"The Sicilian Taimanov" by James Plaskett, 1997 The Chess Press,
Figurine Algebraic Notation, Paperback, 144pp., $19.95

According to British GM James Plaskett's "The Sicilian
Taimanov", which covers the opening variation by the same name
which begins 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6, this
particular line "is one of Black's most flexible ways of meeting 1
e4. It leads to the kind of tense, dynamic positions that appeal to
players with counter-attacking inclinations, such as Judit Polgar,
Joel Lautier and Vasily Ivanchuk."

Plaskett's book contains 92 complete GM and IM games divided
into ten chapters, plus an Index of Complete Games (which is
alphabetized and includes tournament name and year), an
Introduction and a short Bibliography. Material corresponds to
"Encyclopedia of Chess Openings, Volume B" (ECO) variations
B44 through B49. Most lines receive some treatment with the
exception of B45 (5 Nc3 Nf6), with particular attention given to
B48 and B49. Games have been chosen predominantly from the
1990s, with a few from the late 1980s. Although there are no
complete games presented after 1995, reference in the notes is
made to the theoretically-important Topalov-Hubner game from
early 1996 (See below for more on this game).

One variation per chapter is covered, as follows: after 1 e4 c5 2
Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 a6, Chapter 1 continues with
lines after the move 6 g3; Chapter 2, 6 Be3 Qc7 7 Bd3; Chapters 3
and 4 focus on Plaskett's Main Line of 6 Be2 Qc7; Chapter 5
follows 6 Be2 Nge7; Chapter 6 looks at 6 Be3 with f3 and Qd2; 6
Nxc6 and 6 f4 Qc7 7 Nxc6 can be found in Chapter 7; Chapter 8, 6
f4 and 7 Nf3; Chapter 9 examines 6 Bf4 and Chapter 10, 5 Nb5.

Given the similarities between several variations of the Sicilian,
such as the Taimanov, Paulsen and Scheveningen, move order is
often critical in variation identification. While Plaskett makes a
concerted effort to adhere to this criterion as the basis for game
inclusion ("This work concerns itself purely with the system 1 e4
c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc5 and does not cover the Paulsen
variation (1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 a6)"), such a close
affinity exists between these systems that even the experts appear
to be confounded on occasion. For instance, Plaskett correctly
includes the game Kasparov-Portisch from 1992 Debrecen in
Chapter 2 although it begins 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4
a6, because it transposes into a line of the Taimanov. Topalov,
however, in annotating his 1996 game versus Hubner in "New In
Chess" (NIC) magazine, 1996 Volume 2 (a game which is included
by Plaskett in his notes to Kasparov-Portisch), considers the
opening to be a Paulsen.  Thus, the student who wishes to learn any
one of these systems is probably well-advised to study the others as
well, since transpositions are virtually impossible to either avoid or
ignore.

A surprise, at least to this writer, is the apparent lack of recent
developments in the theory of the Taimanov, especially in light of
the perceived popularity of the variation at the game's highest
levels, as suggested by Plaskett in the Introduction. Since no
complete games after 1995 are provided and the annotations
contain reference to only one 1996 game, Topalov-Hubner, this
writer expected that his research through the 1996 and 1997 issues
of NIC would produce a veritable deluge of new material. Such
was not the case, however. Assuming that NIC offers an accurate
indication of such, there was, in fact, a dearth of Taimanov Sicilian
games during this particular time period, including a complete
absence of anything at all significant in Plaskett's Main Line (6
Be2 Qc7). Only two additional games of relevance were found.

In Chapter 2, Plaskett follows the aforementioned
Kasparov-Portisch encounter, which went 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4
cxd4 4 Nxd4 a6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 Be3 Nf6 8 0-0 Bd6 9 Nc6
and the World Champion struggled to a draw. Although Plaskett
does discuss the important alternative 9 f4 as seen in
Topalov-Hubner, 1996 Wijk aan Zee, won by White, he omits
Saltaev-Gunawan, Dubai 1996, where White obtained an
advantage in another alternative line, after 9 h3 Bf4 10 Qf3 Be3 11
Qe3 d6 12 Rae1 0-0 13 Nc6 bc6 14 e5, and later garnered the
whole point.  

Also missing is Short-Leko from 1996 Groningen, identical to
Game 25, Forster- P. Cramling through nine moves, given in
Chapter 3. Black was able to score the point after 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6
3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 Qc7 6 Be2 a6 7 0-0 b5 8 Nxc6 dxc6
9 f4 Bb7 10 Be3, but Short tried 10 Kh1 and was better as White
after 10.Be7 11 Qe1 b4 (awarded "??" in NIC, which recommends
c4 instead) 12 Nb1 c5 13 Nd2 Nf6 14 Bd3 0-0 15 b3 a5 16 Bb2,
although the game was later drawn.

ECO appears to be showing its age in the variation 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3
e6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nc6 5 Nc3 a6, when it considers 6 f4 worthy
only of a footnote.  (Thankfully, an update of Volume B has very
recently hit the book stores.) Today, 13 years after the publication
of ECO, Plaskett devotes virtually an entire chapter, including nine
games, to 6 f4. 

This writer has no difficulty in stating that "The Sicilian
Taimanov" provides reasonably balanced, objective coverage of
the Taimanov system of play. While the lack of material after 1995
would seem to be a serious omission given the fact that the book
wasn't published until 1997, the author can hardly be faulted if
nothing consequential exists. 

On the other hand, the omission of detailed discussions of the
opening's strategical themes, such as those found in John Emms'
"Scandinavian" work (also published by The Chess Press), is a
noteworthy hiccup. Plaskett's discussion of such themes consists of
brief explanations of specific moves by Black which are, in this
writer's opinion, probably inadequate to prepare the average player
for the complexities of forthcoming Sicilian Taimanov positions.
Such insufficient conceptual discussions coupled with limited
annotations, mean that this is a book that is probably best left in the
hands of an experienced Sicilian practitioner.