As someone who has reviewed chess books for many years, I live for the moment when I come home and find a parcel waiting on my doorstep. Anticipation runs strong as I rip open the wrapping. Usually the publisher sends several books at once, and my reaction is often mixed. There might be one outstanding book and a few middling or indifferent ones. That was not the case in the latest batch that Batsford (www.batsford.com) sent me.  I can say straight off that all three titles, TONY MILES: ‘It’s Only Me’ compiled by Geoff Lawton, BOBBY FISCHER Rediscovered by Andrew Soltis, and WINNING WITH THE TROMPOWSKY by Peter Wells are all quality efforts.

This is particularly true of the book on the late Tony Miles who passed away prematurely in 2001. Teammate IM Lawton has done an outstanding job in compiling a suitable memorial to one of the most entertaining players ever to write. Anyone who ever had a chance to read Miles’ material, whether it be in CHESS, INSIDE CHESS, or his column in THE NEW STATESMAN, couldn’t help but realize that Miles was brilliant. It wasn’t just that Tony was a world-class player, but also very funny and not one to put on airs.  Reading this book, you can’t help but feel Miles come back to life. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself laughing out loud as you read some one some of Tony’s annotations.

Lawton has dug up many of Miles’ notes from a wide variety of sources. There are many famous games, such as his well-known victory over Karpov at Skara (1…a6), which can be found here. Not to be overlooked are some of his lesser known but equally entertaining battles. Tony played a lot of chess!

Rounding out this outstanding book are interviews with Miles and appreciation’s by Leonard Barden, Geoff Lawton, Mike Fox, and Malcolm Hunt. There’s also a detailed record of Miles’ tournament and match records, plus four pages of crisp black and white photos. Opening and player indexes are provided.

Click to see reviews of this book by Bauer, Saidy, and Watson.

YOU CAN FIND THE TONY MILES BOOK AT

If you ask a person on the street in the United States to name a chess player, you know they’re going to say Bobby Fischer. No other player in the history of American chess has ever captured the public eye quite like Bobby and it’s doubtful anyone else ever will.  You only have to go on the Internet and enter his name to see just how well known he is.  His book, BOBBY FISCHER TEACHES CHESS, is the all time best seller in the chess world with over a million copies sold. His magnum opus, MY SIXTY MEMORABLE GAMES,” has gone through many editions but is long out of print. Copies routinely sell on eBay for $70 on up for a book that stops at the end of 1967, a few years before Fischer made his run for the World Championship.

New York Grandmaster Andy Soltis, who started his chess career when Bobby was still a teen-ager, seeks to fill in the gaps with his latest effort BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED. This book is divided into two sections. The first consists of a seven-page Author’s Note that sets the background for Bobby’s career. Fischer fans will find interesting new tidbits and a theory that Bobby was the perfect blend between the super technical chess of the twenties and thirties and the dynamic Soviet school of the forties and fifties.

The meat of the book is 100 well-annotated games covering the span 1956-92. Some of these games were first analyzed in MY SIXTY MEMORABLE GAMES, but Soltis gives more emphasis to interesting, but lesser known, efforts. There are 31 games after Fischer-Stein, Sousse 1967, which was the last game given in MY SIXTY MEMORABLE GAMES. 

Soltis, who first saw Bobby in 1961 at Rossolimo’s Chess Studio and last saw him at the “Bobby Fischer Day” celebration in 1972 in New York City, prefaces each game with an interesting observation. For example, before game 35 Soltis relates the anecdote of how Tal recalled how he had already packed his bag to leave at the end of Zurich 1959 when he got a call from Fischer’s room, elsewhere in their hotel. “I am flying to New York in the hour,” Bobby said. “But if you agree to play some Blitz, I will give up my ticket.”

BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED concludes with two of Fischer’s victories from the 1992 match against Spassky. There’s nothing about Bobby’s later trials and tribulations. For those who want to remember the old Bobby, free of the controversy of the past decade, this book is just the tonic.

Recommended

YOU CAN FIND
BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED AT

The opening sequence 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 warranted only a few lines in ECO fifteen years ago. Times have changed! WINNING WITH THE TROMPOWSKY, covering a favorite of English Grandmasters, is no less than 240 pages packed with analysis and ideas. GM Wells, who plays the Tromp, examines all the main line theory and gives you plenty of ideas of where he thinks things can be improved. Though this book is written from White’s point of view, Wells maintains his objectivity. This is particularly true in the chapter 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 d5, which he says Russian GMs call “the equalizer to the Trompowsky.”

WINNING WITH THE TROMPOWSKY is the new bible to this opening, superseding GM Gallagher’s book. My only small quibble is that it would have been nice if Wells had included a chapter on the closely related 1.d4 d5 2.Bg5 which would have enabled the aspiring student to have a complete opening repertoire based on d4 and Bg5.

Recommended

YOU CAN FIND
WINNING WITH THE TROMPOWSKY AT

The second parcel waiting on my doorstep that golden day was from Hanon Russell’s Chess Café. Inside I found the latest effort by the world’s greatest chess historian, Edward Winter. A CHESS OMNIBUS is a potpourri of chess material. There’s little related to the Royal Game that Winter doesn’t touch upon in some way in this massive undertaking. Drawing from his long running Chess Notes column, he has gleaned the most interesting items that run the gamut from World Champions to some of the more obscure figures in chess history. Capablanca in particular receives a great deal of attention, which is not surprising as Winter is the acknowledged expert on the Cuban.

A CHESS OMNIBUS offers many hours of reading enjoyment, plenty of little known games, and also hundreds of photos. The latter draws heavily from Winter’s archives and many will undoubtedly be new to the reader. Among them are images of such well-known figures as Alekhine, Capablanca and Lasker, but also to be found are lesser-known players such as Charles Kalme and Philip Woliston.

Winter is known for his meticulous research and attention to detail. These characteristics are in full force in his latest work. There’s not only a bibliography (11 pages!), but also indices for openings and illustrations, as well as a general index, not to mention ones for games and positions, both chronologically and by player.

A CHESS OMNIBUS is that rare good read that doesn’t sacrifice accuracy. It would make an excellent present for any chess player and a perfect Christmas gift. Priced at $24.95, for an oversized (11” x 8”), 468 page paperback, which is attractively produced, it represents very good value.

Highly Recommended (Click to see Silman’s review of this book.)

YOU CAN FIND A CHESS OMNIBUS AT