{"id":3496,"date":"2023-11-29T08:16:14","date_gmt":"2023-11-29T08:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3496"},"modified":"2023-11-29T13:50:35","modified_gmt":"2023-11-29T13:50:35","slug":"review-say-no-to-chess-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/review-say-no-to-chess-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Review: Say No to Chess Principles!<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\"><strong>Book Review of Say No to Chess Principles!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\"><em>\u201c<strong>It is the aim of the modern school not to treat every position according to one general law, but according to the principle inherent in the position.\u201d<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-medium-font-size\">\u2013 Richard R\u00e9ti, in \u201cModern Ideas in Chess\u201d, 1923.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Richard R\u00e9ti wrote these prophetic words nearly a century ago, and he was referring to the rise of the hypermodern school of chess. This attitude has only strengthened since that time and modern elite players seem to have an \u201cif it works, play it\u201d attitude to chess, particularly when their analysis is backed up by super-strong chess engines. This has led to what John Watson has termed \u201crule-independence\u201d, that is, the rejection of general rules in chess.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:17px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-51.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3497\" width=\"268\" height=\"335\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:11px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/say-no-to-chess-principles!\" style=\"background-color:#a01915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Book<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:22px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>GM Evgeny Bareev\u2019s \u201cSay No to Chess Principles!\u201d is a celebration of this attitude, and the book is mostly illustrated by an entertaining collection of his own games. The theme of the book is set by the first game, which starts as follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"?\\\"]\\n[Site \\\"?\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"????.??.??\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"?\\\"]\\n[White \\\"White\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"Black\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"*\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"D30\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"25\\\"]\\n[EventType \\\"tourn\\\"]\\n[EventRounds \\\"13\\\"]\\n[EventCategory \\\"18\\\"]\\n\\n1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. c4 a6 4. c5 Nc6 5. Bf4 Nge7 6. Nc3 Ng6 7. Be3 b6 8. cxb6 cxb6 9. h4 Bd6 10. h5 Nge7 11. h6 g6 12. Bg5 O-O 13. Bf6 *\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:12px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don\u2019t know the game, you would probably assume that White is a weak player who doesn\u2019t understand the principle of development. However, this is the game <strong>Alekhine &#8211; Rubinstein, The Hague, 1921<\/strong>! Bareev writes \u201cIt\u2019s not just that Alekhine has not castled but that he isn\u2019t developed either!&nbsp; On the other hand, Rubinstein, a classical positional player did everything by the rules and still wound up in a worse position.\u201d Alekhine went on to win the game in 50 moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:14px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/saynotoindex.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1407\" width=\"370\" height=\"502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/saynotoindex.jpg 548w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/saynotoindex-221x300.jpg 221w, https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/saynotoindex-150x203.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 370px) 100vw, 370px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The table of contents above shows the standard rules that are flouted in the example games. Apart from the five games in the chapter \u201cWhat This Book is About\u201d, the remaining 55 games were all played by Bareev, and so this book is also a loose autobiography. At his peak, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Evgeny_Bareev\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Evgeny Bareev<\/a> was rated number four in the world, and it is a testament to his strength that he could often break the standard rules and still win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:11px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Bareev_Evgeny_30219958676.jpg\" alt=\"Evgeny Bareev\" class=\"wp-image-3503\" width=\"594\" height=\"396\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><sub>Credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/karpidis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Andreas Kontokanis<\/a><\/sub><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:16px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Each game begins with a short introduction that places the game in the context of his chess career and his ongoing rivalry with other top players. Bareev freely shares his highs and lows and provides some perceptive and witty comments on his opponents. For example, he writes of his frequent rival Vassily Ivanchuk; \u201cStating that I didn\u2019t find Vassily Ivanchuk (Divine Vassily) an easy opponent doesn\u2019t really say enough.\u201d In the game Topalov-Bareev, Wijk ann Zee 2004 (0-1, 49), he writes after Topalov\u2019s 16. Bxe7?? \u201cRarely will any world champion make such a move, even if he was on life support, hooked up to an IV.\u201d At the end of this game, he writes \u201cIf somebody told me Veselin would become the World Chess Champion a year later, I\u2019d have thought that person a lunatic.\u201d The book is full of such jovial and good-natured comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The annotations to the games are very instructive and provide good explanations about when the standard chess rules can be violated or ignored. Bareev doesn\u2019t go overboard with lots of variations that can overwhelm the reader, but he provides enough details to understand the games and the critical moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two excellent examples from the book are given below, with annotations from the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"Bundesliga 9900\\\"]\\n[Site \\\"Germany\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"1999.10.09\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"1.3\\\"]\\n[White \\\"Bareev\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"Gallagher\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"1-0\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"E71\\\"]\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2698\\\"]\\n[BlackElo \\\"2521\\\"]\\n[SetUp \\\"1\\\"]\\n[FEN \\\"r1b1qr2\\\/p1n3kp\\\/2p3p1\\\/2pP2P1\\\/QPB1pp2\\\/P1N2N1P\\\/5P2\\\/R3K2R w KQ - 0 21\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"11\\\"]\\n[EventDate \\\"1999.10.09\\\"]\\n[EventType \\\"team-tourn\\\"]\\n[EventRounds \\\"15\\\"]\\n[EventCountry \\\"GER\\\"]\\n[SourceTitle \\\"EXT 2000\\\"]\\n[Source \\\"ChessBase\\\"]\\n[SourceDate \\\"1999.11.16\\\"]\\n[SourceVersion \\\"1\\\"]\\n[SourceVersionDate \\\"1999.11.16\\\"]\\n[SourceQuality \\\"1\\\"]\\n[WhiteTeam \\\"Luebeck\\\"]\\n[BlackTeam \\\"Castrop Rauxel\\\"]\\n[WhiteTeamCountry \\\"GER\\\"]\\n[BlackTeamCountry \\\"GER\\\"]\\n\\n 21. O-O-O $1 $18 {Instantly decisive. The king is absolutely safe on the queenside.} cxb4 (21... exf3 22. Rhe1 Qf7 23. Qxc6 $18) 22. d6 bxc3 23. dxc7 h5 ({a) How often does the hunter become the hunted? But after} 23... exf3 24. Rhe1 $18 {this is what happens.}) ({b) No remedy is provided by} 23... Qe7 24. Qa5 $18 {either.}) 24. Qb4 Bf5 25. Nh4 $1 Qe5 26. Qd6 {Black resigned, as his opponent has both material and positional advantages. The white king instructively selected the correct side on which to castle, and this ultimately decided the outcome of the game.} 1-0\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:26px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-3\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf67ec715aa-3\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"Linares 12th\\\"]\\n[Site \\\"Linares\\\"]\\n[Date \\\"1994.??.??\\\"]\\n[Round \\\"11\\\"]\\n[White \\\"Topalov\\\"]\\n[Black \\\"Bareev\\\"]\\n[Result \\\"0-1\\\"]\\n[ECO \\\"C13\\\"]\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2640\\\"]\\n[BlackElo \\\"2685\\\"]\\n[SetUp \\\"1\\\"]\\n[FEN \\\"r1b1Q3\\\/ppp2pkB\\\/5p2\\\/3q4\\\/5n2\\\/P1P3P1\\\/1P5P\\\/R3K1NR b KQ - 0 17\\\"]\\n[PlyCount \\\"13\\\"]\\n[EventDate \\\"1994.02.??\\\"]\\n[EventType \\\"tourn\\\"]\\n[EventRounds \\\"13\\\"]\\n[EventCountry \\\"ESP\\\"]\\n[EventCategory \\\"18\\\"]\\n[SourceTitle \\\"CBM 040\\\"]\\n[Source \\\"ChessBase\\\"]\\n[SourceDate \\\"1994.06.01\\\"]\\n[SourceVersion \\\"1\\\"]\\n[SourceVersionDate \\\"1994.06.01\\\"]\\n[SourceQuality \\\"1\\\"]\\n\\n 17... Bf5 $3 {Not everyone gets an opportunity to recreate the &#8216;Immortal Game&#8217; by Adolf Anderssen!} 18. Qxa8 ({a) It&#8217;s too late to turn back now:} 18. Qe7 Nd3+ 19. Kf1 Bxh7 $19) ({b) or} 18. Qa4 Nd3+ 19. Kf1 (19. Ke2 Qg2+) 19... Kxh7 20. Qd1 Be4 {The only thing left is to put the pieces back on their initial squares.}) 18... Qe4+ {Is mate in nine.} 19. Kf2 ({a)} 19. Kd1 Qc2+ 20. Ke1 Nd3+ 21. Kf1 Qf2#) ({b)} 19. Kd2 Qg2+ $1 20. Ke1 (20. Ke3 Nd5+ {transposes to the game}) 20... Nd3+ 21. Kd1 Bg4+ $19) 19... Qg2+ 20. Ke3 Nd5+ 21. Kd4 Qd2+ 22. Kc5 (22. Kc4 Nb6+ 23. Kb4 Qxb2+ 24. Ka5 Nc4+ 25. Ka4 b5#) 22... Qe3+ 23. Kc4 ({a)} 23. Kxd5 Be6#) ({b)} 23. Kb5 Qb6+ 24. Kc4 Ne3#) 23... Nb6+ {Here, the future world champion admitted defeat, which honestly, couldn&#8217;t have some at a better time:} (23... Nb6+ 24. Kb5 (24. Kb3 Qe6+ 25. Kb4 Qc4+ 26. Ka5 Qc5#) 24... c6+ 25. Kb4 Qe4+ 26. Kc5 Qe7+ 27. Kd4 c5# {This game was awarded the brilliancy prize.}) 0-1\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:22px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The book also includes a summary of Bareev\u2019s career. Overall, this is a great book that provides a good selection of well-annotated games together with some fine teaching material on rule-breaking in chess. The witty writing style is an added bonus to an already instructive and enjoyable book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:24px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#a01915\"><strong>Have any thoughts or questions? Let us know in the comments!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For a limited time, get<em>\u00a0Say No to Chess Principles!<\/em> with a special 10% discount offer at\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/forwardchess.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">forwardchess.com<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:21px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Book-Covers-51-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3499\" width=\"313\" height=\"391\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<div style=\"height:19px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-layout-2 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/sample\/say-no-to-chess-principles!\" style=\"background-color:#a01915\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>View Free Sample<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Book Review of Say No to Chess Principles! \u201cIt is the aim of the modern&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3496"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3515,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3496\/revisions\/3515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}