Wow! you are correct. To my mind that's a $5.00 for the PB and $15.00 for the HB.

Is this any way to live????

As long as they're <good> books, you're fine.

"Books do furnish a room." -- Anthony Powell

http://www.amazon.com/Books-Furnish...

And a little traveling music:

<"Almost 1,000 annotated games are supplemented by crosstables of every major tournament and match in which Fischer participated, dozens of archival photographs, along with brief comments and observations putting the play of the great champion into historical perspective.">

It's also noted that the book is 479 pages long. That means more than two games per page, especially with some pages taken up with photographs and crosstables. Therefore, most of the annotations will probably be brief rather than in-depth.

Also it looks to me like the games will be the main focus. The bit about "...<brief> comments and observations putting the play of the great champion into historical perspective" tells me there won't be much space devoted to background and the life of Fischer.

I won't attempt to review it. That would be like a housepainter giving his views on Donatello. I will just try to convey the purpose and flavor of the book and why you may wish to consider it.

We want to clutter the forum here. I should know since I'm one of the moderators.

Can we copy n' paste your <Reti book> opus in here?

We often just go ahead and do that, but sometimes we ask for permission first.

<Réti's own words, taken from the foreword of <Masters of the Chessboard>: <This book, though it is in the form of a collection of games, is, nevertheless, meant to be a textbook - quite unlike a textbook on mathematics or some other science, of course, since chess has never been learned from books alone. Just as one learns to swim by swimming, so one learns to play chess by playing chess. A textbook on chess can be nothing more than a guide for the amateur, a friend in time of need, warning him against pitfalls and revealing to him in leisure hours enough of the beauty and fascination of our art to give him that sense of enjoyment in chess which is the essential condition of success>.

I would like to emphasize that last line. The precondition to winning in chess is enjoyment fueled by appreciation for the <beauty and fascination of our art>.

Much can be learned about Réti from the foreword quoted above. There is charm in his evocation of <leisure hours>. This not a book demanding rigorous application. Though Réti himself was a diligent student of the game, whose studies even the taskmaster Dvoretsky made use of in his brilliant <Manual>, his purpose here is to captivate and enchant as well as educate. This book is more about ideas than variations.

Speaking of variations, today the word <theory> is synonymous with opening lines. Réti gives the term a broader application along with some insight:

<Complicated mathematical calculations are a result of the synthesis of simple theories. The opposite is true of chess, where the theory is an abstraction, a generalization of experiences gained in the playing of actual games. The primary element is the living game, which is the foundation of all chess theory>.

This is something that perhaps many of us feel we know but haven't clearly articulated to ourselves - that theory in chess is the opposite of what mathematics calls theory. And by theory, Réti seems to be referring as much to the fundamental principles of the game, as to openings per se. Principles that Tal has said can never be reviewed too often.

There is a warmth and modesty in Réti's offer to act as guide and companion in the reader's learning endeavor - <a friend in time of need>. His generosity of mind is revealed in the profound regard with which he describes the great masters in chess history from Anderssen, through Morphy, Steinitz, Rubinstein, Lasker and on to his own time, which includes Nimzowitsch, Alekhine and Capablanca. He writes elegantly of these masters. It was Réti who first coined the phrase when speaking of the great Cuban that <chess was his mother tongue>.

Réti created a sensation in New York, 1924, by defeating Capablanca, a feat no one had accomplished in eight years. Yet he is remembered for the modesty he displayed in the aftermath of his acheivement. In only one chapter of the book does Réti take center stage. That is in the section on <My System of Opening> which provides a unique opportunity to examine the famous system beginning 1.Nf3 through the eyes of its creator.

http://www.chesszone.org/lib/lib.html

Great review!

First, let me say I've read MOTCB several times and love the book.

I agree completely with your observation about the quality of the reivew and about the nature of the book.

I think I know what you mean <parisattack> but would you care to elaborate?

It's true that you can't just sink a knight into d5 and declare the game over. But fundamentals like that absolutely must be learned. Reti does establish in the very first line (see Anderssen) that <a knowledge of combination is the foundation of position play.> But the emphasis of the book is definitely on strategic principles.

It's also a very good overview of chess history. I would say to young kibitzers who want to participate in those boisterous discussions on the greatest players in history, read Reti first.

The book does read like a dream, though.

I have been reviewing my old Dover edition, 1976, descriptive notation. I see in the margins handwritten notes in my own hand like:

70 Union
3rd floor
see Belina

That would be from my second reading, 1985, studying on streetcorners, a cycle courier on downtime hastily scribbling an address.

Really, I need to know.>

<just a kid>, I have a used copy of this book that I have never got around to reading. If you are interested in it, I would be happy to give it to you free of charge. I won't even charge you for the shipping.

It is a paperback edition of June 1974 by Tartan Books. And though it has seen better days, it is still a good, clean copy. If you are interested, email me at:

marksblunder@yahoo.com.