Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
-
- Posts: 7224
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
- Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
-
- Posts: 3199
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
Why was the book written in the first place? How do we differentiate between publications which are clearly trying cash in on Magnus's success(es) and publications which are instructive and educational? Obviously it helps if the targeted readership & methodology are explained in the preface (should one exist) as that often indicates motive and how much effort was put into the process of writing. As a genre chess theory/literature is generally sloppy, so I think its only fair that unauthorized accounts of the current world champion should be treated with suspicion, especially given the track record Soltis has.
-
- Posts: 7224
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
- Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
MJMcCready wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:33 pmWhy was the book written in the first place? How do we differentiate between publications which are clearly trying cash in on Magnus's success(es) and publications which are instructive and educational? Obviously it helps if the targeted readership & methodology are explained in the preface (should one exist) as that often indicates motive and how much effort was put into the process of writing. As a genre chess theory/literature is generally sloppy, so I think its only fair that unauthorized accounts of the current world champion should be treated with suspicion, especially given the track record Soltis has.
What is the track record of Andrew Soltis?
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
-
- Posts: 3199
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
Where to start. Look at the introduction to Soviet Chess, full of personalized insults, such as the Soviets being 'the world's greatest liars' yet it tries to pass itself off as an academic publication, well at least it has the pretentions as such. Chess players should stick to chess theory and only that, when the content crosses into research-based content they should steer well clear rather than go and make a mess of it, which is almost always the case.
-
- Posts: 8472
- Joined: Sat Jan 02, 2010 1:28 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
I don't think any other author has produced such a large number of well written chess books ( I can only speak for English language ).
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a QR code stamped on a human face — forever.
-
- Posts: 3199
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
Well if you can defend the introduction to Soviet Chess I am all ears. It seems to me that the motives for writing are not likely to be expressed in the publication linked here, and if I were to guess, GM Soltis is helping to propagate a literary culture where failed GMs try to profit from the success of others by writing about them. If its not that, then its likely to be something equally deplorable. The fact that he's cashing in on a well known title by virtue of omitting a pronoun suggests that personal profit and integrity go hand in hand here, which is typical in chess literature. He's not the first to try to profit from others who succeeded where he couldn't personally, and I'm sure he won't be the last...
-
- Posts: 21320
- Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
An important idea in the Dragon Sicilian carries his name (That's playing .. h5 as a response to h4 in the Yugoslav Attack)
-
- Posts: 3199
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
And that's perfectly fine, chess theory is what chess players should stick to.
-
- Posts: 263
- Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:43 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
So that others can begin to judge, here is but a part of the Introduction:MJMcCready wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:46 pmWhere to start. Look at the introduction to Soviet Chess, full of personalized insults, such as the Soviets being 'the world's greatest liars' yet it tries to pass itself off as an academic publication, well at least it has the pretentions as such. Chess players should stick to chess theory and only that, when the content crosses into research-based content they should steer well clear rather than go and make a mess of it, which is almost always the case.
This book is an attempt to explain how Soviet chess evolved during the tumultuous decades of 1917 to 1991. Inevitably, I have had to rely to a large extent on Soviet sources. This has its pitfalls. First, Russians have always been among the world’s most accomplished liars, particularly about matters relating to the government. “In no other state do political words stand in such contrast to reality as in Russia,” Count Mikhail Speransky, a 19th century reformer said. Second, in the Soviet era, providing an inaccurate, flawed or downright wrong impression was elevated to an art form. “Propaganda” was a positive word, and chess, like propaganda, became an instrument of state policy. Even in the final decade of the Soviet Union, “there was no line between chess and politics,” Karpov said. “They were one and the same.” Finally, there are differing accounts from objective observers of even some basic facts. For example, the fate of Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky.
And finally, skipping a paragraph:
Some of the facts of what happened during the three quarters of a century of Soviet chess will have to be sorted out in the 21st century. But the achievement of the Soviet players — in the face of extreme hardships and isolation, contending with a government that often seemed filled with fanatics, scoundrels and incompetents — cannot be denied.
-
- Posts: 3199
- Joined: Mon Jun 24, 2013 2:30 pm
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
Thanks, my point exactly. When chess players cross into content which is academic and constitutes discourse they usually go horribly wrong immediately. Thanks for drawing attention to that.
-
- Posts: 10364
- Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:06 am
- Location: Somewhere you're not
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
By reading and evaluating them, I suppose, do you have a better idea?MJMcCready wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:33 pmHow do we differentiate between publications which are clearly trying cash in on Magnus's success(es) and publications which are instructive and educational?
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."
lostontime.blogspot.com
-
- Posts: 7224
- Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
- Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
JustinHorton wrote: ↑Fri Jan 15, 2021 5:13 pmBy reading and evaluating them, I suppose, do you have a better idea?MJMcCready wrote: ↑Thu Jan 14, 2021 8:33 pmHow do we differentiate between publications which are clearly trying cash in on Magnus's success(es) and publications which are instructive and educational?
It would seem that MJM is advocating not reading but evaluating by looking at the cover and and noting the author.
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
-
- Posts: 1838
- Joined: Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:16 am
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
Richard, John, Nick, Roger and Justin. Thanks. I enjoy clear and well written chess books by Soltis. Aimed at our level of rating. So on my buy list. Hope to see all of you in 2021.
-
- Posts: 8838
- Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 2:34 am
- Location: London
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
May be relevant, spotted on Nigel Short's twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/nigelshortchess/sta ... 55841?s=20
https://twitter.com/nigelshortchess/sta ... 55841?s=20
Which game is he referring to, does anyone know? (Apologies if it is obvious.)Nigel Short
@nigelshortchess
16 Jan
Great game by
@MagnusCarlsen
! Sod the computer evaluation. We are not automatons.
Re: Magnus Carlsen : 60 Memorable Games
I do believe it was on Saturday in relation to Carlsen-Firouzja (one for Magnus' next 60 memorables) -Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:17 pmMay be relevant, spotted on Nigel Short's twitter feed:
https://twitter.com/nigelshortchess/sta ... 55841?s=20
Which game is he referring to, does anyone know? (Apologies if it is obvious.)Nigel Short
@nigelshortchess
16 Jan
Great game by
@MagnusCarlsen
! Sod the computer evaluation. We are not automatons.
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11419&start=30#p259181