In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
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In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Richard James has reviewed
In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
https://britishchessnews.com/2020/09/05 ... s-history/
In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
https://britishchessnews.com/2020/09/05 ... s-history/
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British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
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Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Sounds like one to miss. If we are talking winning streaks, how can we miss out Fischer's performance from the end of the Palma interzonal onwards - the greatest performance in history?
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
To quote Lakdawala: "I was originally going to cover Fischer's fameous (sic) 19-game streak from 1971, then came to the conclusion that most of the readers are already familiar with that." According to the cross-table of the 1963/64 tournament, as published in the book, Bobby scored 11½/11, a unique performance. I've also just noticed that, according to the introduction, his opponents included Norman Weinstein. No: it was Raymond ("Thanks a lot, Ray") Weinstein.Nick Ivell wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:54 pmSounds like one to miss. If we are talking winning streaks, how can we miss out Fischer's performance from the end of the Palma interzonal onwards - the greatest performance in history?
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
I can imagine that most readers are familiar with his slam dunk in the US Championship, not least because the win against Byrne gets quoted ad nauseam (I've never found that game interesting).
His demolition of Taimanov and Larsen was far more impressive.
Ah well, Cyrus will have his reasons...
His demolition of Taimanov and Larsen was far more impressive.
Ah well, Cyrus will have his reasons...
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
One of which could be that he’s the worst writer of chess books alive today. Or not alive today.
The Abysmal Depths of Chess: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Reviewing Lakdawalathe king implies a query through his gaping, open mouth
"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
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
I haven't read it and I'm not going to. It seems as though it's scraping the barrel in terms of an idea for a book.
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
I probably won't read the book either, but I come here neither to praise Cyrus nor to bury him.
I do have his book on Fischer. In the introduction, there's an interesting list of the strengths of great players in certain areas.
So I wouldn't write off EVERYTHING Cyrus has written - just most of it.
I do have his book on Fischer. In the introduction, there's an interesting list of the strengths of great players in certain areas.
So I wouldn't write off EVERYTHING Cyrus has written - just most of it.
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Incidentally, I don't agree with the lists. In 'strategic understanding and planning', I see Fischer is including along with Karpov.
I don't think Bobby was in Tolya's league when it comes to that aspect.
I don't think Bobby was in Tolya's league when it comes to that aspect.
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Checking out the sample pages for this particular effort and good Lord, what a load of dreck. Just to kick off, for instance, with this short passage:
2. "perpetual chess" should be "perpetual check".
Shortly afterwards we get to "The queen auditions for the role of heroine, one which she is cabable of fulfilling", where "cabable" should be "capable".
Then, starting - but not alas finishing - on the same page, we get this fountain of nonsense:
1. "is about to promote in just a few moves" is a tautology.Tarrasch, playing Black, is about to promote in just a few moves, so it’s clear that Pillsbury must find something to deliver either mate or perpetual chess immediately
2. "perpetual chess" should be "perpetual check".
Shortly afterwards we get to "The queen auditions for the role of heroine, one which she is cabable of fulfilling", where "cabable" should be "capable".
Then, starting - but not alas finishing - on the same page, we get this fountain of nonsense:
What do we learn from any of this drivel, except that Lakdawala writes it to fill up as much space as he can as quickly as he can without pausing for thought?‘The entire world rings with praises for my accomplishments,’ the c-pawn, who may have forgotten about something.
When someone responds to a direct question with silence, it is usually for one of the following reasons:
1. Shyness.
2. Excessive pride.
3. Discretion is called for.
4. The person is stupid and didn’t understand the question.
5. Complete inattention.
Tarrasch’s non-response is clearly a case of number 5 on the list. The position is sufficiently deranged, so that confusion naturally flows from it. Or maybe Tarrasch’s c-pawn is like the smart, kind, homely high school kid who secretly prays that the prom queen will dump her football-playing boyfriend and accept him, for his inner beauty.
51...♖b1+! put up the greatest resistance: 52.♔g2 ♖b2+ 53.♔g3 ♔g6. The deepest part of the combination is to see that White wins even here, despite Black’s deeply passed queenside pawns: 54.♕e8+ ♔f6 55.d5! ♖d2 (55...c2?? 56.♕e6+ ♔g7 57.♕e5+ loses the rook) 56.♕e6+ ♔g7 57.♕e7+ ♔g6 58.♕xe4+ ♔f6 59.♕xb4 ♖xd5 60.♕xc3+ wins. We don’t know how much of this Pillsbury saw, since Tarrasch cracked on his last move.
52.♕xh7#
Oops! I’m quite certain about two things:
1. No poet will write an epic about Tarrasch’s last move decision.
2. No bard will sing the unwritten poem’s praises, either.
Details, details. I wasn’t there to witness the finish of this game in 1895. I would bet all my worldly assets that Tarrasch’s cheeks were at this point suffused with a ruby rich blush. This disease of inattention plagued Tarrasch later on in his career as well. In his book Die Moderne Schachpartie, written in 1912, Dr Siegbert Tarrasch self-diagnosed a particularly awful loss to Emanuel Lasker in their 1908 match, with the disease ‘amaurosis scachistica’, or chess blindness.
"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
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Also, is this
Incidentally, and this at least is not Lakdawala's fault, the whole thing is rendered even less readable by the standard New In Chess typesetting.
intended to be a quote? A paraphrase of somebody else's line? What?The entire world rings with praises for my accomplishments
Incidentally, and this at least is not Lakdawala's fault, the whole thing is rendered even less readable by the standard New In Chess typesetting.
"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
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
Well, that really does sound like verbal diarrhoea.
Gets me thinking Richard may have been on the kind side in his review.
Gets me thinking Richard may have been on the kind side in his review.
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
He was, but Richard is disposed to be kind where I, for example, am not.
While I'm feeling unkind, I notice that Lakdawala does the Byrne game that Nick refers to above (one of my favourites, as it goes) and in the course of retailing yet another story that we've all heard before, he tells us one that we haven't.
Well, maybe this did actually happen, but I'm with Jimmy Hill on this one. Tell me, brothers and sisters, does this look to you like a position where Black stands better?
As for the other half of the paragraph, where Lakdawala puts it thus:
(Interestingly, I cannot find the analysis room anecdote in the notes to his game with Gulko as annotated in Lakdawala's 2011 book on the Slav, although those notes are characteristically copious. Mind you, I have the book in Spanish, which is much better - because it's easier to skip when you are not a native speaker - than having to read Lakdawala in English. But I pity poor Antonio Gude, who had to translate.)
While I'm feeling unkind, I notice that Lakdawala does the Byrne game that Nick refers to above (one of my favourites, as it goes) and in the course of retailing yet another story that we've all heard before, he tells us one that we haven't.
"When I resigned my game to Grandmaster Boris Gulko in the 2005 U.S. Championship, the two IMs in the analysis room mistakenly told the spectators that I stood better!"When I resigned my game to Grandmaster Boris Gulko in the 2005 U.S. Championship, the two IMs in the analysis room mistakenly told the spectators that I stood better! In the same way the grandmasters in the analysis room at the 1963 U.S. Championship at this point announced to the spectators that Byrne stood a shade better in the complications when he resigned.
Well, maybe this did actually happen, but I'm with Jimmy Hill on this one. Tell me, brothers and sisters, does this look to you like a position where Black stands better?
As for the other half of the paragraph, where Lakdawala puts it thus:
we can look this up in My 60 Memorable Games and see that Evans, in his introduction, quotes Byrne as sayingthe grandmasters in the analysis room at the 1963 U.S. Championship at this point announced to the spectators that Byrne stood a shade better
Maybe I should say "we can look this up in My 60 Memorable Games, if we can be bothered".even at the very moment at which I resigned, both grandmasters who were commenting on the play for the spectators in a separate room believed I had a won game.
(Interestingly, I cannot find the analysis room anecdote in the notes to his game with Gulko as annotated in Lakdawala's 2011 book on the Slav, although those notes are characteristically copious. Mind you, I have the book in Spanish, which is much better - because it's easier to skip when you are not a native speaker - than having to read Lakdawala in English. But I pity poor Antonio Gude, who had to translate.)
"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
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
It's not that no sewer rats taste like pumpkin pie. Just very few of them.Nick Ivell wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:32 amSo I wouldn't write off EVERYTHING Cyrus has written - just most of it.
The Abysmal Depths of Chess: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com
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Re: In the Zone: The Greatest Winning Streaks in Chess History
If your standards are sufficiently low that you contract Lakdawala to write a book you're hardly likely to be bothered to do any proof reading. And, to be fair, what would be the point?JustinHorton wrote: ↑Sun Sep 06, 2020 10:41 amIncidentally, and this at least is not Lakdawala's fault, the whole thing is rendered even less readable by the standard New In Chess typesetting.
The Abysmal Depths of Chess: https://theabysmaldepthsofchess.blogspot.com