Chess N.Z. books under review

Press, 25 August 1988, Page 24

Chess N.Z. books under review

By Aff-a

MICHAEL ROCKS

After the unfavourable review of Kasparov’s autobiography, “Child of Change,” in this column a month ago, I was not expecting any more review books to come my way. That fear has not been realised, however, and the most pleasing feature of the two books under review today is that both are New Zealand publications. Chess Forum No. 1. A Russian Update of the French Defence. By IGM Eduard Gufeld. NZ Chess. 12pp with diagrams. $3.00. The New Zealand Chess Association treasurer. Reel von’t Steen, explained the rationale behind “Chess Forum”:

“From time to time, the editor of New Zealand Chess receives articles which are too long or too detailed to include in the magazine. The practice of splitting these quality articles has not been satisfactory. Therefore, the association introduces the new publication, ‘Chess Forum,’ which will publish suitable contributions separately and at irregular intervals. The association hopes that 'Chess Forum’ will encourage the study of chess in general.” In the first issue of “Chess Forum,” a Soviet Grandmaster, Eduard Gufeld, discusses three variations of the French Defence which featured in the 1987 U.S.S.R. championship, arguably the strongest national championship in the world. For practitioners of the French, “Chess Forum” provides a concise summary of current thought on the opening.

However, for newcomers to the French it would be necessary to have access to either Watson’s or Taulbot’s introductory text in order to gain an understanding of the basic French themes.

“Chess Forum” is available from the N.Z.C.A., P.O. Box 2185, Wellington. Kasparov-Karpov Seville 1987. By Eduard Gufeld. Bovoco. 77pp with diagrams. $18.50. World championship chess is played at a level beyond the understanding of most players. If it was not, then it would be us and not them contesting the title. And until the protagonists set down their thoughts on the games, it is left to the more gifted of us mere mortals to attempt an explanation of their games. Eduard Gufeld is eminently suitable for the task, for, apart from being a player of grandmaster strength, he is a well-respected chess author and trainer, his most accomplished charge being the women’s world champion, Maya Chiburdanidze. Gufeld’s ability and enthusiasm as a chess teacher is the book’s major strength. His concentration on the actual games themselves make a refreshing change from the trashy instant book conspiracies of Keene, Goodman, Tisdall et al, which have been the major -commentaries on recent world title matches in the English language. The book is let down by both the quality of the diagrams, too small and indistinct, and the plastic binding. A couple of errors have slipped past the proof-reader, the most noticeable being the missing g2 pawn on the first diagram on page 71. Over all, "Kasparov-Karpov Seville 1987” has much to recommend it, and as an added sweetener to readers of this column, N.Z. Chess Supplies (P.O. Box 42-090, Homedale, Wainuiomata) is waiving their usual four per I

cent postage and packing charge. When purchasing, please remember to mention “The Press” in your order. SOUTH ISLAND CHAMPIONSHIP The South Island Chess Championship is at present being hosted by the Invercargill C.C. as part of the club’s sixtieth anniversary celebrations. A contingent of Canterbury players made the journey south and a report on their results will appear in a future column. The defending champion, Michael Hampl, has retained the Canterbury C.C. championship, conceding only two draws in the nine-round Swiss tournament. Final results and perhaps a few games will appear in the next column. WORLD TITLES The first of the world championship quarter-final matches is underway in London between the two English hopefuls, the world No. 3, Nigel Short, and the fifthranked, Jonathan Speelman. The remaining three matches will be played in January 1989.

Belfort, France, was the venue for the second World Cup Grand Prix tournament in June when the organisers at Bilbao, Spain, could not get their act together in time. The world champion, Garri Kasparov, lost to his archrival, Anatoly Karpov, in the penultimate round but still managed to win the tournament, by a clear point. Final placings were: 1, G. Kasparov, Ili/ 2 (15); 2, A. Karpov, 3, J. Ehlvest, 9; 4-7, Z. Ribli, R. Huebner, A. Sokolov, B. Spassky, 8; 8, N. Short, 9, J. Speelman, 7; 10-13, L. Ljubojevic, U. Andersson, J. Nogueiras, A. Beliavsky, l4-16, J. Hjartarson, A. Yusupov, J. Timman, s</ 2 .

the 1987-1988 correspondence chess champion of New Zealand is Peter van Dijk, who wins his second title in three years.

Solution to No. 25: (6kl/ plpplpPl/3pb3/6KI/8/p7/8/ 4R3) 1 Kf6 a 22 Rhl (a) Bh3 3 Rai Be 6 4 Rel (Zugzwang so Black must move a pawn) a 6 5 Rhl Bh3 6 Rai Be 6 7 Rel (Zugswang again; repetition of this manoeuvre will eventually see Black run out of safe pawn moves) a 5 8 Rhl Bh3 9 Rai Be 6 10 Rel a 4 11 Rhl Bh3 12 Rai Be 6 13 Rel a 3 14 Rhl Bh3 15 Rai Be« 16 Rel c 6 17 Rhl Bh3 18 Rai Be 6 19 Rel c 5 20 Rhl Bh3 21 Rai Be 6 22 Rel aIQ (b) 23 Rxal a2 24 Rel c4/d5 25 Rai c3/d4 26 Rhl Bh3 27 Rxh3 any 28 RhB mate (a) 2 Rel? Bds 3 Rel Be 4 4 Rai Bbl Black wins (b) 22 ... c 4 23 Rhl Bh3 24 Rai.

Zugzwang is one of many German terms in chess with no direct English equivalent, basically it means a compulsion to move, and generally is used to describe a situation where the player would rather give up the obligation to move since with the move the position must get worse. Thought for the week: “A man that will take back a move at chess will pick a pocket^’— Fenton.