Hastings 1895: The Centennial Edition [Paperback]

Sid Pickard (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1886846014 | ISBN-13: 978-1886846012 | Publication Date: June 1995

The greatest chess tournament of all time was held in the summer of 1895, at the ancient Saxon stronghold of Hastings. This "Grand International Chess Congress" attracted the strongest field of players ever assembled, with Steinitz, Lasker, Tchigorin, Tarrasch and Blackburn all present. The list of entries amounted to a catalog of chess luminaries, including Schlechter, Bird, Teichmann, Gunsberg, and Janowski. The games were exceedingly difficult and hard fought, possibly the severest test of chess mastery ever conducted. Finally, the young American Pillsbury surpassed his dangerous rivals in a thrilling last round finish.But then something even more remarkable happened. The Hastings 1895 tournament kept growing in importance year after year, teaching and delighting generations of chess players. This feat was accomplished by the famous Book of the Tournament, in which the players themselves provided the game commentary - but commentary unlike any ever produced. Working independently, they together achieved a wonderful blend of instruction and entertainment. Witty, insightful and always captivating, these masters left a legacy of chess wisdom for all to profit by. A valuable chess course in itself, the Hastings 1895 Tournament Book is the cornerstone of any chess library.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Pickard & Son Pub (June 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886846014
• ISBN-13: 978-1886846012
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,665,964 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars excellent book, highly recommended, November 26, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Hastings 1895: The Centennial Edition (Paperback)

Hastings 1895 is one of the most famous chess tournaments. Harry Pillsbury, a virtual unknown when the tournament began, beat out new world champion Emanuel Lasker and perennial contender Mikhail Tchigorin in a very close contest. Wilhelm Steinitz, Siegbert Tarrasch and most of the other leading players in the world also participated.

The book is an unabridged reprint of the original tournament book, with algebraic notation substitued for the original descriptive. The games are annotated by the players themselves, and the annotations thus provide a window into the styles, opening preferences, and theories of the leading players of the day. The annotations vary in quality (Tarrasch, as you might expect, is terrific; Pillsbury rather slipshod) but they certainly add to the period charm of the book. A description of the exciting course of the tournament itself is provided by a Mr. Cheshire. The book is full of revelations: those who, like myself, thought Lasker's strength lay in the ending will be surprised to see him mow down opponent after opponent in 30 moves or less. Tchigorin provides both modern and ancient touches with his King's Indian Reversed and Evans Gambits. And Pillsbury's relentless attacks are as fresh now as they were 100 years ago. Highly recommended

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A landmark in the history of chess, April 19, 2004

By 

Walter Hart (Burra Creek, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hastings 1895: The Centennial Edition (Paperback)

Hastings 1895 is a rightly celebrated chess tournament as it brought together the strongest players of that time, and many for the first time. This was Lasker's first chess outing since controversially beating World Champion Steinitz in 1894. Although the tournament established Lasker as a very strong player, it was won in fantastic style by the unknown American player Harry Nelson Pillsbury. This modern version of the book combines algebraic notation and incorporates the annotations within each game (eg after the move in question). This is a distinct advantage over the older practice of listing all the annotations at the end of each game, which made books like London 1883 and New York 1924 (and the previous editions of Hastings 1895) very annoying to play through. The games are annotated by the various players with similarly varying degrees of quality. Steinitz's and Tarrasch's comments set an excellent standard in this regard. On the whole the games demonstrated very keen fighting qualities, and represent a good illustration of the transition to the modern game. Steinitz deservedly won the brilliancy prize for the stunning rook sacrifices in his game with von Bardeleben. There are a host of other truly wonderful games (eg Pillsbury's endgame combination versus Gunsberg to win the tournament). The book is well presented with good binding and legibility. It is highly recommended for anyone interested in the history of the game and its great players.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is essential desert-island stuff, January 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Hastings 1895: The Centennial Edition (Paperback)

Instead of running off to get collections by Shirov or Nunn, the vast majority of club/ICC type players would be far better served by this book. In addition to being beautifully produced, the games and annotations are wonderfully instructive. This book is full of Giouco Pianos and Ruy Lopezes, the open games in all their glory. This is the type of stuff we should be studying, instead of trying to learn secondary openings like the Pirc, the King's Indian, and even the Sicilian. Great, great book.