Checkpoint August 2000
by Carsten Hansen

Tales from the Crypt

Reviewed this month:
Open Ruy Lopez by Glenn Flear
Queen's Gambit Declined by Matthew Sadler
Winning Unorthodox Openings by Angus Dunnington
The Frankenstein-Dracula Variation in the Vienna Game by Eric
Schiller


WITH A NEW CHESS SEASON around the corner, get the
board and pieces out of the closet and down from the shelf. It's
time to get prepared. After having on chess magazines the last
couple of months, I'm back with a new batch of books, all
published quite recently. In their format, writing style and quality
they differ dramatically. Their differences are even greater in the
range of topics, which covers the span from bizarre and rare to
very topical and highly fashionable. 

Open Ruy Lopez by Glenn Flear, 2000 Everyman Chess, Figurine
Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 159pp., $19.95

This book as well as the one by Sadler below seem to have been
written with the same recipe, similar to the one on the Benko
Gambit by Jacobs & Kinsman and the one by McDonald on the
Sveshnikov Sicilian that I reviewed back in March. The only
surprise is that while the books on the Benko and Sveshnikov were
published by the New Batsford, the books by Flear and Sadler
were published by Everyman Chess. 

The recipe is well-known: complete games, some of historical
importance, others of theoretical importance, with theory in
reasonable doses thrown in where appropriate.

I liked the two previous efforts in this series, and from what I have
seen in the latest releases, the tradition has continued.

The English grandmaster Glenn Flear (who resides in France) has
in the past written a number of interesting books on various topics.
But what I remember best about Flear isn't his books, but a game I
played against him when I was still a teenager. It was in Hastings
at one of the annual congresses and it was the first time I had
played a GM in a tournament game. Naturally he beat me, and
convincingly at that. But afterwards he sat down with me and
explained some of the typical ideas and some little extras that I
could make use of on a later occasion. In the years that followed I
scored plenty of points as a result of the tips he gave me, just
because his explanations helped me understand what really was
going on.

My point is that in the present book, as well as in some of his
previous efforts, he takes the time to explain typical plans,
strategies, and tactical points that you, the reader, will encounter
when you start playing the particular opening. This is much like
having a coach with you when you study an opening, because you
get the feeling that you actually know what you are doing. This is
of course quite different from studying bare theory, where you
only hope you know what you are doing.

The book is split into three parts: After: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5
a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6, Part One:
9 c3 Bc5; Part Two: 9 c3 Be7; Part Three: Other Systems. Each
part contains four chapters and about 40 pages. A total of 88 main
games have been distributed throughout the book

In the preface, Flear admits that the book was primarily written
from Black's point of view, but he has tried to be objective with his
analysis, judgments and recommendations. Furthermore, he
mentions that "the illustrative games have been chosen for their
intrinsic worth, not because Black wins every one of them." A
positive feat, because many repertoire books are ridiculously one-
sided and do not really look at the facts objectively. 

After the preface, there is a two-page introduction to the Open Ruy
Lopez. Here the typical themes for White and Black are very
briefly explained, but with references to games in the book. A nice
feature.

There is a little revelation at the end of the introduction: "I
personally feel that 9 Nbd2 is overrated and we shall see that Black
has several ways of obtaining a good game. Although 9 Qe2,
intending Rd1 with an early c2-c4 pressing down the d-line, is out
of fashion, personally I have found this the most difficult to meet
(see Chapter 9)."

Next follow the chapters. Each has a short introduction to the
particular variation that is covered. The introductions are quite
brief, but enough to give you a rough idea about what is going on.
Had the remainder of the chapter not had any further explanations,
this approach would have been dubious, but the thematic games
are well-annotated with the main focus on the first 30 moves, with
the rest loosely annotated.

Let's take a closer look at Chapter One, the Dilworth Attack. The
variation arises after the following moves: 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3
Bb5 a6 4 Ba4 Nf6 5 0-0 Nxe4 6 d4 b5 7 Bb3 d5 8 dxe5 Be6 9 c3
Bc5 10 Nbd2 0-0 11 Bc2 Nxf2 12 Rxf2 f6 (See Diagram)

This line has had a dubious reputation, but the efforts of Yusupov
and more recently Mikhalevski have brought the line back to life.
After 13 exf6 Bxf2+ 14 Kxf2 Qxf6 he gives the following line: 15
Nb3!? Ne5 16 Nc5! Bg4?! (here Flear mentions that 16...Nxf3!?
has been suggested by Velickovic, but he doesn't analyze it any
further. That's a shame, but for those who are interested, I can
confirm that Black is doing fine. Another thing is that 16...Rae8
goes unmentioned, after the logical 17 Nxe6, after both 17...Qxe6!
and 17...Nxf3!? 18 gxf3 Qh4+ 19 Kg1 Rxe6 20 Bd2 Qh5, Black is
better) 17 Qxd5+ Kh8 18 Qe4 g6 19 Bg5 ('!!" by Flear who writes
"My own clear improvement on the theoretical continuation 19
Bh6 Nxf3 20 gxf3 Bxf3 21 Qd4 Bd1+ 22 Ke3 Qxd4+ 23 cxd4
Bxc2 24 Bxf8 Rxf8 with equality according to Velickovic") and if
19...Qxg5 then 20 Qxa8. 

But does 19 Bg5 win? Let's have a brief look at 19...Qxg5 20
Qxa8, and then 20...Qf4! (See Diagram) 

The white Queen is threatened by the Rook, so White has to do
something about it: (a) 21 Qd5 Bxf3 22 Qd4 (22 gxf3 Ng4+! and
it's all over) 22...Qxh2 23 Rg1 Bh5+ 24 Ke1 Qg3+ 25 Kd2 Qg5+
26 Ke1 Rd8, and White has to give up his Queen to avoid mate; (b)
21 Qe4 Qxh2 22 Rh1 (intending 22...Qxh1 23 Qxe5+) 22...Bxf3 23
Rxh2 Bxe4+ 24 Ke1 Bxc2, and Black is a piece up for nothing.
Neither 22 Qa8 Qh4+ 23 Kf1 Qh6 24 Qd5 Nxf3 25 gxf3 Rxf3+ -+
nor 22 Bd1 Bxf3 23 Bxf3 Rxf3+ 24 Qxf3 Nxf3 25 Kxf3 Qh5+ -+
give White much relief.   
  
Incidently, Velickovic's line isn't error proof either; instead of
22...Qxd4+, Black should play 22...Bxc2 23 Bxf8 Rxf8 24 Ne6
Qxd4+ 25 Kxd4 Rf7, and Black has a pawn extra in the endgame,
although it will not be particularly easy to convert it due to White's
active King. And his conclusion after 24...Rxf8 'with equality'
doesn't look bulletproof either: 25 Nxa6 c6 (otherwise White
would pick it up with 26 Rc1 and 27 Rxc7) 26 Rc1 Re8+ 27 Kd2
Be4, and the pawn has been saved, but the pin on the e-file is a
bigger problem: 28 Re1! Ra8 (28...g5? 29 Nc5 Bg6 30 Rxe8+
Bxe8 31 b3 followed by a4, and the a-pawn starts sprinting
towards happier times) 29 Nb4 with a better endgame for White.

I will not blame Flear for quoting from other sources, but
throughout the book, I feel that there isn't enough original input
from Flear, and he doesn't seem to have taken the necessary time
to scrutinize carefully what others are writing, before he decides to
quote them. Of course it's an easy way to get some pages written,
but it isn't what people buy the book for - they expect some
original input.

That being said, the book is a good read, and for people who want
a good introduction to the Open Ruy Lopez has in this book plenty
of easily accessible material, good explanations and fairly good
coverage on the theoretical side. For people who know the opening
well or are quite strong, I'm afraid the book is likely to fall short.

My assessment of the book: ***


Queen's Gambit Declined by Matthew Sadler, 2000 Everyman
Chess, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 176pp., Price
$19.95

The English GM Matthew Sadler shouldn't need any introduction.
He has previously covered other lines in the Queen's Gambit,
namely the Slav and the Semi-Slav; both books were also
published by Everyman Chess.

I was a bit puzzled when I received this book, because last month I
reviewed another book from Everyman Chess on the Queen's
Gambit Declined (QGD). To me it seems very strange for a
publisher to publish two books on pretty much the same topic one
right after another, when they may end up competing against each
other. Another thing that surprised me was that both books seem to
be written mainly from Black's point of view. 

The book is divided into three parts: Part One: Main Line Queen's
Gambit Declined (3...Nf6 4 Nf3 Be7 5 Bg5 0-0 6 e3); Part Two:
Exchange Variation (3...Nf6 4 cxd5 exd5 and 3...Be7 4 cxd5
exd5); Part Three: Other Variations. Each part has several
chapters.

As mentioned above, this book is in the series with Flear's book
above, but Sadler has a very different approach. He directly aims
this book at those players who don't have a lot of experience with
the QGD. To that end, much of the book has been written in
"dialogue" form. For example, from Chapter Three: 

Epishin-Ziatdinov, World Open, Philadelphia 1997
1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 Nf6 4 Nc3 Be7 5 Bg5 0-0 6 e3 Nbd7 7 Rc1
a5 8 c5!? (See Diagram)

Question 7. What is the point of 8 c5?
Answer 7. The c4-c5 advance is an extremely ambitious positional
idea that cuts out all of Black's queenside plans, forcing Black to
search elsewhere in order to obtain active play.
Question 8.How does it stop Black's plans?
Answer 8.Black was relying on the sequence ...d5xc4 followed by
...b7-b5 and ...c7-c5 to find a post for his light-squared Bishop and
to gain space on the queenside. After 8 c5, while White increases
his command of queenside space, Black can neither play ...d5xc4
nor strike at White's centre with ...c7-c5.
Question 9.Can't Black just strike back with 8...e5?
Answer 9. Here we see another drawback of 7...a6 compared to
7...c6. 7...a6 does not add protection to the d5-pawn, and thus does
nothing to consolidate Black's centre. Consequently, 8 c5 e5 9
dxe5 costs Black his d5-pawn. Before he can play ...e6-e5, Black
must reinforce his centre.
8...c6 
Question 10. What a minute! Haven't I seen this position before?
Answer 10. Nearly! 9 Qc2 or 9 a3 would transpose into 7...c6 8
Qc2/8 a3 a6 9 c5. In this move order, however, White can play a
more useful move than either Qd1-c2 or a2-a3.
Instead 8...Ne4 9 Bxe7 Qxe7 10 Nxe4! dxe4 11 Nd2 Nf6 (11...f5
12 c6! breaks up Black's queenside) 12 Nc4! (preventing ...e6-e5)
was very pleasant for White in Karpov-Jakobsen, Malta Olympiad
1980.
9 Bd3!
This position can also be reached via 7...c6 8 Bd3 a6!? 9 c5. 
Question 11. I don't understand. If ...e6-e5 is coming, isn't 9 b4
better to hold the c5-pawn after d4xe5?
Answer 11. This was also my first reaction: it is natural to wish to
maintain the structure that seems to suffocate Black's position.
However, White's slow development offers Black an unusual way
to create counterplay and solve his opening problems: 9...a5 10 a3
axb4! (White now regrets Ra1-c1 which allows Black to take over
the a-file) 11 axb4 b6 12 Bf4 (to prevent ...e6-e5; 12 Bd3 bxc5 13
bxc5 e5! 14 dxe5 Ne8 leads to the main game, except that the
exchange of all the queenside pawns increases the activity of
Black's pieces enormously) 12...bxc5 13 bxc5 Ra3! (threatening
14...Rxc3 15 Rxc3 Qa5 16 Qd2 Ne4! winning) 14 Qd2 Qa5 15 Be2
Ba6! (Polugaevsky) when exchanges his light-squared Bishop
while at the same time developing queenside counterplay! 
Question 12. 9 Bd3 is better?
Answer 12. First of all, White activates his last minor piece, and
prepares to castle his King to safety; secondly, White confiscates
more central territory by stopping ...Nf6-e4.

I will stop here. I'm sure you get the idea. Sadler asks and answers
all the questions that you are wondering about when you first learn
a new opening. In my opinion, he does the job admirably well. I
wish I had a book like this about all openings I had to learn by
myself over the years. It would definitely have saved me a lot of
trouble trying to understand everything on my own.

But the nature of the book makes it of course more useful for
players who are not yet so strong, although it's my feeling that
many players, even up to around USCF2200-2300, will be able to
benefit from this approach.

On the theoretical side, I have a feeling that the book isn't entirely
current. Only one of 112 main games are from 1999 and, on my
own, I have been able to find many more examples dated after
1998, which makes me think that maybe this book was intended
for publication by Batsford. When Batsford then ran into financial
problems, it was put aside. Then at a later stage, Everyman Chess
'inherited' this book and now it has published it, more or less as it
was completed in early part of 1999. This is of course speculation,
but to me it sounds quite likely from what I see.

As was the case with Flear's book, it doesn't look like there is a lot
of new ideas and improvements over existing theory. But unlike
Flear, Sadler doesn't quote other writers and analysts ad nauseum,
but rather seeks out the information he deems necessary and
explains things based on those bits of analysis he has picked. This
makes the book more attractive and more readable.

One final thing I would like to mention is that the present book
doesn't cover all lines of the QGD, only enough to fit a repertoire
together for Black. For lesser-played lines, I suggest that you
consult Lalic' new book on the same topic, ECO or NCO, which
should have the desired information.

My assessment of the book: ****  

Winning Unorthodox Openings by Angus Dunnington, 2000
Everyman Chess, Figurine Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 144pp.,
$19.95

Winning with unorthodox openings isn't exactly a new idea, but it
is still an interesting one. Who would not like to win a game with
an opening you can familiarize yourself with in a couple of hours?
Well, of course it isn't as easy as that, and usually there are good
reasons why some openings remain in the 'unorthodox' territory.

For those who are not familiar with the author, I can inform you
that he is an IM, has coached the English juniors at the last two
World Junior Championships and is the author of at least three
books on openings dealing with the Catalan, the King's Indian
Attack and the Reti. 

My experience with the openings that are covered in this book is
quite limited. Aside from a few adventures with 1 b3 and 1 Nc3, I
have, as most other chess players, only some experience in playing
against these openings. Therefore I have called in the assistance of
another book, Black Is O.K. in Rare Openings by former World 
Championship candidate and second to Garry Kasparov during his
early matches against Anatoly Karpov, Andras Adorjan. 

The book is divided into six chapters: 1 Sokolsky Opening: 1 b4; 2
Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack: 1 b3; Queen's Knight Opening: 1
Nc3; Bird Opening: 1 f4; King's Fianchetto Opening: 1 g3; 6 Other
First moves for White. 

This division seems reasonable; the first five chapters cover
openings with which White reasonably can claim to play for a win.
The other moves are played on occasion, but do not contribute
positively to White's chances of winning, and therefore have been
summed up in the last chapter with a brief, sometimes extremely
brief, discussion of the merits of each move.

Chapter 1 covers the Sokolsky Opening, an opening I had some
experience against in my early teens, because my dad played this
opening. It can be used as a surprise weapon, but frequent use
makes you an easy target, because provided Black knows what he
is doing, he will get at least equal chances. The first thing I looked
for was what Dunnington recommends against the line I used to
employ against my dad, which incidentally is the one Keres used
against Sokolsky in one of their meetings (I do, however, not
remember the exact move order): 1 b4 d5 2 Bb2 Nf6 3 e3 e6 4 b5
c5 5 Nf3 b6 6 Be2 Bd6, followed by ...Bb7, ...Nbd7, ...0-0 and the
preparations for e5 can begin. Well, I looked in vain; it isn't
mentioned. Next on the agenda, Adorjan's recommendation: 1 b4
e5 2 Bb2 Bxb4 3 Bxe5 Nf6 (See Diagram) 

The main-line move is 4 c4, but Dunnington offers a couple
alternatives for White. One is 4 Nc3?!, another is 4 Nf3 0-0 5 e3
d5 6 Be2, after which he only mentions 6...Re8, while Adorjan's
recommendation 6...c5 (incidentally the most popular continuation
on my database) 7 0-0 Nc6 ('=+' Adorjan) 8 Bb2 Re8 9 d3 Ba5 10
Na3 Bc7, with a good game for Black, Mukhin-Georgadze,
Simferopol 1975, goes unnoticed.
 
On with the main line: 4 c4, and now Dunnington gives preference
to 4...Nc6, while the critical 4...0-0 (Adorjan's main line) is only
given as a side line. Often 4...Nc6 is played to kick the Bishop
back to b2, but even if Black doesn't play ...Nc6, White will have
to do something about his Bishop on e5, which easily can become
a target. So, let's see what he says about 4...0-0. 5 Nf3 d5 (Adorjan
also mentions 5...Re8 6 e3 Bf8!? 7 Be2 g6 8 0-0 Bg7 9 Bb2 c5!,
which was tried out in Volke-Vaganian, Bundesliga 1994) 6 e3
Be7 (Adorjan also mentions 6..Bd6 as adequate for Black) 7 Bb2
(Adorjan thinks that 7 Nc3 is better, giving 7...Nbd7 8 Bg3 dxc4 9
Bxc4 Nh5 10 Qc2 c6!, intending ...Nxg3) 7...c5 8 Be2 Nc6 9 cxd5
Nxd5 10 0-0 Bf6 11 Qc1 (against 11 d4?!, he quotes Urzica-
Adorjan, Stockholm Wch jr 1969, which continued with 11...cxd4,
but Adorjan actually thinks this move is dubious and should have
been substituted with 11...Bg4!, intending 12 Nbd2 cxd4 13 Nxd4
Bxd4 14 exd4 Bxe2 15 Qxe2 Nxd4! 16 Bxd4 Nf4, with an extra
pawn for Black), and here Dunnington continues with 11...Ndb4,
while Adorjan claims an edge for Black after 11...Bf5! 12 Na3
Bxb2 13 Qxb2 Ndb4.

Also 6...c5 is mentioned by both authors, with Dunnington quoting
the game Miralles-Gulko, Marseilles 1986: 7 cxd5 Nxd5 8 Be2
Nc6 9 Bb2 Bg4, while Adorjan prefers 9...Bf5, giving four
examples of how to clobber White. Finally as an alternative to
1...e5, Adorjan recommends 1...Nf6 2 Bb2 g6, this isn't mentioned
by Dunnington either.

Chapter 2: Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack: 1 b3. An opening that is
named after the two strongest chess players that have lived in
native country, Denmark.

Again there are several discrepancies between the opinions of
Dunnington and what Adorjan recommends. Adorjan recommends
three lines: 1) 1 b3 e5 2 Bb2 Nc6 3 e3 d5; 2) 1 b3 e5 2 Bb2 Nc6 3
e3 g6; and 3) 1 b3 Nf6 2 Bb2 g6. 1) and 3) are covered by
Dunnington but 2) isn't mentioned.

After 1 b3 e5 2 Bb2 Nc6 3 e3 d5 4 Bb5 Bd6 5 f4 Dunnington
writes: "The most common move is 5 f4, profiting from the fact
that Black no longer defends g7. Black has 5...f6 and 5...Qe7, but
throwing the check in on h4 most inconveniences White: 5...Qh4+
6 g3 Qe7 7 Nf3. Now...". Wait a minute, on account of 5...Qh4+,
he jumps over the two other moves he just mentioned, and he
never returns. In fact, Adorjan gives 5...f6! as Black's best. But
also after 7 Nf3, they disagree: 7...f6 8 fxe5 fxe5 9 Bxc6+ bxc6 10
Nxe5 Nf6 11 Nxc6 Qe4 12 0-0 Bh3 13 Rf2 Ng4, and here
Dunnington suggests 14 Rf3, giving 14...Rf8 15 Nd4 Ne5 16
Rxf8+ Kxf8 17 Qe2 c5 18 Ba3 Qg6 19 Nb5 or 18 d3, "when it
looks as though White can weather the storm and stay a pawn or
two ahead". Adorjan gives 14...Nxh2 15 Kxh2 Bg4 as winning for
Black, but he forgets that White can play 16 Nd4!, answering
16...c5 with 17 Nc3, and although Black still is better after
17...Qg6 18 Qe1 (getting out of the pin, and planning to answer
18...exd4 19 exd4+ and then moving the Rook) White at least isn't
losing.. 

Against Adorjan's third recommendation, Dunnington gives 3 g4
as the main line, which truly is an unorthodox choice, but he does
give 3 e4 as one alternative, with the main line going as follows: 3
e4 d6 4 g3 Bg7 5 Bg2  0-0 6 Ne2 e5 7 0-0 Nc6 8 d4 exd4 9 Nxd4
Nxd4 10 Bxd4 Re8 11 Re1 Bd7 12 c4 Bc6 13 Nc3 (here AD's line
ends with the evaluation 'rather cramped for Black') 13...a5 14 Qd2
Nd7 15 Bxg7 Kxg7 16 Nd5 Bxd5 17 Qxd5 Re5!, and it's evident
that Black is far from worse, probably slightly better. The game,
by the way, was B.Stein-Uhlmann, Bundesliga 1991/2. After 3 g4
Bg7 4 g5 Nh5 5 d4!?, it surprised me that Dunnington doesn't
mention 5...c5!? at all, which was my first thought, and according
to Adorjan also a recommendation of Krnic.

Chapter 3 covers 1 Nc3, which surprisingly is called 'Queen's
Knight Opening'. More popular names are Dunst Opening or van
Geet Opening.

Adorjan also has some ideas in regards to this, but one that goes
completely unmentioned is 1 Nc3 d5 2 e4 dxe4 3 Nxe4 Nd7 4 Bc4
Ndf6 (Dunnington only mentions 4...Ngf6 and 4...e6). The games
that Adorjan quotes, Mestrovic-Sjoberg, Vienna 1990, van Geet-
van Scheltinga, Amsterdam 1964 and van der Wiel-Koch, Lyon zt
1990, should be available  to Dunnington and therefore should
have been mentioned, particularly since Black seems to equalize
comfortably. 

In chapters 4 and 5, there are also a few points that Dunnington
and Adorjan disagree upon, but not anything major, so I will skip
to chapter 6, the miscellaneous chapter. 

In the coverage of 1 g4, which is an awful-looking move, but
played in the early 1980s by the Greek, later-to-be-GM, Skembris
and the English wild one, IM Basman, Dunnington mentions 1 g4
d5 2 Bg2 Bxg4 3 c4 c6 4 Qb3, and offers both 4...Qb6 and 4...Qc7,
which are adequate for Black (although in the case of the latter,
Dunnington doesn't show us how), but fails to mention 4...Qd7
which is quite strong, e.g., 5 cxd5 Nf6 6 Nc3 (6 dxc6 Nxc6,
intending ...Nd4 is good for Black) 6...cxd5 (Adorjan also gives
6...e5 7 dxe6 Bxe6 as better for Black) 7 Nxd5 Nc6 8 Nxf6+ (or 8
Ne3?! Be6, intending ...g6 -/+) 8...exf6 with an edge for Black
according to Adorjan.

Having gone through the theoretical side of the book, I have to say
that I'm a bit disappointed. Dunnington should have consulted the
Adorjan book (which I believe is readily available from most chess
book dealers) and tried to offer something against Adorjan's
recommendations. Often he has not even mentioned Adorjan's
ideas and that puts his book in a bad light.

However, the book is well-written and I'm sure that people who
buy it will find plenty of interesting ideas that can be used in a
game or two, but I strongly suggest that anyone who decides to
take up an opening after reading this book should consult other
works before venturing into the unorthodox.

My assessment of the book: **    
  

Frankenstein-Dracula Variation in the Vienna Game by Eric
Schiller, 2000 Chess Enterprises, Figurine Algebraic Notation,
Softcover, 161pp., $9.95

With 80-90 titles to his name, Schiller is one of the most prolific
chess authors in today's book market. While there has been much
debate about the quality of the works he has in print, there is no
doubt that many people buy his books. There is no other reason
why so many publishers would have published his books in the
past.

It is not exactly a secret that Schiller has released some works that
have contained all kinds of howlers. Two of my favorites are the
cover of his book on the Janowsky Indian, which gives the moves:
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Bf5 [sic] and, in one of his recent books
639 Essential Endgame Positions, where I found the following
position on page 28 (See Diagram): 

White: Kc4; pawn - e3; Black: Kg4; pawn - e4. 

Schiller offers us the following insights: "This is a win for White
regardless of who is on the move. 14.Kd5 Kf3; 15.Kd4 would put
Black in zugzwang immediately, but even when it is Black's turn,
defeat cannot be avoided. This maneuver is known as
triangulation. Instead of moving to a square directly, the King
makes a triangular journey (here Kc4-d4 via d5). Triangulation is
only possible for the King and the Queen, but the mighty Queen
rarely needs to make use of it. In pawn endings, it is one of the
principal weapons of combat. 13...Kg3. 13...Kf3; 14.Kd4 is the
familiar zugzwang. 14.Kd5 Kf3; 15.Kd4. (See Diagram) 

The goal is reached. Black loses the pawn and the game. 14...Kg4;
16.Kxe5 Kg5; 17.Ke5 with a simple win."

For those who believe in what Schiller has to say about endgames,
I have a little tip: Good luck! As many scholastic players certainly
will be able to point out, the above endgame is drawn, no matter
who is to move. The key is another of the principal weapons of
combat, the opposition. For Schiller and his followers, here is the
key: move the King backwards! Let's try it out: 1...Kf5 2 Kd4(d5)
Kf6 3 Kxe4 Ke6, and White can't win. Similarly, if White is to
move: 1 Kd5 Kf5 2 Kd4 (the triangulation he is babbling about)
2...Kf6 3 Kxe4 Ke6, and as the dust settles, it emerges that, yes
you can open your eyes now, it's a draw. Isn't it fantastic? I could
give you another handful of examples from that same book, but I
will not waste your time. 

The present book covers probably the sharpest and most
fascinating line in the Vienna Game, namely the Frankenstein-
Dracula Variation (so-named by fellow columnist Tim Harding in
one of his books in the seventies). First of all, I don't like the,
which has absolutely nothing to do with the opening, but I will not
hold Schiller responsible for that.

The first curious thing I came across was something I found even
before the Introduction. Although the book has "Copyright 2000
by Eric Schiller", it has the following acknowledgment "The
author would like to gratefully acknowledge the valuable
assistance of James V. Eade in the preparation of the analysis and
for reviewing the 1995 manuscript."  A strange statement, I would
say, unless of course the manuscript for this book has been lying
around for five years, before Schiller could find someone that was
willing to publish it.

There is no Table of Contents in the book, but a brief look reveals
the following three sections: Introduction, Overview of the Theory,
& Complete Games.

The introduction starts on page three like this:
"Introduction
Let me begin with the facts, bare facts, meager facts and
figures, and of which there can be no doubt. I must not confuse the
with experiences which will have to rest on my own observation or
my memory of them. Left Munich at 8.35 pm, on 1st May, arriving
at Vienna early next morning.

"Thus begins Bram Stoker's Dracula. It is only fitting that the tale
begins with Vienna, for it is the Vienna Game that is under
discussion in this book. That opening begins
1 e4 e5
2 Nc3
[The book contains a diagram here.]
The opening is more frequently found at amateur levels of play in
modern times, but with such old stalwarts as the Four Knights
Game returning to favor [CH: that was some years ago] the Vienna
may be due for a revival. Our subject is the variation which begins
2...Nf6
3 Bc4
This is Hamppe's Variation. The first he tried it, back in 1846
against Staunton in a match, Black played 3...Bc5, which is hardly
confrontational. [CH: Hamppe didn't play a match against Staunton in 
1846. However, he did play against Lowenthal in a match, where this 
opening occurred!] Our attention is focused on the more aggressive
continuation:
3...Nxe4".
 
That was page 3, page 4 is empty, maybe left open for the student
to write his own analysis to the above moves? Who knows?!

On page 5, the introduction continues:

"The leader, with a quick movement of his rein, threw his horse out
in the front, and pointed first to the sun, now close down on the hill
tops, and then to the castle, said something which I did not
understand.

[The book contains a diagram here.]

"It took some time for Black to dare this over the board. Max
Lange, commenting on the game Rossy-Haing, Dosseldorf 1863,
simply gave 4 Bxf7+ as correct, also noting 4 Nxe4 d5. [CH: Black 
in this game was not Haing, but Hoing. And the wording by Max Lange 
in the 1863 October-November issue of Deuthsche Schachzeitung was:  
"Auf 3 Sf6-e4:, um bei 4 Sc3-e4: sodann d7-d5 zu spielen, konnte 
zunachst 4 Lc4-f7+ geschehen."] Both of
those lines have passed into oblivion. Now the most important
continuation is the violent queen sortie
4 Qh5!
which threatens to checkmate the enemy King at once.

[The book contains a diagram here.]

4...Nd6
5 Bb3 Nc6
6 Nb5

[The book contains a diagram here.]

This creates the indirect threat of Nxd6+ followed by Qxf7 mate.
[CH: This sounds pretty direct to me!]

6...g6
7 Qf3

Once more renewing the combinational threat.

[The book contains a diagram here.]

7...f5

The move 7...f6 leads to a somewhat different play, and Black
does not fare well. See Mukhin-Bronstein. [CH: This, by the way,
was written in a different font!]

Page 7 is more of the same, a couple of diagrams, three moves
from each side, a quote from Frankenstein, and a little bit of text.

I hope you get the idea, he is trying to fill the pages with minimum
effort, but I will return to that later.

Page 8 brings something interesting into the picture:

"This monograph has several goals
1) to present an historical overview of the development of the
variation and to bring the existing literature up to date

It is with considerable difficulty that I remember the original era of
my being; all the events of that period appear confused and
indistinct. [CH: ??]

2) to further investigate a variety of unclear positions, and clean up
some past mistakes in the literature

It was almost impossible to believe that the things which we had
seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears were living
truths. [CH: ???]

3) to make the study of the variation entertaining

4) to bring to light a number if fascinating games which have been
buried, often incomplete, in obscure literature."

I have to admit that the above sounds awfully promising. 

In pursuit of first goal, Schiller mentions that he has relied on
literature that previously covered this variation; this helped him to
locate over 200 games.

About the second goal he writes: "The second goal was the most
fun to work on, sitting in the California sun with a nice set and
board and working on new ideas [CH: !]. I did use computers to
check some of the lines, but found them interestingly weak in this
task, because the horizon on many of the lines is just too far down
the road. For example, in the key line that, in my view, resurrects
the line for Black, the variation beginning on move 16 must be
worked out to move 30 before the winning line is confirmed. [CH:
I will look at that below]. That is still too deep a solution for most
microcomputers. I will confess that the machines did find more
efficient kills in a number of situations."

For the third goal, Schiller has turned to the original stories of
Dracula and Frankenstein.
He has sprinkled excerpts from these two classics throughout the
book.
I find this extremely annoying, and like the numerous unnecessary
diagrams, they only serve as fillers. The same goes for the big font
he uses to display the moves, with one line for each move. A more
efficient way of wasting pages after pages cannot be found in other
chess books. 

For the remainder of the introduction, Schiller quotes a number of
books and people on the theoretical standpoint of this opening.
Then we reach Overview of the Theory. This part covers 16 pages,
which again sound reasonable for a little played opening, but in a
161-page book about a single line, it is not much at all. On top of
that when you consider that Schiller uses 17 diagrams, a large font
with one move per line and is scattering excerpts from Dracula
and Frankenstein throughout, you're down to next to nothing.

Pages 12-15 are used to reach move 10: (1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4
Nxe4 4 Qh5 Nd6 5 Nb5 g6 7 Qf3 f5 8 Qd5 Qe7 9 Nxc7+ Kd8 10
Nxa8 b6). None of the alternatives are covered in any detail,
mostly only referring to games in the games section. (See
Diagram)

Here Schiller gives eight alternatives for White to choose from.
The coverage is typical Schiller: "11 Qd3 This is not considered
dangerous, because the time taken to move the Queen to safety
allows Black to grab the Bishop. See Filip-Keller."

I don't think you can call the d3-square safe and when he wrote
that Black would grab the Bishop, he meant of course the Knight
on a8, but of course you knew that 

The next six alternatives (11 a4, 11 c3, 11 d4, 11 Nf3, 11 Qf3 and
11 Nxb6) are covered with the same thoroughness. 

I particularly like his comments about 11 Nxb6, which is the main
line and awarded an exclamation mark in NCO: "11 Nxb6 This is
the automatic choice by many players, but is deemed 'a poor
transaction for White' [CH: Why?] by Harding. After 11...axb6 12
Qf3 Bb7 White gets into trouble by retreating the Queen
(Chistyakov-Dzhanoyev), while after 13 d3 Black can choose
13...Bg7 (Horvath-Hardicsay) or 13...Nd4 14 Qh3 f4!, which
Konstantinopolsky & Lepeshkin claim to lead to a draw by
repetition [CH: How?]."

There is notoriously little back-up for these statements. Schiller
has apparently judged that the reader, for whom he supplies
diagrams all the time and points out simple mate threats, can work
out these lines by him- or herself. By the way, in regards to the
draw claim, NCO gives (after 14...f4) 15 c3 N4f5 16 Bd2 with a
clear edge for White.

At least Schiller found out that 11 d3 was the main line. The
coverage is still as deep as in the other lines (i.e., skin deep), but I
started my search for the line he mentioned earlier, the one that he
had worked out in the California sun, the line that was so deep that
computers could not work it out. 

Well, I found it, and here it is in its entirety: moves 1-10 as above
and then: 11 d3 Bb7 12 h4 f4 13 Qf3 Nd4 14 Qg4 h5 [CH: It
doesn't appear that this move has ever been played, which of
course increases the importance of the line we are about to see!] 15
Qxg6 Rh7, and now there are two alternatives, the former is 16
Qg5, which K&L evaluates as better for White:

A) 16 Qg5 Rg7 17 Qxe7 Bxe7 18 c3 Bxg2 19 Rh2 Bxa8 20 cxd4
Rxg1+, and Black has a strong initiative for the exchange.

B) 16 Nxb6 axb6 17 Rh2 Rg7 18 Qxh5 Bxg2 19 c3 Be4 20 cxd4
Rxg1+ 21 Kd2 Nf5! 22 dxe4 Qb4+ 23 Kc2 Nxd4+ 24 Kd3 Nxb3
25 Qxe5 Bg7 26 Qc7+ Kxc7 27 Bxf4+ Ke5 28 Bxe5+ Kc6 29
Rxg1 Qd2+ 30 Kc4 Na5#

In line A, 20 cxd4 is of course a major blunder, 20 Kf1 should
defend, e.g. 20...Rxg1+ 21 Kxg1 Nf3+ 22 Kg2 Nxh2 23 Kxh2,
with a complicated game, but White doesn't appear to be losing.

Line B is pathetic too, after 21...Nf5 White is losing, which my
computer, without difficulty, saw in a few seconds. By the way,
after move 20, in his comments, Schiller claims that this opening is
"an excellent choice against computer opponents!". The reason
should be that they cannot calculate the position after move 16 all
the way to move 30. Mr. Schiller, I would be surprised if you
could, given that they cannot. This, by the way, is the only lengthy
analysis by Schiller in the entire book, so he probably didn't get a
sunburn when he was working it out.

The theory chapter ends with 13...Bh6 (deviating from above) 14
Bd2 ... and "well, if you do find games or ideas I have overlooked,
I appreciate hearing from you."

The Complete Games Section is probably the biggest joke in the
book. The collection is supposed to be complete, but with only 206
games (they are not numbered, so I had to count them, I hope I got
it right, and by the way, one of them is there twice, with a different
diagrammed position in both games!), this is hardly a "collection".
In my own databases, which consists of Megabase 2000, Mega-
Corr (an excellent correspondance and e-mail game collection
from Chess Mail) and the TWIC updates, I found over 300 games
with the position after 4 Qh5, while Schiller in his collection also
covers 4th move alternatives like 4 Bxf7+ and 4 Nxe4. On the
internet I found well over 300 games on Chesslab.com and on
Encyclopaedia on Chess Openings on the internet I found over 850
games, although some were games between computers.

You may ask yourself if the games that he missed are of great
importance and if they involve stronger players. I can give you
some of the names, and you can decide for yourself. I will start
with the correspondance players: Wibe (IM and probably one of
the leading authorities on this opening), van Oosterom (one of the
world's strongest CC players, and also the man behind the Amber
tournaments in Monaco and Women vs Veterans), Timmerman
(one of the highest rated CC players in the world) Ekebjerg (#2 in
the last CC-Wch) to mention but a few. OTB players: B. Lalic,
Sulskis, Szmetan, Bezgodov, Lengyel, Chabanon, Czerwonski, I.
Rogers, Shirov, Basagic, Solomon, Hector, Parker, Gdanski,
Raetsky, Shabalov, Hawelko, Koch, and the list goes on.

By the way, only 8-10 of the games in Schiller's collection were
dated after 1990, while I had over 100 in my base (before going on
the internet). This is simply inexcusably poor research, but with
the standard of the book already below zero, it should not come as
a surprise. The games section, by the way, takes up pages 29-161!
Amazing. Another count reveals that 104 of the games are without
any annotations (the excerpts from Dracula and Frankenstein don't
count as annotations), 52 games are with text annotations only
(lines of two moves or less are included in this count) and finally
50 games are annotated with some analysis.

Of the 102 games that are annotated, many, and by this I mean the
majority, only have one or two comments. 

I will draw your attention to the following game, that can be found
on page 99; the annotations are by Schiller:
Mieses-Unknown, Liverpool (simul) 1900
1 e4 e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 Bc4 Nxe4 4 Qh5 Nd6 5 Bb3 Be7 6 d3 0-0?!
6...Nc6 is correct. See Jaffe-Alekhine. 7 Nf3 Nc6 8 Ng5! h6 9 h4!
Ne8? 9...Nd4 was necessary. Mieses now demonstrates a nice
combinational motif which recurs in Gufeld-Tarve. 10 Nd5 [Here
thre is a diagram- CH] 10...Nf6 11 Qg6! fxg6 12 Nxe7+ Kh8 13
Nxg6# 1-0.

Nice finish, I would say. But the rest of the game is of more
questionable quality. Let's see: 6...0-0 - Schiller gives this move
'?!', and while it is weaker than 6...Nc6, it is nothing next to what
happens later in the game.
7 Nf3 - this move deserves a '?', because he could win his pawn
back and doesn't, and now is worse off.
8 Ng5! - I hate to say it, but 8 Nxe5 winning back the pawn is just
as good.
9 h4! - This, however, is a big mistake - see next note.
9...Ne8? - '??' is what the move deserves. Not only was 9...Nd4
necessary, it was clearly better for Black. For that same reason,
White should have played 9 Nce4 with some compensation for the
pawn.
10 Nd5 - Well, Schiller didn't give it an '!'. In fact, it is another
blunder on White's part. I'm sure that Mieses by now had noticed
Black's lacking potential as a chess player. Otherwise, I'm sure he
would played the fairly obvious 10 Nxf7 which pretty much wins
on the spot. But Schiller obviously didn't see that. 
10...Nf6 - A giant blunder, which allows White to finish the game.
Correct was 10...Nd4, after which it is doubtful if White can keep
the balance.
11 Qg6! This is actually not White's best. White wins after 11
Nxf6+ Bxf6 12 Bxf7+.
11...fxg6 - Another example of Black's failing abilities, 11...Kh8!,
after which White should continue with 12 Nxf7+ Rxf7 13 Qxf7
Nxd5 14 Qxd5, and White has big advantage. 

Given the complicated nature of the game and the high level on
which the game was played, it is understandable, that Schiller
could overlook the few defensive resources for Black, who's play
otherwise was immaculate.

A final comment about the game section is that there is no index,
so instead of arranging the games by lines, Schiller has arranged
the games in alphabetical order. A novel concept.

It should be obvious to everyone that none of the goals that
Schiller was achieved.

I have seen thousands of chess books over the years, but this book
is by far THE WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER SEEN. I don't have
any words to express the degree of disgust I feel. It is sad that
anybody is willing to put their name on such trash, but for some
people it is only a matter of getting paid;  they are willing to do
anything for money.

I don't feel sorry for the publisher of this book (or for that matter
those who otherwise also publish Schiller's books), because he
should know better. Therefore I will ask you to do me the favor of
not supporting this particular author by buying this piece of
rubbish.

My assessment of the book: (no stars)