Congratulations to Jan Markos and David Navara for winning the FIDE Award for the best book published in 2021! The Secret Ingredient impressed the jury of three respected Grandmasters: Antoaneta Stefanova, Thomas Luther, and Boris Gelfand. You can read the full announcement on the FIDE website here, along with details of the runners-up and other special mentions.
To briefly quote the judges “The search for ‘The Secret Ingredient’ to success, both in life and chess, is what this great book tries to answer. Following the advice given in this book will make each player stronger and each coach more focused on the tasks and challenges we face in life.”
We are proud that one of our favourite instructive books has also been voted as FIDE’s favourite book. Jan Markos of course has a winning history – his previous book Under the Surface was the English Chess Federation’s Book of the Year. But enough of my boasting – for now.
Congratulations to the whole team at Quality Chess. Of course after this award I had to get the hardcover.
Congratulation!
For me the book of the year is one of the two books by Karloyi about Fischer and his road to Reykjavik and his win against Spassky. Beautiful books!!
You have good books on Tal, Petrosian, Karpov and Fischer, maybe one day about Spassky, I would like that a lot!!
Hi,
when will you publish the English book by Nikos? Will it be published this year or at the beginning of next vear?
Greetings
Definitely will be next year.
@John Shaw
OK, thank you for the information.
@Peter Mijnheer
Patience will be rewarded
Yes the author of the Fischer match book stated was working on Spassky games in the introduction of this book. Agree is physically a great looking book, and for young people the definite account of Fischer’s two matches. Summaries all the work done on the famous endgame of first game, with new finds there, and in virtually all other games. Similar to Marin’s new book on Bent Larsen there is virtually no comment on the opening stages. Would have liked some hint were opening theory was, but most people are not interested in this, and it can be found elsewhere.
The new Bent Larsen book is well up to Marin’s usual standards too.
@John Simmons
Thank you for the kind words
FWIW, my opinion is “A Matter of Endgame Technique” is probably the best chess book I’ve ever seen, by far. I would happily nominate this as the book of the decade (or century). I really hope it wins some awards in the next year or so.
I can agree with that. I’ve never seen another book that treated fortresses hardly at all, and I just offered a draw in a CC position that my engine said was +1.60, but was dead drawn.
hi nice to see new books coming ….waiting fore nikos book and the new catalog makes me happy
Having had it since July I’m slightly disappointed even though it has a lot of interesting material. I had the understanding it was a labour of love curated over many years but gives more an impression of a set of interesting exercises and position that were watched during lockdown that he would give his pupils so reads as a set of interesting exercises rather than an organised book with a clear narrative.
I fear Jacob was his own editor when another opinion could have helped sort out the important stuff and whittle away the unnecessary. Dvoretskys endgame manual has improved over the years over different editions as this sorting of wheat from the chaff has distilled it into the well oiled machine it is and perhaps in a second edition this will also happen here as there a lot of great stuff contained within. Still worth the money but wasn’t quite the classic I expected.
@JB
I don’t agree with your description at all. The book is exactly as I want it to be. If it is not for you, it is not for you. But it does what I want it to do.
My impression was that @Jacob Aagaard was demonstrating that if you took any group of even reasonably high level games, it is easy to find what Dvoretsky called Tragicomedies to demonstrate his points, and showed the widespread deficiencies in endgame technique.
@Jacob Aagaard
Respect your right to a different opinion but that’s why books need a different editor from the author to help see the text from a different perspective as sometimes you get so caught up in your own work that you can’t see the wood for the trees.
As your editor off the top of my head here’s 5 of the questions I’d have asked….
1. Why no rook endgames the most common and important endgame ( that’s like writing a book on opening technique but disregarding 1. e4)
2. When you write a paragraph on why you truncate games why are a lot of games not truncated at all
3. f you have made that decision not to include endgame theory or rook endgames why then include them. Ironically a few pages after stating it’s not about them the first 3 games in the first chapter are indeed rook endings and a good chunk of your examples on making exchanges are rook endgames too
4. Why choose to start your section on illustrative games with a game that doesn’t actually feature an endgame?
5. Why such a focus (2 whole chapters..close to 200 pages) on fortresses a relatively uncommon and specialised part of endgame technique whereas common and important strategic topics get short shrift…king activity for stance gets just 3?
As the author you’re absolutely at liberty to take editorial suggestions on board or reject them of course and there’s such a wealth of instructive material contained within the covers it just needs a little reorganization and some reprioritising. Still worth the price though and if I ever get a rook Vs bishop fortress I’ll be mighty glad I bought the book ??
>Why such a focus (2 whole chapters..close to 200 pages) on fortresses a relatively uncommon and specialised part of endgame technique […]
Well, fortress is a top defensive technique in endings. For defense it is the equivalent of a mating net in attack: when you spot one, it justifies giving material or squares as long as this possibility remains in sight. Anticipating fortresses is maybe the secret ingredient of the secret ingredient (assuming the latter deals with resilience/defense).
@JB
There are things I would have done differently now, which I may add to a future 2nd edition. But none of them have anything to do with your comments. Some of them seem a bit like wanting to be critical, rather than not liking the book. And yes, the book focuses more on the things that are less represented in chess literature. It is 5-6 books for the price of 1.5. It is aimed at stronger players who have read other books before and written with the understanding that many will choose to read chapters, rather than the whole thing.
In short, you are welcome to your opinions, but I certainly don’t feel I let you down 🙂
Possibly the reason I like the book so much is I view it as a masterclass from a GM coach on how to play the endgame. As such, it assumes you already reasonably understand the typical endgame theory and texts, and this is how to apply that knowledge in practice.
@Paul Massie
Thanks.
There’s bee very little mention of this book here, so just chiming in to say I’m enjoying it a lot as well.
Alas, also pointing out a minor error. The white player in the game on p.60 was Harald Enevoldsen, not Jens.
I second the approval of the Larsen book!! I am only in the third chapter, but one of my favorite writers and a player who does not get his due is a winning combination.
@Jacob Aagaard
Good for you Jacob, it’s your book and you need to be primarily happy with it yourself, I’m just commenting as a buyer. I see it already has some great reviews and got nominated in the chessable book of the year awards. As I said still well worth the money and the first two chapters and the one on exchanges are fantastic. Still can’t understand the ‘not a rook endgames book ‘ policy which would always be my one major sticking point that stopped me voting for it in said awards, the others are more reasons why the book is so huge as it needs a bit of honing down …I guess I shouldn’t complain about having too much information. Still a big fan of your work and own the lot but I might as well be honest as one of your customers as I had a slightly different take to Paul Massie’s Book of the Century review above. I’m sure there are a lot of other opinions out there too ?
Have a fantastic Xmas and Hogmanay to everyone at QC
@JB
I understand your opinion. Regarding rook endings: Our 2023 leaflet will be out in less than two weeks and have a surprise for you…
@Jacob Aagaard
Think it is relatively common knowledge there are two rook ending books in the QC pipeline, but won’t ruin the surprise for JB 🙂
@Paul H
Where to get such knowledge?
@Thomas
Samuel L Shankland
Traitor
I should add that JB had a very understandable emotional experience, which is that he expected to see something developed over years and saw mainly new examples in it and could not fit the two together. This is because endgames were a smaller part of the original project and grew and grew, as I focused more on it. The project started with middlegame examples and rook endgames, but it all broke into three big books…
Very much looking forward to the leaflet and to 2023. Despite all the hurdles (or enormous boulders, or whatever metaphor is most appropriate to the last few years), 2023 is nonetheless shaping up to continue a fairly steady overall stream of new releases and fantastic quality.
This is the ambition. Let’s see how it works out 🙂
I’m hopeful for some updated French material. Had reason to look something up in Berg vol 1 today – shocked that it was published 9 years ago already!!
As I’ve said before I’d like QC to do something different such as:
Classical Sicilian
Sicilian Scheveningen
Sicilian Kan
Alekhine Defence
Old Indian/Rat/Wade
Philidor
Bogo-Indian
QGA
Triangle Slav
…a6 Slav
Classical Dutch
Reti 1 Nf3
Hopefully some of these will be done next year.
If we are going for any suggestions, I too would like to see a good one on the QGA , but in addition, a good one on Spassky. I think that Spassky was underrated and I think one by Karolyi would be very interesting. Anyway I will look forward to the 2023 offerings by QC.
I agree Spassky needs the Karolyi treatment.
Yes, a book about Spassky would be great!
Is coming…
But Karolyi himself seems to think that Endgame Virtuoso Magnus Carlsen needs a second volume more urgently!?
The same publisher is preparing a Spassky book for June.
From QC I would like to see books on the Classical Sicilian and on the QGA. Scheveningen or Kan would be nice too. And probably a light & funny one on 1f4.
@Jacob Aagaard
It’s almost time, correct?
Yes
I nominate Sam Shankland for the proposed 1.f4 book, and Jacob for the Classical Sicilian book.
🙂
Fore heaven sake put the leaflet on the new books ……or will you wait til 2030 shame on you a angre chessplayer with a vengance
Looks like Jacob has already on the way to fulfilling my new year’s wish list with two more endgame books ( is Endgame labyrinths one of those or has that been binned??) but always need to add my own spin on things…
1. Specific opening books: final Negi though that may be wishful thinking ?…apart from that only a triangle based repertoire and nothing else seems to be glaringly missing
2. Repertoire or advice on speedier chess formats…how.it should be different from your normal repertoire, general advice, clock handling Set of common tricks traps and motivs and other common sense ideas at quicker time controls
3. Repertoire books based around a certain theme rather than opening eg a sharp repertoire for tactics gurus, repertoire to get you into a grindable endgame for the technical, repertoire built around a sound pawn structure for positional players who can defend them then attack the opponent structure once weathered the storm
4. How to use computers chessbase streamers social media channels etc efficiently to improve by Nikos
anything with a bit of schadenfreude…along the lines of Tragicomedies, Smerdons Swindler and ippolito tricks traps books with a little Van Perlo to make me rejoice even the great and good can produce howlers once in a while
Keep up the good work ? and Lang may yet lum reek Jacob even if it’s back in Denmark ?
5. Anything with a bit of schadenfreude…..
@JB Nice to hear where is the proof ……see you in 2030 i only hear months of blablala
@hasanovic Well Well a miracle happend the new books are there ……7 i will buy
@The Doctor
0/12 – Sorry
@KevHun
Spassky 1 made the catalogue. Will be out in 2023 for sure (fingers crossed behind my back)
@Hasanovic
I apologise. I just don’t know how to upload it to the website myself, so I am waiting for the employees to get back from holiday 🙁
@JB
1. Yeah, not clear when it will happen.
2. I have two advice here. a) Playing fell fast is done well by learning to play well slow. b) Bluff and surprise in the opening is everything. Thus repertoire suggestions for rapid are of very temporary value.
3. This is not really our way to do things. Actually we will do few opening books in 2023.
4. Lost me half the way through…
@Jacob Aagaard
Congrats, it was worth the wait.
Everything for 2023 looks fantastic.
Can you please provide any details about the Lisitsin books? I’ve never heard of them. Do they contain exercises, for example?
They have a lot of positions and are quite lively. The first position in the first book is:
3n4/1r6/1p2b2B/5p2/8/8/p1p5/k1K5 w – – 0 1
A lot of small tricks, tactics and patterns in that one. I really like it. Jeremy is working on it already.