Customer Reviews

Aron Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal

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First let me say that this is a book for intermediate to advanced chess players. Beginner or novice players should look elsewhere for chess instruction.

This book contains many revelations of positional chess as inititally "discovered" and expounded by the father of hypermodern chess - Aron Nimzowitsch.

This book is easier to read, and more fun than "My System" or "Chess Praxis" written by Nimzo himself.

It esentially examinines most of the same topics; prophylaxis, overprotection, restriction, blockade, centralization, doubled pawns, etc. In addition, the second part of the book contains a huge collection of games played by Nimzovich throughout his career. They are reasonably well annotated by Keene with some reflections about how they might stack up by todays standards.

I would probably recommend that you read "My System" or "Chess Praxis" first and then tackle this book for re-inforcement. But keep in mind that this book is easier to wade through than the other two due to a more modern writing style.

The diagrams, binding, text , game collections, interviews, and notes are all first rate. This is a great book and worthy of study by anyone wanting to add depth to your game.

This book goes over the portion of Nimzowitsch's career after Nimzowitsch's masterworks (Chess Praxis and My System), though it focuses on his entire career. An interesting interview with Bent Larsen is included, as well as some thoughts by Nimzowitsch himself on learning how to play chess. A lengthy section on Nimzowitsch's influence on opening theory may be of interest to some readers.

This book is a solid effort from Keene; as one of the first books he ever wrote (in the mid-70's), one can see that he wished to make a monument that would stand the test of time. Keene's annotation style is a bit attention-seeking at points, using fanciful vocabulary not often seen in chess books. I took that as a sign of respect for Nimzowitsch, whose own annotations were just as fanciful. Nonetheless, the division between verbal annotations and move-by-move annotations hits the right balance.

Recommended.