WELCOME

INTRODUCTION

 

Welcome to my Chess Book Reviews blog. 

I hope you enjoy it and that it proves useful if you are deciding to buy chess books.

It has been said that books are the most loyal and trusted friends that you can ever have and in this world of iPads, kindles and other electronic formats I still want to be one of the people giving a 'shout-out' for hard copy chess books. In this technological age it has never been easier to access chess online, at the click of a mouse, and this has affected book consumption.  

Chess books are an important aspect of a chess players lives. They serve as an educational and developmental tool, as well as illustrating history and culture. Some people own one or several books, whereas others have large collections assembled over a lifetime. 

Truly then, I believe in the value of hard copy chess books. Unlike electronic books, they don't lose their charge, they can be read in the sunshine, they don't hurt your eyes from watching screens and even better - they can be autographed to add to their value as a treasured keepsake. 

I want to be clear about my objective for this blog site.

I am blogging simply as an amateur chess player. I am a club and county player, former County Chess Champion (Shropshire) and I have proudly represented and indeed been Captain of my country (UK) in the NATO Chess Championships, but I remain like many of us, just an ordinary player with a lifelong passion for the game.

My reviews are written for the people who are most likely to purchase chess books. That is to say beginners, intermediate and strong players up to county level, but I am sure that even stronger players might enjoy or in some way benefit from digesting my reviews. This is a not for profit blog but reviewing chess books is something that I enjoy.

Reviewing a chess book isn't as easy as one may think. It requires a certain skill-set and I am learning all the time. One has to be impartial and objective but also not be afraid to have a personal opinion and I will not shirk from criticizing if I feel it is warranted. There should be a standard process for the task of reviewing and it can take me a while - but that is because I will actually read the book. Too many people merely flick through and I have seen some truly woeful reviews consisting literally of a couple of lines. I want to try to get into the head of the author. I want to do the best I can to explain to the reader of this blog what each book is really about and the impact it had on me personally, so that they can make up their own mind about owning a copy. 

It is as subjective as art or music, but I hope my reviews are a good starting point for people. Naturally, individuals will have their own views and opinions about the same books. I am sanguine about that...but these views are mine and mine alone. Sometimes I may use humour to make a point (how dare I?) which is not everyone's style but there we are, that's life. It is not in the scope of this blog site to enter into debates. Feel free to make your own mind up. 

For the record I have several of my own favourite chess books from the past including 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' by David Bronstein and Tom Fürstenberg. If you can still find it, then snap it up immediately. My most prized book is a signed copy of Anatoly Karpov's memoirs which he autographed when I played him in Chartres, France in a simul in 2019. 

As I say, you cannot autograph an iPad!

Without further ado then, let's put one foot forward and see where the journey takes us. Thanks for stopping by.

Carl

Carl Portman (Author: Chess Behind Bars and Chess Crusader)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHESSBASE 18

 

CHESSBASE 18

Carl Portman

 

Whilst this site deals primarily with book reviews, I do include chess software occasionally, including my favourite, ChessBase, which I use for my chess writing, coaching and self-improvement. I am therefore unashamedly positive about CB products but of course that won’t stop me from commenting if I don’t personally like something.

My other caveat is that I do not use all of the functions of CB programmes. That is the preserve of elite grandmasters who know it inside out and necessarily use it in their professional lives. My comments then are made as an amateur club player for other amateur players of all strengths.

It is easy for people to visit the ChessBase pages and read about the product for themselves, so I don’t wish to echo what others say here, but instead offer my general overview. I will state if or why club players will benefit from spending their hard-earned money on ChessBase 18. 

Many people will already be familiar with the ChessBase offering so here I am going to focus on some of the new features.

I must give credit where it is due. I took the time to visit the overview from Albert Silver on ChessBase as he is always so clear and precise. You can find this here:

https://en.chessbase.com/post/a-quick-and-complete-review-and-overview-of-chessbase-18

Without further ado then, let us dive straight in with the official overview. What I will do is take the ‘blurb’ (horrible word, that) and break it down, fitting my responses in blue to the CB claims. This is a new way of doing things for me and I hope it makes sense.

WINNING STARTS WITH WHAT YOU KNOW– CHESSBASE 18

ChessBase is a personal, stand-alone chess database that has become the standard throughout the world. Everyone uses ChessBase, from the World Champion to the amateur next door. It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

Whether it is preparation for an individual opponent or tournament, administration and analysis of one's own games, development of training material for self-study or for training groups, or publication of games on the web or in print: ChessBase offers an incredible wealth of functions for all areas of study and playing levels. Anyone who is seriously involved in chess, plays tournaments or simply wants to understand chess, needs ChessBase: youth players, amateurs, tournament players, coaches, grandmasters, professional players etc.

Indeed. Anyone serious about improving will benefit from investing in the CB products. I say this without any hesitation from years of personal experience. There are other products on the market but I like the look, feel and range of ChessBase programs.

NEW IN CHESSBASE 18:

Playing style analysis: What type of player is your next opponent? ChessBase 18 checks the games and recognises aspects such as “Manic attacker who risks everything”, “Strong endgame expert with great fighting spirit”, “Exchanger with too high a draw ratio” and many more.

This is seriously cool. Let me break this down. Okay, I am going to be the guinea pig and use my own data, of which there are only 107 games online but this makes it personal. As well as learning more about your opponents or great players in chess history I wanted to understand more about myself. I used the ‘Style Report’ in Database 2025 to examine my games and this was the return.

My ego was instantly stabbed. What? I am low on aggressiveness. I never considered that and thought I was quite an aggressive player. I am definitely better as Black, as it indicated, and I do try to avoid theory. ‘Rarely fianchettoes as White’ is very interesting. To be fair, some games are from years ago and my style has changed somewhat but this is all valuable interesting information to help me with self-scrutiny.

There is another new function called ‘Error Report’ and I put my details in, to find this return.

Well, it is for me to try to further investigate this information but already it has given me some ideas going forward about what I want to work on with my game. This is one of the fundamental benefits of CB Databases – self-improvement. I blunder more in the endgame than the opening, which I suppose is true for many chess players.

Now, for fun I also put World Championship finalist Dommaraju Gukesh in, and this was the return for him.

Just look at all of those highs. Undoubtedly Ding Liren will be using this function at the very highest level. I found this to be a very exciting innovation and I will use it to work on my game going forward.

Search for strategic themes: Find games with a thrilling kingside attack, or on the topics: Defence; space advantage; strong square; queenside play etc. - training and illustrative material in abundance!

Chess Coaches are you listening? This is a superb resource to find material to fit your lesson plans.

Simply right-click on the Mega Database 2025 icon, go to search, advanced and strategy and you can click on your choice, as follows:

Let the engine do all the work for you. Find games with these themes to use in your coaching sessions – it’s quite marvellous. I ticked ‘Reckless King’ and found a large number of games to use. Above all, these things save a person time – the most precious asset we have that we should not waste. This new function alone will save me hours of searching and it is a big influencer for me.

Access to 6 billion Lichess games, extremely fast access via the ChessBase Database Server.

This is what ChessBase is all about. Not only over a million games in the database but automatic updates from tournaments all over the globe for a year. In the old days I used to have to search for these myself, taking many hours.

Player preparation by matching Lichess games: Matching Lichess or Chess.com accounts via statistical matching provides deep insights for opponent preparation!

So many players use Lichess and Chess.com now. It can be difficult to find their games in a ‘Normal’ database so if you are armed with the username of a person you can input that into CB 18 and again, it will do all the work for you and find their online games. This what the box looks like, so you can set parameters but it is so quick you don’t really need to. Once the games are found, they can even be copied into your own prep database. It’s quick and easy. This is a new and valuable addition and I look forward to getting best use out of it.

Download Chess.com games with built-in API, convenient and fast!

It really is instant, and I cannot emphasise how much time this will save the keen chess player.

Built-in cloud engine: Use the power of the cloud on your notebook or tablet, rent the appropriate engine and save your own battery at the same time! With free flat rate for premium users*

I have not tried this but many people will. It is something I might consider going forward but I am old-school and don’t like too many apps on my electrical equipment.

ChessBase Mobile: The app for on the go – access to your own cloud databases, opening preparations and the ChessBase Database Server with over 12 million games!

I have not tried this only because I am a dinosaur and don’t like apps on my phone, but again many people will enjoy this function.

Further innovations: Printing of QR codes for games and positions. New design for Interface. All new icons. Icon colours adapt to the design theme. Better displays for reference searches (e.g. filter for Elo and year or draw range). Faster game input by voice and much more.

There are indeed all new icons, as shown below.

I have to say that this is one aspect of the new program that I do not like. The colourful icons worked better for me, but I note that most people like these. It is a subjective matter.

Only in conjunction with a ChessBase Premium account, which is included with the purchase of CB18 (1 year). This also applies to CB18 access to the ChessBase Online Database.

Conclusion.

There are several packages of CB18 available. These range from Premium, Mega Starter, Simple and Update. Then, players can add databases and PowerBooks along with other ChessBase products to enhance the experience.

People will choose what is appropriate for them, so it is not for me to recommend any single package but as a whole, the ChessBase team continue to develop their fantastic programmes in order to give chess players of all levels the opportunity to enjoy and improve their game. It is still my ‘go to’ programme and I have no hesitation n recommending it to any chess player. We live in a world that can often be depressing and negative – so chess players can have some fun and enjoyment through CB 18 as well as improving their game.

With enjoyment in mind, do note that in the database path there is a new line called video. When you click on it there are a number of offerings to get your coaching from renowned grandmasters. This is something I could only have dreamed of when I was a kid. 

 

I do finally wish to mention that as an 'oldie' I always preferred hard copy DVD but ChessBase 18 is download only. This is understandable - it saves on plastic for one thing but I do miss having the product in the box. With some trepidation I started the process of downloading it, and everything went smoothly. I can visit my 'shop' account' to find my serial numbers whenever I want. Thus, if you are 'old-school' don't be afraid. If you encounter any issues the ChessBase team are always quick to offer customer support - and this is another key feature when dealing with the company.

If you want to play online or against your computer, analyse your own games, learn in all aspects of chess with databases and videos from top players then this is for you. ChessBase make so much available - it is up to the player to decide how much they want to use the myriad functions available. It is intuitive so look around the functions, try things, have fun.

Well done all round to the ChessBase team - I recommend it. 

Christmas is around the corner - go on, treat yourself. You deserve it.

BEGINNER CHESS PUZZLES - 500 practice exercises to take your game to the next level

 BOOK REVIEW by Carl Portman

BEGINNER CHESS PUZZLES 

       500 Practice exercises to take your 

game to the next level.

by Martin Bennedik

 

Martin Bennedik

Publisher: Simon & Schuster  

2024 - 1st edition (Softcover, 256 pages)

 

What is this book about?

The blurb states:  

 

Build new chess skills and practice key tactics with these 500 entertaining, beginner chess exercises so you can improve your game.

For new chess enthusiasts who are eager to practice and grow their skills, Beginner Chess Puzzles has hundreds of puzzles to up your game!

500 puzzles take you through all the tactical motifs that beginners need to know—the fundamentals (including capturing and defending pieces), tactics (forks, pins, and skewers, discovered attacks and checks, and removing the defense), and checkmate patterns. Including the basic instructions for how to solve chess puzzles, Beginner Chess Puzzles is packed with clear and detailed explanations of each key tactical motif and pattern with puzzles to practice each.

As players advance through the lessons, they’ll gain confidence as puzzles gradually increase in difficulty. “Workout” sections throughout include puzzles that practice any of the skills learned up to that point; without additional information, players must detect which motifs need to be deployed—much like in an actual chess game.

Clear chessboard diagrams allow players to picture every puzzle, and the detailed answer key carefully explains how to get to the best solution. Allowing new players to improve skills on their own, offline, and in a take-anywhere format, Beginner Chess Puzzles is the perfect gift for chess fanatics of any age.

 

Contents

·         Introduction

·         How to use this book

·         Lessons 1-12

·         Puzzle Solutions

 

Look and feel of the book

The cover is of good quality and not too flimsy for a soft cover. Certainly it is good enough to take a lot of thumbing from a keen chess student, or indeed a chess coach/teacher. The book is an appreciable size, the font is large and clear and the diagrams are of excellent quality and very well laid out. I can have no complaints.

 

My thoughts and comments

The question I always ask myself is ‘does the world need another chess puzzle book?' There are countless of these on the market so does this one stand out, will beginners benefit and is it worth spending hard-earned cash on? I have taken time to go through the book, trying to do so through the eyes of someone who knows the moves and the rules of chess and ready to embark upon the great journey. There will be tactics, checkmate patters discovered attacks and defender removal abound, as well as other key points.

 

500 puzzles is plenty to get your teeth into. Let me give three examples, since the author notes that puzzles begin easy and get progressively more difficult throughout the book – but never in my view beyond reach of the disciplined beginner who goes through the puzzles diligently.

This is the first position in the book and it says White to win (from Arushi-Punsalan, New Delhi 2019).

 

One would hope that the beginner would easily find 1.Bxh8 winning material. This is a nice warm up. I would say to the beginner after solving this that it is White to win material - not necessarily White to win the game. This is an important point because people must remember that ‘winning’ is not the same as ‘won’ and the game might well go on into an endgame. However, the author cannot and should not give the theme/game away so it is fair just to say ‘to win’ etc. He does mention this at the beginning of the book.

 

Part way through the book we have this example: It is White to play and the theme is discovered check.

The beginner will see that the bishop on e4 must move in order to check the king from the rook on e1, but where should the bishop go. Some may take the knight, others may take the pawn on b7 but how quickly would they find 1.Bc6++ leading to checkmate next move? It’s very nice and shows that mate is more important than material.

 

Then I will show you the very last puzzle in the book to see how far the student will have travelled on their chess learning journey. It is White to play and checkmate Black in one move. 

This is a composition from the famed chess composer Leonid. Kubbel and even strong players struggle to find the answer. This in part is why I might take issue with the statement on the back cover that there are ‘hundreds of easy puzzles.’ Okay there are many easy ones but also some challenging ones for beginners, but actually that is precisely how it should be.

 

So to the above position. Did you find the answer? It is 1.Qa3 checkmate.

 

There is another aspect that I like. The author quite rightly states that nobody is going to tell you what the motif (tactics) is in your actual games so you need to learn to recognize them without any hints. Therefore in some positions Bennedik asks multiple choice questions:

 

A)     White is winning

B)     The position is equal

C)     Black can win

 

Very good. You can do these puzzles without a chess set in front of you, on the bus, train or in your own home in bed or an armchair – it’s great fun actually.

 

There are checkmate patterns throughout such as ‘The kiss of death’ and ‘Swine mate.’ These are the stepping-stones to self-improvement. We all know that pattern recognition is key and learning them saves much time over the board, as well as collecting wins.

 

Does the book achieve its aim?

It does, and in a very instructive manner. I can easily imagine having this book as a beginner and I would absolutely devour its contents. I like it because it isn’t ‘just’ puzzles but positions with many themes such as checkmating patterns, Black/White to win or Black/White to defend or Black/White to checkmate. It is put together with though and care – with a nice easy running order. I can tell that this is about more than just puzzles and answers, there’s love in there also.

 

I could imagine every school chess club in the UK having this book and every student using it to improve quickly. I wish I had it when I was a kid, that’s for sure. I want to recommend the book therefore and shout out for both Martin Bennedik and the publishers Simon & Schuster. I do believe that the author has another book aimed at intermediate level, and I should like to see that one. I simply had fun going through the book. I enjoyed reading new and interesting ways of projecting the necessary information to teach chess to beginners. It isn’t always easy so well done.

 

Is there anything missing, I ask myself? Possibly the only point I would make is there might have been an index of players, but this is nit-picking and not key to the quality of the book.

 

Oh go on then – I will make an exception. I enjoyed this tome so much that I am going to treat you to one more delightful puzzle. It is White to play and draw.

You want the answer? Well, you could buy the book and support this excellent author.

 

Who is the author?

Martin Bennedik is an international correspondence chess master and the founder of ChessPuzzle.net. Since launching in 2016, ChessPuzzle.net has become one of the most popular sites for online chess. In addition to housing hundreds of thousands of chess puzzles with annotated solutions, the site offers a premium membership including Puzzle Academy wherein users receive customized training programs based on their tactical strengths and weaknesses. A chess club player and freelance .NET developer, Bennedik has also collaborated with chess grandmaster and world champion Magnus Carlsen on the popular puzzles and training app, Play Magnus. He lives in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

POSTSCRIPT

There is a second book, written by the same author at the Intermediate level which I also thoroughly recommend for all the reasons outlines above.

 

Build new chess skills and practice key tactics with these 500 entertaining, intermediate chess exercises for skilled chess players to improve their game.

For practiced chess enthusiasts who are eager to grow their skills even further, Intermediate Chess Puzzles has hundreds of puzzles to up your game!

Through 500 puzzles, you’ll learn motifs that will take intermediate players’ games to the next level—including advanced tactics, combinations, and defending against an opponent’s attacks. Basic instructions for how to solve chess puzzles are covered, then chapters take players through increasingly complex motifs with puzzles to practice each. Workout sections throughout include puzzles that practice any of the skills learned up to that point; without additional information, players must detect which motifs will need to be deployed—much like in an actual chess game.

Clear chess board diagrams allow you to picture every puzzle, and the detailed answer key carefully explains how to get to the best solution. Allowing practiced players to further improve their skills on their own, offline, and in a take-anywhere format, Intermediate Chess Puzzles is the perfect gift for chess fanatics of any age!

Emanuel Lasker - A Chess Biography with 1,832 Games

 

  

    

Published by: McFarland 

Paperback – 30 May 2024

by Hans Renette (Author)

Hans Renette

Format: paperback (8.5 x 11 in 2 vols.)

Pages:  1125

Bibliographic Info: 282 photos, notes, bibliography, indexes

Copyright Date: 2024

pISBN: 978-1-4766-8457-4

eISBN: 978-1-4766-4442-4

The Publisher’s Notes. (AKA The Blurb)

Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941) had the longest reign of any world champion in chess-27 years. From 1894 through 1921, he wielded exceptional dominance over several generations of contemporaries and is still regarded as one of the strongest players the world has seen. A multifaceted personality, he excelled in other fields as well, and his life has been the subject of a recent deep-digging biographic trilogy.

This book presents for the first time a detailed examination of Lasker's chess career, with a complete collection of games, many presented with analysis by Lasker and other first rank masters.

Who is the author?

Historian Hans Renette is FIDE master in chess (with 2 IM norms). He lives in Bierbeek, Belgium.

Contents

Volume 1 – Introduction and 36 chapters

Volume 2 – 26 chapters

Addendum, Bibliography, Index of players, ECO index, General Index

My overview

The title says exactly what it is, a book about Lasker’s games – a chess biography. It isn’t a biography of the man himself. There are other publications written that cover this, although I certainly would have loved to read a little more about the man’s life away from the chessboard in this publication. It covers games from 1885 through to 1940. Lasker died on 11^th January 1941 in New York. I should mention at this point that although the cover says there is a foreword by Neil Blackburn, there isn’t. No such foreword can be found, which immediately set my ‘be alert’ radar off. It's also a shame because Mr. Blackburn is an authority not just on chess history but Lasker himself.

The games

There are 1,827 games, so the reader will be occupied for a very long time indeed if they wish to play through them all. The games include offhand, private, simultaneous and World Championships as well as other contests between Lasker and a host of other famous and little-known players. 

There are plenty of diagrams and annotations to support many of the games. I could be greedy and declare that I would have liked a few more diagrams but this would probably extend the publication to three volumes, so I completely understand. There is incidentally an argument to say that it could have been a three volume publication anyway, but I shall set that aside here.

Looking through the games it was fascinating to see how Lasker could switch from ‘classical’ chess systems to hyper-modern set ups, and he even played a cheeky 1.a4 in a not so important game, showing that he enjoyed a bit of fun too. It struck me that he struggled a great deal against Pillsbury but seemed able to beat anyone else almost at will when at his zenith – depending upon his mindset and his health.

The reader will enjoy a veritable feast of games including his World Championship games wresting the title from Steinitz in 1894 through to losing it 27 years later to Capablanca. He crushed Frank Marshall in 1907, Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch in 1908, and David Janowski in 1909. Then he drew 5-5 with Carl Schlecter in 1910 but retained the title after his must win final game. Later in that year he smashed David Janowski and remained World Champion. On June 27 1920, Lasker resigned his title in favour of Capablanca but he was persuaded to play in Havana in March 1921 where he lost is title 5-9 to the Cuban and that was the end of his record 27 year reign. I was particularly captivated when I reached the point in the book when Capablanca – one of my chess idols – was stormtrooping his way into the elite chess arena. I imaged myself sitting in the room when the two played – it would be akin to witnessing a battle of the gods.

There is a bounty of other games from simuls and other match games that any chess fan would be delighted to play through and doubtless learn a great deal. My word, Lasker loved simuls! 

How was it for me?

I eagerly 'participated' tagging along on the journey of Lasker’s chess career from the moments that he found the game right through to his sad death. The games reflected his style as a positional player who did not feel the need to take risks early on. He was happy to wait to finish off his opponent in the later stages of the game.  I learned a lot about the man, which for me gives the value to the book. Clearly, he travelled extensively despite sometimes being ill and his passion for the game was astonishing, right into his old age. He was capable of pulling the rabbit out of the hat even when others believed that the magic for him was over.

I never knew for example that he visited my hometown of Birmingham and gave a simul on 1 March 1897 where he played 31 boards, winning twenty-six, drawing three and losing two. 

The author also provides (perhaps) the shortest game that Lasker ever lost, in 11 moves as Black against Robert Steel in an offhand game at Simpson’s Divan. The game went:

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Ng5 d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.0–0 Be6 8.Re1 Qd7 9.Nxf7! Bb4 10.c3 0–0 11.Ng5 1-0

In 1892, Lasker gave birth to the Cambridge Springs Variation of the Queen’s Gambit (against A.B. Hodges) and later in May 1901 played J.L McCutcheon where the McCutcheon variation of the French Defence was tested – the game was drawn. There are several first’s in this respect. It is also intriguing to witness what openings were chosen in Lasker’s day from the romantic King’s Gambit to the Evans Gambit and of course the Ruy Lopez which continues to stand the test of time. Yes, this is chess history and I am always hungry to read about it.

Here is another example of the instructive chess that one can find within the pages. The game was Steinitz – Lasker played in London on 5 July 1899. In the position below, Lasker essayed 15…Nxg2 and won the game, securing first prize – a gold medal.

 

I shall let you play through the lines on your own board to see what was going on in Emanuel's head.

From his beginnings as a young man to his peak as a chess master in Nuremburg 1896, London 1899 and Paris 1900 the reader will surely enjoy playing through the games and reading the informative excerpts and comments from the author. 

There is a wealth of superb photographs to accompany the text. Many are taken with kind permission from the Cleveland Public Library. These include Lasker and other players that I have never seen before such as Otto Roething and Julius Perlis. Some of these images really are stunning and I feel lucky to have seen them. One example is Lasker playing chess in California with a group of admiring gentlemen, and another depicts him seated at a live chess exhibition game with Rubinstein in Russia. Looking at the images, I was very surprised to see how tiny Lasker was, certainly as a youth. He was described by one Richard Martin as:

 ‘small as a boy and extremely weakly built. His chest as well as his neck is very small but his head, with highly sumptuous hair is vigorous as well as interesting.’

Some of the games showed that Lasker’s Opening knowledge, along with all the other great masters was still developing and this demonstrates just how far this aspect of the game has developed in the last century. As White he had a penchant for 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bd3 (the Swiss Variation) which is not played as much these days as it just allows the immediate counter 4…c5. It is true that 4.Bg5 is by far the most popular move nowadays but one much not be too harsh – he went his own way for his own reasons and as with today, opening theory was never static.

I mentioned the pros – but were there any ‘cons’?

Frankly speaking, yes. It would be remiss of me not to mention the significant number of typos throughout the book, many of which are very basic. One occurs even at the beginning of the second paragraph! These errors range from ‘Lakser’ to ‘bavardous’ which I am still not sure what it means. Is it a word or a typo? There are also some incorrect move orders that do not relate to the accompanying diagrams. For this I have to admonish whoever the proofreaders were – because for the price of this publication the reader would expect better. I must also remark that the paper quality could be superior than it is – especially the covers which are already peeling at the edges.  I should openly declare that I am not an authority on Lasker or some of the characters of the time so it might be that there are anomalies with names or events. I hope not.

Does the book achieve its aim?

First of all I want to say that I have nothing but admiration for with the amount of work that Hans Renette must have done to release this publication. Truly, it must have taken years. It is a book to treasure because not only does it contain so many chess games, but it portrays chess history. I take my hat off to Renette and I acknowledge that the typos and other matters I have mentioned might not be down to him.

The aim of this book is to give 1,827 of Lasker’s games with notes so in that sense it does meet the goal, however let’s look a little deeper than this. For me personally it took me on a captivating journey with the great man, and I felt a part of it as he travelled from country to country and town to town being received like a king, giving innumerable simultaneous exhibitions whilst puffing away on his beloved cigars. He was chivalrous in those simuls, yet tough on his World Championship challengers. He had a proclivity for colds but often played on regardless, not succumbing on the chessboard. It also brought to mind just how exhausting travel must have been, constantly on board a ship or being rocked back and forth in a noisy horse or train carriage. It’s a wonder he was able to function when he arrived in America or Russia after such extensive travel but he did, and he love it by all accounts.

The book also introduced other characters of course and I have mentioned how wonderful the photographs are – priceless actually.

  

Lasker – courtesy Cleveland Public Library

I particularly enjoyed reading about his relationship with the British Chess Federation (oddly called the English Chess Federation on page 829) and he was received like the true star he was up until the First World War when he championed his German kinfolk and supported their attempt to bring other European nations to their knees, England was not happy and ceased to invite him to their shores ever again. In the Reading Observer on 17^th November, William Henry Butler wrote that there was ‘a general feeling of revulsion and contempt towards a prominent member of the barbarian Prussian race, who has, since the war started, on many occasions vilified us, and bitten the hand that showed him such kindness and hospitalities. The Prussian chess player aped the skunk, vilified his late friends and cast insults right and left, to expose to everyone the contemptible cur that he was.’

The anger was deep rooted, and England felt betrayed.

After the war he was well received in Holland but England never forgave him. To be fair – Lasker was from that part of the world (now Germany) and maybe he never appreciated the full extent of what was to come as he waved off the Germans soldiers on their trains, but I have to make it my business to separate the personality from the chess games, which essentially is what this book is about.

In any event. To those who were close to him he was apparently generous and kind and that’s how I like to think of him. In terms of the chess games, I shall say that the reader will find much joy and they can dip in and out of each chapter at will to get the best from the games. 

Is it worth the money? As with any purchase, this is a subjective question. Fans of Lasker and chess history will undoubtedly want to add it to their collection. Chess players are notoriously 'prudent' with their money so I don't see many club players forking out. I fall into the former bracket so it is something I shall treasure.

With regard to the man, then I shall finish with a wonderful quote that reflects the style of writing at the time.

‘Lasker was the sun, and all the others were the planets that received their light from him.

Joseph Platz

The Life-Changing Magic of Chess

 

THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF CHESS

Maurice Ashley

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Magic Cat Publishing; 1st edition (2 April 2024)

Language ‏ : ‎ English

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 40 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1915569265

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1915569264

Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 22 x 1 x 28 cm

I was contacted by Magic Cat Publishing to see if I would like to review this book. It is one of an increasing number of ‘The Life Changing Magic of’ series where I can see there is ‘Skateboarding, Baking and Drumming amongst its ranks.

This book exists to introduce children to chess but also because there simply aren’t enough books on the children’s shelves in book stores that perform this important task. True enough, there are plenty of books for kids on the market centred around beating your dad, improving your openings or endgames etc. but this is more than that. It’s a mini-story. It is a true tale of how a Black African-American became a grandmaster – the first Black African American at that. Maurice Ashley is a global chess celebrity commentating on major events and he surely gives inspiration here to all those black kids in particular who might be marginalised for whatever reason.

I do not shy away from talking about race or skin colour, and indeed the author specifically mentions it himself. I often ask why is it that there are so few black chess players at elite levels? Why is it that so many black kids just don’t have the opportunity to play and why even in my own country in England when I play in tournaments are there so few black faces to be seen? People can draw their own conclusions, that is not my role here but it does feel like the right time to have a book like this published.  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying this book is solely aimed at black children - it isn’t - but why should black children not look to a successful black man to be their chess hero and role model?

Talent is global, opportunity is not. We have to give all children the opportunity to find chess, and ultimately they can find out who they are through this magnificent game.

So, what do we have here? Well the copy I reviewed is hardback and is fairly short at 40 pages, but this will be easily digestible for kids and parents alike. There are a great number of excellent illustrations drawn by Denis Angelov to accompany the text. I do think that the chess pieces could be a bit clearer in the diagrams – especially the kings and bishops but let’s see if the kids (or any beginners) find them to be just fine.

There is a running order in the book. Kids will be introduced to Maurice at the very beginning when he states that chess changed his life and that he saw his first chess set when he was eight years old and how he achieved successes thereafter. This involved a lot of work – the first big message for kids – success does not come for free.

Throughout, he goes on to identify the chess pieces and explains the rules of the game. He introduces the (hopefully eager) reader to the likes of Mikhail Tal, Judit Polgar and Hou Yifan. Ashley gently encourages the newbie to the game reminding them that Ashley himself started at the very beginning. He learned to study, to find some tricks to use and that knowledge in chess is power. The more he worked, the more inspired he was to do even more.

Each time I turned the pages my eyes were first attracted to the images, and then the text. I tried to see the book through the eyes of a child with a myriad shapes and colours and words on the pages, but of course the content also has to be interesting enough to maintain their curiosity. I think we should ask the kids if this works or not, but I believe it does.

Maurice Ashley wants to say above all that chess is inclusive and it is fun. As we all know the magical thing about chess is that it can be played by anyone regardless of age, gender, (dis)ability or background. Ashley is an inspiration – and I can see that kids from difficult backgrounds, just as he was, will begin to believe in themselves. Ashley highlights issues such as being inspired by others, thinking ahead, and how to finish games. He further encourage kids to think of themselves as an athlete, and that chess even has its own Olympics – or Olympiads.

What really interests me about this is that Ashley makes it personal. Surely every child reading this book will think that the author is sitting right beside them, talking to them. He states that whatever happens in your life can help you in chess, (and I should state that I believe the reverse is true also) that despite all that noise happening around you in the world, you can learn to stay focussed. It will come as comforting news for kids to read that Ashley too suffered painful losses on his way to the GM title but that he was encouraged to keep going. Maurice had a goal – to become a GM but as in life, nothing comes for free, you have to work! You have to sacrifice something to achieve your goals.

I do like the two pages towards the end entitled ‘All about Maurice’ with real photographs from his own life. There is also a mini-glossary at the back which is useful.

Thus, I consider there is more in this book about the positive link between chess and life and personal achievement than actual moves and rules, although the necessary basics are indeed covered. It is lovely to observe that the author mentions people such as Daniel Pulvitt who has a visual impairment but became a grandmaster, and Tani Adewumi who fled a violent Nigeria, found chess and is working to become a grandmaster.

That’s a good thing because I cannot think of a book like this that is already out there, so in that sense it has achieved the aim and Magic Cat Publishing should be congratulated on taking this step. It will be interesting to see how well the book is received. As Maurice Ashley says ‘don’t give up on your dreams.’

Recommended for beginners.

For a change, I will leave the blurb to the end, rather than the beginning.

Chess is a bit like doing magic. The pieces come alive and you're the magician. You get to move them where you like, within the rules of the game. Cool, huh? So let me take you back to the very beginning and show you how it's done... Discover why the world's first Black Grandmaster Maurice Ashley thinks that chess is one of the best skills in life. Follow him on a journey from the Bronx to a world stage where he has taught thousands of young people the life philosophies of the game. 

Packed with step-by-step skills and oozing with passion, these little handbooks are for any young reader who loves life. This practical biographical handbook for readers 6+ offers: -A child-friendly, joy-filled introduction to the game of chess -Inspirational words and advice from the first Black Grandmaster, Maurice Ashley -Step-by-step instructions on how to play the game of chess -Explanatory pictures of basic and advanced chess skills With fun-filled, engaging illustrations from Denis Angelov, and in the words of Maurice Ashley, this is the perfect book to inspire children to find their life's passion. 

This book is in an exciting new series that celebrates the magic of life skills that bring joy, and the heroes who made them their passion. More in the Series The Life-changing Magic of Chess is part of the Life-changing Magic series, beginner's guides to skills that bring joy, written by real-life heroes who made them their passion. Complete the series with Olympic medalist Sky Brown in The Life-changing Magic of Skateboarding, world famous musician Nandi Bushell in The Life-changing Magic of Baking, and social media sensation baker Joy Wilson in The Life-changing Magic of Baking.