From: hwr@intercal.com (Hanon W. Russell)
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess
Subject: Book Review: Oxford Companion to Chess
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 02:30:14 GMT
Organization: Chessnews list (chessnews-request@tssi.com)
NNTP-Posting-Host: helios.unl.edu


THE OXFORD COMPANION TO CHESS, Second Edition, by David Hooper 
and Kenneth Whyld, 1992 Oxford University Press, English 
Algebraic Notation, 483pp., $35.00

Oxford University Press been publishing its "Companion" series 
for years. Included are the Oxford Companion to English 
Literature, Music, Art, Gardens, English Language and the Mind. 
In 1984, two British chessplayers with impressive backgrounds in 
chess history, teamed up to produce another tome in the same 
series, "The Oxford Companion to Chess." Reviewers in the chess 
world hailed it as an unmitigated success.

"It is a masterpiece representing a landmark in the literature 
of our game," raved Edward Winter in the "British Chess 
Magazine," while Norman Stevens, in the American Reference Books 
Annual stated, "This...will be without any doubt, the standard 
basic reference source and an essential guide to all aspects of 
chess." Now the second edition has been released and - it is 
better than the first.

This edition is about twenty percent larger than the first. The 
approximately 2,600 entries, including 160 new ones, have been 
scrutinized, revised and updated. This historical tour de force 
is intended to provide an overview, with coverage ranging from 
the earliest myths describing the game's invention right up to 
the semi-finals of the 1993 world championship cycle. It 
embraces all branches of the game, including over-the-board 
play, correspondence chess and other forms of telechess, 
problems, and major regional variations, such as Chinese and 
Japanese chess as well as various unorthodox forms.

Each entry contains an interesting manner of cross-indexing with 
other book entries. A word which appears in all capital letters 
is itself an entry elsewhere in the book; an opening in all caps 
is given in the abbreviated openings index at the end of the 
book. Representative of the biographical entries is the one 
about American grandmaster Yasser Seirawan. We reproduce it here 
in full, caps and all:

    Seirawan, Yasser (1960-   ). American player, World Junior 
    Champion 1979, International Grandmaster (1980). Born in 
    Damascus, he was about two years old when he, his Syrian 
    father, and English mother moved to England, and in 1967 the 
    family emigrated to USA. Seirawan's early tournament results 
    include: Wijk aan Zee 1980, first (+7 =6) equal with BROWNE 
    ahead of KORCHNOI and TIMMAN; Bad Kissingen 1981, second (+5 
    =2 -3) equal third with HORT, after Korchnoi; Las Palmas 
    1981, third (+4 =4 -2) equal with Korchnoi, after Timman and 
    LARSEN; US Championship 1981, first (+4 =10) equal with 
    Browne; Mar del Plata 1982, third (+5 =5 -3) equal with 
    KARPOV and POLUGAEVSKY, after Timman and PORTISCH; London 
    1982, third (+6 =4 -3), after ANDERSSON and Karpov; and 
    Grand Manan 1984, first equal with LEIN.

    In 1985 Seirawan was second (+7 =9 -1), after VAGANYAN, at 
    the Biel interzonal and became a CANDIDATE, only to 
    be eliminated in the Montpellier Candidates tournament 
    later in the year. As some compensation, he won the US 
    championship at Estes Park (+6 =9) in 1986. In 1987 he 
    was equal second (+8 =4 -4) with EHLVEST, after 
    Korchnoi, and once more became a Candidate. Again he 
    was eliminated, this time in match play, by SPEELMAN in 
    1988, and again he was first (+5 =9 -1) in the US 
    championship in the ensuing year, at Long Beach 1989. 
    (However, this time it was a three-way tie.) Seirawan's 
    more recent results include: Skelleftea 1989, third (+3 
    =11 -1) equal with SALOV and SHORT, after Karpov and 
    KASPAROV; Haninge 1990, first (+6 =5), in front of 
    Karpov and Ehlvest; Jacksonville 1990, first in front 
    of Browne, YUDASIN, and 257 other players (Swiss 
    system). Also in 1990 he defeated Timman in match play 
    +3 =2 -1.

    Seirawan-Dzindzichashvili US Championship 1984 Queen's 
    Indian Defense

    1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 4 Nc3 Bb7 5 Bf4 Bb4 6 Qb3 Ba5 7 e3 
    Ne4 8 Bd3 Bxc3+ 9 bxc3 d6 (9...O-O is preferable) 10 Qc2 f5 
    [Diagram] 11 d5 exd5 12 cxd5 Bxd5 13 Nd4 g6 14 f3 Nc5 15 e4 
    fxe4 16 fxe4 Bb7 17 O-O O-O 18 Bc4+ d5 19 exd5 Bxd5 20 Qe2 
    Qd7 21 Bh6 Black resigns. If 21...Rxf1+ 22 Rxf1 Nc6 23 Qf3.

Who are the authors? David Hooper is a former British 
Correspondence Chess Champion. His books have included "A 
Complete Defense of 1 P-K4" (1967), "A Pocket Guide to Chess 
Endgames" (1970) and "The Unknown Capablanca" (with Dale 
Brandreth, 1975). Ken Whyld has played internationally for 
England is a respected chess historian. He writes the immensely 
popular "Quotes & Queries" monthly column for the "British Chess 
Magazine," and is probably best known for his 1986 book "Chess: 
the Records."

There can be no doubt that this book belongs in the library of 
the serious chessplayer, the dedicated historian and in fact, 
everyone who might fall in between. It is magnificently 
researched, well presented with many full game scores, hundreds 
of diagrams, archive photographs and other items of fascination 
for devotees of the royal game. It should not be missed.

***************************************************************
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 1992 Hanon W. Russell
All Rights Reserved
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