07 January 2015

Books on the Carlsen - Anand Matches

Anyone interested in a book on one or both of the Carlsen - Anand title matches? I imagine many people are, so let's take a look at what's available. Amazon.com currently lists five titles. I've grouped them here by author, with links to the corresponding Amazon pages.

Karsten Müller

Jon Edwards

Raymond Keene and Anastasiya Karlovich

Bookfinder.com lists only the Keene / Karlovich titles: Title is anand carlsen; Book is written in English. Why is that? The Müller and Edwards titles are listed on Amazon as 'Kindle Edition', implying that they are only available in digital format.

The two Keene / Karlovich works are both listed on Amazon as 'Publisher: Ishi Press'. I am extremely reluctant to buy anything published by that outfit, not just because the book on the 2013 match has two stars (out of five) based on three customer reviews, while the book on the 2014 match has one-and-a half stars on two reviews.

I already have one book by Ishi Press: ELISTA DIARIES: Karpov-Kamsky, Karpov-Anand, Anand Mexico City 2007 World Chess Championship Matches by Anatoly Karpov and Ron Henley; December 5, 2007. The Karpov / Henley writings, which make up the bulk of the book, are first rate, but the rest is not.

For example, the last page of the book discusses the following photo. The discussion is signed 'Sam Sloan'.


'Hot Tomalis [sic] on the Mexican Professional Chess Player circuit?'

'Nondescript women'? Before reading Sloan's petty, sexist writeup, many players would recognize Arianne Caoili and Aruna Anand. They might also wonder what they have to do with the Karpov / Henley material. In a word, they have *nothing* to do with it.

Back to the Keene / Karlovich works, the name Raymond Keene also raises a red flag. I have a number of his books on title matches, which I listed in World Championship Bibliography. While I wouldn't mind buying another work in his series, other knowledgeable chess fans wouldn't go near them.

The names Ishi and Keene taken together convince me to keep my money in my wallet. Buyer beware.

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