Thursday, September 22, 2011

Cover Uncovered

Taylor's King's Gambit book now has a cover:

I cannot say I find it beautiful. I think the King's Gambit should wear something more classical. However, it probably draws a potential buyer's attention and that's quite an important feature.

I have so far not paid much attention to cover design but I have been very pleased with the covers by Wolff Morrow that Gambit Publication has provided for my books. That attitude will quite soon have to change as the books I plan to publish will need covers. The classic and relatively easy solution is a picture of the subject position on a good-looking wooden chess set. Unfortunately that will not draw a lot of attention, so I will need to add a twist. I will keep my eyes open.

4 comments:

Tom Tidom said...

It seems a bit strange to me that the cover of Taylors book is from Blacks point of view...

Sverre Johnsen said...

True!

I didn't notice but it's indeed a bit strange.

Michael Agermose Jensen said...

Good luck with the project, I liked your book on the Stonewall even if I don't play it, and look forward to this one. It seems King's gambit projects have been cursed in the past either resulting in inferior books or getting cancelled.

P.S.
What sort of co-author are you looking for?

Sverre Johnsen said...

Michael,

Thank you, I will need the luck. Lately I have been restructuring the KG book over and over again, trying to find the right angle for presentation.

But the really big issue of course is the analysis. I have some fresh ideas but I am not sure how much I can trust them. Rybka, Houdini and Fritz can only take you to a certain point. So I am looking for a co-author who can add credibility to the book, and who will scrutinize the critical lines with a human eye. Basically I hope to find a GM who has practical experience with the King's Gambit.

By the way, your NiC articles were very interesting and I will probably use some of your analysis in my book (properly credited of course). If you send me your e-mail address to "tafl64 at gmail dot com", I will be happy to send you an early draft of the manuscript in a month or two.