INSTRUCTIVE MODERN CHESS MASTERPIECES - new enlarged
edition (Igor Stohl) 448 pages (248 mm by 172
mm). £17.99/$34.95/28,05 Forthcoming. January 2009
62 brilliant games involving the best players in the
world, with notes by one of the top annotators.
Igor Stohl has selected 62 outstanding games from recent
years and analysed them in painstaking depth. Here he presents his findings to
chess enthusiasts, who will find the games entertaining and the annotations
both instructive and illuminating. Stohl is an outstanding theoretical expert,
so the opening phase of each game reads like a lesson in the key strategic
aspects of the opening chosen, with a critical survey of modern trends. The
middlegame is dissected and the critical decisions subjected to keen scrutiny -
we are invited inside Stohl's laboratory to join him in the quest for the
truth. The endgame phase, if reached, is handled with similar erudition, with
insights into the grandmaster's approach to questions of technique. Following
each game there is a discussion of the most important lessons to be learned.
The expanded and revised new edition of this award-winning
work features 12 new top-level games from the period 2000-2007 annotated in
great depth - about 15% new material. There are also corrections to the
existing notes and a revised Introduction.
Igor Stohl is a well-known grandmaster from Slovakia.
He plays in several national leagues and is a noted opening theoretician. His
thorough annotations frequently appear in Ceskoslovensky Sach,
Informator and ChessBase Magazine. The first edition of
Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces won the United States Chess
Federation Cramer Award for Best Book. His follow-up was a monumental
two-volume work, Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games: see Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games, volume
1 and Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess
Games, volume 2
Reviews of the first edition:
"50 outstanding games... I enthusiastically recommend this
work to players graded circa 2000 and higher and suggest the contents are best
studied using two boards - one set to follow the actual game score and another
for the detailed and intricate notes" - J J Walsh, IRISH TIMES
"In a world in which computer-generated books on the opening
proliferate at an alarming rate, it is a pleasant surprise to encounter a
collection such as this which owes almost everything to the author" - Alan
Sutton, EN PASSANT
"There is a nice blend of textual explanation and
comprehensive variations" - Richard Palliser, BCF WEB SITE
"Stohl scores over earlier annotations with a beguiling
blend of deep analysis and adroit commentary" - John Saunders, BCM
"
hugely impressive. The opening stage is replete with
references to other relevant games, and the middle-games and endgames are well
explained, in words as well as variations" - Phil Adams, THE MANCHESTER
CHESS SCENE, THE 3 CS
"Stohl's mammoth 320-page work continues the standard of
excellence that GAMBIT is already renowned for, as the dedicated Slovakian
author provides the reader with 50 top-quality games analysed and explained
with exceptional thoroughness and clarity. A very wide spectrum of openings is
covered by Stohl's chosen masterpieces.." - GM Paul Motwani, THE
SCOTSMAN
"Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces ... is
clearly a labour of love. One could safely guess that the Slovak GM has
dedicated one year of his life to this book. Stohl could have probably made
more money flipping burgers at McDonalds, but he has instead chosen to give us
an outstanding work.... The fifty games in this book are heavily annotated,
typically averaging six pages each. Stohl has chosen very tactical games rich
in content. The central thesis of his book is the emphasis on dynamic play in
modern chess, that more and more top players are breaking the 'so called'
traditional rules of chess to create winning chances." - John Donaldson,
INSIDE CHESS ONLINE
"If you were stranded on a desert island this is one book
you'll wish to have packed" - Mark Donlan, CHESS HORIZONS
"This is an outstandingly thorough and insightful book. I
have greatly enjoyed playing through some of the 50 deeply annotated games and
learned a fair amount in the process, including various insights in the opening
phase in which Stohl is a renowned expert... I heartily recommend it" - GM
Jonathan Rowson
"Stohl devotes over six pages to each game... a very high
quality general games collection. Highly recommended" - Paul Dunn,
AUSTRALIAN CHESS FORUM
"Stohl gives general rules and strategies that will
certainly help you play. It is a very interesting book with good analysis and
very instructive. As a great player Stohl is able to give his knowledge and
insight to the readers." - Schach E. Niggemann
"A book of the highest quality. Chessfriends who approach a
chessboard or a chess program with patience, love of detail and perserverance
will have a lot of fun with the book." - Helmut Conrady
"All the games have a high entertainment value and have
instructive and informative comments." - Jerzy Konikowski,
Fernschach
"If you have the leisure, you will enjoy the book and gain
benefit from it. Stohl is able to make the games of the professionals
comprehensible." - KARL |