Masters of the Chess Board (Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics) [Paperback]

Richard Reti (Author), M. Schwendemann (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics | Publication Date: October 1, 2002

Réti produces a penetrating thumbnail sketch of each of the great masters who contributed decisively to the progress of chess thinking from the days of Morphy and Anderssen up to the time of Capablanca, Alekhine, Nimzowitsch and the hypermoderns, amongst whom Réti numbered himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hardinge Simpole Limited (October 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843820145
• ISBN-13: 978-1843820147
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,241,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe 10 stars!, July 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Masters of the Chessboard (Paperback)

This book should not be out of print! Find a copy somehow, someway. This is Reti's magnum opus which has found its way onto nearly every master's "desert island" short-list. Reti analylizes the development of chess from the middle of the 19th century (Anderssen, Morphy & Steinitz) through his own time (tragically, Reti died at 40 in 1929). Using particularly instructive games, he shows each of the great player's contributions to chess theory and gives the reader an insight into their style of play. The book is a huge 435 pages (in my Dover edition) and comprises 70 often deeply annotated games. As befits its date of publication, it is written in English Descriptive Notation. The quality of printing is rather poor -- many of the diagrams are dark and difficult to make out at a glance. There are also numerous translation errors as well. The German chess term for the Exchange (winning a Rook for Bishop or Knight) is Die Qualitat (umlaut over the a). In MOTCB,! the exchange is referred to as "the quality" on several occasions, a literal translation that does not make any chess sense. Despite these problems, this is a keeper. Buy it. Study it. Reread it every few years as your chess skills improve and wonder at everything you didn't really understand the first time through. It's that good.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic, July 2, 2004

By 

Diego Acosta (Norman, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Masters of the Chess Board (Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics) (Paperback)

Richard Reti shows the evolution of chess by analyzing games from great players from the past. In doing so, he also provides the reader with basic ideas on how to handle the opening, approach the development of pieces and confidently enter the middlegame. The contrast between the hypermoderns and classicists is also of interest and, in my opinion, a landmark in chess is represented by this book.
The biographical notes are also interesting from the chess culture point of view. I love this book and consider worth having it in my personal library. Why 4 stars instead of 5? Because of the descriptive notation...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Grab this book if you can find it!, March 22, 2002

By 

M. H. Smith "chessmansmith" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Masters of the Chessboard (Paperback)

This is a chess book that every collector should own as part of their chess library. It is one of the all-time classics. It was published by Dover and runs 436 pages in Descriptive notation. (If this book was ever republished in algebraic notation I would rate it 7 stars!!).

It basically contains a sampling of master games from many of the greatest masters of all-time; Anderssen, Morphy, Steinitz, Tarrasch, Lasker, Schlechter, Pillsbury, Maroczy, Marshall, Rubenstein, Spielmann, Nimzowitsch, Vidmar, Tartakower, Capablanca, Bogoljubow, Alekhine, Grunfeld, Euwe, Saemisch, Colle, and Torre.

Each chapter focuses on a different master in the order described above. There is a biographical sketch of each master at the beginning of each chapter as well. It focuses on a particular masters achievements and some of the unique ideas and methods that master brought to the game.

There are a total of 70 very well annotated games.

This book is not only a great games collection, but a virtual textbook on how to play the game. It thoroughly discussed many different opening systems, middle game strategies, and endgame topics.

One thing I noticed was how many combinations originating from these games are used in so many tactics books such as 1001 winning chess combinations, or combination challenge. I have used those training books in the past - and now I know that they come from real games and who played them!

This book has become very hard to find. My advice is this - if you can find this book in a used book store somewhere, don't hesitate. Grab the book, pay for it and get out of there fast before someone else finds the book. You will not regret buying this book.

I rated it "only" 4 stars for a couple of reasons - 1)it is in descriptive notation (this book makes it worthwhile learning DN if you don't already know it) 2)Reti died before all of the chapters could be finished. Some of the later chapters in the book are not as thorough and interesting as the earlier ones. Some of the biographical details are left out.

Even with the limitations mentioned above, there are few chess books as fun and instructive. Based upon the level of annotations in this book, players rated between 1,100 - 1,600 USCF would probably benefit the most. Players outside of that rating range would still enjoy playing over the games, but would not gain as much insight from the notes.