Irrational Chess

Den dyktige og underholdende sjakkforfatteren Cyrus Lakdawala boltrer seg i denne boka i originale, kaotiske, kreative partier der brikkene er i "uorden". Lærerikt å se mye godt kommentert sjakk, men her aller mest underholdning.

Det er en del romantikk i en slik bok. Som Lakdawala skriver på side 139, etter partiet Chigorin - Caro fra 1898: "I just love the reckless, childlike way the old guys played. Our modern era of strategic consideration represents how I feel when a historic building is torn down to make way for a parking lot."

De mange partiene og partistillingene er spilt fra 1844 fram til i dag, med de fleste fra nyere tid. Det vi kan savne i mange bøker som denne, er de første trekkene i partiene i eksempler når forfatteren starter gjennomgangen nesten i åpningen eller tidlig i midtspillet. Den som har en database, vil da kanskje selv gå dit og finne trekkene fra start.

Forlagets egen omtale:

The vast majority of chess games witness familiar strategies and well known tactical motifs. These are the games that you will find in the anthologies and opening repertoires. Sometimes however, games appear that seem to have been played on a different planet.

Conventional strategies go out of the window. Familiar tactical themes are nowhere to be seen. Chaos has broken out. The pieces appear to be in open rebellion and are steadfastly refusing to do the natural jobs that they were designed for.

Having to navigate a path in such a game can be a nightmare. Do you rely purely on calculation? Is it better to trust your instincts? Can you assess the position using “normal” criteria?

In order to answer these questions, prolific chess author and coach Cyrus Lakdawala has assembled a collection of brilliantly unconventional and irrational games. The positions in these games appear almost random. Kings have gone walkabout, pieces are on bizarre squares, huge pawn rollers are sweeping all before them.

Irrational chess is like nothing you’ve seen before. As well as being highly instructive this is a hugely entertaining book. Do not adjust your set. It’s chess, Jim, but not as we know it.