Xie Jun: Chess Champion from China

Autor: Xie Jun
Verlag: Gambit
Erscheinungsjahr: 1998
Sprache: Englisch
Buchumschlag: paperback
Seiten: 223

Xie Jun’s meteoric rise to stardom is virtually unprecedented in chess history. Born in 1970, in 1988 she was just a promising junior who had never even seen a Grandmaster, let alone beaten one. Yet in 1991 she became Women’s World Champion by decisively beating Maya Chiburdanidze, Champion since 1978.

This book provides a fascinating and frequently amusing look at the chess world through the eyes of a young Chinese woman, as she describes her unique life and career to date.

Since she came to (western) chess via the highly tactical Chinese form of the game, it is no surprise that Xie Jun’s style of play is extremely aggressive in nature. Her success shows that direct attacking play can be extremely effective in practice, and the reader is invited to sharpen his or her own skills by studying the 40 deeply annotated games and 12 puzzle positions in this book.

Xie Jun is a Grandmaster and was Women’s World Champion from 1991 up to her fateful and controversial match with Zsuzsa Polgar in 1996. She regularly competes with success against top-class male opposition, notably in the annual series of Women vs Veterans events. She is a talented linguist, as can be seen from her fluent, captivating English prose in this book.

“I recommend Chess Champion from China for its annotated games and puzzles and for its descriptions of tournament sites and competitors. Besides being Xie’s own chess story, her book gives insights into China’s rise to chess eminence” – Alexey Root, SparkChess.com

“An outstanding addition to chess literature” – Ken Bloodworth, WESTERN MORNING NEWS

“This thread of learning from her games and experiences weaves its way through the whole book in a most charming way.” – CHESS

“A candid account of her ascent...told with humour” – Adam Raoof, CEEFAX

“A feast of exciting, well-explained chess games and puzzles” - Paul Motwani, THE SCOTSMAN

“I couldn’t put it down...by the time she runs into power-hungry organiser Rentero you want to protect the poor girl by putting the bastard in stocks and pelting him with rotten fruit. A must-buy for any lover of chess lore” – Jeremy Silman, INSIDE CHESS

“...contains 40 memorable games with interesting and honest annotations, but equally, if not more intriguing, is the story of how Xie became a chess player and developed into a champion” – John Donaldson, INSIDE CHESS

“A unique, almost intimate perspective...this book deserves your attention” – Hanon Russell, CHESS CAFE WEB SITE

“A fascinating read...recommended” – AUSTRALIAN CHESS FORUM

“Highly enjoyable, and the details about daily life of this young tigress were refreshingly frank.” – Bernard Hanison, CHESS POST

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