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Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 1 Hardcover – August 1, 2003

by Garry Kasparov (Author)

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The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but also of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators.
These magnificent compilations of chess form the basis of the first two parts of Garry Kasparov's definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play of his predecessors to a rigorous analysis.

Part one features the play of champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1886-1894), Emanuel Lasker (1894-1921), Jose Capablanca (1921-1927) and Alexander Alekhine (1927-1935 and 1937-1946).

Part two features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1946-1957, 1958-1961 and 1961-1963), Vassily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961).

These books are more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.

All these games have been thoroughly reassessed with the aid of modern software technology and the new light this sheds on these classic masterpieces is fascinating.

Print length

464 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Everyman Chess
Publication date

August 1, 2003
Dimensions

7.25 x 1.25 x 10.5 inches
ISBN-10

1857443306
ISBN-13

978-1857443301
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators.

This magnificent compilation of play from the early days of chess forms the basis of the first part of Garry Kasparov's definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chessplayer ever, subjects the play of his early predecessors to a rigorous analysis.

This volume features the play of champions Wilhelm Steintz (1886-1894), Emanuel Lasker (1894-1921), Jose Capablanca (1921-1927) and Alexander Alekhine (1927-1935 and 1937-1946).

However, this book more than just a compilation of play of the early greats of chess. Kasparov's biographies of the early champions places them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.

About the Author

Garry Kasparov is generally regarded as the greatest chess player ever. He was the thirteenth World Champion, holding the title between 1985 and 2000. His tournament record is second to none, featuring numerous wins in the world's major events, often by substantial margins. Over the last few years he has taken first prize in ten consecutive major international events.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Everyman Chess; First Edition (August 1, 2003)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1857443306
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1857443301
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.19 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.25 x 1.25 x 10.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #391,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #385 in Board Games (Books)
- #509 in Chess (Books)

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199 ratings

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Garry Kasparov

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Garry Kasparov grew up in Baku, Azerbaijan (USSR) and became the youngest ever world chess champion in 1985 at the age of 22. He held that title until 2000. He retired from professional chess in March 2005 to found the United Civil Front in Russia, and has dedicated himself to establishing free and fair elections in his homeland. A longtime contributing editor at The Wall Street Journal, Kasparov travels around the world to address corporations and business audiences on strategy and leadership, and he appears frequently in the international media to talk about both chess and politics. When not traveling he divides his time between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

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4.8 out of 5

199 global ratings

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Stephen Clouse

Very good! I play through the original moves...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

Very good! I play through the original moves (in bold print), then I play through the alternative moves,and take notes. Sometimes I play out the first 5-10 moves or, cover the rest up with a card and try to guess the next moves. Your games will improve dramatically when you study the Grandmaster games this way!

One person found this helpful

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Bvalltu

A magnificent book not to be missed.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 8, 2003

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I'm not usually given to writing rave reviews, and of course this book has its "errors and omissions," but what great book or piece of artwork does not?
I have had this book for about a week now and find it very hard to put down. The story is gripping and the game annotations are brilliantly insightful. If you ever wonder why you waste so much time on chess when you are never going to be a professional, read this book. It is a timeless work of art. The time you have spent developing your ability to understand and appreciate both the artistry and sporting element of chess is rewarded with a book like this. It is also a far better book for "club players" than yet another "author's best games" collection full of complex modern games that most of us can't hope to really comprehend and get much out of. Though if Kasparov annotates his games in the future volumes in the same manner as the game annotations in this volume, we will be in for something very special.
I have also read some of the nit-picking criticisms (including those of Kingston and Winter) posted on the web and, in my opinion, they completely miss the forest for the trees. Who really cares whether Capa's wife was actually at his bedside or outside the hospital when he died (other than his wife of course!)? It certainly wouldn't change the main thread of the story one iota. Nothing I saw in their criticisms would have made much if any difference to the book. They treat the book as an academic history, but it is not. It is a book for chess players and chess fans, not academics, and on that front it succeeds brilliantly. A little poetic license seems justified in making a story about chess players playing chess so gripping!
The same can be said of the criticisms of the annotations. The witty, opinionated, personal insights of Kasparov are, in my mind, of far more value than anything anyone else can come up with, even if they run Fritz until doomsday.
The only problems I have with the book are: 1) I don't have GK's personal signature on my copy (!), and 2) I can't wait to get my paws on parts 2, 3 ...
Compare this book with Euwe's book on The Development of Chess Style and you will understand what a great book this is. If I were stranded on a desert island, Kasparov's book is the one I would want with me.

30 people found this helpful

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Kaputtnikov

Unbelievable piece of chess history!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 12, 2021

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This book covers the first 4 official chess world champions Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine.
However, it does not start just there. The earlier masters like La Bourdonnais and Staunton (briefly), Anderssen and Morphy (in detail) are also covered.
As usual in the series some key competitors and/or significant players of the respective period are also discussed. Some of them in great length. Segments on: Chigorin, Pillsbury, Marshall, Tarrasch, Schlechter, Rubinstein, Nimzowitsch, Bogoljubow.
Most of the famous games between those protagonists are discussed. Just to give some perspective – from the first 27 games in the book “The world’s greatest chess games” (Burgess, Nunn, Emms) that actually cover this time frame – 24 are featured in this book. On some of them Kasparov puts quite a different spin in his commentary. So this is basically the history of the pre WWII chess era.

If you love chess – get it!

6 people found this helpful

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GJI in Upstate NY

Book befitting a champ

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 14, 2014

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This is 5-star on two accounts. First, there is some nice history here, creating thumbnail narritives on all the World Champions plus a few on interesting people (Morphy, Pillsbury) who were not. There is an especially large section on Tarrasch. There don't just cover the highlights, but they delve into details I had not been aware of, such as Alekhine's troubles with the Bolsheviks prior to his emigration from Russia. The book can be read as a history of chess with a lot to be learned for all but the most knowledgable chess history buffs.

Second, the games are deeply annotated, the vast majority are complete games. Starting from the early moves, Kasparov gives alternative lines and the 'history' of when and why certain moves are not played any more. Very interesting and valuable. The analysis I'd deep, without being ponderous. For a 1700-rated player like myself I would say it's not 'over my head,' but it would take me years to slowly play through all the games and really understand the analysis. This depth means that this book is a chess course in itself, as all the very best chess books are.

One novelty; Kasparov begins by describing how each Champion represents his time and the world he lived in. In this short introduction, he quickly covers each World Champion from Steinitz to the present, and the connections drawn are a bold, maybe a bit overdone, but very thought-provoking. There is a 'soul of a poet' to much of Kasparov's writing, and what shines through is a deep love and respect for chess.

15 people found this helpful

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Guitar hopeful

Exceeded my expectations

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 23, 2021

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I seldom buy things nowadays that exceed my expectations. It is usually the opposite. But this book truly does exceed. I was looking for a good book of memorable games to enjoy. I got that, including fantastic annotations that even at my intermediate skill level I am able to enjoy, plus as a bonus the book is a history of modern chess complete with biographies of the players. I will be purchasing the entire series.

One person found this helpful

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Nikolaos C.

A dissapointment

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2018

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I bought the whole series a couple of years ago since I thought it was a must-have in every chess player's library.
I have only gone through the start of the first part (currently on Paul Morphy) but the writing style really puts me off and I don't know if I'll ever overcome this feeling of disappointment in order to go through the rest of the book (let alone the rest of the series).
The main problem I have with it is that the author's (I don't care if it's really Kasparov or not) main concern seems to be to point out the mistakes of the chess commentators of the past (often in a slightly ironic tone). In every game I have seen in the book so far I am faced with tiring variations that conclude wiith something like "White has the advantage" or "Black stands worse". That's it - no explanation whatsoever WHY the judgement of the position is what it is. How is this supposed to improve my understanding of the game? I don't give a damn if the author with the help of a computer improved on the past analysis of these games (it's already been fifteen years - if I sit with a modern computer I may find mistakes on this book too).
What I expected was some insightful comments from Kasparov on the positional elements of the games - something I could use to improve my own understanding of chess. I don't have anything to gain from a parade of dry computer variations with a "Black is better" comment in the end.
If the rest of the books aren't like this please let me know so I give them a second chance.

6 people found this helpful

T. Denniss

Great series

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 16, 2014

Verified Purchase

Beautifully presented series. Well-written and what does it matter how much is written by Kasparov or if some of the annotations are flawed. These books are a complete library to keep a keen chess player engrossed for years. The games can be played over and over and never lose their appeal. I can't wait to finish purchasing the whole series - "My Great Predecessors", "Kasparov vs Karpov" and Kasparov on Kasparov". Great entertainment, good value if purchased from Amazon marketplace for half the RRP and highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

the great amphibian

Could become the greatest chess book ever.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 5, 2004

Verified Purchase

I didn't know what to expect when ordering the first two books in this series, but being in awe of Kasparov, I had no choice but to buy the books. I was very satisfied when the books arrived to see that they are massive, averaging about 450 pages, and not that far off of A4 size. The pages are presented in dual columns as is typical in chess books, and everything is laid out very aesthetically. The writing is of a high standard and the book, (multi-volume book, though this is based mainly on the first book because that's the one I have been reading, though the layout is the same in both), contains fascinating information weaving a history of chess.
There is some ambiguity about the relative parts played by Kasparov and Plisetsky in the book's writing, and I think that the following quote from Kasparov on the official website for the book should clarify things somewhat:
"I look at the key games in a player's career, then analyze them, reach a first draft on the computer. Then I dictate my conclusions into a tape and send it to Plisetsky. He makes corrections on dates, facts, adds anecdotes, etc. and sends it back to me. It's a complex procedure... Fischer I did last year, more than 50 games. I did some work on this trip to the USA. I do it anywhere. I little analysis here and there. It's ongoing, you can't stop. It's always expanding. At some point I could see this on a DVD or online, so as not to be limited by book size."
Kasparov has been working on these books for about six years, so he has obviously been keeping the project quiet for a long time, and now we are suddenly inundated with an exciting publishing event that will itself be a part of chess history. The analysis in this book is deeper than in any other chess books that I have, meaning it takes me something like one hour to work through just one page if I aim to understand and absorb all of the analysis, though I'm certain to become a far stronger player as a result, and I think that working through this gigantic history of chess would make most players much stronger and also give them a deeper interest in the game. This is what Nigel Short said about the books: "It is probably the most enjoyable chess book I have ever read."

25 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Good product

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on February 29, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great book and in really good condition

One person found this helpful

Chess Book Addict

Historic Chess Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 3, 2003

Verified Purchase

It is fascinating to see Kasparov's opinions on the most famous games of the first 4 official world champions and their contemporaries.
A lot of interesting (though many well known to experienced chess fans) anecdotes linking the games too.
I think Kasparov is the first champion to write full notes about the games of other top players of history, and in partnership wiht his computer has produced the most revealing analysis yet of these historic encounters.
If you love chess you probably have already ordered this book.

5 people found this helpful

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Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 1 Hardcover – August 1, 2003

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