Book Review: How to Beat Magnus Carlsen by Cyrus Lakdawala

 


IM Cyrus Lakdawala is prodigiously good at publishing books and always seems to find titles that most club players at a bookstall would browse if not buy outright. We all have been his victims at some time or other if you are a typical tournament chessplayer. We lose a chess game then flock to a bookstall buying opening books, middlegame strategy and endgame tomes like it would have made a difference. His latest book is no exception given that it is a book that supposedly teaches the reader how to beat the world chess champion and strongest-ever chess player by Elo. It is very curious that the book kicks off with a chapter about how Magnus avoids loss by either a win or draw, which seemed a rather strange way to delve into his defeats given the book's title.

Another curious fact is that Magnus Carlsen now owns New in Chess so this book is about the owner of their book publishing company and may explain the curious first chapter.

As you know with my reviews I don't necessarily delve knee-deep into variations (or even toe deep, to be honest) and don't do regurgitating games or fragment of games that you can read or study yourself when you inevitably buy this book, which you will, but rather I discuss the book's content strategically and at a high level to understand the audience, the quality and ultimately the value to my chess community of the book in question. It makes for a more informative review for the amateur chess player who my blog is aimed at. Grandmasters are welcome but we don't fawn over you on this platform.

This book's remaining six chapters are thankfully stuffed full of Magnus Carlsen losses. It is particularly pleasing how the book's chapters breakdown the various scenarios in which Magnus Carlsen lost. 





We would definitely recommend this book because it is actually funny to see the world's strongest player losing like well... one of us. Some of you may remember the book published about Kasparov's losses called "How his Predecessors Misled him about Chess", a very similar cheeky but serious look at Kasparov losing in a similar position that he found so compelling and winning in his book.


Go buy this book, "How to Beat Magnus Carlsen" by Cyrus Lakdawala not because it is flawless but because it is full of flaws.

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