playing area size is 24cm square, and is almostentirely flat when either in use or foldedaway. The board also contains a thirdsection which is also magnetic for you to store any captured pieces that are no longer required on the board.

Magnetic Fold Flat Chess SetRRP £14.99 Subscribers’ £13.49

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