Ex libris

When I first studied chess I thought it was a golden age for chess literature. There were the classics such as Nimzowitsch’s My System and Reti’s Masters of the Chessboard; a series of publications by Harry Golombek on his heroes Reti, Capablanca, Botvinnik and Smyslov; and Peter Clarke’s wonderful elucidations of the best games of Mikhail Tal and Tigran Petrosian.

In the recent past chess authors have tended to rely too much on computer analysis and databases. Fortunately, we are now in a second golden age, where the computer is the servant rather than the tyrannical master. Garry Kasparov’s mighty My Great Predecessors series on world champions may be the best series of chess books ever written. Tim Harding’s new book on Blackburne, reviewed here last week, is a model of historical research and offers discreet computerised adjustment to the archive commentaries. Meanwhile, Steve Giddins and Craig Pritchett are reinterpreting the work of titans such as Nimzowitsch and Steinitz.