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Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
by Tim Harding
Chess Mail, 128 pages,
£11.99
Having no experience of correspondence chess
I was startled by the idea that strong correspondents can produce miniatures
at all. However, this collection of 100 decisive games of 25 moves or less is
ample proof that they are not only possible but can be highly entertaining.
Most of these games are little-known only because they were not played over
the board, and this book draws attention to the wealth of exciting chess that
most players miss by ignoring the postal scene.
Harding has vetted the games for quality and annotated them all, grouping them into imaginatively-headed chapters. Some chapters ('Opening Shocks', 'Living Dangerously', 'On the Attack') contain familiar themes, while others are peculiar to correspondence chess. The chapter on early resignations, for instance, makes the point that some players are too keen to save stamps, or alternatively are too easily convinced by "conditional" analysis which may accompany their opponents' moves. It seems that premature resignation is an easy trap to fall into! In 'The Black Museum' Harding warns of the danger of clerical errors, giving some gruesome examples of blunders resulting from notation mistakes and wrongly remembered positions. Tantalisingly, Harding withholds the names of the unfortunates, and in the rest of the book he gives minimal information on some of the players; personally I would have liked more, since most of the names are unfamiliar.
The annotations vary in quality. An example of the kind of game and notes I do not like is number 17, Keres-Tatarski, European Championship, 1935. Mysteriously Harding tells us, "The notes are translated by me from Keres' contemporary comments…". After 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nc3 g5 4 d4 d6 5 Bc4 h5 6 h4 Nc6 7 Nd5 Na5 8 Be2 c6 9 Nc3 d5? Harding/Keres writes "It was much better to develop with 9…Bd7, then …Qe7 and 0-0-0." In fact after 9…Bd7?? 10.b4 wins a piece; it is also inexact to blame 9…d5 for Black's troubles when his preceding play was so atrocious. The game continued 10 exd5 cxd5 11 Nf3 g4 12 Ne5! ("The tactical phase of the game begins" - a meaningless remark!) 12...Bh6 13 0-0!!. The double exclamation and the comment "White knows no fear!" are excessive: White wins this game with normal developing moves, and it takes no great courage to provoke 13…Qxh4, which Black does not in fact play. Keres won in another six (heavily punctuated) moves.
Perhaps the problem is that some miniatures are so one-sided that it is difficult to annotate them constructively. Where the losers' mistakes are more subtle than poor Tatarski's, Harding provides much more food for thought. He impressively refutes some published analysis of game 22 to prove that the loser's resignation was premature; his notes to the 'Superminis' - miniatures played by top class players such as Andersson and Leko - are excellent; and there are some fascinating titbits on various sharp openings. Those interested in the Evans Gambit, Harding's speciality, and the Two Knights Defence, will especially enjoy this book. We learn why, after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bc4 Nf6 4 Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Nxd5 (!?-Harding), 6 Nxf7 is not recommended; while the analysis of 6 d4 challenges Gary Lane's recent assessment of the line in a British Chess Magazine article. Generally, Harding balances entertainment and instruction well, bringing welcome enthusiasm to his subject.
This well presented book is the first from Dublin-based publisher Chess Mail. If forthcoming titles maintain the same standard the series will undoubtedly do much to popularise correspondence chess.
Review by James Vigus