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January 1, 1996 book review by Hanon Russell! news 257 for more info.

Sicilian Love Lev Polugaevsky Chess Tournament Buenos Aires 1994 Reviewed by Hanon W. Russell

Sicilian Love, by Lev Polugaevsky, Jeroen Piket and Christophe Gueneau, 1995 New In Chess, hardcover, Figurine algebraic notation, 236pp., $35.00

Under the sponsorship of the Dutch industrialist J.J. van Oosterom, the past several years have seen the holding of a special theme tournament in Buenos Aires. A prestigious group of world-class players have been invited to play in a double round-robin, the only condition being that opening of each game must be the Sicilian Defense. As explained in the comprehensive introduction...

What gave the Polugaevsky tournament its charm was above all the unique rule: all players must respect the imposed opening moves: 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 (or 2...e6 or 2...d6) 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4. Despite its originality this type of tournament was far from being a novelty as at the beginning of the century in Vienna, the celebrated King's gambit was thus honored. Nearer to our time, in Utrecht in the middle-eighties, a tournament took place where positions noted for their complexity were selected and "imposed." Several top-flight grandmasters took part such as Timman and Miles...The games were played at the rate of 40 moves in two hours, then 20 moves in an hour, followed by one hour per player K.O., implying that no adjournments were possible. As for Elo rating, at the request of several players it was decided that the tournament would not be counted. A debatable decision as it could have, perhaps, added further spice to an already attractive competition.

The tournament has been held in honor of the late Russian grandmaster Lev Polugaevsky. The 1994 version of this tournament had Polugaevsky attend though not play. The stellar field did include Anand, Ivanchuk, Kamsky, Karpov, Ljubojevic, Polgar, Salov and Shirov. The book recently published by New In Chess is a great tribute to the Sicilian and Polugaevsky. It is divided into four basic sections. The first presents ten memorable Sicilians played and annotated by Polugaevsky. This is followed by an in-depth interview of Polugaevsky by Christophe Guenea, who has a most interesting history of the Sicilian Defense. Finally, the games themselves, heavily annotated by both the authors and the players and with a detailed tournament report. Part of the attraction that this book holds is seeing some of the world's great players engaging in lines that they have rarely or never played before. All in all, this is great stuff. This is a very special book. Many chessplayers may not buy it because they do not play or have any interest in the Sicilian. That will be their loss. Lev Polugaevsky may not be with us any longer, but his legacy will endure - and with it this magnificent tribute to the man and his passion.

*************************************************************** The books which are reviewed by Mr. Russell are furnished courtesy of the United States Chess Federation. The views expressed are those of Mr. Russell and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Chess Federation. You may order this book and/or obtain the latest catalog of chess books and equipment from the U.S.C.F., 186 Rt. 9W, New Windsor, NY 12553 or call toll-free 1-800-388-5464.

Copyright 1995 Hanon W. Russell All Rights Reserved ***************************************************************