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Last update: Friday June 3, 2005 9:44
The judges were faced with a difficult final choice between three contrasting books, all excellent in their chosen fields, and each of which in other years could have been Book of the Year.
Andrew Soltis' Soviet Chess 1917-1991 (McFarland £39.00) is a highly readable, authoritative account of the dominant school of chess. It will retain its value for many years.
The Road to Chess Improvement (Alex Yermolinsky, Gambit £17.99) tackles the practical problems of playing by showing how the writer progressed to grandmaster and USA champion by eliminating weaknesses in his approach to the game. This book complements last years award winner, Watson's Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy very well. Watson discusses the theory of the game, whilst Yermolinsky tackles the problems all players face in putting the theory into practice!
However The Book of the Year is: Queen's Gambit Declined (Matthew Sadler, Everyman Chess £14.99). It is unusual for an opening book to win the award. Too many opening books are churned out from databases with little input by the author, or alternatively resemble academic treatises with a short shelf life and low readability. Sadler has avoided these problems. The writing is clear and concise with flashes of humour. The material is well organized and the book is attractively laid out and printed. The impression is given that the author, who has deep knowledge of his subject, has held nothing back from the reader- this is how Sadler sees and plays the Queen's Gambit Declined. A particularly valuable feature is the question and answer approach which is done in such a way that the reader feels he or she is receiving a personal tutorial from the grandmaster.
Queen's Gambit Declined wins the Book of the Year on its own considerable merits; but the judges also feel it also has additional value as an example to future authors and publishers of opening books.
R B Edwards, M Fox and J Toothill
2nd October 2000.
Once again the judges were faced with a difficult choice from many excellent books covering a wide range of subject matter. The short list has risen to five, but each covers a different subject or approach to the game. The short list is:
A Gnat May Drink
Jonathan
Hinton
Privately published £15
The subtitle describes the book: one hundred annotated Games of Chess from 1900 to 1999. This selection of games, one for each year of the century, is in the author's words aimed primarily to entertain. He succeeds admirably by choosing mostly unknown games, which feature unusual positions and enterprising play and annotating them with great care.
Kramnik: My Life and Games
Vladimir
Kramnik and Iakov Damsky
Everyman Chess £17.99
A highly topical book on the World Championship challenger. Kramnik's biography is written by Damsky. 53 selected games have been chosen by Kramnik himself and there in lies the heart of the book. His in-depth annotations are outstanding and the games superb. A study of these reveals that the forthcoming world championship match is not a foregone conclusion.
Queen's Gambit Declined
Matthew
Sadler
Everyman Chess £14.99
Specific opening books rarely feature in the Book of the Year awards as the writing rarely matches the analysis. But here is a treatise that is a delight to read not only for the knowledge displayed but for the humour and wit of the writing. A model book of its kind.
Soviet Chess 1917-1991
Andrew
Soltis
McFarland £39.00
Soltis describes the rise, triumph and fall of the Soviet chess world in a highly readable, authoritative history. At all times Soltis has sympathy for the difficult economic environment and political predicaments in which the players often found themselves. Though expensive, the book is beautifully produced with tournament tables, photographs and numerous annotated games.
The Road To Chess Improvement
Alex
Yermolinsky
Gambit £17.99
Yermolinsky describes how he progressed from a strong player to grandmaster and USA champion. Essentially a book about practical playing problems, Yermolinsky discusses how he overcame them and the many difficulties he solved on the way. It is a valuable contribution on subjects not covered in many more theoretical texts. Yermolinsky, a native born Russian, writes in fluent, idiomatic American.
R B Edwards, M Fox and J Toothill