1 comments about Janowski: Indian Defense.

1. The Janowski Old Indian (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 d6 3. Nc3 Bf5) is a playable but infrequently used variation. It has not had the impact in club level play that it might have had. Eric Schiller's volume on this opening is tremendously useful for the B or below player (I am 1733, so I cannot speak for stronger players) who wishes to acquire a new defense to d4 (or, in particular, a new blitz weapon). The book surveys each of the key white systems, and contains suggested black lines which are easy to memorize and quite workable in practice. Have amazon find you this book if you are hunting for a simple, off the beaten path, response to 1. d4.

1 comments about Tactical Chess Exchanges (Macmillan Chess Library).

1. Ok,
   I have this book
   The book will tell you how to exchange in openings and middle games.'Exchanging to win in the endgame' which will tell exchanges in the endgames...

   There are lots of examples that will teach you.

   This book is a classic in it's part of the game.

   Buy the book.

2 comments about The Ruy Lopez Main Line.

1. This is a very good book on the closed Ruy Lopez. For the positional player this is an excellent choice, as this opening demands a good strategic understanding and can lead to a lot of different pawn structures. White players are usually not so experienced with it, as it is rare on amateur level. With Flear's excellent selection of mostly current games you can try to find your way through all the different sidelines.
   
   Flear does not take a "repertoire approach" and does not clearly indicate always, which variations he recommends. As they are all played by top players, this approach is understandable. But you need to look a little bit behind the annotated games to develop your own repertoire.
   
   Needless to say that playing 1.e4 e5 you will have to study many other openings as well, not to mention other Ruy Lopez variations, where white avoids the main lines.



2. Firstly, I'd like to say that this this one of the best books on my shelf. It does an excellent job of showing the main moves in the Ruy Lopez, and shows all of black's main 'anti-main lines' from moves 9-12. However, a few words of warning are necessary. Firstly, this book doesn't cover the whole Ruy Lopez. It covers the Chigorin, Smyslov, Zaitsev, Karpov, and Breyer defences, the anti-Marshall (though not the Marshall) and 9.d4. It does not cover the Open Ruy, any non-3...a6 alternatives, or any other exceptionally strange defences you may encounter. As well, this is a book for the advanced player. Other than those two problems, this book is an excellent one and well recommended.

No comments about The Fighting Fajarowicz: Budapest Gambit.

No comments about How to win chess games quickly: (including 120 pages published under the title, How to beat your opponent quickly) (An Everyday handbook #269).

No comments about The Life and Games of Carlos Torre.

3 comments about No Regrets: Fischer-Spassky 1992.

1. GM Yasser Seirawan writes an account of the historic rematch between the suddenly appearing Bobby Fischer, and the long-obscured Boris Spassky. I love this book! Seirawan makes no apology for being a fan. He writes with honesty, but with the same child-like excitement that any Fischer fan would feel, from the preparations to the actual match itself. Most impressive to me was how the author did not skirt the issue of Fischer's outrageous remarks, but rather gave an honest assessment: Here is what Bobby said, and here is WHY he might have said it. Seirawan's enthusiam is contagious, and his notes, for the most part, don't shoot straight over the head of the average reader; therefore, being helpful to the chess amateur. I did not buy this book for the analysis of the games, but for the fan's view of the event, and I was not disappointed! Rev. Peter F. Hyatt, New York



2. I am about a 1500 USCF rated player. I am a Tournament Director (when I have to be). I have been playing for about two years and I'm 35 years old. Taking that into consideration, here it goes...

   I am extremly skeptical about games collections. Far too many collections that contain annotated games are really nothing more than paragraph after paragraph of various lines with no actual supporting words/explanations. If we were all GMs this might be ample, but we're not and it's not. Some great game collections are Nunn's Move by Move and Chirnev's 100 Most Instructive games. These books will stand the test of time because they are fantastic games but are also annotated with the casual player in mind. Many explanations are literally move-by-move from the first move, and not too many variations going 32 ply. Other than a hard core GM studying, who really needs/wants this?

   No Regrets is easily among the best of the best. Those familiar with Seirawan's easy-to-read "Play Winning Chess" series will not be dissapointed here. Seirawan explains the moves in plain English so everyone can understand. He goes over each move with the enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning. So clear is the annotation in this book that you find yourself saying, "What's so brilliant about that?" But that's Seirawan's talent for annotating the game that gives you this feeling. All great chess games look like common sense when they're explained to you by someone who knows how to do it correctly. It just doesn't go that way when I'm actually at the board. But that's a different story.

   I have been tempted to throw my copy up on ebay because this book seems to be worth something nowadays (I bought it off the shelf four years ago), but I just can't bring myself to do it. There's a LOT of chess books out there and it's not often that one is of this calibur. I have to keep it.

   SO why is this book about such a famous match, with highly acclaimed annotation, and so obviously well done and in demand out of print? Beats the heck out of me. I think it's truly a shame that this book is not readily available. Hopefully someone will remedy this soon. If this book were more widely available I think it would easily go down as a classic book for players of all strengths. I lent it to a 2100 rated player at my club and he was ready to steal it from me! I think this book is a few steps above Nunn's "Move by Move" as far as educational value and target player strength. Truly a masterpeice. Ad to this all of the well-written diary-style accounts of the history surrounding the match and games, and you have an unbeatable book. A bargain at any price.




3. It was indeed a risk, spending the degree of capital required in order to own this wonderful book-but what a treat it has been to read, to analyze, to listen and to learn. It is wonderfully put together, the analysis is terrific and helpful; the historic documentation is thorough and mixed. I am in complete agreement with many other reviewers when say that I cannot, for the life of me, understand why this book is not in mass production.
   
   Thank you to the writers and thank you to the reviewers whom granted me the courage to make this fine purchase. Highly recommended.

No comments about BEST OF CHESS LIFE AND REVIEW, VOLUME 2 (Fireside Chess Library).

No comments about 500 Queen's Gambit Miniatures.

1 comments about Blackmar-Diemer Gambit.

1. I have never heard about the Blackmar-Diemer gambit until one day when browsing the chess books in a tournament I found this book. I have always liked attacking chess, so I was intrigued by the book's description: "...the Blackmar-Diemer gives White very dangerous attacking chances, and Black must know a precise defence to come out of the opening alive." I could not pass up this opportunity, so I decided to give it a try.

   Gary Lane does a very good job in explaining the different main variations and in each you will get a clear idea of the strategy you have to use in your attack. The main variations covered after 1.d4 d5 2.e4 dxe4 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.f3 exf3 5.Nxf3 are: the Euwe Defense (5...e6), the Bogoljubow Defense (5...g6), the Tartakower-Gunderam Defense (5...Bf5), the Teichman Defense (5...Bg4), the Ziegler Defense (5...c6). Other variations include the Ryder Gambit, in which white takes on f3 with the queen instead of the knight; black has to be well prepared for this gambit too, but I did not find a lot of analysis for the white side on this book. In the Vienna Defense instead of taking the pawn on f3 right away, black plays 4...Bf5. Besides these lines, the author presents lines in which black returns the pawn and another gambit line for white which does not really belong in the Blackmar-Diemer complex, the Hubsch Gambit (5.Bc4).

   There is sufficient information on each line for white to be prepared better than black in most cases, but if you find a player that has defended against the gambit many times and has a favorite pet line well studied you may run into problems. Since I adopted this opening as my main attacking weapon with white, I had to get a more book that went into more depth in each of the variations mentioned above. That is why I got "The Blackmar-Diemer Gambit: Keybook II" by Tim Sawyer, which has lot more analysis but does not explain the ideas as clearly as Lane's book. Therefore, the two books together make the perfect combination.

   I would recommend this book if you are in one of the following situations: a) you are looking for a new opening with white and would like to give the Blackmar-Diemer a try. If you decide you like it, you can go forward with the Sawyer book to have a more complete reference. b) you are a player that opens with 1.e4 and has trouble facing the Scandinavian Defense (1...d5); this book may help you surprise your opponents without spending a lot of time studying the variations for an opening you will play from time to time. Actually, at the moment I am in the process of switching to 1.e4 but I will continue to play the Blackmar-Diemer against the Scandinavian.