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I
first met Grandmaster Peter Wells in Budapest,
1994. A very nice guy with a love for Beavis
and Butthead (At that time it was cutting edge
stuff, and very much in tune with over-the-top
English humor.), we were both playing in a small
international tournament and, when a bit of spare
time presented itself, he shared a new move he
had discovered in the Maroczy Bind with me (demonstrating
his chess imagination and work ethic in the process).
I think we ran into each other only once more
(I believe it was in Germany, but at my age things
start to blend together into one amorphous lump.),
this time both of us serving as chess coaches.
Impressed with his teaching/coaching skills,
I began to realize that he was one of these “do
it all” chess dudes: a grandmaster, a fine
analyst and a great teacher – the only
thing missing was writing skills.
The “missing” part of the equation (We won’t discuss his Schwarzenegger-like
muscles, his mastery of over 9 languages, and his Tom Cruise looks.) was suddenly
found, though, when I received a book from him titled THE COMPLETE SEMI-SLAV.
This 304-page effort immediately showed him to be one of the finest writers of
opening theory in the world. A few years later his 320-page THE COMPLETE RICHTER-RAUZER
(co-authored with Osnos) appeared. Both were by Batsford and both are the best
books ever written on those particular openings.
As good as those earlier works were, his new WINNING WITH THE TROMPOWSKY outshines
them completely. In fact, this book is simply amazing. Peter sets the tone in
the “Annotated Bibliography,” where he not only tells you what sources
he used for Trompowsky material, but also explains what each individual book
had to offer. Next comes an eight page introduction that offers up various Tromp
ideas, and then goes beyond normal intro-parameters by dashing out some philosophy
about what this very original opening has to offer you.
THE
FASCINATING TROMP
The meat of the book follows in a logical progression
from the most important variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5
Ne4 forms chapters 1-5) to less popular alternatives
(1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5 c5 – chapters 6 and 7, 2…e6
is chapter 8, 2…d5 is chapter 9, and 2…g6
is chapter 10). An index of variations followed
by an index of games is a final nice, and very
useful, touch.
So far it sounds like a good opening
book, but nothing earth shaking. A closer look tells us otherwise.
Each chapter has its own introduction that is both informative
and fun. Each chapter also ends with an extremely useful verbal “conclusion.” All
important available theory is incorporated into the lines, but
pages that could be (and usually are in most books) just one column
after another of moves and variations are instead mixed beautifully
with explanations, witty banter, energetic personal explorations,
and lots and lots of original analysis.
It quickly becomes clear that
the author has a passion for this opening, and a deep personal
knowledge of its intricacies. He also shows that he’s tireless – where
most would just give us known theory, Peter can’t stand leaving
questions unanswered and so spends a tremendous amount of energy
striving for the truth.
The Tromp (We called it “The Zot” in my youth, though I can’t
really tell you why.) is a fascinating, relatively new opening, and there’s
still a lot to discover. Several years back both John Watson and myself got tired
of watching the ultimate tromp expert, Julian Hodgson, wipe out one opponent
after another in quick, brilliant style. Wanting to get on that “nuke the
opponent” bandwagon, we took it up, with the rather odd effect that every
game we played lasted an average of 70 to 80 moves! That actually tells you quite
a bit: Hodgson is an attacking genius (Which everyone was already well aware
of – and this explains his awesome Tromp victories.), and the Tromp is
more than a one trick pony. Crazed tactics can arise after 2.Bg5, but also calm
positional struggles and intricate endgames. In other words, the blasted thing
needs to be taken seriously!
This book is ideal for players
in a rather large spread: I would guess 1600 to grandmaster. The
many levels of explanation will prove eye-opening for the sub-expert
players, while the attention to detail and his giving away one
new idea after another makes the book a must own for professionals.
To be honest, I consider Peter Wells’ WINNING WITH THE
TROMPOWSKY to be the finest opening book I’ve ever seen.
It’s a magnificent, highly original effort that needs to
be purchased by anyone as Black who answers 1.d4 with 1…Nf6,
and by all players who are looking for a little understood system
for White that carries a serious knockout punch.
Click to see Donaldson’s review
of this book.
YOU
CAN FIND THIS BOOK AT
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