From: hwr@intercal.com (Hanon W. Russell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess
Subject: Book Review: Complete King's Indian
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 14:56:56 GMT
Organization: Chessnews list (chessnews-request@tssi.com)
NNTP-Posting-Host: helios.unl.edu


THE COMPLETE KING'S INDIAN by Raymond Keene & Byron Jacobs, 1992 Henry 
Holt and Company, English Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 272 
pp., $22.95

At a recent tournament, a friend picked up this book and 
commented, "Hmm, the COMPLETE King's Indian Defense in under 300 
pages!" He had a point. In an opening as complex and 
contemporary as the King's Indian Defense, is it really possible 
to cover it completely in 272 pages? The answer to that question 
depends on what you expect from the book. In absolute terms, the 
answer must be "No" - There is simply too much material. For 
practical purposes, however, this book gives it a good go.

The recent trend in the presentation of opening material has 
been to go straight to complete games - Annotate them very 
heavily, give most if not all of the variations in the notes and 
attempt to instruct the student that way. This is the course 
which the authors have chosen in this book. In our opinion, this 
is not as effective as the more standard presentation of 
variations. The reason we feel this way is that it seems that it 
is more difficult for the student to understand and assimilate 
the material. In addition, it occasionally leads to the 
inclusion of arguably unnecessary material. Thus, the 
twenty-first game of the 1990 Kasparov-Karpov championship match 
is presented - all 86 moves! Yes, we understand that the opening 
is connected to the middlegame is connected to the endgame, but 
couldn't the space be used for more useful opening information?

The games presented are dominated by games of Kasparov. This is 
not a surprise. The world champion's adoption of this super 
sharp opening as Black has in large part been the cause of this 
opening becoming so popular again. The games also appear to be 
rather current. There are many references right through 1991. 
With such a dynamic and popular opening, however, the student 
must always be on the lookout for the latest improvements. 

The subject matter is not evenly distributed. Almost two-thirds 
of the book deals with the classical variation, with the 
remainder divided between the Saemisch and g3 systems, with 13 
pages on everything else (i.e., basically the Four Pawns Attack 
and the Averbakh Systems).

A more comprehensive index of the systems would have been 
welcome. Actually, ANY index of the systems would have been 
welcome. There is none. And since the variations and the 
subvariations are presented in extremely detailed annotations, 
it would have been quite helpful. Nevertheless, this book should 
form a basic core for any serious player seeking to play the 
King's Indian Defense.

***************************************************************
The books which are reviewed by Mr. Russell are furnished 
courtesy of the United States Chess Federation. The views 
expressed are those of Mr. Russell and do not necessarily 
reflect the views of the United States Chess Federation. You may 
order this book and/or obtain the latest catalog of chess books 
and equipment from the U.S.C.F., 186 Rt. 9W, New Windsor, NY 
12553 or call toll-free 1-800-388-5464.

Copyright 1993 Hanon W. Russell
All Rights Reserved
***************************************************************


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