Δευτέρα 28 Φεβρουαρίου 2011

Νέες σκακιστικές εκδόσεις γιά το 2011


Μερικά ενδιαφέροντα σκακιστικά βιβλία που θα εκδοθούν το 2011.




Your Best Move - A Structured Approach to Move Selection in Chess

Publisher: Everyman Chess
Author: Per Ostman
Year of Publication: 2011

  Pages: 224
  Notation Type: Algebraic (AN)


Book Description


"I look one move ahead... the best!", Siegbert Tarrasch
Chess is a wonderfully rich and complex game, but ultimately the goal can be simply defined as consistently finding the best move. If you are able to do this, you will win your games. However, the million dollar question is: how can we give ourselves the very best chance of doing so?
Per Ostman is convinced that there are three key elements: first and foremost, a structured move-by-move thinking process; second, the desired skills to execute this process; and finally, traditional chess knowledge we can build upon. Ostman examines these three vital building blocks which form the basis of what we need to master. He describes in detail a clear thinking process he has developed over several years as a chess teacher - a process to guide us in our ultimate search to find the best move.
  • Improve your chess by structured move selection
  • Numerous examples to illustrate clear thinking processes
  • Covers calculation, planning and attacking skills
  • Includes opening, middlegame and endgame play.

About the Author

Per Ostman is an experienced chess teacher and analyst. He has trained his son, Erik, to become one of the strongest junior players in Australia and has guided his school to continued success at state championships. He works as a Solutions Architect for Microsoft, and has also developed computer chess programs.




A Ferocious Opening Repertoire - Vicious Weapons for White


Publisher: Everyman Chess
Author: Cyrus Lakdawala
Year of Publication: 2011

  Pages: 304
  Notation Type: Figurine (FAN)


Book Description

Tired of playing the same old openings? Bored with stuffy opening theory? This book provides a welcome antidote!
Former American Open Champion Cyrus Lakdawala presents a range of vicious weapons for White in a repertoire which is perfect for those who have little time for study, but enjoy taking opponents out of their comfort zones and causing them problems from the very beginning.
The repertoire's backbone is provided by the aggressive Veresov Opening (1 d4, 2 Nc3 and 3 Bg5) and this weapon is accompanied by equally hostile options against other Black tries such as the French, Caro-Kann, Dutch, Benoni, Pirc and Philidor. These weapons are ideal choices for those who revel in forcing opponents into chaotic, uncomfortable positions.
  • Opening weapons to shock and confound opponents
  • Covers all of Black's main defences
  • Includes game summaries with key points to remember

About the Author

Cyrus Lakdawala is an International Master, a former National Open and American Open Champion, and a six-time State Champion. He has been teaching chess for 30 years, and coaches some of the top junior players in the US.




New York 1927


Publisher: Russell Enterprises
Author: Alexander Alekhine
Year of Publication: 2011

  Pages: 168
  Notation Type: Figurine (FAN)


Book Description

Alekhine's Controversial Masterpiece Finally in English! For decades, Alexander Alekhine's account of New York 1927 was at the top of the list of works that should have been rendered into English but unaccountably were not. Not only do you have one of the greatest annotators of all time rendering some brilliant analysis, but he melds it with an exceptional agenda, an anti-Capablanca agenda. And since he wrote it after defeating Capablanca in their marathon match, he sounds like a sore loser who became a sore winner. So, this is just a mean-spirited book, right? Nothing of the sort. Alekhine goes beyond elaborate move analysis and offers deep positional insights and psychological observations. Nikolai Grigoriev, in his foreword to the 1930 Russian edition of this book, pointed out how Alekhine broke new ground by underlining the critical moments of each game. Why Alekhine's work was published in German, in Berlin in 1928, and not in English, is unclear. But now, after more than 80 years, it's finally available to the largest audience of chessplayers. It's about time.

About the Author

Alexander Alekhine was the fourth world chess champion, holding the title from 1927-1935 and then from 1937-1946. His tournament books, with deep yet clear annotations have all become classics. His complicated, tactical style set him apart from his peers. He is reputed to have said that in order to beat him, an opponent had to defeat him in the opening, then the middlegame and finally the endgame.




Vienna 1922


Publisher: Russell Enterprises
Author: Larry Evans
Year of Publication: 2011

  Pages: 144
  Notation Type: Figurine (FAN)


Book Description

The First - and Sadly the Last - Book by Larry Evans, Vienna 1922 is remembered as one of the first great tournaments after World War I. All the stars of the day (Alekhine, Bogoljubow, Grunfeld, Maroczy, Reti, Spielmann, Tarrasch and Tartakover) played except Capablanca and Lasker, but it was Akiba Rubinstein who was to turn in an outstanding success scoring an undefeated 11 1/2 from 14 to finish a point and half ahead of second place Tartakover and two and a half points ahead of Alekhine. Hindsight allows us to know that Vienna 1922 was an aberration, that the future would belong to Alexander Alekhine, but for fans of the great Rubinstein this was one last chance to dream that he might yet battle for the world championship title. Certainly his victories over Alekhine (the last of his career), Bogoljubow (which won the first brilliancy prize) and Spielmann compare with the best games he ever played.
Every tournament winner needs a little luck and Rubinstein used his to save a difficult and theoretically important ending against his compatriot Tartakover in what proved to be the crucial game in the battle for first place. Vienna 1922 will also be remembered as the greatest result in the career of the Austrian master Heinrich Wolf who finished an outstanding third with 10 points, beating both Alekhine and Bogoljubow. The journeyman master Wolf, who was to perish at the hands of the Nazis in 1943, played in many other international events in his career but with nothing resembling the success he enjoyed at Vienna 1922.
This was the first book ever written by American grandmaster Larry Evans. The then 16-year-old master self-published it in 1948 with English descriptive notation, no diagrams, with a plastic ring binding, mimeographed. He was persuaded to revise and update it, making use of modern figurine algebraic notation, many diagrams not to mention annotations that have made him one of the most popular chess writers of our era. Just when this book was being prepared to go to press, however, the tragic news flashed around the world: Larry Evans had died. As noted by John Donaldson in his Foreword, this book marked the beginning of what turned out to be one of the longest and most productive literary careers in American chess history. It also tragically turned out to be Larry's swan song. It is unlikely that the chess world will ever see another chessplayer who accomplished so much both with the pieces and with the pen.

About the Author

Larry Evans is a five-time U.S. Chess Champion, with more than 20 chess books to his credit. Vienna 1922 marked the beginning of what turned out to be one of the longest and most productive literary careers in American chess history. A complete list of all of grandmaster Larry Evans' contributions would require a small book but one can mention his co-authoring My Sixty Memorable Games with Bobby Fischer, his revision of MCO-10, his magazine American Chess Quarterly and his long-running column in Chess Life as some of the highlights.




The Blue Book of Charts to Winning Chess

Publisher: Ishi Press
Author: Arthur M. Stevens
Year of Publication: 2011(2nd)

  Pages: 486
  Notation Type: Algebraic (AN)


Book Description

This is THE book that first introduced a concept that has revolutionized tournament chess for most players. The concept is simply to create a database of chess games, sorted by openings, and then see which opening moves produce the best results. This book concludes that the overall winning percentage for White is 59%. It shows that the moves 1. d4 and 1.c4 win 60% of the time whereas 1.e4 scores only 59%. Regarding the second move, this book shows that against 1. e4, both 1. . . . c5 and 1. . . . e5 score equally well with 42% for Black, whereas the French Defense 1. . . . e6 and the Caro-Kann Defense, 1. . . . c6, do much worse, scoring only 38% for the Black side. This book is based on 56,972 games, all compiled and sorted, showing the winning and drawing position for each best move in the chess openings. For example, after the moves of the French Defense, 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5, it surprisingly shows that the move 3. e5, the Advance Variation, produces the highest winning percentage, as opposed to 3. Nc3 or 3. Nd2.





Κυριακή 27 Φεβρουαρίου 2011

Η ζωή ποδήλατο...και το σκάκι!

Ακόμη κι όταν νιώθουμε πως έγινε η ζωή ποδήλατο, με μιά παρτίδα σκάκι μπορούμε να χαλαρώσουμε, να ξεχαστούμε, να ακονίσουμε σκέψη και φαντασία και να χαθούμε στην σιωπηλή μαγεία του θαυμάσιου παιχνιδιού που τόσο αγαπάμε!

Και με το σκάκι λοιπόν ως αντίδοτο σε αυτούς τους σκοτεινούς καιρούς που η ζωή μας έγινε ποδήλατο, ας αισιοδοξούμε!
Καλή εβδομάδα σε όλους!






Το σκάκι στην διαφήμιση

Το σκάκι έχει χρησιμοποιηθεί αρκετές φορές σαν θέμα στην διαφήμιση. Προϊόντα κάθε λογής έχουν κατά καιρούς διαφημισθεί μέ το σκάκι να πρωταγωνιστεί στις διαφημίσεις αυτές. Ας δούμε λοιπόν ορισμένες παλαιότερες αλλά και σύγχρονες τέτοιες διαφημίσεις.



































Karen Grigorian - Alvis Vītoliņš - Δύο φίλοι σκακιστές με όμοιο, τραγικό φινάλε...






Karen Grigorian

Ο Αρμένιος σκακιστής Karen Ashotovich Grigorian γεννήθηκε στις 7 Σεπτεμβρίου του 1947 στην Μόσχα.

Κέρδισε το σκακιστικό Πρωτάθλημα Αρμενίας τρείς φορές (1969, 1971 και 1972) καθώς και το Πρωτάθλημα της πόλης της Μόσχας δύο φορές (1975 και 1979). Συμμετείχε επίσης στα Πρωταθλήματα της Σοβιετικής Ένωσης πολλές φορές, με καλύτερη επίδοση στο Πρωτάθλημα του 1973.

Δυστυχώς, τα προβλήματα της ψυχικής του υγείας τον οδήγησαν να αυτοκτονήσει στις 30 Οκτωβρίου 1989, πηδώντας από την υψηλότερη γέφυρα του Yerevan στο σε ηλικία μόλις 42 ετών.


Ακολουθεί μία παρτίδα του ως λευκός με αντίπαλο τον Mikhail Tal από το 1973 που παίχθηκε στην Μόσχα. Το άνοιγμα της μαχητικότατης αυτής παρτίδας είναι: Ινδική του Βασιλιά: Βαριάντα Saemisch (Ε80).



1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 d6 4.e4 Nf6 5.f3 c6 6.Be3 O-O 7.Qd2 e5 8.Nge2 Nbd7 9.O-O-O a6 10.Kb1 Re8 11.Nc1 b5 12.d5 cxd5 13.Nxd5 Rb8 14.cxb5 axb5 15.Nxf6+ Bxf6 16.Qxd6 Qa5 17.Be2 Re6 18.Nb3 Qa4 19.Qa3 Qxa3 20.bxa3 Be7 21.Rd5 Nb6 22.Rxb5 Ba6 23.a4 Bxb5 24.axb5 Na4 25.Rc1 Ba3 26.Rc7 Re7 27.Rc4 Ra8 28.b6 Rb7 29.Rc6 Rab8 30.Kc2 Kg7 31.Na5 Rxb6 32.Bxb6 Nxb6 33.Bc4 Nc8 34.Rc7 Nd6 35.Bb3 Rb5 36.Ra7 Bc5 37.Ra6 Bb4 38.Nc6 Rc5+ 39.Kd1 Bc3 40.Nd8 Nb5 41.Nxf7 Bb4 42.Nd8 Nc3+ 43.Ke1 Nb5+ 44.Kf2 Nd4 45.Ne6+ Nxe6 46.Rxe6 Bc3 47.Re7+ Kh8 48.Kg3 Bd2 49.Bd5 Bf4+ 50.Kh3 Rc3 51.g3 Bd2 52.Rxe5 Rxf3 53.Re7 Rd3 54.Rb7 Re3 55.a4 h5 56.Kg2 Bc3 57.Rb3 Re2+ 58.Kf3 Rc2 59.Rb8+ Kg7 60.Rc8 g5 61.h3 h4 62.gxh4 gxh4 63.a5 Rh2 64.a6 Bd4 65.a7 Bxa7 66.Rc7+ Kh8 67.Rxa7 Rf2+ 68.Ke3 1-0






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Alvis Vītoliņš

Ο Λιθουανός σκακιστής Alvis Vītoliņš γεννήθηκε στις 15 Ιουνίου του 1946 στην Sigulda της Λιθουανίας.

Έμαθε σκάκι σε ηλικία 6 ετών. Υπήρξε πρωταθλητής Λιθουανίας το 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1982, 1983 και 1985. Έπαιζε εξαιρετικό σκάκι και θα μπορούσε να είναι ένας από τους κορυφαίους παίκτες όλων των εποχών εάν δεν ταλαιπωρούνταν από σχιζοφρένεια.

Υπήρξε φίλος με τον Karen Grigorian και οι δυό τους ήταν εξαιρετικοί παίκτες στο blitz.

Έδωσε το όνομά του στην "Βαριάντα Vitolins" στην Σικελική Άμυνα - Scheveningen (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e6 6.Bb5+)

Όπως και ο φίλος του ο Grigorian, έτσι και o Vītoliņš έπασχε από την εύθραυστη ψυχική του υγεία. Δυστυχώς, έθεσε τέρμα στην ζωή του στις 16 Φεβρουαρίου 1997 πηδώντας στα παγωμένα νερά του ποταμού Gauja από μία σιδηροδρομική γέφυρα σε ηλικία 51 ετών.

Το 2008 εκυκλοφόρησε ένα βιβλίο γιά τον Alvis Vītoliņš . Περιέχει 23 από τις καλύτερες παρτίδες του.

Τα εξώφυλλο και στοιχεία του βιβλίου είναι τα ακόλουθα:



Alvis Vītoliņš
Συγγραφείς: Zigurds Lanka,Edvins Kengis,Jan Klovans and Janis Vitomskis
Έτος έκδοσης: 2008
Εκδότης: Dodot gutais neatnemams
183 pages
ISBN 978-9984-821-18-4


Ακολουθεί μία παρτίδα του Alvis Vītoliņš. Παίζει με τα λευκά με αντίπαλο τον Mihai Suba. Η παρτίδα παίχτηκε στο Yerevan το 1980 και το άνοιγμα είναι Σικελική Άμυνα: Scheveningen - Βαριάντα Vitolins (Β80).



1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 cxd4 5.Nxd4 e6 6.Bb5+ Nbd7 7.Bg5 a6 8.Bxd7+ Bxd7 9.f4 h6 10.Bh4 Qb6 11.O-O Qxb2 12.Rf3 Qb6 13.Kh1 g5 14.fxg5 hxg5 15.Bg3 Ng4 16.Rb1 Qc5 17.Rxb7 Ne5 18.Nb3 Qc8 19.Bxe5 dxe5 20.Na5 Rb8 21.Qxd7+ Qxd7 22.Rxb8+ Ke7 23.Rb7 Qxb7 24.Nxb7 g4 25.Rd3 Bh6 26.Na4 Rc8 27.Rc3 Rxc3 28.Nxc3 Bd2 29.Na4 f5 30.Kg1 1-0





Παρασκευή 25 Φεβρουαρίου 2011

Ένα πρόβλημα γιά λύση

Ένα αρκετά ενδιαφέρον πρόβλημα γιά λύση.




Παίζει ο λευκός και κερδίζει.



Ένα σκακιστικό πρόβλημα του A. S. Selezniev
Tidskrift för Schack 1923
===============================================



Η λύση:

1.d7! Kc7 2.d8Q+ Kxd8 3.0-0-0+!