Soviet Chess 1917-1991 [Hardcover]

Andrew Soltis (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0786406763 | ISBN-13: 978-0786406760 | Publication Date: November 1, 1999 | Edition: annotated edition

This large and magnificent work of art is both an interpretive history of Soviet chess from the Bolshevik Revolution to the collapse of the U.S.S.R. in 1991 and a record of the most interesting games played. The text traces the phenomenal growth of chess from the days of the revolution to the devastation of World War II, and then from the Golden Age of Soviet-dominated chess in the 1950s to the challenge of Bobby Fischer and the quest to find his Soviet match. Included are 249 games, each with a diagram; most are annotated and many have never before been published outside the Soviet Union. The text is augmented by photographs and includes 63 tournament and match scoretables. Also included are a bibliography, an appendix of records achieved in Soviet national championships, two indexes of openings, and an index of players and opponents.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Any serious player or enthusiast would crave this truly impressive work on chess. International chess Grandmaster Soltis is an accomplished author of chess material and writes a terrific weekly column in the New York Post. He covers 249 games, indexed by players and openings, from throughout the Soviet period. Soltis gives personality to the opponents while demonstrating the rise of chess's popularity with the public and the Party. The chronological format helps define a Soviet mindset and show chess as a propoganda tool, especially after the challenge presented by American champion Bobby Fischer. Names of players take on a life, reflected in aggressive, passive, or conservative style of play. Though these plays can seem simplistic by today's computer standards, the marvelous creative ability of some of these great practitioners nevertheless merits our respect. The fundamental period games can only help develop a stronger or more sound play for readers and chess devotees. Highly recommended for chess and larger Soviet history collections.
-Marty Soven, Woodside, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Fascinating...well researched...monumental." --The Washington Post

"Outstanding work of scholarship...recommended without reservation." --British Chess Magazine

“Outstanding work of scholarship...recommended without reservation” --British Chess Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 478 pages
• Publisher: McFarland; annotated edition edition (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786406763
• ISBN-13: 978-0786406760
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,438,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating look at chess history, June 4, 2000

By 

Joseph Skyler Reis (Las Vegas, Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviet Chess 1917-1991 (Hardcover)

This book offers a fascinating historical account of chess in the Soviet Union. While it does contain lots of game scores with light annotations by the author, the book is more historical than instructional. The book gives a detailed account of the evolution of Soviet chess from the basement of a small house in Moscow just after the revolution, to a national fascination that would dominate the world scene. All throughout the book there is a strong emphasis on the connection between chess and politics in the USSR. A great read for history buffs.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched and interesting history of Soviet Chess, May 21, 2001

By 

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

This review is from: Soviet Chess 1917-1991 (Hardcover)

GM Soltis has produced a fine work here, just like his biography of Frank Marshall, as well as his 70s book "The Younger Soviet School of Chess" (more than can be said for his opening books alas). He covers chess in the Soviet Union from the October Revolution to the Union's demise.

Soltis covers the inauspicious beginnings of Soviet chess, largely due to the whims of Krylenko, the much feared Soviet prosecutor. There were bad setbacks at first, particularly the defections of Alekhine and Bogolyubov, the outclassing of the leading Russians (albeit of a pre-revolonary generation) by the best Westerners at the great Moscow 1925 tournament (of course, apart from the soon-to-defect Bogolyubov), to the rise of Botvinnik to world class.

By the end of WW2, Soviet strength had grown enormously, but was almost unknown in the West. The West realized it soon enough with the Soviets' drubbing of the USA team, victors in the four previous Olympiad. Then Botvinnik convincingly captured the World Title, and the Soviets held it ever since apart from the three-year reign of Fischer.

Soltis also covers the horrors of Communist Russia, showing that even chessmasters were not immune from Stalin's paranoia. Even Krylenko met the fate he had handed out to so many others. The "Great Patriotic War" also took a terrible toll, including Iljin Genevsky, and Romanovsky's first wife and all their daughters. Soltis speculates on the effects of the Soviet oppression on the character of many of its grandmasters.

There is a good collection of lightly annotated games, many unknown but still high quality. At the end, there's even a guide to pronouncing Russian names, which may surprise many, but on the ones I've heard pronounced by native Russian speakers, Soltis provides an accurate guide as far as is possible with the Latin alphabet.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chess's Cultural Cachet, May 7, 2006

By 

Sciolaro (Lawrence, KS) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Soviet Chess 1917-1991 (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating account of the Soviet (chess) compound. Whether you be an academic or an avid chess player, this book will suit you well. Complete with annotated games and extensive Soviet history, Soltis' scholarship is superb. Sovietologists will likely find themselves in uncharted but important territory.

Those who have read 'Bobby Fischer Goes to War' will recognize this as Edmond & Eidinow's main source. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of this work is its politically unbiased nature.

Best read with a board, pen, and notebook.