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The Four Knights: Move by Move accessible:
by Cyrus Lakdawala
The Open Games for Black
by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin
The Berlin Defence
by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin
Checkpoint En Passant
Carsten Hansen Chess Informant 114
by Branko Tadic (ed.)
Chess Evolution #07
by Arkadij Naiditsch
Translate this page The Open Game Anew
The Open Games with 1 e4 e5 have a long, colorful history and there are an
abundance of variations within that construct. This month we feature a book
on a very solid approach by White, the Four Knights, which can also be
livened up considerably with sharp alternatives along the way. In two other
books we get a full-fledged repertoire for Black served on a platter; indeed a
repertoire that proved effective for one of the authors in last year's World Cup
and Russian Championship. We round off with a brief look at the latest
developments at Chess Informant.
The Strategic Nimzo-Indian
by Ivan Sokolov
The Four Knights: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, Everyman Chess
2012, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 352pp. $29.95 (ChessCafe
Price: $19.95)
Rating Chart
In past columns, we have featured two other titles by
Awful –
Lakdawala: The Slav: Move by Move and 1...d6:
Poor – Move by Move. Both books were very good and
received well-deserved praise. In the present volume,
Uneven – the Californian international master covers the Four
Good –
Knights. This arises after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3
Nf6.
Great –
The material is divided as follows: Dismantling the Dutch
Excellent –
by David Rudel
● Series Foreword (1 page)
● Bibliography (1 page)
● Introduction (8 pages)
● Four Knights Spanish: Symmetrical Variation (58 pages)
● Four Knights Spanish: Rubinstein Gambit (63 pages)
● Four Knights Spanish: Fourth Move Alternatives (47 pages)
● Four Knights Scotch (44 pages)
● Belgrade Gambit (33 pages)
● Glek Variation (33 pages)
● Third Move Alternatives for Black (32 pages)
● Three Knights versus Petroff (24 pages)
● Index of Variations (3 pages)
● Index of Complete Games (2 pages)
While the division of the material seems reasonable, in terms of a true
alternative, the Four Knights Scotch is far more likely to someone who will
also play the Four Knights Spanish, whereas the Belgrade Gambit is an
unlikely choice for most people.
In contrast to Lakdawala's other books, this effort seems rushed and written
with less passion. The coverage is quite breezy and flawed in some instances.
Several times crucial ideas for Black go unmentioned (see the review below),
which is very unfortunate to put it mildly.
Nevertheless, Lakdawala does write in an instructive and entertaining fashion.
He teaches the in and outs of this opening, while challenging the reader with
puzzles and questions that could well have been asked by a student.
This book will teach a prospective student much about this opening and about
chess as a whole. But if the student has hopes to use it as a repertoire book,
then it falls flat because of the theoretical mishaps in the key lines.
My assessment of this book:
Order The Four Knights: Move by Move
by Cyrus Lakdawala
Order The Four Knights: Move by Move (Ebook)
by Cyrus Lakdawala
The Open Games for Black by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin, Chess Stars
2012, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 244pp. $30.95 (ChessCafe
Price: $24.95)
Initially, I will pass the word to grandmaster Lysyj,
who interestingly misspells both his name (it is
written as Lysy) and the name of his coauthor in the
preface:
"My main opening weapon throughout my chess
career, from 1998 to 2010 was the French Defence.
However, in the last five years of this period I played
a large number of games in the strongest tournaments
in Russia, mostly against players rated over 2600, and
I suffered many humiliating but well-deserved defeats.
"These losses made me reconsider the situation and I came to the conclusion
that the cramped positions in the French Defence are strategically risky and
do not quite suit my playing style. At the beginning of 2010 I qualified for the
World Cup and I had to make up my mind how I was going to try to
neutralize effectively Ostap Bender's favourite move (1.e4).
"The overwhelming majority of the world's theoretical experts consider that in
reply to 1 e2-e4 there are really only two good moves [CH: this is hardly true,
but, of course, putting things on the edge makes for more interesting reading.]
Since the sharp Sicilian positions might turn my hair prematurely grey, I
decided to study the calmer move 1…e5.
"I managed to study the new positions quickly and easily and I felt quite
comfortable with them in practice. By the summer of 2011 I was already
playing nothing by 1…e5 and had no opening problems with Black, either in
the Finals of the Championship of Russia or in the World Cup.
"In this book I have presented all my analyses and my discoveries during the
World Cup. I believe that it will be useful for chess players at all levels to
study them, together with the excellent annotations and explanations of
Roman Ovechkin [sic]."
The material is divided as follows:
● Preface (2 pages)
● Part 1: All White Lines w/o 2 Nf3 – 1 e4 e5
● Rarely-Played Moves. Centre Game 2 d4 exd4 (8 pages)
● King's Gambit 2 f4 d5 (12 pages)
● Vienna Game 2 Nc3 Nf6 (22 pages)
● Bishop's Opening 2 Bc4 Nf6
● Part 2: All White Lines w/o 3 Bb5 – 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6
● Rarely-Played Moves. Ponziani Opening 3 c3 d5 (11 pages)
● Belgrade Gambit 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nd5 Be7 (19 pages)
● Glek Variation 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 g3 d5 (7 pages)
● Four Knights Game 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Bb5 Bb4 (16 pages)
● Scotch Game – 3 d4 exd4
● Goring & Scotch Gambits 4 c3 d5; 4 Bc4 Bc5 (14 pages)
● 4 Nxd4 Nf6 w/o 5 Nxc6; 5 Nxc6 bxc6 w/o 6 e5 (19 pages)
● 4 Nxd4 exd4 5 Nxc6 bxc6 6 e5 Qe7 7 Qe2 Nd5 w/o 8 c4 (6 pages)
● 4 Nxd4 exd4 5 Nxc6 bxc6 6 e5 Qe7 7 Qe2 Nd5 8 c4 Ba6 (14 pages)
● Giuoco Piano 3 Bc4 Bc5
● Evans Gambit 4 b4 Bxb4 (15 pages)
● 4 d3 Nf6 various; 5 Bb3 0-0 (5 pages)
● 4 Nc3 Nf6 5 d3 h6 (5 pages)
● 4 0-0 Nf6 5 d4 Bxd4 (5 pages)
● 4 0-0 Nf6 5 d3 0-0 (6 pages)
● 4 c3 Nf6 various; 5 d4 exd4 (22 pages)
● 4 c3 Nf6 5 d3 0-0 w/o 6 0-0 (7 pages)
● 4 c3 Nf6 5 d3 0-0 6 0-0 d5 (18 pages)
● Index of Variations (4 pages)
This book is a straight-forward presentation of a repertoire for Black against
all lines after 1 e4 e5, with the exception of the Ruy Lopez, which is covered
in their book on the Berlin Defense. In fact, the chapter on the Four Knights
Spanish is identical in both books. With that in mind, and with another book
on the Four Knights reviewed in this column, it makes sense to compare their
recommendations.
In the main line of the Four Knights Spanish: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4
Bb5 Bb4 5 0-0 0-0 6 d3 d6 7 Bg5 Ne7, Lakdawala (in the book reviewed
above) recommends lines for White that are effectively dealt with by Lysyj
and Ovetchkin based on top games that were also available to Lakdawala.
Indeed, some of the key lines recommended in this volume go unmentioned
by Lakdawala and their evaluations are supported by games and analysis.
Lakdawala's recommendations in the Belgrade Gambit also fall short against
the coverage of Lysyj and Ovetchkin, where he again misses key moves from
grandmaster practice. Finally, in the line on the Four Knight Scotch, it is
hardly a surprise that Lysyj and Ovetchkin have recommendations not
mentioned by Lakdawala.
From this perspective, it is easy to think of the present book as flawless,
which I am sure it isn't. However, I do find it very good, well-written, and the
recommendations easy to follow and understand. The balance between moves
and analysis and explanatory prose is similarly good. The translation by Phil
Adams has made this book easier to read and helped avoid some of the
quirkier "Russianisms" that often are found in the books from this publisher.
Overall, this is a great book. I recommend it to anyone trying to piece together
a repertoire for Black after 1 e4 e5.
My assessment of this book:
Order The Open Games for Black
by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin
The Berlin Defence by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin, Chess Stars 2012,
Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 276pp. $30.95 (ChessCafe Price:
$24.95)
In this volume, the authors
concentrate on the Berlin
Defense in Ruy Lopez. This
arises after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3
Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6, which has
been consistently in the
limelight and equally
popular since Kramnik used
it against Kasparov in their
world championship match.
The most often played line is
the Berlin Wall Variation, in which an endgame arises that requires good
understanding to play well from either side: 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bxc6
dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8
[FEN "r1bk1b1r/ppp2ppp/2p5/4Pn2/8/
5N2/PPP2PPP/RNB2RK1 w - - 0 9"]
In the Preface (this time spelling both names correctly), grandmaster Lysyj
writes as follows:
"Every grandmaster who intends to begin defending the black side of the open
games must first find the right answer to the question – which line to choose
against the Ruy Lopez? I was no exception to this rule. I was talking a walk
once with my friends Alexander Riazantsev and Igor Kurnosov and they came
up with a wonderful idea: ‘You've always been an excellent endgame player;
study the Berlin Wall!' I liked that advice very much and it gave me a clear
direction for studying a new repertoire.
"I worked very hard at mastering 1...e7-e5 for Black and the results were very
fruitful in the 2011 World Cup, where I had no problems at all after 1 e2-e4. I
was especially happy with the outcome of the opening battle against the
outstanding M. Kobalia. In fact, in one of the main tabias of the anti-Berlin
system I found an order of moves which I believe to be among my best
analytical achievements.
"In this book Roman Ovetchkin and I have decided to illustrate the theoretical
section with model games and thorough analysis of these will undoubtedly
help the reader to gain a better grasp of the finer points of this system and
orientate himself among the enormous amount of information available."
The material is divided as follows:
● Preface (4 pages)
● Part 1 – Anti-Berlin – 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6
● Rarely-Played Moves: 4 Bxc6; 4 Qe2; 4 d4 (27 pages)
● 4 Nc3 (21 pages)
● 4 d3 Bc5 – Rarely Played Moves; 5 Nc3 (13 pages)
● 4 d3 Bc5 5 Bxc6 (15 pages)
● 4 d3 Bc5 5 0-0; 5 c3 0-0 – Rarely-Played Moves; 6 Qe2; 6 Bxc6 (20
pages)
● 4 d3 Bc5 5 c3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 – Rarely-Played Moves; 7 Bg5 (16 pages)
● 4 d3 Bc5 5 c3 0-0 6 0-0 d6 7 Nbd2 (21 pages)
● 4 0-0 Nxe4 – Rarely-Played Moves; 5 Qe2; 5 Re1 (16 pages)
● 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 d4 Nd6 – Rarely-Played Moves; 6 Bg5; 6 dxe5 (16 pages)
● 4 0-0 Nxe4 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5; Rarely-Played Moves;
8 Qe2 (7 pages)
● Part 2 – The Berlin Endgame – 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 4 0-0
Nxe4 5 d4 Nd6 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 dxe5 Nf5 8 Qxd8+ Kxd8
● Rarely-Played Moves; 9 Bg5; 9 h3; 9 Rd1; 9 Nbd2 (15 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 w/o 10 Rd1 and 10 h3 (14 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 Rd1 (12 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 h3 h5; Rarely-Played Moves; 11 b3; 11 Ne2 (14 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 h3 h5 11 Rd1 Be7 12 g3; 12 Ne4; 12 Ne2 (10 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 h3 h5 11 Bg5 (14 pages)
● 9 Nc3 Ke8 10 h3 h5 11 Bf4 (14 pages)
Each chapter is further divided into three segments: Quick Repertoire, Step by
Step, and Complete Games. As I have discussed in earlier reviews, I am
conflicted about this. On one side, I find the Quick Repertoire convenient for
becoming familiar with key points with a minimum of effort. Conversely, I
find it a tremendous waste of space, as the same effect can be achieved by
writing those key moves in cursive in the body of the text, rather than
repeating them in a different section.
One thing that struck me as strange was the inclusion of 4 Nc3, which takes
the game into a Four Knights. This is also covered in The Open Games for
Black. In fact, the coverage in the Step by Step section is identical! This is
especially odd because the Four Knights Spanish is usually not considered
part of the Ruy Lopez opening.
Notwithstanding, I find the book to be both well-analyzed and well-written.
The repertoire suggestions make sense and are easy to follow. The authors
deliver the best and most crucial lines in this variation and do not seem to
have taken any shortcuts. However, the opening itself does not allow a smoke
and mirror presentation. It is very solid, has a good reputation, and is played
regularly by several top grandmasters.
For those looking for a relatively simple solution to face the Ruy Lopez as
black, this book will provide a good and balanced presentation, with both
plenty of variations and explanatory prose. Along with the volume on the
Open Games, it represents a fairly complete repertoire for Black against 1 e4.
Together these books rival the works of grandmasters Sakaev and Marin.
My assessment of this book:
Order The Berlin Defence
by Igor Lysyj & Roman Ovetchkin
Chess Informant #114 by Branko Tadic (ed.), Sahovski Informator 2012,
Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 340pp. $36.95 (ChessCafe Price
$32.95)
Lately, I have been singing the praises of Chess
Informant's renewal efforts and they just keep
getting better. Let's have a look at the contents of the
current volume:
● Contributors (2 pages)
● The ten best games of the preceding Volume
(2 pages)
● The ten most important theoretical novelties
of the preceding Volume (4 pages)
● Garry's Choice by Garry Kasparov (8 pages)
● Old Wine in New Bottles by Mihail Marin (9
pages)
● Anand – Gelfand WCC 2012 Match by Kidambi Sundararajan (6 pages)
● Top Five (22 pages)
● One Country – Sweden (4 segments – 12 pages)
● Chess Informant Labs (8 surveys – 38 pages)
● Rising Stars – Samuel Shankland (7 pages)
● Guest Column "British Chess Magazine" by Andrew Martin (2 pages)
● System of Signs (3 pages)
● Classification of Openings (6 pages)
● A / B / C / D / E (168 pages)
● Index (6 pages)
● Commentators (1 page)
● Combinations (3 pages)
● Excellent Moves (3 pages)
● Endings (3 pages)
● Problems by Milan Velimirovic (5 pages)
● Studies by Yochanan Afek (3 pages)
● Tournaments (16 pages)
● The Best of Chess Informant – Gata Kamsky (13 pages)
New features in this volume are the articles by Marin and Sundararajan, the
column on the world championship match, and the "One Country" and "Guest
Column" article. The Marin column is reminiscent of Sosonko's now defunct
column from the New In Chess Yearbooks. It is somewhat different, but
similarly good with excellent insight and profound understanding. The "One
Country" feature is interesting; it features annotations of four different players
from one country. In this volume, the players are from Sweden: GMs Berg,
Carlsson, Grandelius, and Tikkanen. The annotations feature prose instead of
non-verbal punctuation, and this can be said of several of the other features as
well: "Top Five," "Garry's Choice," "CI Labs," and "Rising Stars." This all
helps to make the grand old lady of chess yearbooks fresh and more
accessible to a new generation of chess students and professionals.
I could say many nice things about this volume, but the unbridled enthusiasm
by director Josip Asik in his "Informant at ChessCafe" column covers my
feelings very well too:
"There are so many interesting new features in Chess Informant 114 that I feel
like one of those famous musicians who can't choose their best songs. Sure, I
am biased, but this is darn good book, with extraordinary content by
Kasparov, Marin, Jakovenko, Short, Vitiugov, Volokitin, Inarkiev, Shankland,
Leitao, and Cheparinov!"
My assessment of this book:
Order Chess Informant #114
by Branko Tadic (ed.)
Order Chess Informant #114 (CD)
by Branko Tadic (ed.)
Order Chess Informant #114 (Book+CD)
by Branko Tadic (ed.)
A PDF file of this month's column, along with all previous columns, is
available in the [Link] Archives.
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will be posted below daily.
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