Chess players of a certain age will be delighted by the delightful aroma of nostalgia whilst browsing the latest titles on offer from Forward Chess.
Of course, there are those who say that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but they are the ones who will miss out if they embrace the excellent news that Dover chess books are being revitalised on this very platform.
First up, we have three of the all-time classics: Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 by David Bronstein, Simple Chess by Michael Stean, and The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, by Irving Chernev.
Back in the days when people cared enough about books to make lists of their top 10 favourite titles, there would have been very few instances when the Zurich book would not have been included.
How many had actually read the book in full is, of course, another matter.
There were lots of terrific games played at Zurich 1953 and they enhanced by the remarkable annotations.
For example, in this position, Tigran Petrosian changed chess thinking forever with a very special move.
Here is an interesting position from The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played.
Finally, in Simple Chess we are given excellent explanations on a plethora of important subjects, such as outposts, weak pawns and the minority attack.
I am convinced that no-nonsense explanations and annotations are still the way to go on the road to personal chess improvement and all three of these revitalized Dover books definitely deliver on that score.
The nostalgia factor is very much in evidence, although remains slightly envious of anyone discovering these fabulous Dover books for the first time. However, even though Dover editions always had a slightly old-fashioned style about them, modern readers will be delighted to note that the old, descriptive notation (and the occasional use of the outdated long algebraic notation) has all been converted to the modern algebraic form. Anyway, as one can simply click the moves on Forward Chess, it doesn’t really matter very much at all.
What does matter is that these classics are now available for the modern audience and, furthermore, that they have definitely passed the test of time.
Which Dover books will follow this initial trio of releases? We will just have to wait and see!
writing for even longer.
He is the author of the best-selling Batsford’s Chess Bible and is the
chief trainer for the UK charity, Chess in Schools and Communities. Sean
is also an active player, tutor, coach, professional blogger and is the
chairperson for international conferences and quizzes.
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