How I Beat Fischer's Record

Judit Polgars første store bok er en attraktiv kombinasjon av partisamling, memoarer og instruktive ideer. Boktittelen henspeiler naturligvis på hvordan hun i 1992 kunne bli verdens hittil yngste stormester i sjakk, enda yngre enn legenden Bobby Fischer.

Også Judit Polgar kan sies å ha blitt noe av en legende, med sine fantastiske resultater og partier fra svært ung alder. Og hun var og er altså første kvinne som gjennom mange år r hahevdet seg blant de ypperste spillerne i verden uansett kjønn, med seier over spillere som Kasparov, Karpov, Spasskij, Anand, Topalov og flere andre verdensmestere i åpen klasse.

Forlaget har satset sterkt på denne spennende boka som vil bli fulgt opp med et nytt bind. Som en liten presang til leserne har forlaget produsert boka bare i innbundet utgave og/men med tilsvarende pris som en paperback. Det er også mange bra fotografier som vi ikke har sett før. Judit framhever at hun har hatt god bistand fra Mihail Marin i framstillingen av boka.

En bok å anbefale!

STARTEN AV JUDIT POLGARS FORORD:

I started flirting with the idea of publishing a collection of my best games a long time ago. For years, I was aware that the moment when I could fulfil my dream was far away. As a professional player, I spent most of my time and energy playing in tournaments and training, so each time the idea of my book popped up, I had to say to myself “Later, later...” By coincidence, several publishers approached me during this period. And although I was not prepared to embark on any definite project yet, I could feel that the whole idea was, little by little, starting to take shape.

The critical moment The 2009 World Cup proved to be a decisive moment in the birth of my book. In the third round I played Boris Gelfand, a very strong opponent who eventually went on to win the event. I lost the first match game with Black, and during my preparations for the second one, I found myself with no clue about how to break down his favourite Petroff Defence.

I decided to improvise with the Bishop’s Opening, and in the early middlegame started a sacrificial attack in the best spirit of the King’s Gambit, my favourite opening as a kid. This turned out to be Gelfand’s only defeat in a classical game in the whole tournament. I eventually lost the play-off, but this did not spoil the magic: it felt like for a moment the Judit from 1988, who many (including myself ) had forgotten, had come back to deliver her trademark brilliancies. With this nostalgic feeling, I decided that the time had finally come to write my book, in which the little girl from the past would play an important role. On the way back home, while waiting to embark at Moscow airport, I made it “official” by sharing my thoughts with my husband Gusztav. He was delighted with the idea and I appreciate very much his enthusiasm, support and encouragement ever since.

Preliminary details There were a few technical details to be worked out before starting to work. Most of my best games have been published worldwide, in countless magazines and even in a few books about my chess career written by other authors. Therefore, I aimed for a different approach than just “Judit’s selected games”.

After much hesitation, I chose to structure the material as a manual rather than an autobiography. This way, it would be instructive for young players or amateurs aspiring to progress, but also offer a guideline to their parents or trainers. True, there would be a wealth of autobiographical stories, but they would pop up without respecting a chronological order.

Without any false modesty, I can say that I played entertainingly and quite well from an early age, and it soon became clear that one book would not be enough to cover my whole career. To make this rather unusual project come true, I needed a publisher who would allow me the freedom of action I needed. I decided to work with Quality Chess after I met their Creative Director, Jacob Aagaard.

I was captivated by Jacob’s enthusiasm, optimism and his acceptance of making the book the way I wanted it. We soon reached an agreement and he offered his invaluable feedback during the complex writing process. ...