Chess Publishing Goes to the Next Level

An evolution in the never-ending arms race.

(Having just completed a large project, it’s time to resume blogging in earnest. Let’s begin with something a bit tongue-in-cheek.)

Chess publishers are businesses, and while I assume that publishers and their authors want to help their customers, they also want to make money. It’s not a bad thing, obviously: if they don’t make money they can’t stay in business, and if they don’t stay in business they can’t benefit their readers. This leads to the presentation of paradoxical products: first you get a book saying “Win with the Sicilian”, followed by another book (by the same publisher) entitled “Smash the Sicilian!” (These titles are made up, but we’ve all seen many variations on the theme.) This happens with every single opening, and every few years - or months - there are updates and new books carrying water for Side A and then Side B. This has been happening as long as I’ve been a chess player, and barring the advent of 32-piece tablebases it will continue as long as people are playing chess.

But Quality Chess - which is as “guilty” as any other publisher of playing the “Get the Advantage with White”/”Equalize with Black” game, has elevated their level with a “theoretical novelty” of a different sort. A week and a half ago they released two books on the same day.

One book is by Ivan Cheparinov, called “Powerhouse Pawn Sacrifices: How to Lose Small and Win Big in Chess”. Great! Sacrifice a pawn - no big deal. Give a little, get a lot - terrific, sign me up!

Also released that day: “Converting an Extra Pawn in Chess”, by Sam Shankland.

For the love of… C’mon, which is it?? We just can’t win.