Chess in the Greater Manchester area
Book Reviews page 4
The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked
By Andrew Soltis
McFarland, 2006
ISBN 978-0-7864-2741-3
This is one of those rare books that can be read solely for pleasure, although it can hardly fail to instruct as well. The games are wonderful, as you would expect, but whether these are ‘the 100 best games’ or ‘100 of the best games’ of the last century is open to question.
In the introduction, Soltis takes some pains to explain the procedure by which he arrived at his selection. Briefly, he established five criteria, such as ‘Originality’ and ‘Breadth and Depth’, and then rated about 7000 games on each, assigning a score of from 1 to 20. What this meant was that the maximum possible score for any one game was 100 (i.e. 5 x 20), though in actual fact the highest score awarded was 92 (and it was achieved by only two games, one being Polugayevsky-Nezhmetdinov, Sochi 1958, which featured a magnificent mating attack).
Soltis remarks that some of the games in the top 100 surprised him, which is encouraging, because it suggests that the games don’t represent a purely personal preference. Even so, one can ask: Would others have given the same or similar scores to each game? Because there has been no attempt to calibrate the aforementioned criteria, this question cannot be answered. So Soltis’ conclusions must be regarded as, in some sense, subjective.
There are two ‘aperitif’ chapters before we come to the main course. ‘The Most Overrated Games’ gives five games with a large reputation but, according to Soltis, little of genuine world-class quality. ‘Near Misses’ has six games that fall just outside the top spots.
As for the century of games from the previous century, they’re all top-notch, substantial and well worth studying in depth. Actually, the more you study these superlative games, the greater the pleasure that you’ll get out of them. Soltis’ pithy introductions often give pen portraits of the two players and his annotations are never less than entertaining and enjoyable to read. The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked is an unimaginative title, certainly, but it is also a terrific book which every chess lover will cherish.
Here is one of the shorter games in the book, Taimanov-Polugayevsky, Leningrad 1960, with some brief notes:
By Andrew Soltis
McFarland, 2006
ISBN 978-
This is one of those rare books that can be read solely for pleasure, although it can hardly fail to instruct as well. The games are wonderful, as you would expect, but whether these are ‘the 100 best games’ or ‘100 of the best games’ of the last century is open to question.
In the introduction, Soltis takes some pains to explain the procedure by which he arrived at his selection. Briefly, he established five criteria, such as ‘Originality’ and ‘Breadth and Depth’, and then rated about 7000 games on each, assigning a score of from 1 to 20. What this meant was that the maximum possible score for any one game was 100 (i.e. 5 x 20), though in actual fact the highest score awarded was 92 (and it was achieved by only two games, one being Polugayevsky-
Soltis remarks that some of the games in the top 100 surprised him, which is encouraging, because it suggests that the games don’t represent a purely personal preference. Even so, one can ask: Would others have given the same or similar scores to each game? Because there has been no attempt to calibrate the aforementioned criteria, this question cannot be answered. So Soltis’ conclusions must be regarded as, in some sense, subjective.
There are two ‘aperitif’ chapters before we come to the main course. ‘The Most Overrated Games’ gives five games with a large reputation but, according to Soltis, little of genuine world-
As for the century of games from the previous century, they’re all top-
Here is one of the shorter games in the book, Taimanov-
Squeezing the Gambits: the Benko, Budapest, Albin and Blumenfeld
By Kiril Georgiev
Chess Stars, March 2010
ISBN-13: 978-9548782753
This is an outstanding opening book and it could also be viewed as a case study based textbook on strategy and positional play. It is written for the player who opens with 1.d4 and who wants a principled and practical way of meeting four gambits: the Benko, the Budapest Defence, the Albin and the Blumenfeld.
Georgiev’s general approach is to recommend lines that have a sound positional basis, that minimise Black’s counterplay and allow White to gradually take control of the game. The recommended lines are easy to play (relatively speaking) and they make no undue demands on memory; there are few forcing variations.
Against the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5) Georgiev gives 4.Nf3 as his main recommendation, intending to meet 4…g6 or 4…d6 with 5.cxb5 a6 6.b6: the king’s knight will often find an inviting square at c4 in this variation (Nf3-d2-c4). He also gives the direct 4.cxb5 a6 5.b6, but believes that after 5…e6 6.Nc3 Nxd5 the position is rather dry and drawish. Still, if this is Black’s best, the opening can hardly be said to be a success for him.
If the Benko player meets 4.Nf3 with 4…e6, then we reach the Blumenfeld Counter Gambit by transposition. White should now play Duz-Khotimirsky’s move 5.Bg5! in order to enable e2-e4, according to Georgiev.
The remaining two gambits, the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) and the Budapest Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5), involve the sacrifice of the king’s pawn. In both cases, Georgiev’s remedy (as before against the Benko) is to return the pawn in such a way as to place Black in a passive or strategically suspect position, then to slowly drain it of all vital possibilities.
This is quite a focused work and the lion’s share of it is devoted to the Benko, the most reputable of the gambits on show. Georgiev demonstrates that these gambits are not to be feared; so no need to avoid the Albin or Budapest by playing 2.Nf3. Indeed, by playing sound and sensible chess you can get the upper hand and win.
The author is occasionally disdainful (or just candid?), as when he opines that ‘nowadays the Budapest Gambit is played mostly by weaker players who do not care too much about the strategic laws of chess’ (page 141), but on the whole he comes across as an engaging, perspicacious and impressive writer and thinker about the game. This is especially apparent in his annotations to the 20 or so illustrative games, a fair few of them own. Georgiev’s outline of the basic plans, pawn structures and typical tactical motifs, to be found in the 4.Nf3 line versus the Benko in particular, is masterly and gives a revealing insight into the thinking and preparation of a world class grandmaster.
It was welcome also to see a bibliography and a comprehensive index of opening variations. You don’t always get that.
By Kiril Georgiev
Chess Stars, March 2010
ISBN-
This is an outstanding opening book and it could also be viewed as a case study based textbook on strategy and positional play. It is written for the player who opens with 1.d4 and who wants a principled and practical way of meeting four gambits: the Benko, the Budapest Defence, the Albin and the Blumenfeld.
Georgiev’s general approach is to recommend lines that have a sound positional basis, that minimise Black’s counterplay and allow White to gradually take control of the game. The recommended lines are easy to play (relatively speaking) and they make no undue demands on memory; there are few forcing variations.
Against the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5) Georgiev gives 4.Nf3 as his main recommendation, intending to meet 4…g6 or 4…d6 with 5.cxb5 a6 6.b6: the king’s knight will often find an inviting square at c4 in this variation (Nf3-
If the Benko player meets 4.Nf3 with 4…e6, then we reach the Blumenfeld Counter Gambit by transposition. White should now play Duz-
The remaining two gambits, the Albin Counter Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5) and the Budapest Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5), involve the sacrifice of the king’s pawn. In both cases, Georgiev’s remedy (as before against the Benko) is to return the pawn in such a way as to place Black in a passive or strategically suspect position, then to slowly drain it of all vital possibilities.
This is quite a focused work and the lion’s share of it is devoted to the Benko, the most reputable of the gambits on show. Georgiev demonstrates that these gambits are not to be feared; so no need to avoid the Albin or Budapest by playing 2.Nf3. Indeed, by playing sound and sensible chess you can get the upper hand and win.
The author is occasionally disdainful (or just candid?), as when he opines that ‘nowadays the Budapest Gambit is played mostly by weaker players who do not care too much about the strategic laws of chess’ (page 141), but on the whole he comes across as an engaging, perspicacious and impressive writer and thinker about the game. This is especially apparent in his annotations to the 20 or so illustrative games, a fair few of them own. Georgiev’s outline of the basic plans, pawn structures and typical tactical motifs, to be found in the 4.Nf3 line versus the Benko in particular, is masterly and gives a revealing insight into the thinking and preparation of a world class grandmaster.
It was welcome also to see a bibliography and a comprehensive index of opening variations. You don’t always get that.
Counter Gambits: Black to Play and Win
By T. D. Harding
Dover Publications, March 2003
ISBN-13: 978-0486415789
The main purpose of Harding’s book is to demonstrate that Black can fight for the initiative right from move one.
There is no requirement to first of all quietly equalise, only then taking the battle to White. That is not necessary, not by a long chalk. Instead, Black can complicate matters, and test the player of the White pieces, right in the opening stages of the game.
The book came out originally in 1973, although this edition includes an update from 2001, so the analysis is in many cases out of date: incomplete, or even incorrect. It is, however, a remarkable resource since it contains myriad black gambits in virtually all of the major openings. And the philosophy underlying the book – strive for dynamic counterplay, not static equality! - is inspiring. We see this philosophy in action through the 100 plus illustrative games, about 75 of which are annotated.
Certainly, it is a stark contrast in outlook to that found in Georgiev’s Squeezing the Gambits. Although it should be said that some of the gambits here are probably suitable just for blitz or bullet games.
Harding’s book is part battle-manual and part thought-provoking manifesto. In all respects, however, it is an entertaining and enjoyable read.
In this game, taken from the book, Black achieves victory in a mere 11 moves: Floyd Halwick, Jr.-Bobby Ang.
By T. D. Harding
Dover Publications, March 2003
ISBN-
The main purpose of Harding’s book is to demonstrate that Black can fight for the initiative right from move one.
There is no requirement to first of all quietly equalise, only then taking the battle to White. That is not necessary, not by a long chalk. Instead, Black can complicate matters, and test the player of the White pieces, right in the opening stages of the game.
The book came out originally in 1973, although this edition includes an update from 2001, so the analysis is in many cases out of date: incomplete, or even incorrect. It is, however, a remarkable resource since it contains myriad black gambits in virtually all of the major openings. And the philosophy underlying the book – strive for dynamic counterplay, not static equality! -
Certainly, it is a stark contrast in outlook to that found in Georgiev’s Squeezing the Gambits. Although it should be said that some of the gambits here are probably suitable just for blitz or bullet games.
Harding’s book is part battle-
Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking
From the First Move to the Last
By Neil McDonald
ISBN: 9-780-7134-8894-4
Batsford, 2004
In this book, Neil McDonald presents 30 relatively modern games – all were played from 1978 to 2002 - and adds a comment to each and every move. It is a nice idea and Irving Chernev wrote a book along these lines, Logical Chess: Move by Move, quite some time ago. He may even have created the genre, come to that. Nunn’s Understanding Chess Move by Move took a similar tack.
The games are aesthetically pleasing and educational and have clearly been chosen to illustrate the variegated splendours of chess. There are smooth positional victories and explosive attacks on the king; there are games that could well serve as models of their type, while others are simply spectacular, original and inimitable. The endgame is a prominent feature of a fair few of them. For ease and convenience, the games have been grouped according to opening and, to some extent, theme - and most games open with either 1.e4 or 1.d4.
A difficulty with the book, and with the whole genre actually, is that there are only a limited number of things that you can say about the opening moves, about 1.e4 and 1.d4, say, or about 3…cxd4 in the open Sicilian, before you begin repeating yourself. When you’ve said of 1.e4 that it frees the queen and king’s bishop, facilitating quick development and early kingside castling, and that the pawn advance seizes space and controls the d5 and f5 squares, you are pretty much at a loss as to how to continue.
That McDonald has recourse to flights of fancy, metaphors (If White were seeking to build a house, then 1.e4 is the first stone laid at its foundation), digressions, conceits (the pieces are akin to Dracula entombed in a coffin…), historical waffle and such like rhetorical devices is hardly surprising. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. His notes to 1.e4 never take the form of a haiku though, or any instance of fixed form poetry, so maybe he has missed a trick here.
This is an excellent collection of beautiful, instructive and interesting games and Neil McDonald does a sterling job of elucidating and explaining their finer points. To end, here is a game taken from the book, an attacking gem from the late Mikhail Tal:
From the First Move to the Last
By Neil McDonald
ISBN: 9-
In this book, Neil McDonald presents 30 relatively modern games – all were played from 1978 to 2002 -
The games are aesthetically pleasing and educational and have clearly been chosen to illustrate the variegated splendours of chess. There are smooth positional victories and explosive attacks on the king; there are games that could well serve as models of their type, while others are simply spectacular, original and inimitable. The endgame is a prominent feature of a fair few of them. For ease and convenience, the games have been grouped according to opening and, to some extent, theme -
A difficulty with the book, and with the whole genre actually, is that there are only a limited number of things that you can say about the opening moves, about 1.e4 and 1.d4, say, or about 3…cxd4 in the open Sicilian, before you begin repeating yourself. When you’ve said of 1.e4 that it frees the queen and king’s bishop, facilitating quick development and early kingside castling, and that the pawn advance seizes space and controls the d5 and f5 squares, you are pretty much at a loss as to how to continue.
That McDonald has recourse to flights of fancy, metaphors (If White were seeking to build a house, then 1.e4 is the first stone laid at its foundation), digressions, conceits (the pieces are akin to Dracula entombed in a coffin…), historical waffle and such like rhetorical devices is hardly surprising. And this is not necessarily a bad thing, of course. His notes to 1.e4 never take the form of a haiku though, or any instance of fixed form poetry, so maybe he has missed a trick here.
This is an excellent collection of beautiful, instructive and interesting games and Neil McDonald does a sterling job of elucidating and explaining their finer points. To end, here is a game taken from the book, an attacking gem from the late Mikhail Tal:
Wojo's Weapons: Winning With White, Volume 1
By Jonathan Hilton and Dean Ippolito
Mongoose Press, March 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0979148200
A piece of advice that one quite often hears, with regard to the problem of deciding on an opening repertoire, is to take a famous player as a model – a player whom one admires or feels an affinity towards – and to adopt his openings en masse. The idea is that one will thereby benefit from the great player’s experience. For why reinvent the wheel, when there is a perfectly acceptable wheel that you can profitably emulate?
In this book, the authors have made use of this notion and they present the opening repertoire of the late Aleksander Wojtkiewicz (1963-2006), a strong and successful grandmaster. As the subtitle indicates, we are looking at matters from White’s perspective. Also, this is the first of a projected series of volumes: it only covers the position following 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4.
If the 40 of his games assembled here are in any way characteristic, Wojtkiewicz had an attractive positional style, with an emphasis on technique. He had as well an impressive feel for the coordination of his pieces. On the whole, the opening systems reflect this in that they are solid and carry very little risk for White. Barring a gross error, there is always the possibility of a draw if matters do not turn out as well as expected.
The lynchpin of the repertoire is the Catalan (reached usually after 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3) and the authors devote the bulk of the book (just short of 250 pages on my reckoning) to this opening system. Although the emphasis throughout is on strategical themes and ideas, there is quite a lot of detailed analysis too, spread amongst the 75 annotated games. Wojtkiewicz’s efforts on the White side are supplemented by guest appearances by the likes of Kasparov, Kramnik, Gelfand and others, in the remaining 35 games.
Wojtkiewicz had certain favoured ways of meeting the Slav Defence (he went with 4.Qc2 rather than the standard 4.Nc3), the Queen’s Gambit Accepted (he played 7.dxc5, a move Spassky essayed a fair few times in the 1992 match versus Fischer) and the Tarrasch Defence (where he played 9.b3), among other defences, and all of these lines are fully covered. I would have welcomed a consideration of 2…Bg4, Chigorin’s other defence, that’s my only slight criticism of the book. It is a curious omission, actually, since chapter 17 looks at 2…Bf5 fairly thoroughly.
This book serves as a good introduction to the Catalan and the games are generally attractive and instructive, though unspectacular. It can be recommended for players who open 1.d4 or 1.Nf3 and who don’t mind sometimes playing a slightly boring position, so long as their opponents are bereft of counterplay. All in all, a thumbs-up.
To end, here is a quietly impressive game taken from the book:
By Jonathan Hilton and Dean Ippolito
Mongoose Press, March 2010
ISBN-
A piece of advice that one quite often hears, with regard to the problem of deciding on an opening repertoire, is to take a famous player as a model – a player whom one admires or feels an affinity towards – and to adopt his openings en masse. The idea is that one will thereby benefit from the great player’s experience. For why reinvent the wheel, when there is a perfectly acceptable wheel that you can profitably emulate?
In this book, the authors have made use of this notion and they present the opening repertoire of the late Aleksander Wojtkiewicz (1963-
If the 40 of his games assembled here are in any way characteristic, Wojtkiewicz had an attractive positional style, with an emphasis on technique. He had as well an impressive feel for the coordination of his pieces. On the whole, the opening systems reflect this in that they are solid and carry very little risk for White. Barring a gross error, there is always the possibility of a draw if matters do not turn out as well as expected.
The lynchpin of the repertoire is the Catalan (reached usually after 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.g3) and the authors devote the bulk of the book (just short of 250 pages on my reckoning) to this opening system. Although the emphasis throughout is on strategical themes and ideas, there is quite a lot of detailed analysis too, spread amongst the 75 annotated games. Wojtkiewicz’s efforts on the White side are supplemented by guest appearances by the likes of Kasparov, Kramnik, Gelfand and others, in the remaining 35 games.
Wojtkiewicz had certain favoured ways of meeting the Slav Defence (he went with 4.Qc2 rather than the standard 4.Nc3), the Queen’s Gambit Accepted (he played 7.dxc5, a move Spassky essayed a fair few times in the 1992 match versus Fischer) and the Tarrasch Defence (where he played 9.b3), among other defences, and all of these lines are fully covered. I would have welcomed a consideration of 2…Bg4, Chigorin’s other defence, that’s my only slight criticism of the book. It is a curious omission, actually, since chapter 17 looks at 2…Bf5 fairly thoroughly.
This book serves as a good introduction to the Catalan and the games are generally attractive and instructive, though unspectacular. It can be recommended for players who open 1.d4 or 1.Nf3 and who don’t mind sometimes playing a slightly boring position, so long as their opponents are bereft of counterplay. All in all, a thumbs-
To end, here is a quietly impressive game taken from the book:
The Scandinavian Defence
By James Plaskett
Batsford, 2004
ISBN-13: 978-0713489118
This is a useful and helpful monograph on the Scandinavian Defence, or the Centre Counter Defence as it was called in olden times, though it must be said that the presentation sometimes lacks clarity. It is unclear, at a glance, who the players were in the game quoted on pages 112-114, as a ‘for instance’.
James Plaskett’s snappy idiomatic prose, his occasional digressive asides and throwaway insights, may not be to everyone’s taste, but that is because they are wrong. The man has an eye for good chess, and an enthusiastic appreciation of the same. Indeed, he has played quite a lot of good and interesting chess himself in his time.
In essence, there are two different opening systems here, according to whether (after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5) Black plays 2…Qxd5 or 2…Nf6.
On 2…Qxd5 3.Nc3, Black has four distinct possibilities:
• 3…Qd6 is the edgiest and current flavour of the month; Plaskett devotes a good 51 pages to it. No complaints here.
• 3…Qa5 is the most well established move, Anand even essaying it against Kasparov in the 1995 World Championship match, and it gets 21 pages. Perhaps it should have received more?
• 3…Qe5+ is a mite provocative and is given 11 pages: Black follows up with 4…c6 and retreats the queen to …c7 once it is attacked by 5.d4 or 5.Nf3.
• Finally, all of 8 pages are devoted to the stolid and frankly fairly dull 3…Qd8.
On 2…Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5, Black has fair chances after both 4.c4 and 4. Nf3; the two moves are covered in chapter 8 (which has 16 pages, for the record). Black can also meet 3.d4 with 3…Bg4, the Portugese Variation, but although this can yield some spectacular victories (see the game featured in the review of Counter Gambits: Black to Play and Win above) it is most likely inadequate against best play. If White plays 3.c4 (rather than 3.d4), Black should respond with 3…c6 and be prepared to transpose into the Panov-Botvinnik or the 2.c4 variation of the Caro-Kann following 4.d4 or 4.Nc3. The Icelandic Gambit (3.c4 e6) is a dubious alternative, although undoubtedly great fun for blitz games. There is also a chapter devoted to a minor White alternative on move three, 3.Bb5+ (9 pages, should there be any query) and Black comes out OK here.
Overall, this book is a good survey of Black’s various options in the Scandinavian Defence. If I were to play the opening as Black, I’d take two approaches. One would be to go 2…Nf6 3.d4 (or 3.c4 c6) Nxd5: this is a sound, straightforward, low-maintenance defence to 1.e4. A second approach would be to play 2…Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 (3…Qa5 is OK, but there is more to learn), which looks interesting and complex and not at all easy to meet. Is the queen a target for White’s minor pieces or a sleeping tiger that should be left well alone?
By James Plaskett
Batsford, 2004
ISBN-
This is a useful and helpful monograph on the Scandinavian Defence, or the Centre Counter Defence as it was called in olden times, though it must be said that the presentation sometimes lacks clarity. It is unclear, at a glance, who the players were in the game quoted on pages 112-
James Plaskett’s snappy idiomatic prose, his occasional digressive asides and throwaway insights, may not be to everyone’s taste, but that is because they are wrong. The man has an eye for good chess, and an enthusiastic appreciation of the same. Indeed, he has played quite a lot of good and interesting chess himself in his time.
In essence, there are two different opening systems here, according to whether (after 1.e4 d5 2.exd5) Black plays 2…Qxd5 or 2…Nf6.
On 2…Qxd5 3.Nc3, Black has four distinct possibilities:
• 3…Qd6 is the edgiest and current flavour of the month; Plaskett devotes a good 51 pages to it. No complaints here.
• 3…Qa5 is the most well established move, Anand even essaying it against Kasparov in the 1995 World Championship match, and it gets 21 pages. Perhaps it should have received more?
• 3…Qe5+ is a mite provocative and is given 11 pages: Black follows up with 4…c6 and retreats the queen to …c7 once it is attacked by 5.d4 or 5.Nf3.
• Finally, all of 8 pages are devoted to the stolid and frankly fairly dull 3…Qd8.
On 2…Nf6 3.d4 Nxd5, Black has fair chances after both 4.c4 and 4. Nf3; the two moves are covered in chapter 8 (which has 16 pages, for the record). Black can also meet 3.d4 with 3…Bg4, the Portugese Variation, but although this can yield some spectacular victories (see the game featured in the review of Counter Gambits: Black to Play and Win above) it is most likely inadequate against best play. If White plays 3.c4 (rather than 3.d4), Black should respond with 3…c6 and be prepared to transpose into the Panov-
Overall, this book is a good survey of Black’s various options in the Scandinavian Defence. If I were to play the opening as Black, I’d take two approaches. One would be to go 2…Nf6 3.d4 (or 3.c4 c6) Nxd5: this is a sound, straightforward, low-
The Colle-Koltanowski System: Deceptive Peace behind the Stonework
By Valerij Bronznik
Schachverlag Kania, June 2004
ISBN: 3-931192-25-3
This is an excellent monograph on the Colle-Koltanowski System (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.c3), which should not, of course, be confused with the Colle-Zukertort System (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.b3); as though anyone would be silly enough to do that. The Colle-Koltanowski is a ‘plain bloke speaking on a radio phone-in’ kind of opening; White plumbs for quiet, straightforward development and will only later turn his (or her) attention to active operations in the centre, typically with e3-e4 or Nf3-e5. Even so, the opening has more than a drop of poison and has produced its fair share of sparkling miniatures.
There are five chapters in total and the format is to present most of the detailed analysis within a series of annotated games, and then to end with a summary of variations, findings and evaluations. In chapter 1, Bronznik devotes close to 100 pages to lines involving …Nbd7. Play goes 5…Nbd7 6.Nbd2 and now the king’s bishop can go to …d6 (which is covered in games 1-14) or …e7 (games 15-21), or Black can take a different tack entirely and play 6…Qc7 in order to forestall Nf3-e5 at the earliest opportunity. If Black goes 6…Be7, White will have quite a difficult job to get an advantage out of the opening.
Bronznik considers the other knight development, 5…Nc6, in the second chapter. Against this, White usually takes on c5 and pushes e3-e4, so it seems immaterial whether the bishop is developed on …d6 or …e7 initially (for example: 6.0-0 Bd6 [or 6…Be7] 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.e4, etc.). Yet 6…Be7 would allow an early Nf3-e5, while 6…Bd6 may well leave the bishop exposed to 7.Nbd2 0-0 8.Qe2!? and an immediate e3-e4 advance; without an exchange on c5 first, that is. As with the more mainstream openings, there are subtleties here too: there always are.
These first two chapters are quite substantial, clocking in at 93 pages and 73 pages respectively, and the theory of both lines seems to be well-developed. Later chapters, however, are slighter.
Chapter 3 (13 pages) examines lines where Black plays an early …b6, followed by …Bb7 or perhaps …Ba6, the latter move made possible with the queen’s knight on its home square. Chapter 4 (8 pages) looks at an early …c4 for Black, including the line 5.0-0 c4 6.Be2. An important variation, for it raises the question of whether White can defer the choice of c3 or b3 for a further move. Finally, Chapter 5 (17 pages) considers several ways by which Black can avoid the Colle (of either variety). Let us be clear: it is not advisable to play the Colle-Koltanowski against all set-ups (such as the KID or the QID); you need more than one gun in your arsenal.
Bronznik provides plenty of original analysis and suggested improvements throughout in his notes to the games. He also discusses certain common strategic and tactical motifs arising out of the opening, such as the queenside pawn majority, the isolated queen’s pawn, the Pillsbury Attack and the Bxh7+ sacrifice. It is all very interesting, useful and insightful. His book ends with a bibliography and a comprehensive index of variations: efficient organisation, you’d expect no less from a German publisher. This is a book you really need to read and study if you play the Colle-Koltanowski System.
Schachverlag Kania, June 2004
ISBN: 3-
This is an excellent monograph on the Colle-
There are five chapters in total and the format is to present most of the detailed analysis within a series of annotated games, and then to end with a summary of variations, findings and evaluations. In chapter 1, Bronznik devotes close to 100 pages to lines involving …Nbd7. Play goes 5…Nbd7 6.Nbd2 and now the king’s bishop can go to …d6 (which is covered in games 1-
Bronznik considers the other knight development, 5…Nc6, in the second chapter. Against this, White usually takes on c5 and pushes e3-
These first two chapters are quite substantial, clocking in at 93 pages and 73 pages respectively, and the theory of both lines seems to be well-
Chapter 3 (13 pages) examines lines where Black plays an early …b6, followed by …Bb7 or perhaps …Ba6, the latter move made possible with the queen’s knight on its home square. Chapter 4 (8 pages) looks at an early …c4 for Black, including the line 5.0-
Bronznik provides plenty of original analysis and suggested improvements throughout in his notes to the games. He also discusses certain common strategic and tactical motifs arising out of the opening, such as the queenside pawn majority, the isolated queen’s pawn, the Pillsbury Attack and the Bxh7+ sacrifice. It is all very interesting, useful and insightful. His book ends with a bibliography and a comprehensive index of variations: efficient organisation, you’d expect no less from a German publisher. This is a book you really need to read and study if you play the Colle-