I'm back !!!
97. The World's Greatest Chess Games by Burgess, Nunn, and Emms
(AKA The Mammoth Book Of TWGCG)
I have an older edition. It is outstanding.
This is a game collection. The games are sorted historically. The annotations are some of the best that I have seen.
You get everything from Mc Donnell and Anderssen to Kasparov and Anand in this wonderful 100 game collection.
Also included is a brief bio of every player.
The Evergreen Game, Immortal Game, and even the Spassky game from the James Bond film From Russia With Love are included !!!
Mine has a price of $10.95 on the back.
A MUST BUY
98. Chess Master VS Chess Amateur By Euwe & Meiden
Another excellent game collection
In this one, games are played between amateurs of all levels and a master. The games are well annotated to point out the mistakes that the amateur is making. Using this approach, one is able to see what they may be similarly doing wrong.
A CLASSIC
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
99. Chess Master VS Chess Master By Euwe & Meiden
The follow up to the previous book
Another excellent annotated game collection
In this one, it is master against master.
The games themselves are more complex but the annotations are still wonderful. There is a game between Browne and Bisguier that still awes me today. Definitely worth buying
Highly Recommended (start with the previous book first)
100. Logical Chess Move By Move By Chernev
One of the GREAT CLASSICS
In this book, very thematic (and old) grandmaster games are annotated. Here is the catch ... There is an annotation after every single move !!! This book is very good about explaining what is going on in every game. The games themselves are very thematic. They range from attacking the weakened castling king (after h3/h6) to the exploitation of the slightest positional advantage.
This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ALL LEVELS.
Maybe Even A MUST HAVE
101. The Most Instructive Games Of Chess Ever Played By Chernev
62 very thematic well annotated games are included in this one.
The games are outstanding and some of them leave a lasting impression.
In this one, you can see many themes illustrated including trading to a favorable ending, the power of two bishops, and work on the isolated pawn.
The games are from the 1800s to about 1960.
A VERY INSTRUCTIVE BOOK
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
102. Great Brilliancy Prize Games Of The Chess Masters By Reinfeld
This is a collection of games from the tournaments of yester-year that won the most beautiful game awards. Brilliancies tend to have an original or highly complicated combination that is truly pleasing to play over.
I haven't actually read this book yet. (It is one of my newer ones.)
Seek Another Review
103. Great Games By Chess Prodigies By Reinfeld
This is a book devoted to the child geniuses of chess.
Included are the games of young Morphy,Capablanca,Reshevsky, and Fischer.
The games are annotated well.
A Good Book but not necessary
104. 500 Master Games Of Chess By Tartakower and Du Mont
A CLASSIC
In this book, Tartakower sorts out the 500 games by opening variation. This makes a good (but dated) opening manual as well. For instance, if you want to see a game with the 3. ... Bc5 Ruy Lopez, you just flip to the Ruy without a6 and there they are. The games are annoatated quite nicely as well. I know many players who truly love this book. I always preferred Tartakower's book on his own games.
Very Good / Great but perhaps not necessary
105. 107 Great Chess Battles 1939-1945 By Alekhine
Alekhine annotates the games of his day, not just his games but his contemporaries' games as well.
The annotations look nice but I haven't actually read it.
106. Epic Battles Of The Chess Board By Coles
A collection of 50 great games throughout the history of chess.
I haven't actually played through them but the book looks like it has all been done before.
107. Chess World Title Contenders And Their Styles By Kopec and Pritchett
A very interesting "time capsule" book.
An illustration, bio, and game collection of the top players of that era (around 1980).
Most of the "threats" to the world title are here, including Miles, Timman, Browne,Andersson (one of my favorite chapters),Hubner,Ribli,Ljubojevic, and Kasparov !!!
A Very Interesting Book
Recommended ... but not really instructive ... more of historical value
108. Best Lessons Of A Chess Coach By Sunil Weeramantry
I have mixed feelings about this book.
It is another game collection to illustrate themes.
On the plus side, it is different than the others.
The author goes through the games with a question and answer format. After the particular thematic game, similar games with the same theme are included. The games are excellent and the comment/annotations are very helpful. I guess I have to say it
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
More in a few. 🙂
109. Learn From The Grandmasters By Keene
One of a Kind
In this one, many great Grandmasters are interviewed. They are asked to submit two games. The first is a game that influence/inspired them. The second is one of their own favorite games. There is some nice frank commentary in this one by some of the best.
Included are Tal (!), Korchnoi, Larsen, Andersson, Speelman, Seirawan, and more !!!
The games are a real delight to play through.
This is another of my PERSONAL FAVORITES.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
110. Strategic Chess: Mastering The Closed Game By Mednis
Non-open games are examined here by way of annotated games.
There are chapters on the Benko Gambit, Dutch, QG, English Opening, and so on.
The games tend to be thematic and show the general kind of play that evolves from these openings.
A Good Book but not necessary
111. The Art Of Positional Play By Reshevsky
Reshevsky annotates great games. Yada Yada Yada
Maybe a classic, I haven't really read it.
Seek Another Review
112. Understanding Chess Move By Move By John Nunn
John Nunn uses the method from Logical Chess Move By Move to write a modern book.
There is an annotation after every move.
The games are modern and excellent.
They are thematic as well.
I didn't really fall in love with it but it is a
GREAT BOOK
113. Thinkers' Chess By Stephan Gerzadowicz
An annotated game collection ... Here is the catch ...
The games are all played by amateurs/non masters.
Here, a master takes the time to annotate a collection of games played solely by amateurs !!!
In doing this, he is able to point out flaws and misconceptions that all of us have (but might not see).
The games are actually fun to play through.
Recommended
114. S T A R Chess by Motwani
The author of H O T and C O O L Chess is back again..
A nice and instructive game collection.
It never struck a chord with me.
Many others truly love Motwani's style.
I suggest you Seek Another Review.
115. Modern Middlegame Lessons By Evans, Silman, And Smith
Game Collection ... Annotation After Every Move ... Mostly Done Before
In the middle of the game, however, you are asked to come up with the correct plan for each side. Towards the ending, there is a synopsis of how the respective plans worked out.
Good Not Necessary
116. Strategy For Advanced Players By Eric Schiller
How in the world did I get this far without coming across Mr.Schiller?
He and Soltis seem to have a competition to see who can write the most books. (Soltis may be behind since the end of Chess Digest.)
In this book Eric slaps some annotations around some pretty nice chess games.
The games, played by very strong players, are very good.
The annotations are good, I guess.
Good / Not Necessary
117. Classic Chess Problems (By Pioneer Composers) By Howard
Very Nice Chess Problem Book/Collection ... if you are into that sort of thing ... I'm sadly not
118. Sixty Best Games of 1972 By Chess Digest
One of old $1/free books from Chess Digest. The title pretty much says it all.
OK
It is now time for some chess tournament books !!!
I always prefer to have an actual book with annoations.
Some tournament books are rare and hard to come by, however.
I suggest the Pittsburgh Chess Page/Club ... Archives.
On this page, you will find PGNs of tournaments, player games, and opening games all for free.
119. The Book Of The New York International Chess Tournament 1924
By Alexander Alekhine
Of all the tournament books ever written, this and Zurich 1953 are the absolute best.
Alekhine annotates every single game from the famous tournament.
The players list is a who's who of chess, including Lasker, Marshall, Alekhine, Capablanca, Reti, and others.
After 80+ years, the games are still excellent, instructive, and entertaining.
A LONG HAILED CLASSIC
MUST HAVE
120. New York 1927 by Tartakover
Slim (38 pages) ... The annotations are textless and informant style.
The games are obviously excellent.
If I'm not mistaken, there is another book out on this same tournament.
Not Recommended
121. Carlsbad International Chess Tournament 1929 By Nimzovich
Pretty good tournament book with annotations by Nimzovich.
Every game is not included.
Pretty Good ... Not Necessary
122. A.V.R.O. 1938 By Antler
Another outstanding book
Included is a photo and page of quotes from/on each player.
The player list is another who's who including Alekhine, Botvinnik, Keres, Fine,Capablanca, Reshevsky, Euwe, and Flohr.
The games are superb.
Recommended
123. Zurich 1953 By Bronstein
This and New York 1924 are the best two tournament books ever written.
Bronstein's annotations are among the best.
What's at stake? A shot at the World Title.
This is ONE OF THE ALL TIME GREAT TOURNAMENTS.
Players include Bronstein, Smyslov, Keres, Reshevsky, and others.
A MUST HAVE
124. 1982 U.S. Open by Marfia and Watson
OK account of that event. ... Not Necessary
125. 1983 U.S. Open By Marfia and Watson
OK account of that event .... Not Necessary
126. U.S. Championship 1983 by Christiansen
Good account ... Christiansen is a great annotator ... Not Necessary
127. New York 1985 By Taylor
The author placed dead last with a mere 2 points. LOL
I always get a kick out of that.
Good Annotations ... Not Necessary
128. Extreme Chess (World Championships 1935, 1937, and 1972) By C.J.S. Purdy
Purdy annotates both Alekhine-Euwe matches and Fischer-Spassky 1.
Annotations on the Alekhine-Euwe matches are very hard to come by.
That makes this book really outstanding.
Purdy was a great annotator as well.
Recommended
129. Persona Non Grata By Kortchnoi
Korchnoi's account of his match with Karpov. Mostly text, very little actual chess. I haven't really given it any time.
Seek Another Review
130. Tal-Botvinnik 1960 By Tal
The best match book and one of THE BEST CHESS BOOKS EVER WRITTEN. Tal's annotations have been praised by every chessplayer that I have ever come across. The games are of a very high caliber.
MUST HAVE
131. Five Crowns By Yasser Seirawan
The book I really want is No Regrets By Seirawan. A friend bought a copy and made me really jealous. I had to "settle" for this one. This is an excellent account of Kasparov-Karpov 1990.
Very Good
132. The Art Of War Revisited (Fischer-Spassky 1992) By White
One Of A Kind
The Fischer-Spassky return match is examined here.
The author incorporates the wisdom of Sun Tzu in the annotations !!!
For instance, Game 1 says "He who knows the art of the direct and indirect will be victorious-Sun Tzu".
This is a really original way to look at chess.
I have come across a few typos (which I corrected with my other Fischer book).
The list price is $17.95
Very Good
133. World Chess Championship Kasparov v Anand By Keene
An interesting thing about the book is the prematch info.
It has some of their encounters before the big match.
Also included is a short history of the title and how Anand got the shot.
The games are annotated pretty well.
Pretty Good
134. A New Era By Khodarkovsky and Shamkovich
This book covers both of Garry Kasparov's matches with Deep Blue.
There is a lot of text and the annotations are alright.
If you like to see man vs machine, this is a good book.
Good
Now, we come to game collections on individual players.
These are my favorite kind of book.
There is nothing like a good game collection with annotations by the actual one who played the game.
You get to see the real thought processes of that player.
In my opinion, this is where the real instruction is.
I have my players sorted in historical order.
135. The Chess Games Of Adolph Anderssen By Pickard
Every known Anderssen game is included in this book (897).
Also included are his problems.
The games are only annotated with informant style notes.
There is no text.
That's not really good but what can you really expect with 897 games.
This is more of a book for completeness of collection than instruction.
Games by Anderssen are also very fun to play through.
This is not to everyone's taste.
YOU DECIDE
136. Morphy's Games Of Chess By Sergeant
THE BOOK ON MORPHY and it has been for years and years.
Most if not all of Morphy's known games are included in this one.
The annotions are alright but not great.
Still, every Morphy fan should have this.
137. The Unknown Morphy By Sergeant
Morphy's games, writings, and biography are included in this one.
I think some material that he may have missed in the previous book are included too. One very interesting thing is Morphy's annotations to the Mac Donnell-Labourdonnais match.
This is a slim book as well (114 Pages).
Very Good but get the previous book first.
138. Paul Morphy And The Evolution Of Chess Theory By Shibut
A modern player takes a modern look at Morphy's style.
Morphy is put to the test so to speak by being compared to modern players. I haven't given this book much attention either.
It seems Pretty Good.
139. William Steinitz Selected Chess Games By Divide
Dover Publishing company has published some of the greatest chess books time and again. I am always amazed by the quality and thoroughness of their chess books.
I'm not commenting on this particular book but the company in general.
This book includes a short bio and annotated game collection (possibly by Steinitz himself) of his games.
The games are wonderful.
The book is 109 pages and the price on the cover is $2 !!!
That's from many years ago (1974 ... it's out of print) but still amazing. The price brings to mind when chess was more about enjoyment than grabbing every dollar like today's books seem to.
This is a good book on Steinitz. It is hard to find a good annotated game collection on him.
If you have read my review on the Anderssen book, there is also a similar book out on Steinitz. The book is also by Pickard but be warned THAT book has no text ... just informant style annotations.
I'll stick with Devide.
Recommended for the Steinitz fan.
140. Blackburne's Chess Games by Blackburne
I didn't even know there was a book available on Blackburne until last year. (It has been out of print.)
This is a nice game collection. He gives actual thought processes.
The games are sorted by openings.
Bear in mind the games are from the late 1800's.
Very Good Book
141. Mikhail Chigorin by Bogoljubov
240 Chigorin games with informant style annotations.
Great games ... not that great book
I don't own it but maybe you should look into My Love Affair With Tchigorin by Santasiere. I believe it is a game collection on the same player.
142. Emanuel Lasker The Life Of A Chess Master by Hannak
ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES
You get a very nice Lasker biography.
Also included are 100 of his games.
I love this book (and Lasker).
143. Lasker's Greatest Chess Games 1889-1914 By Reinfeld and Fine
Some more of the great World Champion's games.
The annotations are pretty good.
165 pages ... Original Cover Price $2
144. Why Lasker Matters By Andrew Soltis
When Soltis isn't righting opening manuals, he is really something.
This is an excellent book. Many of Lasker's great games are in this book. The annotations (By a modern day GM) are outstanding.
I have actually played through every single game in this book !!!
Highly Recommended (Maybe even more than the Hannak book)
145. Three Hundred Chess Games By Tarrasch
Algebraic English Language Edition
A Great Book With Great Annotations
I particularly like the match with Tchigorin.
146. Pillsbury's Chess Career By Sergeant
I just got this in the mail two days ago !!!
It looks like a very good book. It is very similar to the book on Morphy. He seems to compile all the games of a player he can into a book. The games are annotated as well.
147. Pillsbury The Extraordinary By Soltis And Smith
Biography and 30 Games Annotated In Algebraic
Good But Not Great (in my opinion).
148. Marshall's Best Games Of Chess
(Formerly Titled My Fifty Years Of Chess) By Marshall
An excellent game collection
Marshall was an expert tactician.
He was equally famous for his devious swindles. 🙂
Here you have Marshall's own annotations of his games.
Included are Danish Gambits, Muzios, and Sicilian Wing Gambits.
The games are really a joy to play through.
In the back is even a small section on opening theory.
Great Book
Recommended
149. Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces By Kmoch
Rubinstein was an excellent positional player. I have heard it said that he was the best in the world before the war destroyed his nerves.
Another great book on a great player.
150. My Chess Career By Capablanca
I have the old descriptive edition. It has been put into algebraic.
The games are annotated by Capablanca himself.
The annotations are very short.
The book ends before he played Lasker for the title (not losing a single game !!!).
Capablanca's games are of such a great quality that is worth buying even with the shabby annotations.
151. The Immortal Games Of Capablanca By Reinfeld
Perhaps better than the book above
This one covers Capablanca's entire career.
The games are annotated very well.
To learn positional chess, study Capablanca
Recommended
152. The Unknown Capablanca By Hooper And Brandreth
Lesser known Capa games ... simuls ... exhibitions ... etc.
Not Really Necessary
153. The Games Of Jose Raul Capalanca by Caparros
Every known Capablanca game is here.
No annotations ... more of a reference book
For instance, if someone says have you seen Capablanca-Alekhine 1927 World Championship Game 7, you can just pull this out.
Other than that, this is quite useless.
154. Richard Reti's Best Games By Golombek
An excellent game collection on Reti.
In the early years, Reti played quite wild. There are some Muzios and stuff like that. He slowly converted to the closed hypermodern type of game (Reti Opening 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4).
Pretty Good Book
155. Aaron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal By Keene
Algebraic Edition (See Also My System and Chess Praxis)
This includes a very thorough look at the games/style of Nimzo.
There is a chapter by Larsen all about how Nimzo influenced and inspired him. It is excellent. Nimzo had influence over Petrosian (who was the master or prophylaxis).
All in all a very good book.
156. My Best Games Of Chess 1905-1954 By Tartakower
Tartakower was quite eccentric for his time.
His openings include 1.b4, 1.d4 Nf6 2.b3 !?, 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3. Be2 and other highly original ideas.
Being so different from his contemporaries is what makes him so special.
He also has a real knack for annotating games.
My copy says two volumes bound as one (no doubt out of print).
Highly Recommended
157. My Best Games Of Chess 1908-1937 By Alekhine
THERE MIGHT NOT BE A CHESSPLAYER ALIVE WHO DOES NOT LOVE THIS BOOK.
The annotations are wonderful. The games are very exciting.
Alekhine had a super aggressive style. You have to learn tactics just from playing through his games.
Let me give a small example of his imaginative play from game 1.
1.e4 e5 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.d3 Bb4 5.Bg5 Nd4 6.a3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 Ne6 8.
White to move
Alekhine came up with 8. h4 (!)
I didn't even consider that !!!
This is game 1. It only gets better.
Descriptive Notation
MUST HAVE
158. Alekhine In Europe And Asia By Donaldson
(Part of a 2 book set which also included Alekine In The Americas)
A collection of simuls/offhand games/ etc.
Not Necessary
159. From My Games 1920-1937 By Dr. M. Euwe
This is another fairly new edition to my library.
It seems like a very well annotated game collection.
It is after all, a Dover book. 🙂
160. Reshevsky's Best Games Of Chess By Reshevsky
Great Game Collection / Nice Annotations
For the Reshevsky Fan
161. In The Dark By Koltanowski
A Collection Of Games Played by George (Mr. Colle System) Koltanowski.
Many of the games are from simuls and/or played blindfolded !!!
There are some nice attacking games in this one.
The most common openings would be the Colle and Max Lange Attack.
Good
162. Lessons From My Games By Fine
Fine annotates his games.
The thing with all these game collections is that you have to kind of like the player. I have one on everyone for thoroughness. Most players won't go to all that trouble and just pick a few.
The most popular would be Alekhine and Tal (which I'll get too).
I don't want to give books like the one above a bad review. It is certainly a great book. I don't want to recommend it either because there are better ones to buy.
Let's just say Good Book
163. The Complete Games Of Paul Keres By Keres
I have an abridged three books in one version (The Early Years, The Middle Years, and The Later Years).
I don't know of its availability. I did see the 3 books separately on ebay for $99. That's too pricey.
That being said this is one of MY PERSONAL FAVORITES.
Keres is a great annotator. His progression of style is also fun to watch. In his early years, he played a lot of postal chess. He played every gambit he could get his hands on including 1.d4 e5. As he got older, his chess became less wild and more positionally minded. I think he said the older I get, the more I understand the value of pawns.
Anyway this is a GREAT COLLECTION by an EXCELLENT AUTHOR/ANNOTATOR.
Highly Recommended ... But Don't Spend A Fortune (The cover of mine was originally $2.95. Don't go overboard.)
Need A Lunch Break ... Back in a few
Aw...
"152. The Unknown Capablanca By Hooper And Brandreth
Lesser known Capa games ... simuls ... exhibitions ... etc.
Not Really Necessary "
I like this book. You see Capa in a different light - he is setting
traps and swindling. It's a well researched piece of work and a must
for any Capa fan.
(wirte that bit about 'Master Chess' again - just pretend you have two copies).
164. Isaac Boleslavsky Selected Games By Adams
The actual games are annotated by Boleslavsky himself, I believe.
This another good game collection by a good player.
I have a sneaking suspicion that Bobby Fischer got a lot of his openings/ideas from players like Nezhmedtinov and Boleslavsky. If you look at their opening repertoires and compare them to Fischer, you will see the similarities.
Not A Must Have but Great Book
165. One Hundred Selected Games By Botvinnik (Mr. Iron Logic)
Here we get 100 great games played by the three time world champion.
For those of you that don't know, Botvinnik gained the title when Alekhine died. The title went as follows Botvinnik-Smyslov-Botvinnik-Tal-Botvinnik-Petrosian. In the end, he said he was too old to adapt to Petrosian's style.
The games in this book are from a set period in his career (around 1926-1946 before he became champion).
Botvinnik is famous for taking a scientific approach to chess.
These are great games which include the French Winawer and occasional Dutch Stonewall (two of my favorites), among others.
Really Good Book ( Not for all tastes)
I have 3 other Botvinnik books on my wish list.
15 Games And Their Stories, Half A Century Of Chess, And Botvinnik On The End Game. I may try to get those soon.
166. The Sorcerer's Apprentice By Bronstein And Furstenberg
A good book by Bronstein on Bronstein.
In the front of the book, are 40 to move and win diagrams. The actual game is included around the diagram. Next, are some very well annotated games by Bronstein and a nice photo album, so to speak. Next, are 60 unannotated games (for completeness).
In the back, is a nice interview.
This is a very nice book to have. A Really Good Game Collection
167. My Best Games Of Chess 1935-1957 By Smyslov
Smyslov is a good annotator as well.
Very Good Book
I have 125 Selected Games by Smyslov on my wish list.
See Also Vassily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso which I reviewed earlier.
168. Super Nezh (Rashid Nezhmetdinov) By Pishkin
At the time that this book came out, the other book on Nezh (by Nezh) was hard to come by. Since then, it has been reprinted , possibly in English. It may be the best way to go.
This, however, is not a bad book by any means. Nezh is an overlooked master (and champion of draughts). He played many beautiful games. As I said in another review, Fischer played a lot of his openings, including the KID, Two Knights Caro-Kann, and Bc4 vs the Sicilian. I don't think Nezh was ever a world title candidate although , as I said, he really did produce some tactical masterpieces.
Worth Looking Into ... Good Game Collection ... Very Tactical Player
169. The Life And Games Of Mikhail Tal By Tal
ANOTHER OF THE ALL TIME CLASSICS
Tal is long considered one of the best annotators. I actually suggest you get Tal-Botvinnik 1960 first, by the same author. Here you will find his life story, along with his rise to the top. With Tal, the sacrifices seem to come from out of nowhere. A knight will sacrifice itself on a square that is defended two or three times and only 4 or 5 moves later will the point be shown. That is the type of genius Tal was. A very great player.
Highly Recommended ( But Bear In Mind This Is A World Champion And The Games Tend To Get Very Complicated)
170. The Magic Of Mikhail Tal By Gallagher
Gallagher seeks to fill a void in the game collections of Tal. Not much was written on this (the latter period) of Tal's career.
Nice Well Annotated Games
171. The Complete Games Of Mikhail Tal 1960-1966 By Thomas
( Part of a 3 Book Series ... Book 1 1936-1959 is too darn expensive. They have all 3 for around $100 or book 1 alone for around $40. I only payed $10 each for books 2 and 3 and find that too much.)
Anyway, this contains every single game from this period.
The games are light to not annotated at all.
It's kind of nice to have every game though.
You don't get to see the losses in regular annotated game collections.
There's something pleasing about knowing that even the greats have games where they get outplayed/lose.
172. The Complete Games Of Mikhail Tal 1967-1973 By Thomas
(See Previous Review) This is where the set ends. For games after 1973, you may have to consult a database or just check out the Gallagher book.
Good for what it is.
173. Averbakh's Selected Games By Averbakh
Good Game Collection / Annotations
174. Ratmir Holmov By Woodger
OK Game Collection/ Annotations
The formatting of the book (all jumbled together) kind of makes me dislike it.
175. Petrosian's Best Games Of Chess 1946-1963 By Clarke
First of all, let me mention the publisher. Hardinge Simpole has done good and bad for chess. On the good side, they have reprinted all the classics (with their generic covers). You no longer have to search the web and hope the used copy of the book you ordered is still in readable shape. Limited original printings is no longer a problem either. On the minus, the books are entirely to expensive. I paid $30 for this book, new. The original book, although out of print, couldn't have cost more than $ 7 at first. $30 is one of the highest prices I have played for ANY of my chess books !!! They need to lower the price a little. After all, we are just buying there version of an already printed book. I really want Larsen's Games as well but I do not intend to ever pay this much again.
Now to the actual book.
Petrosian never wrote an official book of his annotated games.
For this reason, he is one of the overlooked World Champions.
To me, Petrosian has the hardest style to adopt.
Don't be aggressive, don't go for the initiative, just sit back and pick off all their little mistakes. While I could never play this way myself, it is a very fun style to watch. I respect it very much. Petrosian was almost unbeatable. He never won many tourns outright because he tended to draw to much , not because of losses.
This book by Clarke is an excellent game collection, annotated very well. I have played through every single game in this book as well, and it was a joy. This IS positional chess.
ONE OF MY PERSONAL FAVORITES ... HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ... Shame on you publisher for the big price.
176. Petrosian Vs The Elite By Keene And Simpole
Another great book on Petrosian. I haven't read all of this one. Not a single game in this book is in the Clarke book !!!
This one is better priced at $21.95 Retail, I think I paid $16 at Amazon.
I suggest you start with the Clarke book and go from there, although this one is cheaper.
177. Petrosian's Legacy By Petrosian
A Great Book
Contains Many Lectures by Petrosian himself
It even includes the candidates match with Fischer
Very Good Chat
Advanced Stuff
An Excellent Book
Possibly Hard To Find ... I think originally around $18
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
178. Petrosian The Powerful By Soltis And Smith
Nice Bio and Games
Alright ... but not on par with the others above
Next Post Spassky and Fischer !!!
179. Boris Spassky Master Of Tactics By Cafferty
Another excellent game collection with great annotations by Cafferty
It covers Spassky's career all the way to the loss to Fischer.
On my wishlist, is the book on Spassky by Soltis (It is dated though).
I do not think that Spassky has written a book on his own games, although I could be mistaken.
I think the Cafferty book is the second best thing.
180. Viktor Korchnoi's Best Games By Korchnoi
This book covers Korchnoi's career up to about 1977.
It's a good book with some nice games.
You might look into the two newer books (one with white and one with black) before investing in this one.
181. My 60 Memorable Games By Bobby Fischer
BUY IT ... enough said 🙂
An outstanding game collection by Bobby himself.
The games end before he became world champion.
A great ( maybe THE BEST) game collection.
Out of print and way over priced for many years.
There is much talk about a new algebraic edition.
Consider buying it.
182. Bobby Fischer: Profile Of A Prodigy By Brady
Another must for the Fischer fan.
Fischer BIO / Photo Album / Annotated Games
Great Book
183. Bobby Fischer By Hays
(Complete Games Of The American World Chess Champion - 1995 Edition with 101 New Games)
Every game Bobby ever played is in this book.
Even the rare simuls and pocket chess set game against Roberts is in here. (I hope I got that right)
No annotations ... more of a reference manual ... I am constantly looking to see if Fischer played a certain person/opening.
184. Fischer: His Approach To Chess By Agur
Some consider this a middlegame text.
Learn to play like Fischer.
A very good instruction book for learning chess itself and studying Fischer's style.
185. How To Beat Bobby Fischer By Mednis
(Also author of How Karpov Wins ... on my wishlist)
In this book, the author takes a deep look at some of Fischer's losses. They are sorted by oversight,outplayed,trap, etc.
The games are very nice and the annotations are excellent.
I imagine hardcore Fischer fans hate it on principle, but I love this book.
Recommended
186. Anatoly Karpov's Best Games By Karpov
Game Collection With Nice Annotations By Karpov
I had to make my own opening index (as I did with Zurich 53, I believe). I thought hey, maybe I'll learn a little about the Caro-Kann and Nimzo-Indian. There is one Caro-Kann and no Nimzo Indian in this book !!! In fact the majority of games seem to have Karpov as white.
Covers 1969-1994 in 43 games
Overall Good Collection
Next Post Kasparov/Miles/Speelman
187. Tony Miles It's Only Me Compiled By Geoff Lawton
Tony Miles really was a character. His annotations to the a6 game with Karpov always bring a smile to my face. 1.e4 a6 2.d4 b5 "By this time the spectators laughing was becomming embarassing."
You can find his annotations to the game at chessgames.com.
His book reviews are also funny. Here is his review of Unorthodox Chess Openings by Schiller " Utter Crap". LOL
All joking aside, Miles was one excellent chessplayer.
Time and again he would unleash an unorthodox opening on a unsuspecting opponent and have them beat before they knew what hit them.
He was also and endgame expert.
In this book, you get well annotated games, book reviews 🙂, interviews and other articles by Miles himself.
I find this book very entertaining. Great Book
188. Jon Speelman's Best Games By Speelman
Another excellent book by a candidate.
Speelman also has a nice sense of humor and an excellent writing style.
Great Book ... A Bit Advanced ... Recommended
189. Nigel Short's Best Games By Keene
The only chess book I ever won !!! I was playing in a tourn at ICC and apparently this was a prize. I got it in the mail a week or so later.
Very Slim (64 Pages) 8 1/2 by 11 pages
Nice photos, games, and annotations.
Good Book
190. Sokolov's Best Games By Sokolov
Good Games/Annotations
If you like Sokolov, go for it.
191. How Purdy Won by Purdy, Hutchings, and Harrison
Correspondence World Champion Purdy annotates his games.
Another good game collection.
192. Viktors Pupols American Master By Parr
Very Slim (77 Pages)
Various Musings from Poor Old Uncle Vic himself.
Games/ Lectures/ Stories
Brief Discussion of the Latvian Gambit (Black whens if the king reaches a6 , or something like that 🙂 )
Also includes a Latvian Gambit win over Fischer (blitz)
Very Fun / Entertaining Book
I only wish there was more of it.
193. Garry Kasparov's Fighting Chess by Kasparov, Speelman, and Wade
Kasparov annotates many games throughout his career.
Ends in 1995
Great Game Collection
194. Chess Gladiation by Asa Hoffman
If you've seen Searching For Bobby Fischer, he's the guy played by Austin Pendleton ( " I got him thinking. Maybe I can win a pawn." ).
The real Hoffman actually hated that. 🙂
Here is a collection of his games including an Evans win over Fischer (blitz).
1.Nc3 and the Czech Benoni are among his favorites.
Not a GM but an alright collection.
195. Billy Colias Midwest Master By Rantala, Schiller, and Watson
Tragic story about a talented young chess player.
Many of his games are included/annotated.
Now we get to Opening Books ( possibly the biggest waste of time and money there is, in my opinion).
196. Chess Openings Ancient And Modern By Freeborough and Ranken
This is a very old opening book (around the late 1800's if I'm not mistaken). This is more of a collector's item than useful book.
Many of the old openings are looked at in this one, including games at odds.
Collectors Only
197. Modern Chess Openings By Griffith And White Revised By Fine
This is a nice little edition of MCO (around World War 2). It is surprisingly very small and thin (about the size of two long wallets, side by side).
Fine's edition, although badly dated now, is considered a classic version of MCO.
I will go into details of later additions, later, as they are on the bottom shelf.
198 -202 E.C.O. Volumes A - E
The most specific all in one opening books you can get.
They are/were preferred by the master (before everything was done on computers). Books like this tend to age badly in the computer age. They are still the standard in printed opening manuals, however.