Shortlist for the BCF (British Chess Federation) Book of the year 2000, judged by R B Edwards, Mike Fox and John Toothill, has been released. The short list has risen to five, but each covers a different subject or approach to the game. The short list is:

•  A Gnat May Drink - Jonathan Hinton privately published £15 The subtitle
  describes the book: one hundred annotated Games of Chess from 1900 to 1999.
  This selection of games, one for each year of the century, is in the
  author's words aimed primarily to entertain. He succeeds admirably by
  choosing mostly unknown games, which feature unusual positions and
  enterprising play and annotating them with great care.
  

• Buy now !	Kramnik My Life and Games - Vladimir Kramnik and Iakov Damsky Everyman Chess. A highly topical book on the World Championship challenger.Kramnik's biography is written by Damsky. 53 selected games have been chosen by Kramnik himself and there in lies the heart of the book. His in-depth annotations are outstanding and the games superb. A study of these reveals that the forthcoming world championship match is not a foregone conclusion.
  	List Price: $24.95 Our Price: $19.96 You Save: $4.99 (20%)

   

•  Queen's Gambit Declined - Matthew Sadler Everyman Chess £14.99 Specific
  opening books rarely feature in the Book of the Year awards as the writing
  rarely matches the analysis. But here is a treatise that is a delight to
  read not only for the knowledge displayed but for the humor and wit of the
  writing. A model book of its kind.
  
•  Soviet Chess 1917-1991 - Andrew Soltis McFarland £39.00 Soltis describes
  the rise, triumph and fall of the Soviet chess world in a highly readable,
  authoritative history. At all times Soltis has sympathy for the difficult
  economic environment and political predicaments in which the players often
  found themselves. Though expensive, the book is beautifully produced with
  tournament tables, photographs and numerous annotated games.
  
• The Road To Chess Improvement - Alex Yermolinsky Gambit £17.99 Yermolinsky
  describes how he progressed from a strong player to grandmaster and USA
  champion. Essentially a book about practical playing problems, Yermolinsky
  discusses how he overcame them and the many difficulties he solved on the
  way. It is a valuable contribution on subjects not covered in many more
  theoretical texts. Yermolinsky, a native born Russian, writes in fluent,
  idiomatic American.
  

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