{"id":3387,"date":"2023-11-08T12:09:57","date_gmt":"2023-11-08T12:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=3387"},"modified":"2023-11-08T12:09:59","modified_gmt":"2023-11-08T12:09:59","slug":"review-on-the-origin-of-good-moves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/review-on-the-origin-of-good-moves\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: On the Origin of Good Moves\u00a0<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Book<\/strong> Review of On the Origin of Good Moves<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a book about the history of improvement in chess – about the improvement of the chess-playing species as it were – but I hope it might contribute to the improvement of the chess-playing individual (i.e. you, the reader).<\/em>\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 the author<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In his previous book, Move First, Think Later<\/a><\/em>, IM Willy Hendriks challenged popular views on how chess players calculate variations and improve their chess skills. This new book uses a similar approach and challenges the prevailing views on how the principles of chess have developed and how the level of the top chess players has improved throughout history. In one sense, this book is a loose sequel to his previous book, and it covers some of the same themes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The book is divided into 36 chapters, each starting with some exercises for the reader to solve. The solutions to the exercises are given in the text of the chapter. The exercises cover a wide range of themes and are not just the typical \u201cfind the winning move\u201d types, and many of them are quite challenging. In total, there are 166 exercises spread throughout the book. The historical development covers the period from Greco to Tarrasch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overarching thesis of the book is that chess development has not been the tidy process that many previous authors would have us believe. He disputes Kasparov\u2019s claim that \u201cThe stages in the development of chess resemble the path taken by everyone who proceeds from a beginner to a player of high standard.\u201d Hendricks shows that this neat picture is false, and he says that the development of chess has followed a somewhat evolutionary approach with some random and chaotic features thrown in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hendriks also challenges some of the stereotypical portraits of historical players. For example, Adolf Anderssen is usually depicted as an attacking player, while Paul Morphy is depicted as a positional player. Hendriks states that the opposite is closer to the truth: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who think I’m cherry-picking to turn Anderssen’s reputation upside down are invited to play over the games from the serious tournaments he was in. I’m sure you will find that this romantic, anti-positional \u2018attack at all costs\u2019 is a nonsensical caricature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other interesting aspects of the book include a reappraisal and approval of Greco\u2019s contributions, a less faltering view of Philidor\u2019s contributions, and some doubts that Steinitz was the discoverer of positional play.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two examples from the book are given below, with annotations.\u00a0 Both games involve Adolf Anderssen, who features heavily and positively in the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On the Origin of Good Moves: Example 1<\/h3>\n\n\n\n\n

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