Product Description
Anatoly Karpov’s legendary endgame technique has always been something of an enigma. Karpov became worldchampion 1975 (having been preceded by Bobby Fischer). He managed to win positions which nearly everybody else estimated as a draw with his fine end game technique.This book for the first time takes a close look at this end game technique, ex plaining the finer points better than Karpov himself has ever cared to do. A very in structive and en tertaining book. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Russian Life, published by Russian Information Services, Inc. on March 1, 2010. The length of the article is 1969 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Bobby v. Tolya.(Bobby Fischer and Anatoly Karpov)(Biography)
Author: Unavailable
Publication: Russian Life (Magazine/Journal)
Date: March 1, 2010
Publisher: Russian Information Services, Inc.
Volume: 53Issue: 2Page: 21(3)

Article Type: Biography

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

An overlooked match - and book
This was intended to be a quickie -- the first book in print covering the 1978 Karpov/Korchnoi championship match. Ordinarily, one wouldn't expect great things from such an effort but in this case the book is of considerable interest for several reasons.For example, what is in effect pre-match commentary is provided by Michael Stean, one of Korchnoi's seconds and the author of the timeless gem, Simple Chess (now in Dover reprint).Because he apparently abandoned the chess world, there is precious little available from this gifted player/writer and, even though he provides no game-by-game analysis, the background information on the match that he offers is set forth with the clarity that characterizes Simple Chess.The great Bent Larsen provides the game analysis.The computer generated variations of today are absent, of course, and what we get from Larsen instead are equal doses of practical assessment and wit.Finally, there is the match itself, which is rivetting both due to the toe-to-toe fight that came down to a single-game margin and the fact that what we have on display here is perhaps contrary to expectations.Karpov - during what are viewed as his invincible years - seems more the practical rather than "deep" player.Korchnoi, who it seems to me may now be viewed today by many as a less-than-thrilling grinder, is revealed as the more brilliant light with a more penetrating understanding of chess, but he is plagued with time troubles and off-the-board distractions. The match was one of those marathon draws-don't-count affairs and, since there were signs of Karpov loosing his grip at the end, this very much foreshadowed the first Karpov/Kasparov match that was cancelled.Perhaps most of the games that were decisive in the match were more lost by the loser than won by the winner, but this was a great battle and even the draws are exciting.Perhaps my one complaint is that Larsen, who seems to have been writing on-site and in real time, was obviously so tired of the extended nature of the match that he evinces less enthusiasm than was due during the fireworks at the match's conclusion.

Other Books
Karpov Vs. Korchnoi: World Chess Championship, 1978
by Bent Larsen is a reasonably short book by the master, that goes into a little bit of detail about the 1978 match between the two Russian grandmasters, one up and coming.

The detail of each game is given here, along with a bit of a breakdown.

SHORT, BUT TOOOOOOOO SWEET!
Books on World Chess Championship matches abound, this one however is quite different than anything similar you'll read. It simply stands out. Amazingly, it does so in only 144 pages, and not even all are devoted to the match itself.

So, let's get the Introductory part out first: In pages 5 - 35 Michael Stean (one of Korchnoi's seconds) treats the reader to a host of background material: we get an explanation of how the match venue was chosen (Baguio city, in the Philippines!), a description of the World Championship events leading here, Pen-portraits of the contestants, their previous encounters and, as a fitting conclusion, an assessment of the match's outcome. All nice and proper, Stean does it with commendable economy but without overlooking information essential for the reader to form a solid pre-match picture.

And now the real treat begins: Bent Larsen, the great Dane Grandmaster takes over and takes us through the match games. And how! I have never read such commentary! Sure, Bent knows his stuff (after all he was once considered himself a possible contestant for the Chess Crown); but it is not his super-detailed analysis that impresses (actually, he is rather sparse, focusing only on key moves); nor is it his expounding on the strategic themes underlying the Openings played and the resulting early Middle-game positions that grip you (in fact, I'm not sure beginners will appreciate this book); it is his wit that makes the commentary so outstanding.

What? Humour in a subject as serious as a match for the world Chess summit? Well, why in the world not? When all fundamental elements are there (and they are, this book can be as instructive as any to the non-novice) what's wrong with a presentation manner that makes you smile?

Which is understating it: at times, Bent's comments catch you so totally off guard that you simply burst out laughing over your chess pieces. The gentleman is a veritable spring of originally funny remarks. Always delivered in a dry, stiff-upper lip fashion - which makes them even more funny.

Not your usual chess book. Pity it's out of print. If you can find it buy it, in any condition. It makes a refreshing difference to your usual sober-as-expected chess treatise (the only thing that comes close is 'Chess for Tigers' by Simon Webb, sadly also out of print). I guarantee you won't regret it.

Tak Bent! ... Read more

Product Description
Newly revised, enlarged edition of first book on great Russian chess master focuses on the tactics, strategy and even psychological approaches employed by Karpov in winning against Bronstein, Smyslov, Browne, Gligoric, Spassky, Korchnoi and other greats. 100 games analyzed simply and clearly, showing exactly how Karpov won. Indispensable for players seeking to improve their own games. Over 300 chess diagrams.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

An essential peice to mastery in the KARPOV STYLE!
You can easily get opening repertoire books [try Batsford due to their excellent track record] on the Ruy Lopez, Taminov Sicilian, Queens Gambit Declined (for black)- these are Karpov's main opening and defensive weapons in this text, Buy a program that builds tactical motifs and endgame motifs (most of us all need this, unless were GM / IM), and finally this book will show us how to work them all together as a cohesive unit. And you should have a clear path to mastery, inspired by Karpov. All you have to do now is just devote whatever precious time you have left for chess into this system. I've improved A LOT (went from 1600 level to near-Expert) and still haven't scratced the surface yet. The reason I have it 4 stars instead of 5 was that, I don't mind the descriptive notation and Edmar Mednis's analysis which is very helpful and clear. However, what I would like to see in the NEXT edition is algebreic notation and having Anatoly Karpov himself throw in some of his own comments on the book. Don't discount the comments of the late Mednis, but hearing from THE MAN himself about his own chess thoughts and what he is trying to accomplish would be ideal. I highly reccomend this title! Definitely on my stranded island list.

Karpov's Technique
This book covers one hundered of Karpov's games up to 1972. The games are outdated but the book has got excellent annotations and reasoning behind Karpov's moves. It shows how Karpov uses his technique to grind out a win. It is a good example of how to win from a winning position. Another similar book is Turning Advantage into Victory which shows how to use technique to win a won game. Both books are best read side by side. You can learn to improve your technique by playing through these games and see how GM Karpov wins in effortless fashion.

Enjoyable book
Just like the title this is a most have for chess lovers. Im enjoying every game . I think this is not for analisys freeks. Its a sensitive and nice recount of the psychological factors and practicals factors of Karpov strategies. I think it is a most enjoyable book and sure it is improving in my understanding of the game

Karpov is Dissected with this book
Full Packed book on Karpov!It has statistics on Karpov's chess records during the 1970's era, which includes favorite openings used, wins / losses / draws against IM's and GM's, etc.

The work done by Mednis here is more for the "easy reading" type of chess player, unlike Botvinnik or Kotov's books which are jam-packed with variations and analysis and more analysis.The reader is to be entertained.Mednis often praises Karpov here when Anatoly makes those "multi-purpose" moves.Karpov has a knack of making such moves.Learn some of those tricks from this book.

I am a 1800 - 2000 rated player, and regularly play in the school-university tournaments.I used the material in this book (the openings Karpov plays, the karpov Middlegame Technique, the 'How -to-win-ala-Karpov' commandments that Mednis gave) to capture the gold medal in the year-round tournament.

I didn't know Karpov this way
Before reading this book I thought Karpov was a kind of "Chess Beast". But now I know he became great 'cause of his patience and ability to read correctly the position without taking unnecessary risks. I was astonished to see the number of games he won in quite balanced positions because his adversaries were not able to keep the balance and let the draw run away.
The comments of Mr.Mednis are generous and easy to grasp. ... Read more

Product Description
Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 ? May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while playing top-class competitive chess. He also developed a chess-playing algorithm that tried to "think" like a top human player, but this approach has been superseded by a brute-force search strategy that exploits the rapid increase in the calculation speed of modern computers. Botvinnik was the first world-class player to develop within the Soviet Union (Alekhine was a top player before the Russian Revolution), putting him under political pressure but also giving him considerable influence within Soviet chess. From time to time he was accused of using that influence to his own advantage, but the evidence is unclear and some suggest he resisted attempts by Soviet officials to intimidate some of his rivals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Avoid.
The book is nothing more than articles that appear in Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia:
Alphascript Publishing sells free articles as expensive books
An Amazon.com book search on 9 June 2009 gives 1009 (6 August, gives 1,859) "books" from Alphascript Publishing.[nan 1] 1003 of the books are described as "by John McBrewster, Frederic P. Miller, and Agnes F. Vandome". They are called editors in the book listings. It seems the only content of the many books is free Wikipedia articles with no sign that these three people have contributed to them.
The articles are often poorly printed with features such as missing characters from foreign languages, and numerous images of arrows where Wikipedia had links. It appears much better to read the original articles for free at the Wikipedia website than paying a lot of money for what has been described as a scam or hoax. Advertising for the books at Amazon and elsewhere does not reveal the free source of all the content. It is only revealed inside the books which may satisfy the license requirements for republishing of Wikipedia articles.
As an example of the "care" given to the books, the book "History of Georgia (country)" is about the European country Georgia but has a cover image of Atlanta in the American state Georgia.[nan 2] The Wikipedia article History of Georgia (country) does not make such a comical blunder.
PrimeHunter has compiled a list of the 1009 titles identified in June.

... Read more

Product Description
This match book of the last match between Karpov an Kasparovis meant to be easy to go through.The description make the gamesgame to life by being easy to understand. The games themselves areincredible as the whole history of chess was beong played out with theworld championship on the line. The book includes background on themathc and players. ... Read more