BCF Book of the Year 2007

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The Book of the Year 2007 presentation was made on 14 April 2008 at BCM's Chess Shop, Baker Street.
Left to right, it shows Julian Farrand, Igor Nor and Ray Edwards. Julian and Ray are two of the award judges (David Friedgood is the other - he was unable to attend). Igor Nor is one of the two co-authors of the winning book, San Luis 2005, published by Quality Chess.
Photograph by John Saunders.

English Chess Federation Book of the Year 2007

Despite the excellence of the other books on the Short List the judges’ choice was unanimous.

Tournament books have been an integral and important part of chess literature. They show both how chess was played and how it could be played. Three classics spring to mind: New York 1924 by Alekhine, Moscow –Leningrad 1942 by Botwinnik and Zurich 1953 by Bronstein. The latter is regarded by many as the best chess book ever written. However in the last two decades tournament books have become rare events, no doubt due to the work involved in this computer age.

San Luis 2005, an exceptional tournament which saw Topalov crowned as FIDE World Champion, deserved a permanent record. The two authors have put in a tremendous effort, seeking to find a correct analytical evaluation of every game. But there is much more to the book than that: forewards by Veselin Topalov and Nigel Short, the latter being sharply observant as always, a preface by Mihail Marin and various end papers which both salute Topalov’s victory and vigorously debunk conspiracy theories.

San Luis would probably have won Book of the Year 2007 on the strength of the above alone, but it is greatly enhanced by the production values. The numerous photographs both in and out of the tournament hall are exceptional and give the reader a real insight into the tournament environment.

All in all, a splendid book which matches its great predecessors in analytical content but far exceeds them in presentation and layout. This is an outstanding book in every way.

Short List

The choice of a short list this year has been extremely difficult as there were many excellent books published. Our selection includes two classic genre volumes-best game collection and tournament book-while in the other two the two Ks continue their eternal confrontation, this time in book form.

Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov Tibor Karolyi and Nick Aplin (New in Chess) pp358 £18.99

Sub titled “The Exceptional Skills of the 12th World Champion” the book gives 105 of his endgames which are annotated in a lively style, but with deep analysis at critical points. Karpov’s legendary ability to make something out of nothing is well known and Karolyi makes a serious attempt to understand the secret of Karpov’s success. As a result the reader is simultaneously instructed and entertained.

Dreev has been amongst the leading grandmasters for many years. This collection of his best games is a worthy addition to the best game collection book list. The quality lies both in the annotations and the biographical background which are very honest and to the point. There are some fine photographs and despite some idiosyncrasies in translation, the book is excellently produced by the Russian publishers.

The indefatigable Gary Kasparov not content with the completion of his great predecessors series has started on a new one (this is part one) covering the revolution of chess in the 1970s. In this he is assisted by the opinions of 28 leading players. No matter that they do not all agree with Gary, the chess content and writing throughout is of the highest quality. The book is produced in the same style as the My Great Predecessors series

This exceptional tournament, which saw Topalov crowned as FIDE World Champion, deserved a permanent record. Tournament books have become rare, no doubt due the work involved. But the two authors have put in a tremendous effort with the result that their book bears comparison to the best of the past. It far exceeds previous volumes in the presentation and lay out of the book which includes numerous photographs of the players and their environments both in and out of the tournament hall. This is an outstanding book in everyway.