Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

All 210 games from the greatest tournament since World War II. Smyslov, Bronstein, Keres, Reshevsky, Petrosian, 10 others; perceptive annotations by Bronstein. Algebraic notation. 352 diagrams. First authoritative English translation from the Russian.

Language Notes

Text: English, Russian (translation)

Product Details

• Paperback: 349 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (July 1, 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486238008
• ISBN-13: 978-0486238005
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,307 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest chess tournaments!, December 1, 2005

A Kid's Review

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.

44 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What more can be said, September 7, 2000

By	Abolaji Ogunshola "Realism exponent" (CT) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book in every way, December 27, 2003

By	Donna Buck (Arkansas) - See all my reviews

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.