so. The Magician from Riga was a monumental player and
jovial personality, but even more fortunate for the rank and
file he was a first class journalist. This autobiography
written in biography form (Tal as interviewer and
interviewee!), is as honest a book written by a world class
sportsman as you will find. No other chess player before
had included so much of his own private and professional
life while still competing. Then there were the games,
which were presented postscript at the end of each
chapter like a wonderful afterthought, a second book
themselves. In my opinion, this book sets the standard for
which any chess autobiography, biography, or game
collection should be measured by.
Stranded On A Desert Island?
Twelve Modern Chess Books To Pack!
by Ken Calitri
r Ø c
As a chess player one of my greatest fears is being stuck
on a desert island without chess books. C’mon, be honest,
you’ve had the same uneasy feeling: “I can’t bring my
library on this cruise, so what would I pack in the event
some glassy-eyed Sea Captain sinks the boat?” Having
thought about this at length, I decided on 12 books, 12
Wilson’s if you will -- one for every month just in case no
one has the foggiest notion where you are.
The 1980’s – The Two Kings
4) Chess at the Top by Anatoly Karpov
This game collection covers 1979-1984 when Karpov was
nearly invincible. It includes every game from his 1981
Merano World Championship Match, in which he
dismantled Viktor Korchnoi. Karpov is a very good
teacher; his text annotations are clear and concise and he
limits his analysis to key lines to not overwhelm the
reader. This collection is a self-portrait of his style and
results right before his matches with Kasparov. Most of us
forget that if Karpov had moved 33.a6 in game 41 of the
first Moscow match he would have won 6-1 and we would
probably be considering him the greatest of all time. This
is the perfect book to re-discover Karpov and learn from
his best games.
For the trip, I’m picking the books based on the following
criteria:
1. They must be modern i.e. written after 1970 with
each decade represented equally
2. Variety is the spice of life – you won’t find 12
Informants on the list!
3. All are masterpiec es! An overused phrase to be
sure, however, separated into its original form ‘a
master’s piece’ – each book is unique and well
crafted
The 1970’s – End of the Golden Era
5) The Test of Time by Garry Kasparov
This book is similar to “Chess at the Top”. It covers all
major GM events in Kasparov’s career ending with his
Semi-Final Candidates victory over Smyslov in 1984. This
heavily annotated collection brims with Kasparov’s
youthful exuberance, zeal and genius for the game, while
the selected games cover a wide variety of opponents and
openings. Reading this book and “Chess at the Top” will
provide weeks of happy study and will transport you to a
critical juncture in the history of chess, right before they
would begin a titanic struggle for the World Chess Crown.
1) Fischer Versus Spassky Reykjavik 1972
by CHO’D Alexander
I’ve read every book in English on this match and with all
due respect to Robert Byrne and Ivo Nei’s book I keep
coming back to this one as my all time favorite. The late
CHO’D Alexander’s top shelf writing brings the
background drama and games to life like no other book on
this match. His insightful introductions and lengthy
annotations read like short stories. Reading this book you
will think it was an eyewitness account, but in truth
Alexander wrote this book from a hospital bed, making it
all the more noteworthy.
6) Moscow 1985, Karpov versus Kasparov
by Yuri Averbakh and Mark Taimanov
This unheralded match book covers both Moscow World
Championship matches; the aborted 48 game marathon
and the fixed 24 game rematch. This book treats you to 72
chess lessons given by two seasoned Russian
Grandmasters. Not only do you get game introductions
and heavily annotated games, but also the time allotment
for each move as well. Also, you may want to stow away
books on the London 1986 and Seville 1987 matches in
your partner’s suitcase!
2) Simple Chess by Michael Stean
In 1976, GM Michael Stean published this short treatise
on positional chess, which quickly faded out-of-print.
Years ago I read a comment by Euwe, “You will begin
understanding chess when you realize chess is all about
SQUARES.” To punctuate his point, Euwe had an empty
board diagram accompany the quote. His comment was
an epiphany to me, but for me “Simple Chess” was my
“AHA!” moment in chess. Twenty years later, I was
standing in Fred Wilson’s chess book store in NYC. Fred,
over the years, provided consulting to Dover Publishing,
recommending chess books they should republish. That
day he was asking for ideas and I emphatically suggested
to him, “Fred, Simple Chess is an unsung classic!” For
months I kept haranguing Fred until one day he happily
told me, “Simple Chess” would be republished by Dover.
The 1990’s – Long Live the King
7) Five Crowns
by Yasser Seirawan and Jonathan Tisdall
This book covers the final 1990 New York/Lyon World
Championship Match between the two K’s. Seirawan
honed his journalistic chops for over a decade as the chief
contributor for “Inside Chess” magazine. Here Yasser
vividly captures every aspect of the match; the sporting
moments, psychological factors and moves themselves
3) The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
by Mikhail Tal
This colossal book was an instant classic and deservedly
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