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Chess Book of the Year, part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov

Ronan Bennett & Daniel King
Tuesday October 6 2009
The Guardian

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Smyslov-Botvinnik, 5th game World championship 1958. Black's king is in check. Should it move up to c5 or back to c7?

DK Two books on world championship matches made it on to our shortlist for book of the year. Kasparov vs Karpov 1986-1987 (Everyman Chess, GBP 30) written by Garry Kasparov, is an automatic choice. This is the latest volume in the former world champion's monumental series, and this time he dissects the matches in London/Leningrad 1986 and Seville 1987.

Kasparov's detailed analysis of the games is admirable but I skimmed them and just read the story ? it's gripping. Gorbachev had just come to power and was implementing his policies of glasnost and perestroika in the face of conservative opposition. In that context the result of these matches had enormous significance: Kasparov was the outspoken outsider, Karpov the loyal communist. Which image would the Soviet Union be projecting to the world? Kasparov alleges - and backs up with strong evidence - that there were spies in his camp passing information to Karpov, backed by the KGB. Some of the episodes could have come straight from the pages of a le Carré novel.

Botvinnik-Smyslov, Three World Chess Championship Matches: 1954, 1957, 1958 (New In Chess, GBP 28.95) is another reminder of a great chess rivalry. The annotations are mainly by Botvinnik and are characterised by his typical "objectivity" (read harshness). These notes were, of course, written in the pre-computer era, which means fewer variations than many contemporary books. That's a relief. I'd rather have a few well-chosen words than blocks of indigestible moves.

In the position above, Botvinnik was short of time and played the reflex 1? Kc5, following the general rule that kings should be as active as possible in the endgame. But Smyslov replied with 2 Kd3, and checkmate with b4 was unavoidable. Black should have tried 1?Kc7, and he still had chances to save the game.

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guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2009

Chess Book of the Year: Part 2

Ronan Bennett & Daniel King
Tuesday October 6 2009
The Guardian

--

Smyslov-Botvinnik, 5th game World championship 1958. Black's king is in check. Should it move up to c5 or back to c7?

DK Two books on world championship matches made it on to our shortlist for book of the year. Kasparov vs Karpov 1986-1987 (Everyman Chess, GBP 30) written by Garry Kasparov, is an automatic choice. This is the latest volume in the former world champion's monumental series, and this time he dissects the matches in London/Leningrad 1986 and Seville 1987.

Kasparov's detailed analysis of the games is admirable but I skimmed them and just read the story ? it's gripping. Gorbachev had just come to power and was implementing his policies of glasnost and perestroika in the face of conservative opposition. In that context the result of these matches had enormous significance: Kasparov was the outspoken outsider, Karpov the loyal communist. Which image would the Soviet Union be projecting to the world? Kasparov alleges - and backs up with strong evidence - that there were spies in his camp passing information to Karpov, backed by the KGB. Some of the episodes could have come straight from the pages of a le Carré novel.

Botvinnik-Smyslov, Three World Chess Championship Matches: 1954, 1957, 1958 (New In Chess, GBP 28.95) is another reminder of a great chess rivalry. The annotations are mainly by Botvinnik and are characterised by his typical "objectivity" (read harshness). These notes were, of course, written in the pre-computer era, which means fewer variations than many contemporary books. That's a relief. I'd rather have a few well-chosen words than blocks of indigestible moves.

In the position above, Botvinnik was short of time and played the reflex 1? Kc5, following the general rule that kings should be as active as possible in the endgame. But Smyslov replied with 2 Kd3, and checkmate with b4 was unavoidable. Black should have tried 1?Kc7, and he still had chances to save the game.

--

guardian.co.uk Copyright (c) Guardian News and Media Limited. 2009

The war for Roman Polanski (The Australian Article)

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The Murderess and the Hangman, Matt Fullerty (fullerty@gmail.com) thought you might find this article from interesting:
The war for Roman Polanski | October 03, 2009 From: The Australian The latest on the Roman Polanski case: SHOULD Roman Polanski be extradited to the US over his statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles in March 1977? It's an interesting legal question. But it's not the question that is driving the trans-Atlantic furore that followed the film director's arrest in Switzerland last weekend. Instead, various prejudices and unresolved battles are being projected on to l'affaire Polanski, robbing it of its legal complexities and turning it into a proxy culture war in which clapped-out conservatives and disoriented liberals are hurling intellectual (and not-so-intellectual) grenades at one another. Polanski, the Polish-French maker of some decent films (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, The Pianist) and some awful ones too (Frantic, The Dance of the Vampires), pleaded guilty in a Los Angeles court in 1977 to having sexual intercourse with a minor. Click here to read the full article on the website Alternatively, you can copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26153425-5013479,00.html

The Ig Nobel Awards!

A article from The Chronicle of Higher Education was forwarded to you by: fullerty@gmail.com Message from the sender: Winning an Ig Nobel Beats a Sharp Blow to the Skull, Maybe The 2009 Ig Nobel Peace Prize goes to Swiss researchers who compared the dangers of having a full beer bottle smashed on one's head versus an empty one. Most E-Mailed The Library-Catalog Wars: 'Chronicle' Readers Weigh In Heteronormativity Is Hot Right Now Multitasking Is Dangerous to Your Health U. of California and Ethiopian Collaborators Unveil Oldest Known Proto-Human Winning an Ig Nobel Beats a Sharp Blow to the Skull, Maybe Finding it hard to keep up with all that's happening in academe? The Chronicle keeps you up-to-date with award-winning reporting and analysis of current events in higher education. Academe Today, our daily e-mail newsletter is available to everyone. Go to http://chronicle.com/myaccount/newsletters to sign up. (c) The Chronicle of Higher Education 1255 23rd Street NW Washington, DC 20037