#seirawan

Chess Duels, by Yasser Seirawan

This book is loosely autobiographical and organized around Seirawan’s encounters with the world champions he faced, both on and off the board.

With a few notable exceptions, the book is free of irrelevant reams of variations. This is a huge plus.

The stories are excellent. Those who have tuned in to Seirawan’s commentary may have heard some of them before, but there are also plenty of new ones.

Few players have beaten both Karpov and Kasparov at their prime. Seirawan is one of them. The games are here.

This book was written in 2010, so if an updated edition is ever published, his games against Karpov from 2012 would have to be included. 

Why does Seirawan not include a chapter on Anand? They have played at least twice, in 1992 and 1994. Moreover, unlike Ponomariov, Khalifman, and Kasimdzhanov, Anand’s world champion status does not come with any asterisks attached. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. Highly recommended.

Tuesday, 22 December. 

BURDEN-FREE DAY!!

Quite a decent day. Not as good as Monday, but adequate.

Wednesday, 23 December.