Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Tukmakov, Lost in Translation

After a particularly horrific showing at the Southern Class Championship in Orlando last weekend (very ably run by the Continental Chess Association, and where my otherwise very good play was undone by 3 unforced errors), I received a bye for round 4, and had time to peruse vendor Thad Roger's extensive selection of books on offer.  Thad is an American Chess Institution, I should add, so checking out his stuff is obligatory!

My eye was caught by GM Tukmakov's Modern Chess Preparation.  I already own his Risk & Bluff in Chess, but had only read a few games because I have been focused on endgames.

As I flipped through MCP, I noticed that he kept referring to "MF", as in "MF thinks the position is equal" and other such comments.

Of course, my immediate reaction was "MF? WTF?"

Not said out loud, of course- I subscribe to the notion that curse words are a sign of a weak mind trying to express itself forcefully, but it made me laugh and wonder at the same time.  Is MF another GM?  I could not think of an engine by those initials, but maybe there is one out there somewhere.

I investigated further, and at the beginning of the book, Tukmakov explains that "MF" means "Metal Friend".  Whew!

That said, one would get the impression that none of the translators or editors have ever seen an American movie.  And yes, just typing that, with all the unspoken innuendo about American culture, gives me pause...freedom is many things, but classy isn't necessarily one of them.

Even so, I consider this to be a rather awkward and funny translation and editorial gaffe, and below New In Chess's normal standards.  And I love NIC like a groupie.

Of course, when I got home, I checked Risk & Bluff, and on page 11 he writes "As in my previous books, I call him my Silicon Friend, or SF".

Translator revisionist history, I think!

Digging deeper, it seems that the first book (MCP) was written in 2012 and translated by Colin McGourty, while the second was translated by Steve Giddins.  Lesson learned, I suppose!