Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Long Overdue: An Instructive Classic, February 26, 2000
This review is from: Three Hundred Chess Games - 'Dreihundert Schachpartien' - English Language Edition (Paperback)
In 1914, the Tsar of Russia conferred upon the five finalists of the St. Petersburg tournament the title "Grandmaster," inaugurating a tradition of singling out those whose demonstrated ability stood out even among masters. Siegbert Tarrasch was one of those five, along with Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine and Marshall. Though he was never able to overcome the supreme tactical genius of Lasker in their struggles for the World Championship, Tarrasch earned the respect of his peers with a string of brilliant tournament and match performances that made him a natural challenger and secured his place in history as a great player.
Yet Tarrasch's fame today rests more upon his pedagogic writings than on his tournament victories, for he bequeathed to us a volume of three hundred meticulously annotated games that served as the model for the post-war generation of rising stars. For three quarters of a century, this seminal volume -- hailed as "one of the monuments of our game" by GM Reuben Fine -- has been available only to those who could read it in the original German.
Sol Schwarz's translation of Three Hundred Chess Games is, therefore, a most welcome contribution to the history of chess, making this masterpiece available for the first time in English. And a very workmanlike job it is: the translation is generally excellent, only occasionally betraying a trace of the Teutonic original, and the value of the volume is enhanced by the clear and plentiful diagrams and meticulous indices. As an historical work alone it would deserve high praise.
But the book is of more than historical merit -- it is an abundantly instructive manual of chess praxis for any aspiring student. Tarrasch's annotations give a superb insight into the fundamental concepts of modern chess. Building on and in some cases modifying Steinitz's fundamental principles, Tarrasch is at his crusty best when stating, dogmatically and forcefully, the proper way to handle recurring pawn structures, pronouncing on the relative merits of open files and doubled pawns, or stressing the necessity for active play even at the cost of material.
To understand master games we mortals need a guide, even one whose evaluations are occasionally a shade more black and white than a modern grandmaster's might be. And the games in this collection are exceptionally valuable to students because the strategic themes and tactical interchanges lie, with the aid of Tarrasch's illuminating commentary, just within the grasp of a talented amateur. Those who quibble that Tarrasch's commentaries on his own pet defense to the Queen's Gambit (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5!?) or the line of the French that bears his name (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2) are overly rigid should note that he actually abandoned his advocacy of the latter (see the notes to game 287!) and that no lesser player than Kasparov himself got good results in his youth with the former. Indeed, if the talented amateur absorbs the level of strategic understanding and tactical insight offered here in Tarrasch's pithy precepts, he will have time enough to refine that understanding -- for having done so, he will stand at the threshold of mastery himself.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
About time! A historic milestone in chess literature., April 3, 2000
This review is from: Three Hundred Chess Games - 'Dreihundert Schachpartien' - English Language Edition (Paperback)
Siegbert Tarrasch won a string of tournament victories in the early 1890s, making him arguably the best player in the world. But he passed up the opportunity to play the aging Steinitz (against whom he had +3-0) for the world title. So Lasker won the title instead in 1895, and forever after put Tarrasch in the shade, although he was still in the world's top five for another 20 years. Tarrasch was also a great chess teacher. However, his writings can be very dogmatic, and his comments on some opening seem rather humourous in their naivety to modern masters. His writings seemed designed to make chess seem simpler and more rule-based than it really is. IM John Watson's brilliant book _Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy_ goes into this in far more detail. It's very obvious that chess has progressed immensely in 100 years. So while this book is very instructive, it must be read with some caution. But it is a very important classic, that it's a pity that it hasn't been part of the learning English-speaking player's reading list until now. On the other hand, it was translated into Russian at least 12 years ago, since I gladly purchased a copy when I was there in 1988 despite my very limited Russian. And it must be said that he was not nearly so dogmatic in his play as in his writings. There are a number of examples of almost Nimzovitchian ideas. One instructive moment is his analysis of his victory on the Black side of the Advance French against Paulsen. After the standard moves 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 Nf3 Qb6 6 Bd3, Tarrasch gives his next move 6 ... cxd4 an exclamation mark, and points out that 6 ... Bd7 allows 7 dxc5. Yet almost everyone, even Watson, thinks that Tarrasch's great rival Nimzovitch was such a radical when he played this against Salwe many years later!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Study Material for Aspiring Players, June 22, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Three Hundred Chess Games - 'Dreihundert Schachpartien' - English Language Edition (Paperback)
While I have not yet studied all 300 games cover to cover (I have studied approximately 100), I have read enough to make the following observations; 1) the production quality of the book is outstanding (i.e. binding, diagrams, text font, etc.) 2) the games span a large number of tournaments and a great variety of openings, and opponents. 3) the games are very well annotated - an intermediate chess player rated 1200 to 1800 can easily read and understand these games quite well. Also I like the style of annotations used throughout this book- a few variations mixed with much commentary. To me this is much more preferable than simply listing a myriad of endless move strings and some symbol with an evaluation. (which is what some other books try to do.) 4) Unlike some game collections by other players, Tarrasch includes a fair number of losses to his opponents in which he openly criticizes his own play. He typically goes on to point out the particular lesson he learned from the loss. To me, this makes the book very real, and increases my respect for Tarrasch, both as player and author. By repeated exposure to certain concepts (i.e. open files, weak squares, outposts, pawn minortities, etc.) a student will rapidly incorporate these concepts into his or her play. The only warning here (which has been touched on in the other reviews) is that Tarrasch tended to be rather dogmatic and general rule-based in his play than modern masters. Also, due to the time period in which the games were played, some of the opening variations used may look almost humerous to a modern player. However, even with the caveats mentioned, this remains a most excellent study manual and a good representation of the style of play at the time. It is a safe bet that anyone who bothered to play over a sizeable sampling of games from this book could not help but improve their play.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192250339_.gif){kind=small}
