REASONS TO COME TO THE LAST CHESS CLINIC

I will be working on another 1-2 page brochure to send out today on why it would benefit you to come to this Last Chess Clinic. If I sit still and just try to "crank" usually not a lot comes to me. I take advantage of "annoyance" sometimes. That is, as I work on finishing up something else, little sparks will fly and I jot them down and in a few hours, I have reasons including perhaps, some new ones. This presupposes I can find my notes.

And, later today I hope to have one of those NEW ideas because it's already in the cauldron.

By the way, for you Gold Card customers and subscribers to The Chess Reports, the Big Sale at those Everyman Chess prices ends today. Tomorrow, everyone else will get a chance at those Big Discounts.

So watch your email box today and tomorrow.

Chess Clinic 6

Clarion Hotel (563-391-1230 for reservations)

Davenport Iowa

October 22-23

bob@thinkerspressinc.com

MY SEARCH FOR CHESS PERFECTION...COMING

Today I begin a few changes, some small number of corrections, adding a chapter, a big index, and a title change to CJS Purdy's most famous work (with the help of others: Anne Purdy, John Hanks, John Hammond, and Robert Jamieson).

Originally (1982) it was The Life, Games, and Writings of C.J.S. Purdy, published after his death (1979).

In the early 90s I had obtained the rights to republish Cecil's writings. In 1997 I redid the 1982 book and retitled it: The Search for Chess Perfection, named by my manuscript associate, Pat Scoville. It was one of the fastest selling books I ever had. I had also changed the descriptive notation to algebraic figurine notation. Then I used chess symbols in the text, which is quite uncommon (maybe I was the first, I do not know). This year, thousands of copies later, I received an email discourse on just how crass this idea was from a guy working for an Italian chess publisher (no comment). The guy is a little late, no one else has ever complained... nor would I change it. It's quite easy to read.

In 2006 and 2007 I made changes, corrections, added some great art by my late friend Bill Morey and added chapters on combinations from the 1982 book which I had left out. I also deleted many games which had hardly any notes, and this was seconded by Frank Hutchings, Purdy's son-in-law. They will reappear, along with others, in a book of Purdy's games (2011?)

This time I am adding "On castle walls" which for some reasons was not put into any of my Purdy books (I somehow missed it). And though few or maybe none have mentioned the lack of an index, I am going to add one even if it is only for me! Finding things would be greatly simplified for one of the greatest teaching products ever put out on chess.

The price was $39.95 and probably be available in September. AND, it will have a revised cover.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com

GROUP RATE VIA GOLD CARD

When you run a company like G&L CHESS you have to occasionally make "command decisions" or, what are you good for?

An example came this morning. A husband and wife (Mr and Mrs Jon Fortune) and a chess friend are registering for the Chess Clinic (#6). Jon has a Gold Card so all three got the $125 rate! Yes, Barbie Fortune is planning to attend too and with a university student named Andrew Smith from Cheyenne, WY while they are from Oregon... finally some West Coasters again!

Of course the favorable decision is that people with Gold Cards CAN have family and friends ride in on their coattails. As I remarked once before, there are all kinds of reasons for owning a Gold Card.

SPEAKING OF THE GOLD CARD

However, people have been asking me how to get a Gold Card and I've had to tell them that the offer ended, effectively, March 31. They can still be had for $100 but no one wants to pay that (yet). However, a couple weeks ago a thought occurred that I should not be punishing those who have never had a Gold Card nor those who haven't made purchases from me since I re-opened for business in 2009.

Hence, and please pay attention, if you've never owned a Gold Card (say for 2009) nor have you made a purchase from me since Feb. 2009 (a helluva lot of people qualify!!), you can get the Gold Card for 2010 if you pay $50 for it BEFORE August 1, 2010. One MORE deadline.

You will be amazed at how many special offers, private offers, and such are made as a result of owning a Gold Card, and there are more to come. This is something even the MIGHTY Amazon can't match. Their idea of a special offer is not the same idea as mine.

WORKING WITH THE CUSTOMER (me!)

Today (actually, over the weekend) I have found a supplier for the big toner cartridges for my HP ColorLaserjet who will ship the day the order comes in and without sticking me with special taxes and handling charges like CDW (Chicago) does. These are vital components in my business. I ordered a big yellow (6,000 impressions) one last week (really, it was Tuesday) for $150+. It's still not here and I am 160 miles away. I have bought tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff from them and this has happend like 4 of the last 5 times. They aren't helping me. I am going to the company, today, who will help me get these things when I need them so I can get offers, flyers, mailers, and stuff like that to you. Yes, I will end up owning 2 Yellow toner cartridges, but at least I can use them.

Back in "the old days" I kept extra toner cartridges on hand, anywhere from $500-1000 worth of components. Because I am starting up again I can't quite muscle my wallet to do that, but I suspect the day will come. I've always been about having duplicates of everything... you don't wanna know. I don't think it is UPS, I think it is the shipping department. I've written to my sales rep and he hasn't written back. Sorry Colin, you've just been fired. I don't need Donald Trump. My customers come first.

If you need something from me, you can contact:

bob@thinkerspressinc.com

WRAPPING UP AND RAMPING UP

I am nearly finished with Andrew Tocher's book, In Your Face Chess Novelties. He takes on some difficult subjects, I think all just KP systems (not all systems, just the ones he takes on are KP). If you love the Latvian Gambit, the Evans Gambit, the Ruy Lopez, the French, and others you just might enjoy this book. I'll get a complete list of openings to you soon.

To take the pressure from heavy thinking (don't we all have way too much of this?), he has some interesting stories in it about dinosaurs, the Bible, and mythological characters. Andrew plays the role of an armchair general and gives out doses of ideas and possible play. He also has definite thoughts on certain subjects. It will be reasonably priced at $15.95.

Hope to finish it up today. Runs a shade over 110 pages. Due to a less than average complement of diagrams you may actually have to play over some of the nameless games.

This could be the place to find out that Thinkers' Press does personal publishing, such as this book. I've done many others too which might surprise you:

The History of Correspondence Chess in Canada (hardcover)

Fisching for Forgeries

You Move... I Win! (on Zugzwang)

Chess in the Movies (a huge book)

1933: The Devil Comes to Henry County (hardcover) (a huge book)

Thermodynamics of systems in nonequilibrium states (hardcover) (a huge book)

Zuke 'Em: The Colle-Zukertort Revolutionized (a huge hit)

The Moment of Zuke

Bxh7+

Chess on the Ledge

There may be others, these are the ones I can recall. So if you think you have ALL Thinkers' Press books (as some claim), check your shelves for these.

If you believe you have a book within you, contact me: bob@thinkerspressinc.com

This is called "self-publishing" even though it is done under the Thinkers' Press brand. One thing TPi is known for is the covers we produce, nothing staid like what you see from so many others. An attractiveness factor. Quality printing, photos, charts, great content, and excellent binding. My books generally cost more but you can see why as soon as you have one in your hands.

THE SQUEEZE -- A VALUABLE "TACTIC"

I watched The Squeeze DVD from Daniel King last night with particular attention to the game Botvinnik-Alekhine AVRO 1938. Botvinnik's play was extremely impressive (as was his brilliant win against Capablanca in the same tournament). His "paranoia," if you want to call it that (I do), was about the square c7, protecting it or invading on it.

No less brilliant was the defender Alekhine. No doubt Botvinnik was thinking "This guy won't give me a break. He won't let me in." Just when you thought it was safe to go back to pressuring Black Alekhine would come up with a move that would let you win the pawn, but start losing material in other parts of the board. Maybe it was a tempo. That ONE extra move Botvinnik had (being White?) was all the difference it took. It showed me that even in 1938 Alekhine was still very strong and a match between the two would have been stupendous.

The "Squeeze," to put it fundamentally, is a method by which small improvements in the "attackers" position makes it "impossible" for the other side to do what they want to do... and to keep applying that pressure. The main advantage of this stand-alone DVD in the "powerplay" series is that is the main subject GM King concentrates on. He doesn't apologize for older games because it is a truth no matter what age the game might be and in this case the level of defense was extremely high, 72 years ago!

At the end of that tortuous road he gives Anand-Karpov where Anand applies a similar idea in putting Karpov out to pasture.

Except for the first game, where Andras Adorjan was putting the Squeeze on King in a simul game back in 1977, and lost, all the rest of the games seem to be White victories. IS this the advantage of the first move?; to zugzwang from the beginning?

I have supplies of this enjoyable DVD at $35.95 for regular customers and $33.95 for Gold Card customers.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com

DVDs ON CHESS I'VE BEEN WATCHING

Nigel Short is a character and the English GM shown in the ChessBase DVDs (both 1 and 2) prove it. Nattily dressed in a suit and sharp tie, and speaking with confidence, carefully chosen words, and impeccable diction, he's entertaining to listen to.

Today I was listening to his second volume and one of the games he discussed was his 1990 Interzonal game with Mikhail Gurevich. MG only needed a draw (Short needed a win) in the last round and chose the Exchange French and tried to trade off all the pieces. At one point he might've actually had that draw but Short's calmness was unnerving. As you no doubt have guessed, going for a draw was a bad strategy. Here's ONE reason why. When you are doing well, you'll usually continue to do well and you may as well play chess, and play for a win. Unless you have chosen that point to die on the vine, you will often win and at no worse achieve a draw (if you are a stronger than average player--but what is average?), which would have put Gurevich through... but I suspect he either didn't have a coach or he disdained his advice if he did have one. As it was he had a "string of draws" before this last game and that no doubt only made it worse as his "guard" was probably weakened.

At any rate you've probably seen this game in a number of places but now you hear it straight from one of the participants. Now I am watching and listening to Kasparov-Short 1987 in a rapid (game in 25 minutes) event. (Naturally Short won this quite slick game.) It started 1.Nf3 d5 2.d4 Bg4!? 3. Ne5 Bf5. Then 4.c4 f6 (yes) 5. Nf3 c6 6.Nc3 e6 7.g3 Bb4 (Short mentioned that in order to get Garry off of his stride he wanted to "slap him around a little bit." This is hilarious stuff.

That game proceeded with Short getting a "grip" on the position and he shows how strong masters attack weaknesses, such as a backward pawn on c3. There is some good natured "mocking" asking Kasparov to "show me what you've got." Funny. A nice finish, played in a discotheque. When Kasparov resigned Short got a prolonged standing ovation! Home crowd you know since this was played in London.

If you WANT to get some "offhand" study in instead of playing mindless speed chess on the internet, I recommend studying good DVD games from ChessBase. Make sure your mind is alert and you aren't tired.

I've also been watching the White Shockers and Black Shockers DVDs. These are QUITE good! By IM Andrew Martin. Complete set at discounted prices is $89.90. If you have a Gold Card for 2010 you will pay only $79.90. Great value. 10 hours of commentary.

I will be looking at Danny King's The Squeeze later today also. In the meantime I am almost finished with the 108th issue of The Chess Reports. If you subscribe to this publication which averages 16-18 pages I think you would find it different and refreshing chess fare from anything else that is published. This issue has 10 annotated games, a further continuation of the Queen's Gambit Accepted, a review of Mike Henebry's book and a MONSTER SALE of chess books, over 90 of them. I invite you to subscribe at $59.95 and 13 issues.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com

INTERESTED IN MEETING ME??

Probably most would say, to paraphrase General McChrystal, "Bob who?"

On page 212 of my book The Chess Assassin's Business Manual I mention a partnership idea for making scalable income to whatever is your limit. Getting that book is a good start and I do have a few left at $34 which includes shipping. In it I mention you would need:

a) A rating of at least 1200;

b) A telephone;

c) A calendar or Planner;

d) An appointment to see me.

For my part, I have prepared a 4 page PDF in MS Word to be sent to you via e-mail if you would like to do the above and meet those qualifications. Plus, I want to meet you in person and I will even buy your dinner. I will also be available at the Last Chess Clinic to talk with those who might be interested. Simply put, if the two of us can agree on some basic things I will create a spreadsheet showing you the plan for success and teaching it to others (chess, that is). Two years later I got a call a couple months ago about this mention of page 212, now I am prepared to put it into action.

MIKE HENEBRY

A terrific new book has just been published in both digital form and in the traditional printing process (that one is coming). I will have it in stock in about a week (it comes from California, so not everything in California is screwed up). It is over 500 pages and is titled Chess Words of Wisdom. This is nothing like GM Andy Soltis' recent The wisest things ever said about chess. In Mike's monster volume there is only beautiful text and thousands of paragraphs of research into tips, quips, and handy-dandy comments from all over the chess globe about chess. Especially targeted is: improvement. It's more than "think long, think wrong" though that one is covered too. No diagrams, not one game. At first, like some might be, I was slightly skeptical but I got a copy and it was more than promised. Mike has been a customer for years and I have to say, it looks like he is trying to crowd out Thinkers' Press for high-quality publishing. The book is $34.95, visually attractive (i.e., good typography), and indexed to the point of absolute usefulness. This is a book to be read, used, and enjoyed. I have consumed 160 pages so far and it is a delight.

In addition, you will find a review of this tome in this Friday's edition of The Chess Reports. If you should snap one up, I can tell you Mike will be thrilled beyond reasonable expectations. It is not available for the time being from Amazon so the knee-jerkers who react to Amazon like Pavlov's dog will have to wait a while. You'll love not just the quotes but the synthesis of improvement topics and principles.

bob@thinkerspressinc.com