The Immortal Games of Capablanca (Dover Chess) [Paperback]

Fred Reinfeld (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dover Chess | Publication Date: November 24, 2011

Superbly annotated treasury includes 113 of the Cuban master's greatest games against Marshall, Lasker, Euwe, and many other formidable opponents. It also contains not only many games previously unavailable in book form, but a biography of Capablanca, his tournament and match record, and an Index of Openings.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (November 24, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486263339
• ISBN-13: 978-0486263335
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #770,037 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable & instructive fine games of great genius, December 9, 1999

By 

Dr. J. Sarfati (Brisbane, Queensland Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Immortal Games of Capablanca (Dover Chess) (Paperback)

José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942) is widely regarded as one of the all-time great chess players, and possibly the greatest natural chess genius in history. World champion from 1921-1927, he is the only player to have won the world title by defeating the incumbent in a match without losing a game. Grandmaster Robert Byrne, in his foreword, pointed how Capablanca's games were the greatest influence on the modern great world champion Bobby Fischer, and Anatoly Karpov is another disciple.

Mikhail Botvinnik (three times world champ) also related how much he learned from Capablanca, and pointed out that even his successor Alexander Alekhine received much schooling from him in positional play, before the struggle for the world title made them bitter foes.

Once players have read all the introductory books about endgames, openings, tactics and basic strategy, to improve, they must study master games. Capablanca's crystal clarity of style makes his an ideal object of study.

Reinfeld does a good job here, as he did with his collection of Tarrasch's games. There are plenty of fine endgames, Capa's forté, but lots of brilliancy prize games as well. By the time Capa had won the world title, he had a unique record - winning a brilliancy prize at every master tournament he had played in where one was awarded.

In his biographical sketch of Capa, Reinfeld states his belief in Alekhine's superiory. But Byrne's foreword points out that Alekhine never fulfilled his obligation to play a return match, and selected weaker opponents instead of facing him again. In fact, their first game after their world championship match was nine years later at the great Nottingham 1936 tournament - Capa won both the game and the first prize (with Botvinnik).

The games in this book naturally overlap the ones in Golombek's book, but why not get both at such a bargain price?

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Capablanca "The Chess Machine", July 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Immortal Games of Capablanca (Dover Chess) (Paperback)

I, personally, hate long reviews of books, so I'm going to make this short and sweet! Capablanca was one of the greatest players of all time. Mr. Reinfeld (the author) adds stunning history behind the games and tells the reader what to expect of certain games in the intro of each chapter. The only bad mark that I can give this book is that the annotations seem a little brief at times; however, this book will teach you so much about the game of chess that one bad mark should never prevent a serious player from getting this classic!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Work on Capablanca, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Immortal Games of Capablanca (Dover Chess) (Paperback)

No other collection of Capablanca's best games even begins to rival this one. I believe the annotation to be a little lighter at times than it could be, but the work is---nonetheless---excellent. If you have not yet become familiar with the Cuban's best games, buy and read this book!