Sunday 26 August 2007

Bathroom Reading

The smallest room in the house is often a good place to park the odd chess book or two. I usually have at least one book within easy reach at all times, supplemented by a couple of chess magazines. The books vary, although I tend to favour ones I can read without having to concentrate too hard. Usually that rules out opening books, although books on tactics are fine.
At the moment "The Mammoth Book of The Worlds Greatest Chess Games" is the book of choice. Although over 600 pages in length, it is very easy to just read about a single game in the time you have available. Also the notes are very "chatty" and there are plenty of diagrams. Worth getting for your bathroom, but even if you don't here is one of the more memorable games in the collection (albeit without the notes from the book).

Lasker,E - Napier,W [B72]
Cambridge Springs Cambridge Springs (3), 1904

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Bg7 6.Be3 d6 7.h3 Nf6 8.g4 0-0 9.g5 Ne8 10.h4 Nc7 11.f4 e5 12.Nde2 (D)
12. ... d5 13.exd5 Nd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd5 15.Nf5 Nxc3
16.Qxd8 Rxd8 17.Ne7+ Kh8 18.h5 Re8 19.Bc5 gxh5 20.Bc4 exf4 21.Bxf7 Ne4 22.Bxe8 Bxb2 23.Rb1 Bc3+ 24.Kf1 Bg4 25.Bxh5 Bxh5 26.Rxh5 Ng3+ 27.Kg2 Nxh5 28.Rxb7 a5 29.Rb3 Bg7 30.Rh3 Ng3 31.Kf3 Ra6 32.Kxf4 Ne2+ 33.Kf5 Nc3 34.a3 Na4 35.Be3 1-0

(btw the best reading collection in a bathroom I ever saw was in the house of Dr Richard Brent. Above the toilet was the complete Encyclopaedia Britannica, and on top of that was a large trophy he won in qualifying for the Asian Zonal in the 1960's).

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