I met Hodgson in Wijk aan Zee several years ago, and it was instantly apparent that this guy could attack like a demon! Since that time, Julian has become a very strong grandmaster and, though he's now older, he still throws his pieces at enemy Kings with the abandon of an 18 year old on a pure testosterone diet.

It was with some interest then, that I checked out "Hodgy's" new book on the one thing nearest and dearest to his heart: Attack! Hodgson's book is a collection forty highly entertaining attacking games (eight of them are his own) placed in eight chapters called (in order):

• 
  All Out For The King
• 
  The King Hunt
• 
  Lead in Development
• 
  Using The Initiative
• 
  The Exchange Sacrifice
• 
  Raking Bishops
• 
  Weak Color Complex
• 
  The Pawn Roller

The examples he chooses are great fun, his anecdotes keep things running along smoothly, and his "Attack Statistics" (a quick method where a player can see if an attack has any real chance to work) should prove useful to the lower rated of his readers (I must admit that his notes tend to be a bit too complicated for most non-experts. More instructive prose would have been welcomed).

Though he gets good marks for content, an editor would really have proven useful. Poor sentence structure, lack of proper punctuation, typos, and who knows what else could (and should) have been avoided (one never gets rid of all mistakes, but this book doesn't even appear to have been proofed!).

Hodgson's innocent enthusiasm for bookmaking and chess are infectious, but certain amateurish ideas would best be left out of future projects. The most glaring example is his offer to autograph (or personalize) individual copies by mail (the last page, titled "Personalized Message," is a bit much). He then states that the reader should "support your Grandmaster and Author."

This odd request (which, as a once-starving professional player, I can fully understand) reminds me of the "Adopt a Highway" policy that is becoming popular throughout the United States. Will "Adopt a Grandmaster" become the next fad?

Overall, I will recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading humorous stories and playing over an exciting game or two. It does lack polish, but the English grandmaster's charm keeps us coming back for more.

YOU CAN FIND THIS BOOK AT