This edition has been signed by the author Todd Andrews! FM Todd Andrews recently released a manual, The Final Attack a tribute to the lessons of International Master Emory Tate. Of course, Tate passed away in 2015, but his lessons live on. Andrews was a Tate protégé and traveled with him to many tournaments soaking up pearls of wisdom. The life lessons left an impression on Andrews and a couple of years ago, he set out to put them into a set of volumes. The legacy continues. This handsome, full-color manual has a very bold and sleek look with Andrew and Tristan Tate illustrated on the cover with the luminous presence of their father. The pages are of high print quality and some of the artistic themes give the book a nice gallant touch. The manual comes in paperback with more than 400 diagrams, 60 annotated games, and finally 28 sizzling tactical positions. A number of the positions included games featured were played on the Internet so they may not have been seen before. The most important aspect of the manual is the themes that are prevalent in Tate’s attacking games. Concepts like the pawn lever to open lines, battering rams, sacrificial themes, and of course his famous rook lifts. Tate was an opportunistic player always looking for a chance to surprise the opponent like a predator creeping slowly in the tall grass to pounce on its prey. Some of the games are also featured in Triple Exclam including the famous Tate-Yudasin game. This game contains a treasure trove of lessons and still holds up as one of the most instructive attacking games ever played (pp. 126-130). There is considerable attention given to the variation Tate created in the Alekhine’s Defense after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.a4 a5 5.Ra3!? This was a variation that Tate first essayed in 1988 at the Air Force Championship against Waldowski ending in a 16-move draw. Tate would score some spectacular wins with this line including the game below against Manfred Herfel (pp. 46-52). This variation would develop a large following and would become a tremendous weapon, particularly in online blitz games.
