<Nov-08-04, Poisonpawns: Kasparov=the greatest of all time>

<Oct-04-05, GrandMasterP: Topalov=The graetest of all time>

<Dec-12-05, briscola: impossible to quantify=the greatest of all time>

< norami: Decker: You said it yourself Spock. There's no way to blast through the hull of his position so I'm gonna send my king right down his throat.

Kirk: This is Jim. Matt, you'll be checkmated.

Decker: I've been prepared for checkmate ever since I . . . ever since I blundered my pawns.

Spock: You cannot succeed, Commodore. Your only logical alternative is to return to g1.

Decker: A player is responsible for the lives of his pawns . . . and for their deaths. Well, I should have died with mine.

Kirk: Matt, you're a grandmaster, that makes you a valuable commodity. We need you, your endame expertise, your knowledge of the Sicilian. Matt! We're stronger with you than without you!>

<Marmot PFL: The movie "Searching for Bobby Fischer" made over $7 million, and I'm sure Fischer's name in the title (or footage in the movie) didn't hurt one bit. Fischer didn't get a penny from this. How can this be legal? It certainly isn't ethical.>

Here is his book review of MCO-14, with highlights for the particularly annoying parts:

"<OK, ok, ok. You have read my review of "Nunn's Chess Openings." (IF not, you should probably go and read that first>, because much of what I said there --- especially in the "warning" part; applies here.) Then why I am bothering to review or recommend this book?

The answer is simple. I teach chess for a living. And my students give me a great deal of very valuable feedback. For instance I recently attended the FL State Chess Championships in Orlando. <Many people came up to me and said stuff like, "I have read your reviews on Amazon and ...">

The bottom line? The average player is probably below a 1600 (rating) and has a very limited knowledge of chess. Their libraries are often small, 5-10 books - if that many. And they need as much help as possible.

If you are like me and want "Just the Facts," (& like Sgt. Friday!); then you will probably prefer Nunn's book. <But do you have my background in chess theory? Do you bring a USCF Life-Master's understanding of the game with you? Do you have over 20 years of tournament experience? Have you played 50,000 games of chess on the Internet? No?> Then you may want to get GM DeFirmian's book. <(Please understand ... this is NOT a put-down or an ego trip!!> I am just trying to communicate - in the strongest possible terms - what the majority of the players I have spoken to and what my students' have communicated to me.)

And if you like an occaisional explanation, and would like the lines summarized, (and even a recommendation once in a while); then MCO is the book for you. (If you live near a good size bookstore, check them both out and decide for yourself!)

<My friend GM DeFirmian> (and an excellent team of writers), has probably spent more time on this book than 10 or 20 authors have spent on their works. Walter Korn has always done a competent job of assisting in the editing. The nice thing about MCO-14, as compared to the last edition of MCO; is that 75-90% of the games quoted are now of the latest vintage. (The last two editions of MCO are also sitting on my bookshelf.)

I have spent many, many hours in this book. I am working on a Grunfeld Repertoire (ChessBase format) based primarily on MC0-14. It is no exagerration when I say I have spent close to 150 hours using this book. (Maybe a lot more!!) My students and contacts in chess prefer it over NCO like 3 to 1.

I still like NCO better!! But this is also a good book. (If not for just a few typo's and some other minor ticks, I would have given it 5 stars. But good or bad - I am a perfectionist. And bear in mind, I have found a couple of errors [but a lot fewer!] in NCO too!) If you are around 1800, you would probably be happier - in the long run - with "Nunn's Chess Opening's." But if you are relatively inexperienced and fall into the category of 1650 or less; then honestly you might do better with MCO. Or buy both and compare!!

Also, one more piece of advice. If you are going to use this book a lot, do what I did and order the Hard-Back version!! For the few dollars more, you get a book that should stand up to years of heavy use."

<Apr-19-06, Raymond Keene >

<twinlark>: who's picture is that on your icon if you don't mind me asking?

<square dance>: you're not being serious, are you? its capablanca of course. he and morphy are my two favorite players.

<twinlark>: umm. I knew that. (embarrassed)

<square dance>: and thats botvinnik in your photo, right?

<EmperorAtahualpa>: No that's Gerhard Hund.

<twinlark>: LOL. And yours must be Arthur Feuerstein.

<acirce>: Mine is of course NN.

<Sneaky>: And I'm Mephisto, of course.

<euripides: Kasparov must have forgotten his lesson. He played the same game again against the same player. Not in Moscow, but in the Soviet Union, this time. Y Nikolaevsky vs Kasparov, 1976;

__________________________

Aug-22-05
<wheelchiar bandit>: who is annotating

<Chopin: <Notsodeepthought> <Does God exist> Thank you for taking time out of your hectic schedule to kibitz on my forum. Dr. Notsodeepthought, would you be kind enough to share some of your thoughts on the existence of God. After all, you hold a PHD in Theology from Harvard, not to mention you're an author, whose written numerous best selling books-- my personal favorite is, "329 easy steps to an iron-clad proof that God may or may not exist - perhaps">

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to clarify an important point - my Ph. D. is not in <T>heology, but <R>heology (the misconception, common among my legion of fans, may have arisen from the proximity on the keyboard of the two consonants in question). Rheology, as you know, studies the flow of non-Newtonian fluids. In particular, for my 2000-page dissertation (to be exact, 27 pages plus the "Errata" section), I delved in great detail into the non-Newtonian fluid mayonnaise. In fact, I delved with such abandon that I gained a combined 10 pounds, equally distributed among rye bread, pastrami, and the mayo in question.

<Topzilla: Who is going to be Topalov second in the match??

<Suggested book titles by AJ Goldsby:-

Coping With Loss: Tips and Strategies for Swindling Your Opponent

Chess and Nature: A Cockroach's Approach to the the Royal Game.

Check, Check, Checkmate: How to Win, Make Enemies and Alienate People.

Happy Trolling!: All you need to know to create a stink on internet forums.

It's Okay I'm Not Gay: The Right Way to Master Your Life.

What's Your USCF Rating?: On Augmenting Self-Esteem and Belittling Chess Patzers.

Big Fish Small Pond: How to Buttress Your Chess Ego.