Customer Reviews

St. Petersburg 1914: International chess tournament

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I believe the reader from Yukon is referring to a book other than the one written by Tarrasch. He writes that the book was small and had sparse annotations. I have seen that book and I believe it was published in England, though I cannot recall who the author was. The book by Tarrasch is a far cry from the book Yukon reader recalls. The notes in it a thorough and instructive and, typical of the books in Dale Brandreth's Caissa Editions series, adds notes from many other sources. Like the other books in this series, the production standard is very high and has a beautiful sturdy binding.

I saw this book back in the 1970s in the old books collection at the University of Texas. It was a very small book but it was of great historical importance for chess players. Played on the eve of World War I, this tournament featured the greatest players of the day and featured some fascinating games. It was at this tournament that the five original Grandmasters of Chess (Lasker, Alekhine, Capablanca, Marshal, and, the book's author, Tarrasch) were given their title by Tsar Nicholas. Why this book fell out of print is a mystery to me, but it should be in every chess player's library of great tournaments. Tarrasch's biases sometimes show through, but even this is of great historical interest.

I would give the book a 5-star rating if it were more thoroughly annotated, but remember that Tarrasch's work was interrupted by WWI and all the turmoil in Germany thereafter. He probably did the best he could.