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The Chigorin Bible - A Classic Defence to the Ruy Lopez

A Classic Defence to the Ruy Lopez

Ivan Sokolov author Ivan Lopez author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Thinkers Publishing

Published:15th Feb '19

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Chigorin Bible - A Classic Defence to the Ruy Lopez cover

The Chigorin Variation is one of the oldest variations of the Ruy Lopez, ‘in- vented’ (according to my database) at the Monte Carlo tournament in 1902 by Carl Schlechter in his game versus Siegbert Tarrasch. Doing our research for this book I was surprised to discover that in the early years of the development of the Chigorin Variation, Black often intentionally kept his king in the centre by opting for 8...Na5 9. Bc2 c5 instead of 8...0-0, trying to be flexible and keeping extra options. The drawback was that White was not obliged to spend time on h2-h3, as he was on 9.h3 in a regular move or- der. Nevertheless this unusual more order was tried with Black by Capablanca, Lasker, Botvinnik, Euwe, Rubinstein and Reshevsky, amongst others. How- ever, sometime in the late 1940s, this flexible plan more or less disappeared from Grandmaster practice, so I did not include it in the games in this book.

Probably not an easy read for he club player, but still an original and high-class exploration of one of the most important opening in chess. It's a really good book! 5 stars quoted by GM Matthew Sadler - NIC Magazine 02.2019.
I can't think of any recent books that have really examined the Chigorin with such a high-powered microscope. A modern overhaul, perhaps, but not so much one just relying on modern technology. These largely strategic lines sometimes require high-level players to compare many examples and then reveal their conclusions, preferably without much engine intervention. A giant step along the way to mastering this variation would be to get a hold of this book and then reading it cover-to-cover. Trust me, it's something truly special! GM Glenn Flear; NIC YB 131 - 06.19.

ISBN: 9789492510419

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

349 pages