Jonathan Rowson
‘Life can be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.’
Soren Kierkegaard
When illustrious accountant and closet Bryson fan (that’s Bill, not Dougie) GM James Howell was wondering, towards the end of his chess career, what kind of chess book to write, I couldn’t understand his reticence to give an [...]
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At the Phillips & Drew Kings tournament in April 1982 Karpov conceded only one game, to US Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan in just 31 moves. Shortly afterwards Seirawan gave a full account of his historic victory to Kingpin describing his pre-game preparation with Korchnoi and examining Karpov’s errors in both his preparation and play over the [...]
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Grandmaster James Plaskett
Complex games may demand intense scrutiny. Twenty-four years after this one was played in the penultimate round of the world’s most prestigious Open, I offer my final verdict. And that of Fritz9.
Plaskett v Miles
Lugano 1986
1 c4 e5 2 e3 d6 3 Nc3 g6 4 g3 Bg7 5 Bg2 Ne7 6 d4 0-0 7 [...]
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Test Your Benko Refutations with IM Chris Ward
first published in Kingpin 19 (Spring 1992)
Once upon a time there was an opening of great repute advocated by such English favourites as Hodgson, Hebden and Plaskett. Then along came a little-known Soviet player with the tactical flair of Adams, the optimism of Suba and the pure [...]
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Nigel Davies, substance abuser
I bet you all want to know what happened at B.T. Batsford, for many years the world’s leading chess book publisher which recently went bankrupt. I must admit that I know a lot of stuff that would set these pages alight! Would you really, really like to know the full story?
I hate [...]
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Tony Miles
As it happens I am in a position to reveal exclusively to Kingpin readers (unless, of course, someone else actually offers to pay me) the true and tragic story of why the invincible Anatoly failed to dispose of that young upstart Kasparov.
I first recognised the symptoms when browsing through a copy of the lightweight [...]
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Jonathan Rowson
A polished pine bedroom in a convent school, Tallinn, Estonia, September 1997. A bottle of whisky, unpacked suitcases, and three drunken chess players playing blitz. Andrew Martin, Simon Williams, Jonathan Rowson. And, our invisible friend, ‘The Spirit’.
It is intriguing. It is intriguing that intangible thoughts and feelings can have a causal effect on our [...]
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GM John Emms
I’ve finally decided that playing a competitive game of chess on your birthday is not what it’s cracked up to be. In fact, I’ll be taking measures to ensure this doesn’t happen to me again. It’s all the more painful if it happens to be a critical encounter in an international [...]
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While looking at a copy of Chess Monthly, I read with interest while Chris Ward revealed how he had been thinking during his penultimate round game with Jonathan Levitt during last year’s British Championships. Having reached a very promising middlegame position Chris started to daydream. I hand you over to the man himself:
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