Customer Reviews

Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 (Dover Chess)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I liked going over the games in the book. They were very interesting and gave good instruction for the strategies. A very strong tournament with great players!!
I would have given it 5 stars instead of four if the analysis of the games was written so a lower rated player could benefit. I am somewhat higher rated, and still had a few difficulties. But this book belongs in most libraries. I got Unbeatable Chess Lessons for Juniors which was written more for my level and very good. I also liked Logical Chess Move by Move.

The other reviews on this page don't say much about this book becos its place in chess literature as a classic is indisputable. So I'll try to say something about what makes it so great so that chess players who do not know a lot about the history of the game will appreciate its value.

The tournament that is annotated is the Zurich 1953 Candidates tournament, the tournament whose winnner would challenge the World Champion for the title. The author of the book is Bronstein, who was among the 3 players who tied for second and is generally acknowledged as one of the most creative and invnetive players in ches history(he was the previous challenger for the World Championship and drew with the Champion under highly controversial circumstances).

So what do we have in this book and what about it's material makes it so valuable? The first thing is that while the reality of chess is in the variations, the grandmaster author (Bronstein) focuses in the ideas and the schematic thinking necessary to guide the player thru analyzing variations and understanding the position.

In addition, the quality of play is quite high and Bronstein also discusses the real time events that guide play such as the mindset of the players and the time they had to make moves. When one looks at a gamescore, these are not evident and understanding chess in the practical light is very important for the learning player, who might not understand the nuances of chess as a sport.

Finally, many of the games are played with similar openings so this is a way to learn opening themes and pawn structure play without buying 10 books. IT is not cutting edge theory, but the schematic thinking and understanding the reasons why the GMs play the way they do will do more for your chess than any opening book with symbolic evaluations. In addition, the subtleties of certain positions are explained by Bronstein to show why this method of play is not as strong as another method of play seen in another game.

Factor in the fact that this is a cheap book for one in Algebraic notation and you see that there is little to complain about. Enjoy if you buy!

This book is one of those books that is used by good players as the definition of a good chess book. It is universally considered one of the classics in chess literature. "My System" by Nimzowitsch is often thought to be the best/most influential instructional book, but I know that this book was certainly more helpful to me. It has many insights into the middlegame, and the conflicting plans and maneuvers of the opposing players. Also, it is about one of the strongest tournaments ever held, so the creativity of the players is at a maximum.

Bronstein's comments are very interesting, and I found this book a pleasure to read. Some books are like an asignment when you read them -- you have to make yourself read it to get through it. Not so with this book. I always wanted to go over one more game before stopping. Here is an example quote:

"So there exists a different concept of opening strategy, which may briefly be summarized as follows: that it is not necessary to make the very best moves -- only good ones.

This was the creative attitude of Lasker and Capablanca, for example, and it is Smyslov's too. The advantage of the opening, in this case, is understood to be the right to choose a system of development more suited to the White player's taste, and which gives him the greatest possible liberty to express his creative ability." [from the comments to the 172nd game]

I would say that a reader should have some elementary chess knowledge before tackling this book, such as: knowing to develop as quickly as possible in the opening, knowing a few basic endgames, etc. However, you don't have to be much past beginner for this book to be helpful and enjoyable. And I would say anyone, no matter how high rated, could enjoy this book if they hadn't read it before. The games are extremely high quality, and that alone would make for a good base, but there are also some very interesting complex variations in places. But the variations are never the focus, and the annotations in words abound, making it highly readable for lower rated players.

I probably improved about 200 points within a year after getting this book, and much of that was due to this book, I'm sure. It belongs in every chess player's library.

This book is constantly reviewed in glowing terms. In my opinion, this exalted status is not at all warranted. Yes, this was a great tournament with many games of very high quality. Yes, Bronstein is a brilliant and imaginative player who writes well. Furthermore, I definitely applaud Bronstein's goal "to avoid weighing down his book with variations." Nothing is more annoying than an anno-Fritzed game where the mass of variations cannot be untangled to understand the position.

However, Bronstein errs way too far in the other direction. Many games are "annotated" with no variations at all, with Bronstein relying instead on overly wordy evaluations of positions which do not allow the reader to form an objective opinion. General principles unsupported by any concrete variations are even more unhelpful than too many variations.

For example, compare the analysis of Geller-Euwe, Euwe-Najdorf, Averbakh-Kotov and Keres-Smyslov in Bronstein's book with the analysis of these games in "The World's Greatest Chess Games", and there is simply no comparison. The modern approach by Burgess and Nunn of providing enough variations to allow concrete understanding is overwhelmingly better than Bronstein's discussions of the same games. The game collections of Kotov (Grandmaster at Work), Averbakh (Averbakh's Selected Games), Smyslov (125 Games) and Taimanov (Taimanov's Selected Games) contain games from this tournament, and all of them do a much better job of annotating and explaining than Bronstein.

Overall, I have to go against the consensus and rate Bronstein's book as mediocre. (Don't lynch me.)

How nice it is to sit down and go over a well played game with good anotations that go beyond things like: 18.Kxe7+ Kd2 19.Re5! Nxe5?! +- and where the author doesn't explain what's going on... Bronstein is an excellent writer that did more than to keep a record of a tournament with soul-less annotations and without realizing it compiled a book that shows how difficult is the game of chess when the level is high. In these games we see more than a textbook exploitation of a good knight against a bad bishop or games where one of the players was highly cooperative with his/her counterpart allowing him/her to demonstrate a win by simple means. What we see here are games where ideas in the opening clash and where important material in the middlegame is reviewed. This book is a classic and it is by far one of the best games compilation in the market. I strongly recommend playing solitaire with these games and enjoy the game of chess with it.

This book is about the best tournament of all time (in my opinion). It teaches players how to use their pieces, how to sacrifice to gain initiative, and many more things. It has some fascinating and beautiful positions I have ever seen. The author, David Bronstein, has made it clear what each player is trying to accomplish without doing in depth variation calculating. If you enjoy reading about chess history and how the chess world was shaped, or even just have a passion for great chess games, this would be a great book to read.

And fun too!
For anyone rated 1600+ this will be one of the most instructive books you will find. Bronstein uses the games of the tournament as a basis for a textbook on the middlegame. Some games get extensive notes, some light. It just depends on what ideas he finds in the game that are worth expounding! The annotations are always heavy on the idea and goals of the moves. Plus there are a lot of interesting games, with all the top players of the 50s (except Botvinnik): Smyslov (overpowereing here), Keres, Geller, Petrosian, Ktovo, Bronstein, Reshevsky.

Cheap too!

It has been said that this book is best for players of at least 1600 strength, due to the positional nature of the games presented and the relative lack of annotated variations. However I feel the book is excellent for anyone about 1200 or higher and I offer the following concrete reasons.

1. The book serves as a fine introduction to the concepts of positional play. That is, by carefully going through the games, you will learn about positional thinking. A second or even third run-through will reinforce these ideas and they will begin to make sense.

2. The narrative explanations are actually better for a lower rated player because they are easier to follow and understand. The lower player gets lost in a maze of variants.

3. If something is not clear (this happened to me in many places, of course) then put it on your computer and explore the situation with the help of Fritz or some other engine. Clarity will not always come but plenty of learning will take place.

4. I think most important of all the book gives the lower player something to strive for. The feeling, after repeated study of the games, of "a light going on" is something that I really appreciated. This is learning of the best kind.

Though the lower player has to spend most study time on tactics, one good book of GM games to study is important. This can easily be that book.

This is perhaps the greatest tournament book ever written. Bronstein's his psychological insights into the thinking processes of strong GMs make this book a must-have for players of all strengths.

In particular, players of sub-2200 rating will find this book a treasure and a careful study will certainly enhance your understanding of the game. For a creative and tactical genius, Bronstein does not weigh down the book with detailed variation analyses, but focusses on the broad thinking of positional and strategic matters.

Kotov in his classic "Think Like a Gramdmaster" quotes freely from this book.

The easy, conversational style of the annotations makes it a pleasure. Witness this (I am not quoting from memory here) - "It is time to introduce the reader to the secret of the backward d6 pawn in the King's India Defence...". The paragraph that follows is a deep insight into one of the fundamental positions of the KID.

Buy this book. You will be much the better player for it.

If you were allowed to read but one book on your path to becoming a chess master, this would be it [In fact, a good friend of mine reached the 2200+ elo level having read only this chess book and Chess Life articles]. This book was written to be more than a series of annotations to the games of an excellent tournament but to be an all inclusive book on the game of chess. Focusing especially on the middle game, this book could also be entitled: David Bronstein on Chess, Using Examples from Zurich 1953. It could even be called: Middle Game Play Circa 1953. It is a truly marvelous book. Don't be stingy: Buy it!