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Grandmaster Preparation
English, Russian (translation)
258 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 8, 2011
An extremely unusual book, about a love affair between a man and a chess opening. The story is well told, and you are absolutely carried along by the narrative. Even though you've seen the plot a million times (Boy meets variation; boy loses variation; boy gets variation back again), you find yourself holding your breath. OK, I'm exaggerating a little, but every chess player should read this book. There's nothing quite like it.
No, but seriously, this isn't just one of the best chess books of all time; it's one of the best books ever about the creative process, period. Polugayevsky, who at his peak was rated in the world's top five, was a fantastically gifted and hard-working analyst, with a strong quixotic streak. The variation of the Sicilian Najdorf that bears his name is sometimes called "the suffering variation"; it's the ultimate come-and-get-me opening, and starts 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cd 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (Fischer and Kasparov's favorite move) 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5!? reaching this position:
What's going on? Didn't White's last move just threaten e5, winning a piece due to the pin on the knight? Yes, but if he does that, then Black has a defense: 8. e5 de 9. fe Qc7! 10. ef Qe5+.
So Black wins the piece back, but he has so far only developed his queen, while White has got half his army into play. How can this be good? But the more you look at it, the less obvious it is that White can just kill Black like a chicken, which is certainly your first thought. Black has all sorts of strange resources, in particular the rook maneuver Ra7-d7, after which it's often surprisingly easy to get a counterattack. Then Black also has the bishop pair and a better pawn structure, so endings tend to be favorable for him.
And the Black pieces have the oddest way of just developing themselves. If White takes on g7, the bishop on f8 takes back, and is immediately a very powerful piece. Or alternately, if White castles short, it can sometimes go to c5 with check, gaining time against the White king on g1. The other bishop is often able to go to b7 and hit something on e4. Polugayevsky talks about the hidden harmony of the Black pieces, which emerges like a photograph in its developing bath. A poet as well as a chess player, if that wasn't already apparent.
None the less, the first impression is far from misleading: White can launch a dangerous attack in literally a dozen different ways. Polugaeyevsky, however, believed in Black's position, and spent years of his life analyzing the maze of complications. In the book, he gives a breathtakingly honest account of what it was like; the dejection when a new attacking try appeared to refute the opening he'd invested so much time in, the elation when he finds a miraculous countermove, then despair again when another attack seems to bust it. I almost feel I need to issue a spoiler warning when I say that it ends on a happy note, with Lev and his variation happy together at last.
Now, alas, Polugayevsky is no longer with us, and his variation is generally deemed to be unsound. But if he were still here to defend it, who knows what the critical verdict would be? I am not sure I have ever seen a stranger example of the old proverb: love will find a way.
No, but seriously, this isn't just one of the best chess books of all time; it's one of the best books ever about the creative process, period. Polugayevsky, who at his peak was rated in the world's top five, was a fantastically gifted and hard-working analyst, with a strong quixotic streak. The variation of the Sicilian Najdorf that bears his name is sometimes called "the suffering variation"; it's the ultimate come-and-get-me opening, and starts 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cd 4. Nd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (Fischer and Kasparov's favorite move) 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5!? reaching this position:
What's going on? Didn't White's last move just threaten e5, winning a piece due to the pin on the knight? Yes, but if he does that, then Black has a defense: 8. e5 de 9. fe Qc7! 10. ef Qe5+.
So Black wins the piece back, but he has so far only developed his queen, while White has got half his army into play. How can this be good? But the more you look at it, the less obvious it is that White can just kill Black like a chicken, which is certainly your first thought. Black has all sorts of strange resources, in particular the rook maneuver Ra7-d7, after which it's often surprisingly easy to get a counterattack. Then Black also has the bishop pair and a better pawn structure, so endings tend to be favorable for him.
And the Black pieces have the oddest way of just developing themselves. If White takes on g7, the bishop on f8 takes back, and is immediately a very powerful piece. Or alternately, if White castles short, it can sometimes go to c5 with check, gaining time against the White king on g1. The other bishop is often able to go to b7 and hit something on e4. Polugayevsky talks about the hidden harmony of the Black pieces, which emerges like a photograph in its developing bath. A poet as well as a chess player, if that wasn't already apparent.
None the less, the first impression is far from misleading: White can launch a dangerous attack in literally a dozen different ways. Polugaeyevsky, however, believed in Black's position, and spent years of his life analyzing the maze of complications. In the book, he gives a breathtakingly honest account of what it was like; the dejection when a new attacking try appeared to refute the opening he'd invested so much time in, the elation when he finds a miraculous countermove, then despair again when another attack seems to bust it. I almost feel I need to issue a spoiler warning when I say that it ends on a happy note, with Lev and his variation happy together at last.
Now, alas, Polugayevsky is no longer with us, and his variation is generally deemed to be unsound. But if he were still here to defend it, who knows what the critical verdict would be? I am not sure I have ever seen a stranger example of the old proverb: love will find a way.
March 12, 2014
I'd forgotten I wrote a post on this book. Here it is.
Like Geller, Polugayevsky had some difficulty getting to the very top and again, it is so hard to judge this when there is no room to be there in the first place. Still, he himself admitted some temperamental difficulties he had and it makes this story all the more interesting, from his chapter on the psychology of the chess struggle.
It took place at the Interzonal in Petropolis, 1973 and the passage is taken from Grandmaster Performance.
Rest here:
http://swatchless.wordpress.com/2010/...
Like Geller, Polugayevsky had some difficulty getting to the very top and again, it is so hard to judge this when there is no room to be there in the first place. Still, he himself admitted some temperamental difficulties he had and it makes this story all the more interesting, from his chapter on the psychology of the chess struggle.
It took place at the Interzonal in Petropolis, 1973 and the passage is taken from Grandmaster Performance.
Two rounds before the end I was more than depressed, and all that could save me was two successive wins. But while a win even with Black in the penultimate round over international master Tan was a perfectly feasible proposition, to win ‘to order’ at the decisive moment against one of the strongest players in the world, Lajos Portisch…This seemed too unreal, especially since Portish was leading the tournament, was playing brilliantly, and not once in Petropolis had been obliged to stop the clocks.
Rest here:
http://swatchless.wordpress.com/2010/...
March 21, 2015
An amazing insight into the mind and the preparation and the psychology of a top chess player. Several memories have stayed with me about this book: his passionate work on the opening variation that bears his name; his incredible adjournment analysis that enabled him to win a study-like endgame of Q vs 2B, with both sides having pawns on the f,g and h files; and the stunning move 17.h4!!! against Torre in 1981.
The book was translated by Ken Neat, who was a strong English player (2200+ Elo) and worked, as I recall, as a Lecturer in Russian at Durham University. Ken translated many chess books from Russian into English, and he once told me that Grandmaster Preparation was the best book he had ever translated.
The book was translated by Ken Neat, who was a strong English player (2200+ Elo) and worked, as I recall, as a Lecturer in Russian at Durham University. Ken translated many chess books from Russian into English, and he once told me that Grandmaster Preparation was the best book he had ever translated.
May 31, 2023
Grandmaster Preparation, Lyev Polugayevsky (1934-1995), 1977 in Russian, updated English translation by Kenneth P. Neat, 1981, 240 pages, Library-of-Congress GV 1445 P6417 1981 Memorial Library, ISBN 0080240992
You have to be a very strong player to need this.
1. On How This Book Found its Author
"Admit it--you're a lazy-bones! You should be ashamed of yourself! It's the duty of every grandmaster to write books." --Mikhail Botvinnik, Dec. 17, 1969.
He starts with a game he lost, with white in a Ruy Lopez, at age 13 as a first-category player against a candidate master who knew lines in the opening that Polugayevsky did not know. pp. 3-4.
So Polugayevsky resolved to prepare opening pitfalls for his opponents. Gaining only a few wins--but:
"An exceptional moment is worth more than a year serenely-lived." p. 5.
"At age 18 in 1953 as Black against 1. d4, only the Meran Defence featured in my repertoire." p. 5.
"It is more accurate to compare not the number of wins of players past and present, but the quality of those wins, and not the degree of knowledge, but the degree of individual creativity." p. 6.
2. The Birth of a Variation (Sicilian Defense Polugayevsky Variation)
Updated to include Polugayevsky's response to challenges, including two games from his victory over Tal in the 1980 Candidates' Quarter-Final Match.
First played in 1959. p. 21. After a gestation of several years.
3. In the Interval (The Analysis of Adjourned Games)
"Lyev Polugayevsky is one of the strongest masters of the analysis of adjourned positions." --Mikahil Tal. p. x
4. On the Eve (How to Prepare for Decisive Games)
Updated with Polugayevsky's accounts of his 1977 Candidates' Match with Mecking, and of his most significant meetings with each of the seven post-war World Champions.
Polugayevsky's wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Pol...
You have to be a very strong player to need this.
1. On How This Book Found its Author
"Admit it--you're a lazy-bones! You should be ashamed of yourself! It's the duty of every grandmaster to write books." --Mikhail Botvinnik, Dec. 17, 1969.
He starts with a game he lost, with white in a Ruy Lopez, at age 13 as a first-category player against a candidate master who knew lines in the opening that Polugayevsky did not know. pp. 3-4.
So Polugayevsky resolved to prepare opening pitfalls for his opponents. Gaining only a few wins--but:
"An exceptional moment is worth more than a year serenely-lived." p. 5.
"At age 18 in 1953 as Black against 1. d4, only the Meran Defence featured in my repertoire." p. 5.
"It is more accurate to compare not the number of wins of players past and present, but the quality of those wins, and not the degree of knowledge, but the degree of individual creativity." p. 6.
2. The Birth of a Variation (Sicilian Defense Polugayevsky Variation)
Updated to include Polugayevsky's response to challenges, including two games from his victory over Tal in the 1980 Candidates' Quarter-Final Match.
First played in 1959. p. 21. After a gestation of several years.
3. In the Interval (The Analysis of Adjourned Games)
"Lyev Polugayevsky is one of the strongest masters of the analysis of adjourned positions." --Mikahil Tal. p. x
4. On the Eve (How to Prepare for Decisive Games)
Updated with Polugayevsky's accounts of his 1977 Candidates' Match with Mecking, and of his most significant meetings with each of the seven post-war World Champions.
Polugayevsky's wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lev_Pol...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews