Lowinger -The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian - Simple and Strong

Throughout the history of chess, elite players have been studied, celebrated and adored. But there also been  players, while perhaps not regarded as world-class competitors, who had a precious gift, but who did not know (or could not find) the way to success. They were lost in the labyrinth of difficulties that life always places before every human being.

In the end, for various reasons, history forgot this select group of masters. For some, their careers were very bright (as in the cases of von Kolisch, Neumann and Charousek) but also extremely short, limiting their renown and depriving them of deserved laurels. For others, chess turned out to be excessively demanding for which their minds were unprepared. Finally, for a truly unfortunate few, tragedy – always an unwelcome guest – took over their lives and then took life itself from them.

An exceptionally researched historical work, these pages contain the stories of 23 players with a very unique way of understanding chess (sometimes ahead of their time) and who prioritized the artistic side of the game over the results: an approach that was not properly appreciated in their time.

Now, for the first time, Spanish author and chess historian Javier Cordero puts these Forgotten Talents in the limelight. Archival photos and almost 200 selected games nicely supplement the biographies of these star-crossed players who became Lost in the Labyrinth of Life. 288 pages

Un DVD vidéo en deux parties, comprenant une interview du vieux lutteur et une courte sélection (18 au total) de ses parties commentées. L'ensemble n'est pas vraiment mauvais (encore que l'anglais version Viktor soit un peu laborieux à suivre) mais la bonne question est, pourquoi acheter un tel produit quand, pour à peine plus cher, on peut avoir 100 parties du même Korchnoi (incluant la quasi-totalité de celles présentes ici, naturellement), avec des commentaires de taille comparable (et évidemment de même qualité), et sans doute plus faciles à suivre (particulièrement pour ceux qui n'ont pas une maîtrise parfaite de l'anglais)? Si, comme moi, vous n'avez pas trouvé de réponse à cette question, achetez plutôt My Best Games...

The English Defence (1 d4 e6 2 c4 b6) is a dynamic, counter-attacking line, initially investigated by English grandmasters. Black aims to set White difficult problems to solve at the very earliest stage of the game. Black’s play is provocative – aiming to lure White into establishing a big pawn centre. This is a risky strategy as White falls behind in development and Black switfly becomes very active. However, if White’s response is more circumspect then Black can often manoeuvre into favourable structures reminiscent of positions arising from the Nimzo-Indian Defence, the Queen’s Indian Defence or even the Dutch.

José González provides an excellent analysis of this complex opening and carves out a powerful repertoire for Black covering all lines after 1 d4. It is possible for White to avoid the "English battle" by playing either 2 Nf3 or even 2 e4 (a rare move for 1 d4 players but seen occasionally). Gonzalez champions an aggressive variant of the Dutch against 2 Nf3 and outlines a simple but effective French Defence repertoire to counter 2 e4.

• A complete repertoire for Black to counter 1 d4.
• The question and answer approach provides an excellent study method.   318 pages

le titre annonce la couleur: ce livre est destiné aux joueurs de haut niveau qui veulent devenir des joueurs de très haut niveau. En huit chapitres mêlant conseils psychologiques (que faire après une défaite, ne pas se laisser leurrer pas ses succès, bien aborder la dernière ronde...) et aspects techniques, le champion grec nous fait bénéficier de sa longeu expérience des échecs de comptétion et nous abreuve de bons conseils. Reste à parvenir à les mettre en pratique...

Système requis:
Pentium 300 Mhz, 64 Mo RAM, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, lecteur DVD-ROM, souris, carte son.