Soviet School of Chess, The (Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics S.) [Paperback]

A. Kotov (Author), Y. Yudovich (Author)

Book Description

Series: Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics S. | Publication Date: March 20, 2002

For four decades - barring the brief intervention of Bobby Fischer - the Soviet Union dominated world chess and Russian grandmasters continue to lead the world even after the demise of the country they once represented. Written at the apex of Soviet success.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alexander Alexandrovich Kotov was born on 12 August. He was a Soviet chess grandmaster and author. One of the strongest players in the world, he set the record for the best score in an Interzonal Tournament for the World Chess Championship, a record Bobby Fischer tried to beat without success. He was a Soviet champion, a two-time world title Candidate, and a prolific chess author. Kotov served in high posts in the Soviet Chess Federation and most of his books were written during the period of Cold War between the US and the USSR. Kotov's books also included frequent praise for the Soviet system in general. The 1958 book The Soviet School of Chess (which he co-wrote with Mikhail Yudovich) stated that "The rise of the Soviet school to the summit of world chess is a logical result of socialist cultural development." Notwithstanding Kotov's forays into the political realm, his books were insightful and informative and were written in a congenial style. He often made his points by citing first-hand stories of incidents involving famous grandmasters, most of whom he knew personally. Such entertaining and enlightening personal accounts helped to ensure that his books would remain popular among chess players of widely varying nationalities and playing strengths. He died on 8 January 1981. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 396 pages
• Publisher: Hardinge Simpole (March 20, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843820072
• ISBN-13: 978-1843820079
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,874,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very useful for many reasons, September 29, 2002

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Soviet School of Chess (Paperback)

I would reccomend this book to anyone who is interested in studying and improving their chess. It gives a wonderfully interesting history of the soviet masters, with plenty of illustrative games. Then it also opens your eyes to the way that the top soviets increased their strength. I personally got more from this book than I did from the Think Like a Grandmaster series. afterwards i took a new look at the board in familiar opennings and thought of new ideas, and when I later did alittle research on them, I found that they were used by many of the top grandmasters of the 60's but have since gone out of fashion. the only reason that I didn't give it 5 stars, is cause comrad Kotov's voice gets on my nerves a little too much. I little bit too pro communism for my taste.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book, June 25, 2000

By 

R.B.Hosamani (california,usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soviet School of Chess (Paperback)

This book is an interesting combination of both quality games and history. It traces the development of the soviet chess shool right from the times of petrov down to the big k`s. Has very interesting games from all the big soviet players like petrov,chigorin,botvinnik,tal,kasparov,karpov to mention a few. Makes an interesting commentary on their styles of play, tries to analyze their weakpoints and gives some excellent games with detailed analysis. Back in the 80`S when i first learnt chess, i found it one of the most intersting books which made me delve deeper into chess. Believe me, buy this book and i assure you that you wouldnt want to part with it for a fortune. One of the gems of the Mir publishers

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars how the russians came to dominate world chess, July 22, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Soviet School of Chess, The (Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics S.) (Paperback)

the authors were at the very centre of the soviet chess programme and here they give thumbnail sketches of all the top russian champions and grandmasters as well as useful insights into the broader chess movement supported by the state which backed them up. the book is also valuable as an insight into soviet society and the type of conformism it demanded-for example petrosian is criticised for lack of fighting spirit-actually he had his own way of fighting and later became world chess champion.this edition is published by hardinge simpole press.