tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post613707320199531453..comments2023-12-28T02:11:22.501+00:00Comments on The Streatham & Brixton Chess Blog: Ronan Bennett and the curious case of the missing zugzwangTom Chivershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09850710685193416732noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-66509837747242880812014-10-17T17:17:47.458+01:002014-10-17T17:17:47.458+01:00Years later :-) I accidentally lent the book in a ...Years later :-) I accidentally lent the book in a lib. <br /><br />It's a pity for the three mistaken diagrams. The Zugzwang position was with pawn still on a2 and a7, kings on e8 and g8. queens on e7 and g7. (After the fine move Qh6, black had to play Qe7 and then followed Qg7).<br /><br />Here black is in Zugzwang. He played a6, answered by a3 and a5, answered by a4, and then had to give up the f-pawn. <br /><br />The book itself was certainly not bad. Hopefully there will be an edition with correct diagrams and without the distracting comments under the diagrams. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-12328587296282354772008-10-30T21:28:00.000+00:002008-10-30T21:28:00.000+00:00Very interesting... I picked up the book in Faro a...Very interesting... I picked up the book in Faro airport and finished it just recently.<BR/><BR/>I have to say, I noticed one diagram that you discuss, but was even more confused by the one purporting to be Lasker - "Rozental" ( evidently Akiva Rubinstein, who shoul be highly aggreived to be be presented as the evidently distburbed Rozental ).<BR/><BR/>After the diagram o page 247 ( showing the position after 60.b3 ) a following paragraph states "Looking back, I saw Lasker taking the knight on d2 with his queen". <BR/>Damned confusing, since there is no knight on d2 in the diagram ! ( and indeed looking at the real game of Lasker - Rubinstein, the last knight left the board at move 14 :)<BR/><BR/>I found that diagram more confusing than any other, and kept going back to it to see if there was a faint knight imprint somewhere !!<BR/><BR/>The book wasn't bad, though. <BR/><BR/>Decent plot, fair use of chess, and even the sex scenes ( though probably not needed ) didn't qualify as 'bad sex'.<BR/><BR/>One good thing : it made me search for the original games and I'll have an interesting look at them !Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-74929909093127493362007-11-10T09:11:00.000+00:002007-11-10T09:11:00.000+00:00The first of the diagrams is liable to be the subj...The first of the diagrams is liable to be the subject of a posting next week.<BR/><BR/>Didn't know the paperback was out - I got sent a hardback so I assumed we were still waiting!ejhhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01582272075999298935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-31676667162560351752007-11-09T23:21:00.000+00:002007-11-09T23:21:00.000+00:00Also, you can be helpless without being in zugzwan...Also, you can be helpless without being in zugzwang...<BR/><BR/>The novel does depend on there being a position of zugzwang: luckily there is one, diagrammed and <EM>also</EM> labelled "zugzwang", in the novel, right before the diagram cited in this post. I've reproduced the two positions in question <A HREF="http://stevenpoole.net/articles/compulsion/#comment-315" REL="nofollow">here</A>.<BR/><BR/>Bennett actually gets it right in the text, but wrong in the second caption.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-13368974961806463622007-11-09T21:57:00.000+00:002007-11-09T21:57:00.000+00:00Well, the paperback is out. I saw a copy of it in ...Well, the paperback is out. I saw a copy of it in a bookshop last week. I might have picked it up to look further but I was in a hurry and somehow read the author as being Rowan Pelling… There is also a shorter version of the novel available <A HREF="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/zugzwang/0,,1685169,00.html" REL="nofollow">online</A> but, when I glanced, I didn’t see any chess diagrams.<BR/><BR/>One thing I’d like to know more about is the plot and the role the chess game and the positions from it play… Does the book hinge on diagrammed ‘zugzwang’ position being a zugzwang position?<BR/><BR/>Also, I have a slight quibble about the quoted definition of zugzwang. I think the sentence ‘In chess it is used to describe a position in which a player is reduced to a state of utter helplessness’ might be more precise if the words ‘type of’ were inserted before ‘position’.<BR/><BR/>AngusAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37675897.post-76765476924677849972007-11-09T08:28:00.000+00:002007-11-09T08:28:00.000+00:00"According to Bennett, who writes a Guardian chess...<I>"According to Bennett, who writes a Guardian chess column jointly with Danny King...."</I><BR/><BR/>badly IMHO.<BR/><BR/>Guardian used to have two chess columns. A crap one and a good one by Nigel Short (I didn't always agree with, or like, what he said but at least it was interesting) . <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately they got rid of both and replaced them with something extremely mediocre. A fact probably not unconnected to the main qualification RB had for getting job being a family connection to the newspaper.Jonathan Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00293162543015231439noreply@blogger.com