Chess Books

Originally published as From My Games, 1920-1937, the fifth World Champion comments on his rise to the top. Euwe was a hero in his native country of the Netherlands, and his book explains why - Euwe was one of the very few who could stand up to the mighty Alekhine. Not only could Euwe hold his own, he scored some magnificent wins, such as his sparkling sacrifice of a knight against Alekhine at Zürich 1934 or the so called 'Pearl of Zandvoort' victory from the 1935 clash which elevated Euwe to the position of World Champion. Dr Max Euwe is the only world champion to have come from Holland, where his triumph created something like nationwide chess fever. An apostle of order and logic, and a man possessed of a steely determination to win, Euwe seized the chess crown from the volatile Alekhine in 1935 - only to lose it back in the rematch of 1937. Nevertheless, Euwe held his own against such giants as Botvinnik, Fine, Fischer, Geller and Alekhine himself, in most cases giving as good as he got. Euwe went on to become president of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and in this capacity he officiated at the celebrated 1972 championship between Fischer and Spassky. Euwe is the most active world champion on the Hardinge Simpole list, having written or contributed to no fewer than five published or forthcoming titles: Modern Chess Theory, Chess Treasury of the Air, the Tournament book of Groningen 1946 , WCC 1937 and his own selection of best games.

Mr Warburton's chess skill was in the relm of correspondence play. Here are the best of the best - he only hauled down his colours once in over thrity years of play. His coloborator, Mr Bogan is unknown to me, but has added some introductory comments and analysis. The authors are to be commended - Mr Bogan living in the USA, Mr Warbuton in UK. Diagrams and layout are excellent.

He has a new format for the answers: he jumbles them so that you cannot sneak a peak. The problems are quite challenging right from the jump, even for a 2000+ player such as myself. And some will leave you exclaiming with awe. Equal or better than any tactics book currently available.

This book covers Kasparov's games from 1975-1982. With it you can study and trace the development of Kasparov's opening repertoire and style from the age of 12 to the age of 19, the year he participated in the 1982 Olympics with the Russian team. A number of his very best games (10 games from 1979-1982) are given an in-depth verbal analysis at the beginning, whereas the rest are analyzed in informator codes,(though not all are analyzed, particularly those from 1975-1978) but they are still worth the read simply because of the beauty and creativity of Kasparov's style. For those who want to improve their combinative/sacrificial ability I highly recommend it; the sacrifices and combinations Kasparov has performed in a number of games are astounding. It is a must have for every serious chessplayer, and next to Fischer's and Karpov's games, one of the most effective collection of games of a single player for increasing one's playing strength.

Grandmaster Gufeld's next edition, entitled My Gioconda, will be coming out soon. Gufeld, who has defeated the likes of Tal, Bronstein, Smyslov, and many other greats, presents here a collection of entertaining anecdotes and beautiful games. Gufeld brings to this book his own imagery filled approach to annotation, a joy for master and beginner alike. This book is worth the price just to see the games against Smyslov, Bagirov, and Kavalek---all of which are among the hundred greatest games ever played!

No book has exerted a greater impact on chess thought over the past 80 years. Variations may come and go, but Nimzowitsch was a seeker after eternal truths and the precepts outlined in this strategic manual have withstood the ravages of time. Breakthroughs in understanding often follow breakthroughs in verbal formulation - Nimzowitsch's skill at translating chess board operations into words was one of the secrets both of his personal success and of the longevity of his system.
Aron Nimzowitsch - grandmaster and strategic innovator - is one of the defining voices of modern chess. his classic books My System and Chess Praxis are immortal classics which taught and inspired generations of grandmasters and champions, such as Petrosian, Larsen, Karpov and Leko. As a player, Nimzowitsch won the important tournaments at Dresden 1926 and Carlsbad 1929, which made him a potential candidate for the world championship. His strategic formulations such as "first restrain, then blockade, finally destroy", "the mysterious rook move" and "the passed pawn's lust to expand" have passed into the very currency and lifeblood of chess usage.

The ideas are presented in such a clear and simple language that I truly believe this is a must have for beginners and intermediate players who are serious about their play. The author carefully develops and describes the most important elements that need to be taken into account during every game of chess: Space (The center, mobility, the control of unoccupied squares, stability, etc.), Time (Development, gambits, pins, etc.), Force (Relative values, sacrifices, etc.), and Pawn Structure (Mobility, passed, connected, isolated and backward pawns, determining a strategy from pawn structure, etc.).

A full chapter is devoted to quiz positions where one can test the principles and techniques behind the ideas learned through the book. I bought this book as part of a used chess book collection on an auction, and I was not disappointed at all with this title. The book systematically showed me how to think and analyze typical situations that as a matter of fact I have encountered during actual play.

The book uses descriptive notation, but I guess this is just a matter of preference and it actually doesn't affect the quality and usefulness of the information presented. Nevertheless you should take this into account in case you prefer algebraic notation.

The ideas are presented in such a clear and simple language that I truly believe this is a must have for beginners and intermediate players who are serious about their play. The author carefully develops and describes the most important elements that need to be taken into account during every game of chess: Space (The center, mobility, the control of unoccupied squares, stability, etc.), Time (Development, gambits, pins, etc.), Force (Relative values, sacrifices, etc.), and Pawn Structure (Mobility, passed, connected, isolated and backward pawns, determining a strategy from pawn structure, etc.).

A full chapter is devoted to quiz positions where one can test the principles and techniques behind the ideas learned through the book. I bought this book as part of a used chess book collection on an auction, and I was not disappointed at all with this title. The book systematically showed me how to think and analyze typical situations that as a matter of fact I have encountered during actual play.

The book uses descriptive notation, but I guess this is just a matter of preference and it actually doesn't affect the quality and usefulness of the information presented. Nevertheless you should take this into account in case you prefer algebraic notation.

These "New Ideas..." books by Henry Holt were great. They amounted to collections of exciting games in an opening, with tons of other games in the notes. In this one, the notes are very good. It seems that Flear put a lot of work into it. I love this book and this opening!

The Nimzowitsch/Larsen attack (1 b3 ) is one of the most interesting and most flexible opening systems in which the theory has not yet fully crystallised. It is, therefore, an ideal choice for the player wishing to avoid sharp theoretical duels in the opening and preferring to throw his opponent on his own resources at an early stage.
Raymond Keene is a British Chess Champion,and the first British Player to achieve a FIDE (World Chess Federation) Grandmaster norm. He was awarded the OBE for services to chess in 1985. He is Chess Correspondent of The Times,The Sunday Times,The Spectator, and The International Herald Tribune. He is a prolific author of chess books, several of which are classics of the genre. He has organised three World Chess Championships.