Book review of The Most Exciting Chess Games Ever
“Almost whoever you are, these games will stretch and expand your vision of what is possible on the chess board.”
– Terry Chapman, in the Foreword to the book.
The Dutch magazine New in Chess has been running interviews with chess players, called “Just Checking”, since 2001. Amongst other things, players are asked to nominate the most exciting game they ever saw. These nominations form the basis of this book by FM Steve Giddins. The book The Most Exciting Chess Games Ever contains 45 games, of which 44 were nominated by the interviewees, and one by the author, who notes that he has never been interviewed for “Just Checking”.
He writes amusingly in justification of his own nomination (Nunn – Rumens, 1977) as follows.
“This last game is a bit of a cheat, in that it has not actually been nominated in ‘Just Checking’, if only because I have never been asked to do the questionnaire. But I decided that I would apply the Lesley Gore principle (‘It’s My Party’) and take the view that it’s my book, so if I want to be in it, I will! I was also I influenced by the fact that I have a cracking game to present, which is little-known and which nobody else had nominated.”
In terms of the style of games nominated, the author writes:
“Naturally, excitement, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. For the majority of chess fans, an exciting game tends to mean a tactical slugfest, and you will find many of those in this book. But chess is a competitive activity and results matter. Some of the most exciting experiences one can have watching chess involve the occasion itself – a last-round battle that determines the outcome of an important tournament or match, for example.”
He also notes that some nominations were frivolous:
“And then, of course, there are the pranksters, whose suggested games conceal a subtext that may not always be clear to outsiders, especially after the passage of a few years. I managed to guess that Kramnik was not being entirely serious in nominating the game Ilyumzhinov-Colonel Gaddafi, a snapshot of which had appeared on Libyan TV news footage a few months earlier…” Of course, this “game” is not in the book.
As might be expected, many of the games are well-known. For example, Kasparov’s masterpiece against Topalov in Wijk aan Zee, 1999, was nominated 13 times! Interestingly, one of the games nominated is between two chess engines, Leela Zero and Stockfish.
The author has used previous annotations of the games from New in Chess and other sources, and he has updated the analysis with his own analysis and the results from the latest chess engines. The annotations are clear and extensive and add much value to the games. Brief backgrounds to the games are also provided to place them in context.
Two examples from the books are given below, with annotations from the books.
The Most Exciting Chess Games Ever: Example 1
The second game is the only one nominated by the loser, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, which is a credit to his sportsmanship.
The Most Exciting Chess Games Ever: Example 2
In conclusion, this is a great book. The games are entertaining and instructive, and the annotations bring out the key aspects of the games. The author’s enthusiasm shines throughout the book. The result is a book that can be enjoyed by all chess players.
Have any thoughts or questions? Let us know in the comments below!
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Sean Marsh