In their section "Christmas Stocking Fillers" the December edition of the London CHESS Magazine warmly recommends this book, about which they write:

There is usually a race to publish books on a potential new world champion of chess, and this time the winner is definitely [publisher] Elk and Ruby. Everyone else seems happy to sit on the fence until this year’s title match is over, but the fact is that the games of Gukesh have already been worthy of a published collection for some time, despite him being only 17 when this book was published.

Playing through the games – in which his victims include Magnus Carlsen, but not, alas, Ding Liren, who held an undefeated plus score against the Indian superstar at the time of writing – brings home just how strong Gukesh is, even some time before his latest exploits, including his superb performance on board one at this year’s Olympiad.

Lakdawala curbs his overtly flowery prose this time around, making the reading experience altogether tighter and more interesting. After all, with a player of Gukesh’s quality, the games can easily be allowed to speak more or less for themselves – which they do, with flying colours. Here is case in point.

The Indian chess explosion is the most exciting thing to happen to our game in many years, especially as there are no prima donnas and no sign of anyone having to endure a punch to the head after a player suffers a defeat. Of course, the story of Gukesh will continue for some time to come and this will not be the last volume to cover his life and games. However, this is a very enjoyable book which makes a strong impression.

Cyrus Lakdawala is an IM and author of chess books. He is known for his highly productive output, having published over 40 books on various aspects of chess, including opening repertoires, player biographies, and general improvement guides.

As an author, Lakdawala is recognized for his unique, personal writing style and his ability to provide detailed annotations of complete games. His books are known for their detailed annotations of complete games and their ability to improve readers' overall chess play beyond just opening theory

Lakdawala is also a chess teacher, dedicating about 20 hours a week to instruction. He maintains an active tournament schedule, participating in approximately two tournaments per month.

In addition to his chess activities, Lakdawala is known to practice meditation and exercise regularly. He has spoken about being autistic, discussing both the benefits and challenges it presents in his life and work.

You can get the book From Boy to Man to Challenger, by Cyrus Lakdawala, 256 pages, Elk and Ruby for £23.95 [subscribers £21.55] from Chess & Bridge.

Other bargain from Chess & Bridge

ChessBase 18 – Starter Package ChessBase PC-DVD
RRP £225.00 SUBSCRIBERS £202.50

The latest version of the world’s leading chess software, the famous database program ChessBase, has just landed at Baker Street. This ‘Starter Package’ contains not just ChessBase 18, but Big Database 2025, as well as a one-year update service and a year’s subscription to premium ChessBase membership. New features include access to the 6 billion games on Lichess, with the ability to search both those and on Chess.com for games played by your next prospective opponent, on whom the ChessBase software can now even analyse their playing style.

It’s also possible to purchase as a stand-alone product ChessBase 18 for £175.00 (Subscribers: £157.50), or to upgrade from ChessBase 17 for £135.00 (Subscribers: £121.50). If you’re upgrading so, please supply the existing program key when ordering from Chess & Bridge.

Available too is ChessBase 18 – Mega Package, which is the same as the Starter Package, but comes with the annotated version of the main ChessBase database, Mega Database 2025, and retails overall for £325 (Subscribers: £292.50). Finally, there’s ChessBase 18 – Premium Package, available for £425 (Subscribers: £382.50), and the same as the Mega Package, but with users receiving extra features, most notably Corr Database 2024 and a year’s subscription to ChessBase Magazine.

If you’re happy with your existing ChessBase software, but would like a new database, Big Database 2025 might fit the bill, retailing at £79.95 (Subscribers: £71.95), while nowadays containing a whopping 11 million games, played between 1475 and 2024. More serious players may prefer the same data, but with over 120,000 of the games being annotated, as is the case with Mega Database 2025. Those who purchase this database are also promised a weekly update of over 5,000 games throughout 2025, so long as the database is being used in ChessBase 16, 17 or 18. The latest Mega Database retails at £195.00 or £175.50 for Subscribers, while those who wish to upgrade from Mega Database 2024 may do so for £95.00 (Subscribers: £85.50). Finally, do note that even older Mega Database users may also upgrade, for £135.00 or £121.50 for Subscribers. If you are upgrading so, please 56 www.chess.co.uk 57 return your DVD or supply the existing program key.