Three new titles show that the chess opening book is still relevant. However, the five-star reviews are for new volumes about chess greats Alekhine and Korchnoi.
These book reviews by Matthew Sadler were published in New In Chess magazine 2025#4
After diving into 4000 pages of Paul Keres last month, 300-page opening books now feel like an absolute breeze! This month, I reviewed a record number of titles.
We start with Richard Palliser’s The Tricky Tromp from the rebranded Popular Chess label (formerly Everyman). One thing to note right away is that this book only covers the Trompowsky after 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♗g5, so it’s not a complete opening repertoire for White. But it will help you sidestep those pesky Nimzo-Indians and Grünfelds! In fact, Palliser pulls off a double sidestep by focusing on less popular Trompowsky lines. For example, after the main line 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♗g5 ♘e4
rather than focus on the current main line 3.♗f4, Palliser picks up Julian Hodgson’s old favourite 3.h4 as well as re-examining the very first idea played in this position: 3.♗h4. He makes an excellent case for both lines.
Also, rather than dive into 3.e4 after 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♗g5 e6
Palliser chooses instead 3.♘d2, which Grünlooks promising. It’s surprising that a seemingly simple line like 1.d4 ♘f6 2.♗g5 offers so many rich possibilities for different plans, but that’s modern chess for you!
Palliser is a consistently conscientious and inventive author, and this book meets his usual high standards. It offers plenty of interesting suggestions for further investigation alongside well-thought-out main lines. After reading it, I had an overwhelming urge to try out some of these lines in bullet, blitz, and Duolingo(!) chess, so it definitely left a lively and stimulating impression on me! 4 stars!
Beating the Queen’s Gambit – Indian Style (Quality Chess) is the first book I’ve read from the freshly minted grandmaster Renier Castellanos, and it’s a very good one. It’s intended as a companion volume to Playing the Nimzo-Indian, covering all other lines after 1.d4 ♘f6, with most space devoted to 3.♘f3 (offering a Queen’s Indian or Queen’s Gambit Declined) rather than 3.♘c3. When I saw ‘Indian Style’ in the title, I assumed we were heading for the Queen’s Indian, which didn’t really fit the concept of ‘Beating’. Then, I noticed the title page board showing a Queen’s Gambit Declined, leaving me confused. As far as I can see, the meaning behind the title isn’t made clear in the rest of the book, so my best guess is that this book is based on training sessions that took place in India!
The core of the chosen repertoire is the Vienna Variation (not the Vienna Game!)
1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5 4.♘c3 dxc4
The main recommendation is a line that reminds you a lot of Korchnoi’s brainwave in the Queen’s Gambit Accepted all those years ago (1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.♘f3 ♘f6 4.♘c3 a6 5.e4 b5 6.e5 ♘d5 7.a4 and now 7...e6 8.axb5 ♘b6).
5.e4 b5
With the idea of 6.e5 ♘d5 7.♘xb5 ♘b6.
It’s a seriously chaotic line, and it shows how seriously Castellanos takes the title word ‘Beating’, giving Black plenty of chances for a decisive result. The coverage of these main lines is detailed and impressive, but I will point out that there is somewhat more to the idea...
6.♘xb5 (instead of 6.e5) 6...♘xe4 7.♗xc4 ♗b4+ 8.♔f1
...than Castellanos realises, as after 8...0-0, 9.♕c2 contains a little venom with the hidden point 9...♗b7 10.♗d3, hitting the knight on e4 and the pawn on c7. It’s a crazy Leela idea, and there is, of course, a Silicon Road video and associated PGN to help you on your way!
The anti-Catalan lines are quite hairy and theory-intensive. They dive headlong into the complications of 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 e6 3.♘f3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.♗g2 a6 6.0-0 ♘c6 7.e3 ♖b8 8.♘fd2 e5 9.♗xc6+ bxc6 10.dxe5 ♘g4 11.♘xc4 ♗e6 12.♘bd2 ♗b4 13.b3 h5
A series of chapters on so-called minor lines, like the London System and the Trompowsky, concludes the book to create a complete repertoire.
It’s not necessarily an easy repertoire to learn, as many lines are complex and need some memorisation. However, if you’re seeking lines slightly off the beaten track that give Black fighting chances to win and are willing to put in extra effort, this book is an excellent foundation! 4 stars!
Strategic Play with 1.e4 (Popular Chess) continues Milos Pavlovic’s quest, started in Strategic Play with 1.d4, which I reviewed recently, to challenge Black players with safe options for White that secure a small advantage. It’s not exactly a quest to make the heart beat faster, but such a repertoire can be extremely effective against the right opponent. On top of that, the number of games featuring elite players on the white side underlines that these lines contain a drop of poison for the black player.
Against 1.e4 c5, Pavlovic opts for a mix of lines, meeting 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 with 3.♗b5+.
An older player like me calls this a sideline, but when you see nearly 80,000 games in the database, you probably need to update your definitions! Interestingly, against 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 ♘c6, Pavlovic doesn’t opt for 3.♗b5 – which would seem automatic – but uses the cunning Alapin Sicilian transposition 3.c3.
The reason given is the following: ‘At first I thought about 3.♗b5, but then realised that many of these positions are more sharp and tactical than positional, so it somehow didn’t come in handy for this book.’
Another advantage is that 3.c3 aligns with his Advance French recommendation (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5), which can arise after 3...e6 4.d4 d5 5.e5.
This does trigger me to mention a somewhat weaker part of Pavlovic’s book, because as far as I can see, this transposition isn’t mentioned anywhere – not in the introduction, not in the section on this line, and not in the chapter on the French either. Indeed, the whole 3...e6 line isn’t covered and nor is 3...e5, which is a line much-played by Magnus. You might wonder if Pavlovic notices 1.e4 c5 2.♘f3 d6 3.♗b5+ ♘c6, transposing to a 2...♘c6 3.♗b5 line. He does, of course, recommend 4.♗xc6+ bxc6 5.e5
which hasn’t been played that much, but definitely seems interesting.
Against 1...e5, Pavlovic opts for the Glek Vienna: 1.e4 e5 2.♘f3 ♘c6 3.♘c3 ♘f6 4.g3
for which I’ve always had a soft spot. White doesn’t gain much after Black plays ...d5 but the resulting positions have always somehow appealed to me. The line continues: 4...d5 5.exd5 ♘xd5 6.♗g2 ♘xc3 7.bxc3
There are so many open lines and diagonals for White here, with chances for a sneaky ♖b1 hitting b7! I’m normally worse as White within a few moves against an engine 12 but for human players, there’s always something to worry about!
All in all, the book should interest most White players – not as a complete repertoire, but as a source of less theoretically demanding lines to supplement their existing repertoire! 3 stars
So you thought you knew a lot about Alekhine? Think again! I never thought I’d find a biography to rival the complexity of an Alekhine masterpiece, but Sergey Voronkov’s Alexander Alekhine. The Russian Sphinx: Volume 1 (1892-1921) (Elk and Ruby) manages that feat! This 468-page book, also adorned with old photographs and documents, is the first of four volumes (yeah!) about this great World Champion, and I’m simply in awe!
Alekhine’s tumultuous early life has always been shrouded in mystery – at the time, many in the West assumed he had died in the chaos of the Russian Revolution – but, recent books such as Sergei Tkachenko’s Alekhine’s Odessa Secrets: Chess, War and Revolution (also Elk and Ruby), to which Sergey Voronkov also contributed, have pieced together with extraordinary ingenuity what really happened to Alekhine. This book broadens the scope further, encompassing his whole early life. Along the way, we not only learn unexpected biographical details but also see the scores of previously unknown games of the young Alekhine, as well as a substantial number of forgotten annotations from newspapers and chess magazines.
Perhaps the principal themes of this first volume are ‘How many wives did Alekhine have?’ (spoiler: a lot!), ‘Where was Alekhine during the First World War and the Russian Revolution?’ and ‘What was Alekhine like as a person?’
The last theme is particularly fascinating because Voronkov has chased up recollections about him from chess players, non-chess players, wives – and even school classmates. The accounts of Alekhine are varied, to say the least.
One thing everyone agrees on is his hyper-nervousness, for example, this account from a school classmate, Pavel Popov, written in 1942: ‘Alekhine’s behaviour was nervous. He couldn’t stand or sit still, constantly pulling or twisting his hair with one hand, poorly attached cuffs were always visible from under his jacket sleeves. Bitten nails, red hands. They were unpleasant to touch – they felt like frogs’ legs, cold and wet from the sweat. He also had eczema on one hand. As it turned out, it was hard for him to get rid of it because he would constantly rub his hands without realizing it.’
All these accounts also agree on something else: Alekhine’s non-stop chess activity during school lessons, either analysing correspondence games or playing blindfold against classmates.
Another student, Georgy Rimsky- Korsakov, wrote: ‘During all lessons, except Latin, which was taught by the headmaster, Alekhine was busy solving chess problems and writing letters. Even back then he was playing games “at a distance” against opponents throughout the world. I remember some algebra class assessment. All the guys fell silent. Some students – flushed, sweaty, agitated – scribble furiously with their pens, hurrying to submit the work. Others – pale and perplexed – are looking around pitifully, begging their friends to help. And then Alekhine stands up suddenly, looks around the class with his shining eyes and as usual, twists his washcloth-like forelock with his left hand. “So Alekhine, are you finished?” Bachinsky, the teacher, asks. “Yes... I sacrifice the knight, then the bishop moves... and White wins!” The class roars with laughter. Even Bachinsky, always restrained and polite, laughs into his long moustache.’
What did Alekhine’s correspondence games look like? Well, here is one crazy example from that same school period – featuring the Rice Gambit! It is featured in Alekhine’s My Best Games of Chess 1908-1923, but it was revealed in 1953 that Alekhine had also annotated this game in a notebook he kept as a boy of his correspondence games!
Alexander Alekhine
V. Zhukovsky
16th (Gambit) Corr. Tournament 1905
1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.♘f3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.♘e5 ♘f6 6.♗c4 d5 7.exd5 ♗d6 8.0-0
Professor Rice’s suggestion, the Rice Gambit, which is awful but had the benefit of enriching the world’s leading players through thematic tournaments sponsored by Rice himself!
8...♗xe5 9.♖e1 ♕e7 10.c3 g3 11.d4 ♘g4 12.♘d2 ♕xh4 13.♘f3 ♕h6 14.♕a4+ ♗d7 15.♕a3
This was most likely a novelty at the time – see how deep theory can go if you let the top players of any era loose on any variation! Emanuel Lasker had tried 15.♕b4 in a 1903 simul game, drawing after 15...♘c6 16.dxc6 ♗xc6 17.♗b5, but it was far from convincing!
15...♘c6 16.dxc6 ♗xc6 17.d5 ♗xd5 18.♗xd5 ♕b6+ 19.♘d4 0-0-0 20.♖xe5 ♖xd5
Black doesn’t seem to want to stop sacrificing – got to make those expensive stamps count I guess!
21.♖xd5 ♕h6 22.♘f3 ♘f2 23.♔f1 ♖e8
White has a fantastic – and winning – defence here. It’s worth trying to solve it for yourself before moving on!
24.♗xf4
24.♖e5 ♖xe5 25.♗xf4 is the way to do it, meeting 25...♕xf4 with the fantastic 26.♕f8+ ♔d7 27.♕xf7+ ♕xf7 28.♘xe5+. Lovely... and obviously a bit too tough for Alekhine blindfold in an algebra class!
24...♕h1+ 25.♘g1 ♘g4 26.♖h5 ♕xh5 27.♘h3 ♕b5+ 28.♔g1 ♕b6+ 29.♔h1 ♘f2+ 30.♘xf2 ♕xf2 31.♗xg3 ♕xg3 32.♕xa7 ♖e1+ 33.♖xe1 ♕xe1+ 34.♔h2 ♕e4 35.♕a8+ ♔d7 36.♕g8 ♕h4+ 37.♔g1 ♕e1+ Draw.
There simply isn’t enough space in this review to describe the surprises and treasures to be discovered in this book. I will say, that due to the detail Voronkov includes, reading the book at times feels like reading through some extremely complex annotations!
However, I read it virtually in one go, and ‘Oooh!’ and ‘No, really, seriously?’ were my constant companions as I did so! Simply an exceptional book, and I can’t wait for the next three! 5 stars!
It struck me while reading the fourth and final instalment of Tibor Karolyi’s and Hans Renette’s Korchnoi Year by Year: Volume IV (1992-2016) that my own professional career aligned with this volume... Only Viktor kept going for another sixteen years!
I have to say – echoing Tibor’s Epilogue – that this series has been a revelation to me. Of course, I knew how strong Viktor was, but I only truly appreciated the magnitude after seeing his career unfold year after year throughout this series. Surely, you think after book 2, he must be finished! Yet he continued to produce amazing games every year, almost until his 80th year, when ill-health finally took hold. I remember during my career how happy I was with the occasional long game, grinding out a victory from unpromising circumstances – the sheer number of such games from Viktor, particularly from ages 61 to 85, defies belief! Moreover, his versatility is quite astounding. It was striking seeing these two games, one after the other, in the book:
Viktor Korchnoi
Alon Greenfeld
Beersheba (match-3) 1995
Korchnoi had played a novelty that brought him a huge time advantage, but Greenfeld did a fine job of rolling with the punches. Viktor decides, however, to roll the dice and hammer through Black’s position!
26.c5 bxc5 27.b5 ♖g6 28.b6 ♖f6 29.♖b1 c4 30.b7 ♗xb7 31.♖xb7 d5
You feel the willpower that pushed that b-pawn all the way to b7, but the position is devilishly complicated. The extra knight on a8 might help to queen the a-pawn, but White’s king is also not without worries, as ...e4 will chase the bishop from f3 and expose the f2-square.
32.♖b8+ ♔d7 33.♗g4+ ♔c6 34.f4 c3
White is covering Black’s c-pawn for now (due to ♖c8+), but the concern is how much White can achieve with limited time: the a4-pawn is still far from queening. Viktor decides that the pawn must queen!
35.a5 c2 36.a6
This is a blunder, in fact, but not easy to counter in mutual time-trouble! 36.♖c8+ ♔b7 37.♖xc2 ♔xa8 would be a draw, but Viktor is having none of it!
36...♗c5
36...♔c5, freeing c6 for the rook to block the c-file, would have won! 37.♗d7 ♖c6 38.♗xc6 c1♕ wins, as pointed out by Karolyi!
37.♖c8+ ♔b5 38.♘c7+ ♔c4 39.♗e2+ ♔b3
40.♘e6 40th move! What an amazing resource!
40...c1♕
40...♖xe6 41.♖xc5 ♔b2 42.a7 ♖e8 43.♖b5+ ♔c3 44.♖b8 is one nice line.
41.♘xc5+ ♔a3 42.a7 ♖a6 43.a8♕
43.a8♕♖xa8 44.♖xa8+ ♔b4 or 44...♔b2 45.♘d3+ wins!
Black resigned.
Totally bananas! Now, look at this exquisite game, full of non-standard concepts!
Maurice Ashley
Viktor Korchnoi
San Francisco 1995 Caro-Kann, Classical Variation
1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.♘d2 dxe4 4.♘xe4 ♗f5 5.♘g3 ♗g6 6.♘f3 ♘f6 7.♘e5 ♘bd7 8.♘xg6 hxg6 9.♗d3 ♕c7 10.♕f3 e6 11.♗e3 c5 12.dxc5 ♗xc5 13.♗xc5 ♘xc5 14.♗b5+ ♔e7
Korchnoi is happy to accept the loss of castling: he needs that rook on h8 anyway!
15.0-0-0 ♖h4
That’s why: the rook heads to the queenside to assist Viktor in his aim to mate White quickly!
16.♗e2 ♖c8 17.♔b1 b5
Not the best – 17...♖b4 was stronger, according to Karolyi – but still a very good move, planning ...b4 to tie down White’s queenside dark squares.
As an aside, I prefer pawn moves to strengthen attacks over piece-only moves, which risk stalling if miscalculated, while pawns gain space and approach queening.
18.♕e3 b4 19.♖d2 ♘ce4
That’s decisive! The c2-pawn can no longer be protected, and Viktor will easily refute any tricks!
20.♘xe4 ♘xe4 21.♖d4 ♕xc2+ 22.♔a1
22...♘d2
A really lovely finish!
23.b3
23.♖xd2 ♕c1+; 23.♕xd2 ♖xd4 24.♕xd4 ♕c1+.
23...♘xb3+ 24.axb3 ♖c5 0-1
Beautiful power play all the way through!
As befits any book about Korchnoi, it includes plenty of delicious anecdotes about his rudeness, mostly – though not always – after a loss! This reminded me of my last game against him in 1999 at Arnhem. Having beaten him as White in the first cycle, I faced a clearly motivated Korchnoi, who achieved his revenge. Near the end, I planned a trap to save the game and, while waiting for his move, felt oddly certain he was considering that line. I will never forget the sheer horror that suddenly hit me, ‘Oh my goodness, what will he say to me if he falls for it?’ I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy that someone didn’t fall for one of my traps! As it was, we had a hilarious analysis session after the game – he was so pleased, throwing out random moves left, right, and centre, some strong, some not – a lovely memory! Though unconfirmed, I’m fairly sure he played a simultaneous exhibition at that tournament despite a broken leg.
A wonderful tribute to a unique player. 5 stars! ■
