Barlov - Dynamic Play in the World Champions' Masterpieces

This book is dedicated to the match-tournament of 1948, which gave rise to the first Soviet World Champion - Mikhail Botvinnik. The main content of the book is the detailed analysis of the fifty games played in this event. Detailed commentary to the games has been written for a very wide circle of qualified chessplayers, in which connection particular attention has been paid to the accessibility of the presentation and the appearance in the games of important turning points. The criticism of the mistakes committed by the participants could seem at times to be overly severe, but represents the fruits of painstaking analysis and should bring benefit to chessplayers who wish to draw the necessary theoretical and practical conclusions from the games of the match-tournament.It is very difficult, and often impossible, to claim absolute accuracy in chess analysis, but at any rate, I have endeavoured to fulfil my work with the maximum thoroughness. 257 pages Hardcover

Translator’s Foreword

It is exactly 75 years since one of the most significant events in chess history – the 1948 Match-Tournament for the World Chess Championship – took place in The Hague and Moscow. To mark this anniversary, my colleagues at Chess Informant have agreed to publish a new English translation of Paul Keres’ book on the tournament.

The original work has been extended to include historical context to the event – in this case, excerpts from the contemporary Soviet chess press and from the memoirs of Mikhail Botvinnik. Keres’ book on the event was first published in his native Estonian language in 1949. A year later it appeared in Russian translation and it came to be regarded as one of the best books on chess ever written. For instance, the likes of Garry Kasparov and Boris Gelfand are both on record as listing it among their favourites.

In this book, Keres’ annotations to the games have been faithfully reproduced. They have not been corrected by computer analysis; instead, they have been supplemented in some cases by the analysis of other masters – generally with that of the other players. In addition, historical context has occasionally been added in those cases where Keres’ assessments of certain openings have been overturned, or at least challenged, by many decades of tournament practice.

It has been a considerable pleasure to work on this project. Keres, as well as being an outstanding grandmaster, was also a superb analyst and annotator. His notes to the games represent a fine blend of general considerations and concrete variations; unlike in many books published today, the latter are never allowed to dominate. It is my sincere hope that the combination of these notes with the additional historical context will succeed in bringing Keres’ work to a new audience, and that this book will be a valuable addition to the libraries of chess enthusiasts of all abilities

Douglas Griffin

Puisqu'on est dans le pédagogique, signalons donc la (re)sortie du cinquième et dernier tome de la série School of Future Champions - re puisqu'il s'agit en fait de la réédition de Attack and Defense paru naguère (1998) chez Batsford. Recommandable tout de même : les leçons de la Dvoretsky's Chess Scholl ne se périment pas si vite

World Chess Champion Max Euwe, who held the title from 1935-1937, is one of the greatest chess players in history. Much has been written about him, and he authored dozens of books himself. But missing was an outstanding collection of games of this 'efficient, man-eating tiger' as the chess player William Napier once called Euwe.

Max Euwe's Best Games fills this gap. And it couldn't have been written by anyone else than Euwe's successor in Dutch chess – Jan Timman, World Champion finalist and arguably one of the leading chess analysts of our time.

This book offers eighty of Max Euwe's games annotated with great clarity, starting in his early twenties when he worked his way to the world top, up until his late seventies when he was still a force to be reckoned with. It is incredible how high Euwe's level of play was for over fifty years – and how attractive his attacking style was.

Timman made many discoveries in Euwe's best and most famous games but has also unearthed several lesser-known brilliancies. Some interesting paradoxes are addressed along the line. For example, although he was an amateur almost his entire life, Euwe was better versed in opening theory than most of his top-level opponents. Although he was the underdog, he beat the mighty Alexander Alekhine in an epic World Championship Match in 1935. At 52, he could still beat top players like Geller and Najdorf with fantastic attacking play in the Zürich Candidates Tournament. And when he was over seventy, he was still highly dangerous for the new upcoming Dutch generation.

This game collection of an often underrated World Champion, annotated by top grandmaster Jan Timman, is a must-have for anyone interested in World Championship chess.

Very nice rosewood chessboard combining solid wood and marquetry. Will perfectly suits with rosewood or ebony chess pieces. Green baize below. 

Available in 3 different sizes.