by Garry Kasparov with Dmitry Plisetsky, Hardcover, 464pp., (Everyman 2003)
The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but also of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators. These magnificent compilations of chess form the basis of the first two parts of Garry Kasparov's work on the history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play of his predecessors to rigorous analysis. Volume 1 features the play of champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1886-1894), Emanuel Lasker (1894-1921), Jose Capablanca (1921-1927) and Alexander Alekhine (1927-1935 and 1937-1946).
These books are more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.
All these games have been thoroughly reassessed with the aid of modern software technology and the new light this sheds on these classic masterpieces is fascinating.
Review On Oct 30, 2004 by Bill Conrad of Los Angeles, CA
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Why don't you own this book yet? BUY it. READ it. LEARN from it. Despite the few nitpicky objections by some people to this or that note, it is a great book.
So why DON'T you own it yet?
Review On Dec 13, 2004 by John-Marc Ormechea of Flint, MI
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This book is one of the best I've read in a while along with part two. My first history book on chess I read was "Grand Masters of Chess" an excellent book if you can find it. If you have the time and love the game then this book is for you. The history in the pages is amazing. Any one having the slightest interest should buy it.
Review On May 5, 2006 by Don Woodhouse of Wilmington, DE
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This series of volumes is excellent, with good mild (oriented around the players' chess careers) biographical material and excellent game analysis, as befitting Kasparov with computer assistance. Disappointing that only one volume is devoted to this long stretch of championship history (and preceding developments!), but understandable that Garry spends more space in the volumes closer to his era. By the way, contemporaries Reshevsky, and Fine (somewhat), are covered in the Fischer volume (IV).
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