English Chess Forum

Plodder? Certainly Andrew isn't a plodder - but I get your drift.

Ah, Botvinnik v Fischer. I could talk a lot about that endgame, were it not off-topic. I will restrict myself to saying that Bobby's performance in that ending was far from good; I see a lot of evidence in that game that Bobby, in his salad days, had not refined his endgame technique.

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 24, 2021 11:38 am

Plodder? Certainly Andrew isn't a plodder

Well it's a relative term but I was mostly referring to the nominal game Horton v Ivell

Fair enough. Compared to Bobby we are all plodders.

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Sat Apr 24, 2021 10:29 am

Yes. I agree with that, Kevin.

Interestingly enough, some of our best players don't appear to have a collection. I know Alexander has one. Keene too.

I didn't know RDK had a games collection. Unless you're counting Becoming a Grandmaster, perhaps?

RE: your earlier comment about 60 Memorable Games. I once wondered if I had enough material for My 6 Memorable Games. I didn't.

John Nunn has a 'Best Games' collection. Quick question to Andrew if he is following the thread: why did you end up with 153 games? Did you start off with a number in mind, or was that just how it ended up? Traditional publishing costs would probably have limited you to fewer games, so could you have whittled it down to 60?

(I would happily put together a collection of combinations and interesting positions from my games, but whole games? Probably not. Too many mistakes...)

Grandmaster Strategy. Cracking little hardback which I would recommend to anyone - and I don't speak as a fan of RDK here, heaven forbid...

Nick Ivell wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 9:18 am

Grandmaster Strategy. Cracking little hardback which I would recommend to anyone - and I don't speak as a fan of RDK here, heaven forbid...

"Possunt, quia posse videntur"
My copy is a softback facsimile.

Retread of old notes, isn't it, that book? Only without telling the reader so.

Wow, I like that Latin!

What I would say is that anyone who wants to learn about positional chess will get something from the book. And it's certainly a games collection, for those who don't know it.

I don't compare it to Keene's jewel in the crown, 'Reappraisal'.

Not a collection his best games but I think one of the best books by a British player
is Glen Flear's 'Grandmaster Chess.' (1995) so no computer splurge as a crutch.
Loads of chat, anecdotes and Glen's written thoughts about a position not just a stream of endless moves.

I mention that one because it is not as well known as 'Simple Chess' by Stean.

The John Nunn 'Best Games' books are full of joyful games but IMO over analysed.
I've played over all the games in both books, great! but 80%-90% of the analysed moves
in both books were not played out. (has anybody?...be honest.) But it's way up there in the Best Books by a Brit.
Also a mention for Mammoth Books. These two books are real value for money and very good.

RDK's 'How I become a Grandmaster' one of his best.
I did not get on well with RDK's book on Nimzovitch. Did not finish it. I gave it a few tries but not for me.
Reinfeld's 'Hypermodern Chess' is Nimzovitch for the laymen. It does a better job. (IMHO).

Fragments.
I prefer to whole game. Even if if it just note less till the critical bit. I like to play myself into a position.
Of course what happens then is I see an interesting idea, get side-tracked and the critical bit is never seen.

I'll probably get Andrew's book. I've enjoyed other books by, let us call them 'the lesser lights.'
'Street Fighting Chess' by Andrew Burnett, 'Journal of a Chess Master' by Stephan Gerzadowicz etc and etc.
In fact any book with a player noting up their own games is well worth a go.

Hope Andrew does not take this in the wrong way but I'd post a cover picture of the book plus
a photo-copied sample page. Then a plug article in CHESS/NIC/BCM....'Horse and Hound.'
and I'd also be hitting every site and forum on the internet and E-Bay.

When me and what's-his-name did Rampant Chess. We wore the t-shirt (literally) . and plug, plug plug.



I even ran a Rampant Chess anagram competition on Red Hot Pawn which had 100's of entries.

SCAM PANTHERS
THE SCAMPS RAN
HE CRAMS PANTS

The winner was CHESSMAN TRAP but they already had the prize (Mammoth book of Best Games)
so it went to second place 'S CHEAP 'N SMART'.

New competition:
Anagram of 'Off The Board Chess' I will send 'The Passion of Harry Bingo' by Peter Ross
to the winner (It has chess in it. Myself and Jonathan Rowson amongst others get a mention.)
Andrew, you can be the judge.

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:38 am

John Nunn has a 'Best Games' collection. Quick question to Andrew if he is following the thread: why did you end up with 153 games? Did you start off with a number in mind, or was that just how it ended up? Traditional publishing costs would probably have limited you to fewer games, so could you have whittled it down to 60?

(I would happily put together a collection of combinations and interesting positions from my games, but whole games? Probably not. Too many mistakes...)

Hi Christopher,
The answer to your question is that is just ended up that way. I actually wrote the book a long time ago, before computer programs etc. and I have only now got around to publishing it. I did it because people jokingly used to tell me I should write a book, because of my crazy openings and games. My mum had taught me to play chess when I was about 6 or 7, and in her latter years, her health deteriorated, and I thought it might be something that would make her proud. But she passed away, and I kind of lost the impetus. Much in the same way as Fischer's memorable games, most games have a story attached to them or is a about a particular quirky opening I pay ( i.e. Qf6 Philidor, Centre Game, Pickett Variation of French Winawer, Haldane Hack etc.) or about personalities at Lewisham Chess Club where I started playing. If you read 'CHESS' from 2005 onwards for a few years, you might have seen a couple of articles I did, which were basically taken from the draft of this book ( i.e. Fawlty Towers, Haldane Hack etc) so you will have already seen them. I wrote the back stories when I was travelling in the South Pacific Islands, and Richard O'Brien helped me put them together with the game scores when I got home. I actually had a lot more than 153 games/stories earmarked for the Book ( maybe 180 ish) but Richard strongly recommended that I scale them down to about 100 and then have a Brevities section at the end where most games were around 20 moves. The Brevities section start at game 137. But the scaling down wasn't completed. I lost contact with Richard for awhile, and when we got back together again, he was no longer able to help because he had developed some mental health issues which eventually indirectly contributed to his death. So with his 'passing' my impetus was again lost. Eventually, I got back on track with Roger de Coverly's help and now the Books been done! I am actually quite proud of it. For me, its an achievement. I am not a particularly good player, but who cares ?! I enjoyed doing it, and its a record of some interesting games and recollections for me, and if anyone else is interested in seeing it, all the better! Also, I thought that if I was going to produce a book, make it one I would be proud of, in terms of its presentation, so it did cost more than it should have done to print. I didn't go to any publishers, partly because they wouldn't have been interested, and because I wanted to retain control over the content, and how it looked.
Andrew

"I am not a particularly good player, but who cares ?!"

Don't undersell yourself

Andrew Smith wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:28 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑

Sun Apr 25, 2021 12:38 am

Quick question to Andrew if he is following the thread: why did you end up with 153 games? Did you start off with a number in mind, or was that just how it ended up? Traditional publishing costs would probably have limited you to fewer games, so could you have whittled it down to 60?

Hi Christopher,
The answer to your question is that is just ended up that way. I actually wrote the book a long time ago, before computer programs etc. and I have only now got around to publishing it.

Many thanks for an informative answer, Andrew, much appreciated. It gives a real insight into how and why such collections are put together. Totally agree about retaining control, though a good publisher can also help (if there is a realistic market).

Some books of this sort do get published by mainstream media - one of my games (a loss) featured in The Rookie by Stephen Moss, which is an entertaining read.

The books I like most by 'amateurs' (I am using the term loosely here) are those by David LeMoir. Some of his games feature in his books.

I remember the articles in CHESS from Andrew (I think David LeMoir and others have also done that as well). It is definitely a well-established genre, the book of tales and stories associated with chess personalities and games. Some have genuine historical import (e.g. the books by Sosonko and others). I also enjoyed the books by Sarah Hurst, but some care is needed at times. There was a very off-the-wall book about the KGB I remember once (I think it was called 'The KGB Plays Chess).

(P.S. To Geoff: has anyone played through the analysis in Nunn's Secret of Rook Endings? )

Just mentioning, unsolicited, a remarkably readable self-published book by my ex-Bedford Club colleague, Neil Hickman, now at Wymondham Chess Club. Despite achieving a highest grade of 'only' 154 he has assembled 90 'Memorable Games of British Chess, collected, with notes by an amateur' (published 2019) full of interesting historical asides and anecdotes in addition to analysis. The games range from 1788 to 2016. It gets high praise on the back cover from IM Gary Lane and the articulate East Anglian chess writer, David LeMoir.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Memorable-Game ... 1794053565#

I genuinely have played through most of the analysis in Secrets of Rook Endings.

But I haven't played through Nunn's middlegame analysis.