In this post, I will reflect on the chess books I read in 2019. You can find a similar post about non-chess books on my other blog Popsychle.
The Year Of Sosonko
In 2019, I read 18 chess books.
To be completely honest, this number is somewhat lower than I expected it to be at the beginning of the year. I explained this discrepancy between the expectations and the final results to myself as follows:
- I don’t read as much as I would like to
- Since I read a lot about chess on the Internet and in the Magazines, I like to take a break from it in this manner
- I also like reading about a variety of other topics
- I realized it takes me much more time and effort to go through a chess book (especially an improvement book) if you want to read it properly, by going through the games and setting up the board
- I am not as motivated to work on my chess as I was in the past
Due to everything mentioned above (and the last two factors, in particular), I haven’t read many pure chess improvement books.
On the other hand, as a firm loves of stories about chess players, chess culture and chess history, I found another type of chess book I really enjoy – biographical/memoir type of book where a (great) player (and writer) shares his recollections and stories from the chess tournament halls and encounters with other (great) chess players.
Those of you who follow my social media accounts might have noticed a whole lot of posts devoted to the brilliant writer, grandmaster Genna Sosonko, who has written a number of books to the various players from the Soviet era 1. And indeed, in 2019, I read his entire bibliography and have included even two of his books on the Best Chess Books 2019 list.
That is not to say there aren’t any others. There is even one chess improvement book on the list. But I think it is fair to say that, when it comes to the author of these lines, chess books and 2019, the term “Year of Sosonko” is quite appropriate.
Now, without further ado, I present to you 5 Best Chess Books I read in 2019.
Best Chess Books 2019
1) Yasser Seirawan – Chess Duels: My Games With the World Champions
What is it about?
Everyone who has ever watched a Saint Louis Chess Club or Chessbrah chess stream knows that the legendary American Grandmaster Yasser Seirawan is an inexhaustible source of chess stories.
In this book, he shares a number of stories about players of the highest caliber and talks about his on-the-board and off-the-board encounters with the World Champions, beginning with Vassily Smyslov and ending with Garry Kasparov.
Why I love this book?
Because it is so interesting, entertaining, fun and controversial.
On one hand, Yasser Seirawan is a born entertainer and only he can muster such a staggering amount of stories, anecdotes and jokes in a single book. You can’t avoid giggling almost every two pages and the whole spirit of the book is so jovial and light in its nature.
However, that doesn’t mean the book is a joke. On the contrary, Yasser touches on a number of controversial topics and doesn’t hesitate to share his honest opinion. He criticizes FIDE, Kasparov and Fischer, he gives his opinion about Karpov’s chances in the potential 1975 match and the extensive support he enjoyed in the Soviet Union and all other relevant events in the last quarter of the century which boggle the curiosity of chess fans even today.
Highly recommended!
Memorable quote(s)?
I had a conversation with my father in the early 1980s about Bobby. I had spoken about my admiration for Bobby, and my father had been almost vehemently dismissive. I was taken aback and asked why he harbored such a strong and negative opinion about him. To quote: “Bobby won the World Chess Championship. He fought and won it once. Once. I was a parachutist. Any idiot can jump out of a plane. You got respect when you did it the second time because you know your fears and what you have to face.”
Privately, top players joke about “Championitis”. It is a strange virus that afflicts players only when they are World Champions, although early symptoms are detectable at the Candidate and Challenger stages. Essentially, the title or even the closeness of the title goes to their heads. Their egos become so inflated they lose their humanity and cease to respect others. Not all are susceptible to the disease. However, when it flares up the results are not pretty…
Tigran has been criticized as being not especially ambitious. This criticism has evoked thoughtful agreement from a wide selection of grandmasters. The oft-told joke goes that once Petrosian was determined to draw a particular game nothing could stop him, not even a won position. A delightful and humorous joke.
2) Genna Sosonko – Russian Silhouettes
What is it about?
As mentioned above, author, writer, grandmaster and big chess enthusiast Genna Sosonko has made a name by writing books about players from Soviet era. Russian Silhouettes is a prime example in which he writes about Tal, Botvinnik, Polugayevsky, Geller, Keres, Capablanca (who he hasn’t met, the chapter was written on the basis of conversations he had with Capa’s wife), Zak, Furman, Koblenz, Vitolins and Levenfish.
Why I love this book?
Oh, I don’t know where to begin. In no particular order:
- I am attracted to the very idea of reading about (forgotten) players from the Soviet era
- I absolutely adore Sosonko’s way of writing about these players – the combination of his own impressions, conversations he had with them, cold facts and testimonials by other players
- just like Yasser, Sosonko has a great sense of humour and shares a whole lot of jokes and anecdotes throughout the book (especially in the Mikhail Tal chapter, which is probably self-explanatory)
- even more than Yasser, Sosonko dares to venture into difficult topics and speak his mind. Soviet chess system was a very complicated beast which brought a lot of benefits to some players at the expense of the others. Sosonko brings these cases in the daylight, criticizes the system and also criticizes the players themselves when he considers it appropriate
In a way, all Sosonko’s books are like this. What ultimately tipped the scales in Russian Silhouettes favor was the chapter about Alvis Vitolins, Tal’s trainer who committed suicide at a young age, where Sosonko writes about the topic of mental health in chess in general 2
I don’t recall when was the last time a book sent such shivers down my spine!
Memorable quote(s)?
Chess in the Soviet Union, under the unremitting attention and control of the authorities, was closely amalgamated with politics, like everything in that amazing country. The closed nature of society, and its isolation from the free world, were reasons why talent and energy frequently splashed out in comparatively neutral fields.
Iosif Dorfman remembers: ‘In the last round of the Zonal USSR Championship in Yerevan in 1982 I needed a win to qualify for the Interzonal Tournament, whereas a draw would suit Geller. When I was considering my move, Geller, standing opposite, said, leaning over the board: ‘All the same you won’t win against me.’ The game ended in a draw, and Geller, who had now calmed down, apologised.’
No, Geller was not a good-natured person, rather he worked under the pretence of being so. But he helped me a great deal during my match with Petrosian in 1969, and in the match with Fischer he was effectively the only one who really helped me.
Even famous grandmasters, at the very top of the gigantic pyramid in the USSR, could not vouch for their future. Their chess career could be cut short for an indefinite period at any time and sometimes be altogether destroyed. I think that it was primarily this, and not just differences in character and mentality, that explains the frequently prickly, watchful and often openly hostile relations, which always accompanied the top of Soviet chess.
3) Genna Sosonko – The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein
What is it about?
In contrast to the Russian Silhouettes, which are devoted to a series of Soviet players, The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein, as its title suggests, is an anthology of a single-player – former world championship candidate and one of the strongest chess players from the middle of the 20th century, David Bronstein.
As usual for his memoirs, Sosonko paints Bronstein’s peculiar character through a series of conversations and phone calls he had with “Cunning Devik” over the span of 20+ years.
Why I love this book?
Because it is so painful it hurts.
Honestly! It is one of the most difficult books I plowed through during my entire life. According to its content, Bronstein was a very unfortunate, self-centered, conspiracy-prone and difficult man. Sosonko paints him as a bitter egomaniac who, after losing his 1951 match against Botvinnik, spent the rest of his life rationalizing and lamenting that loss.
Sosonko’s conversations with Bronstein are depicted as monologues where the latter would start ranting about a random topic and inevitably return to that ill-fated 23rd game of the 1951 match.
All the character deficiencies aside, Sosonko (and other strong players such as Spassky) unanimously agree that Bronstein was one of the greatest geniuses of our game who introduced a whole set of modern ideas in the middle of the century. Apart from bringing the King’s Indian Defence into the limelight, Bronstein was also the first who introduced the ideas that would later become Fischer 960Chess and Fischer Clock.
It is a pity that there is a thin line between genius and madness.
Memorable quote(s)?
Disregarding the fundamental truth that several different excuses always sound less convincing than one, Bronstein found a number of scapegoats and reasons for his loss: his hatred-filled opponent, the atmosphere of that time, fear for his father, his seconds who neglected their duties, walks with a girlfriend who didn’t care about his career, and the hardships he endured. …
On another occasion [Bronstein explained]: “People would ask why I took part in FIDE’s qualifying tournaments in the first place if I wasn’t striving to become world champion? The answer is very simple. In those days, there were few international tournaments; you had to play in qualifying tournaments and prove that you belonged to the world’s chess elite to get your own national federation to respect you, so that it would then send you to those tournaments.”
Then he began to resort to a more radical explanation: “I had good reasons not to become world champion. In those days, that title meant that you had to become part of the official world of chess bureaucracy and take on all sorts of responsibilities, which was incompatible with my personality.
4) Axel Smith – Pump Up Your Rating
What is it about?
Axel Smith is a Swedish Grandmaster who, back in the day, increased his rating from 2105 to 2458 in two years (from April 2006 to April 2008) and became an International Master in the process. Later, he decided to primarily devote himself to chess coaching (and chess book writing).
In his book Pump Up Your rating, he describes his training system and the methods he used to achieve such an enormous rating peak. Over the seven chapters, he covers all the important aspects of the chess improvement – from middle game/strategy considerations via calculation to analyzing your games and working on your opening repertoire.
In short, everything an aspiring chess player should do to improve his game.
Why I love this book?
Because it is so meticulous, rigorous and thorough, it serves as a wake-up call.
Axel Smith is very serious strict about a chess improvement. His teaching is heavily based on the active learning concepts. He mentions that many chess players spend a lot of time studying chess, yet improve precisely because they don’t force their brain to think actively. He even says they have a term in Swedish chess circles for such players: Mummies.
In contrast to the prevalence of chess books that suggest that chess improvement is easy, quick and natural, 3 Smith makes sure we understand it is god damn hard. He firmly conveys the message that true rating gains are only within our reach if we are prepared to work our asses off.
Apart from the chess content which provides the reader with a comprehensive and concrete study plan, Smith’s radical attitude is particularly seen when it comes to non-chess aspect of chess improvement – something I have rarely seen considered in chess books.
For example, he emphasizes it is best not to watch TV, use Smartphone or be connected to the Internet when you are working on your game – something we all know in the back of our heads, yet we rarely admit to ourselves.
When (if) I ever get to work on my chess seriously again, this will probably be the first book I will pick up!
Memorable quote(s)?
Our mummy spends a lot of time on chess, but he won’t improve much. Many of his training methods do not follow the fourth capital from MONA: Active Learning.
You should strive for quality in your chess training. If you happen to be tired when it’s time ot study chess, or dead as in the case of the mummy, I think it’s better to postpone chess.
A good chess player is not someone with well-defined knowledge, but rather one with great skills.
P.S. The book is also available at Forward Chess
5) Jonathan Rowson – Moves That Matter: A Chess Grandmaster On the Game of Life
What is it about?
Jonathan Rowson is a Scottish Grandmaster who is a renowned author of the well-received books Seven Deadly Chess Sins and Chess for Zebras.
Whereas these two tackled the topic of chess improvement in a somewhat unconventional and highly entertaining manner, his latest work Moves That Matter approaches chess from a more philosophical aspect and tries to draw parallels between our game and life.
However, it is not just another “XYZ reasons how chess is similar to life” compilation of cliche narratives. Instead, Rowson attempts to make a deep dive in the psychology and existentialism and tries to decipher the true meaning behind the outwardly calm movement of the pieces.
Through profound ideas such as “Concentration is freedom” or “Accepting our limits”, the author tries to provide his own vision of the answer to the eternal question: “What is the meaning of life”, using chess as a tool, an end to a mean and a mean to an end.
Why I love this book?
Because it made me think so damn hard.
Everybody who listened to Rowson’s appearance in the Perpetual Chess Podcast knows he is an extremely intelligent man. In his writing, he managed to fabricate this intelligence and challenge the reader with his ideas and concepts.
The thing that amazed me the most is that, even though the book is outwardly highly philosophical and tackles macroscopic issues, it is simultaneously very relatable.
Whether we are talking from my perspective as a chess player or a young working adult, I found myself nodding in disbelief when reading about concepts such as “when you try to solve your problems by showing dominance over others you don’t solve them” or “ Living well means having some capacity to temper our natural desire and envy”.
I don’t even pretend I have managed to understand everything the author had to say. I am sure a lot of it flew right over my head.
But on the other hand – all the more to look forward to when it comes to rereading this masterpiece!
Memorable quote(s)?
Whether through work or love or art, life becomes more meaningful whenever we take responsibility for something or someone. Responsibility is not always pleasurable or even positive, but it is purposeful – it adds significance and direction to life and helps answer the perennial human question: what should I do? And while our lives are characterized by many things, they are defined most profoundly by the open secret of our inevitable deaths. Chess simulates the meaning of life because it is a ritual encounter with death in disguise, where we experience the responsibility to stay alive one move at a time.
That kind of decision is often framed as a form of ‘opting out’, but in many ways it is opting in. When you are in control of your own time you are free to have a more direct relationship with life, to choose where to put your attention and care, rather than be forced to conform to the patterns of prevailing cultural norms, typically manifest in the routines of work, home and family. We are different characters, and Stuart is a decade older, so we could not have lived each other’s life, but Stuart has sometimes functioned in my psyche as a kind of chess alter ego, living the apparently free life I might have chosen had I stayed on the road playing chess.
The difficulty with chess is the difficulty of mastering it, which is a rewarding lifelong project. The marketing challenge for chess is a subtle one, because most forms of marketing involve making difficult things look easy. Convenience sells, while effort does not, and yet the real rewards of the game come from the difficulty; from the pleasure of trying to make fewer mistakes than your opponent.
There is more to be said, for instance, about the anguish of defeat, the craving for status, the joy of reaching beyond our grasp, and the sublime beauty of an unexpected winning idea.
Another 13 Chess Book Reviews
1) Andre Schultz – The Big Book of World Chess Championship: 46 Title Fights, from Steinitz to Carlsen
Since, at the beginning of 2019, I was engaged heavily in writing my own series of articles on the World Chess Championship History, the first book I read was Andre Schultz’s gigantic tome on the same topic.
Even though I entertained myself with the possibility of publishing my articles as a (free) ebook, after reading this book I realized it would have no point, because it is so detailed, rich and entertaining.
Everything you need to know about every World Championship Match is included here – from a brief overview of players, to match negotiations and contract conditions, to interesting off-the-board intricacies, such as did Alekhine really drink in his match against Euwe.
I am not sure whether every sentence in the book would pass the review of Edward Winter, but it IS a wonderful, informative and detailed book about 46 World Championship Matches.
P.S. The book is also available at Forward Chess
2) Dirk Jan Ten Gauzendam – The Day Kasparov Quit and Other Chess Interviews
Dirk Jan Ten Gauzendam is the famous chess journalist, writer and current editor-in-chief of the New In Chess Magazine.
This books is a collection of chess interviews he did with various top players, mainly throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, culminating with the interview with Garry Kasparov on the day he announced his retirement from chess.
It is an interesting glimpse in the world of the likes like young Kramnik, Anand or Garry Kasparov in his prime.
On the other hand, there are some interviews, such as the one with Kirsan Ilyumzinov and the one with David Bronstein, I found a tad boring.
3) Jesus De La Villa – 100 Endgames You Must Know
A famous alternative to the even more famous Mark Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, Jesus De La Villa’s book makes its purpose very clear in the title. The author presents 100 elementary endgames he thinks every chess player should know.
If you are unsure about the difference between the Philidor and the Kling And Harwitz defensive methods and/or know nothing about the bishop and rook vs rook endgame, this book is definitely for you, since it is much more digestible than the Dvoretsky’s notorious tome.
On the other hand, it can be debated whether these are the exact 100 endgames every chess players should know, but it is a good start :).
P.s. The book is also available on Chessable.
P.P.S. As an appetizer, you can check my post about 10 Endgames Every Chess Player Should Know
P.P.P.S. The book is also available on Forward Chess
4) Jonathan Hawkings – From Amateur to IM
Jonathan Hawkings is an English chess player who climbed from 2200 FIDE rating to the International Master level in his 20s (from 2006 to 2010, according to his FIDE profile).
In his book, he presents his study method which allowed him to make such a gigantic leap, which is – once again – complete revolving around the endgame.
However, in contrast to 100 Endgames You Should Know, this is not an endgame manual. Hawkings instead tries to convey how to approach thinking in apparently simple endgame positions and how to obtain the adequate endgame technique.
I have had a hard time determining what to make out of this book because I have had a feeling the material consists of the author’s private notes he made when he was improving.
Of course, anyone who has seen my games knows I can extract great benefits from studying annotated practical endgames. On the other hand, it is one of those books where it is hard to get the feeling you have learned anything tangible.
But then again, if chess improvement was that easy, everyone would go from Amateur to IM in no time.
P.S. It is perhaps worth mentioning that Hawkings is today a 2580 Grandmaster.
P.P.S. The book is also available at Forward Chess
5) Genna Sosonko – Smart Chip From St. Petersburg and Other Tales From a Bygone Chess Area
Ah, another Sosonko book I am very fond of. As the title suggests, in this one Sosonko shares a number of stories about chess players from St. Petersburg, such as Genrikh Mikhailovich Chepukaitis, Ludek Pachman, Ratmir Kholmov, Ira Levitina, etc.
However, what makes this book a bit different is its philosophical nature. The author also writes about other topics important about chess players, such as the importance of sleep during the tournament, effect of aging on the playing capability and even the attitude of the religious institutions toward chess throughout the history.
I have had hard time deciding whether to include this one or Russian Sillhoutes on the Best Chess Books list. I ultimately decided for the former solely because of the mental illness aspect.
6) Mark Dvoretsky – Tragicomedy in the Endgame
Late Mark Dvoretsky is widely regarded as one of the best chess coaches (if not THE best) of all times. He is also a renowned chess author, whose books mainly consist of the various training material he accumulated throughout his career. I have already mentioned the very famous Endgame Manual, the sort of a “endgame Bible” for any >2200 chess player.
His book Tragicomedy in the Endgame also delves in the topic of the endgame. 4 However, the format is slightly different – instead of showing only THE correct way of playing a certain position, Dvoretsky shows a number of instructive mistakes committed in the endgame by strong grandmasters and explains why they are mistakes.
I found the material in this book much more approachable than the one in the Endgame Manual. The only drawback is that the author sometimes references a certain theoretical position from the Manual, so there is no way of completely avoiding it. 5
P.S. The book is also available at Forward Chess
7) Timman’s Titans – My World Chess Champions
As the title suggests, in this autobiographical book, Timman writes about his encounters with World Chess Champions, starting from Alekhine (which he never met, but shares a story of how he bought his last chess set in Lisbon) all the way to Kasparov.
Of course, the greater part of the book is devoted to his contemporaries Karpov and Kasparov, but also the ever-so-controversial Robert James Fischer. Apart from the pure array of stories and topics and Timman’s top notch chess analysis, I very much like how he never holds back his opinion.
For instance, when he writes about the termination of the 1985 World Championship Match, Timman doesn’t hesitate to doubt Kasparov’s account of the story:
In his book, Kasparov goes out of his way to prove that Karpov had actually supported the decision of the authorities, but he doesn’t manage to convince me at all. I know Karpov well enough to realize that he would not under any circumstances voluntarily accept a situation where his lead in the match would be taken from him.
After I have written this review and went through my notes, I was left wondering why on Earth I didn’t include the book on the Best Chess Books 2019 list.
Alas, you can’t have them all 🙁
P.S. The book is also available at Forward Chess
8) Jon Edwards – Chessbase Complete: Chess in the Digital Age
This one will be quite short. Jon Edwards is a Chessbase expert and in this book, he explains how to use it.
Even though I found the way material was organized a bit confusing and hard to navigate, I learned a lot. If you don’t know how to filter games, what Megadatabase is or how to find positions with c6-e6 against d4 position in Chessbase, this book might be worth taking a closer look.
9) John Nunn – Understanding Chess Middlegames
I have a confession to make. Back in the day, when I was writing a huge number of “Best chess XYZ books articles” such as the one about Best Chess Middle Game Books, I included some books I haven’t necessarily read.
Understanding Chess Middlegames was one such example. In 2019, I decided to correct this mistake and go through it.
And realized it is probably an ideal choice for an (almost) 2200 player. 6 I figured I knew a lot of the principles dr. Nunn is trying to explain and that two examples per chapter are enough to get the basic grasp about a topic, but not more.
10) Genna Sosonko – The World Champions I Knew
Allow me to conclude this article with a final series of Sosonko’s books, starting with The World Champions I Knew. In contrast to some other Sosonko’s books where he talks about ‘unsung heroes’, lesser-known Soviet masters, here the topic are exclusively high – profile players – World Champions.
The book is conceptually quite similar to Timman’s book and is worth reading, but I felt some of the stories about Tal were familiar from Russian Silhouettes. Also, for a more detailed account about Vassily Smyslov, it is probably worth getting the entire book devoted to the seventh World Champion (see below).
11) Genna Sosonko – The Reliable Past
Another Sosonko book, another set of stories about lesser known players, such as Anatoly Lutikov, Vladimir Bagirov, Tony Miles, Max Euwe, Salo Flohr and others.
At the very least, I think the final chapter titled “Death of a Salesman”, devoted to Eduard Gufels, is definitely worth reading. Rarely is such a character encountered in chess tournament halls. Laughter is guaranteed.
12) Genna Sosonko – Evil Doer: Half a Century With Viktor Korchnoi
Last, but not least, I read the second of the three Sosonko books devoted to a single person – his celebrated book about Viktor Korchnoi.
Sosonko, who worked as Korchnoi’s second in the latter’s late years, 7 provides a comprehensive overview of Korchnoi’s biography, from his earliest Soviet days to his final “I-am-a-giant-prick-who-can’t-take-a-loss” period of life.
The book sheds a new light on Korchnoi’s decision to emigrate in 1976 since it talks in great details about the turmoils he had to face following his famous “anti-Karpov” letter.
Sosonko also doesn’t hesitate to talk about Korchnoi’s difficult character traits and once again causes discomfort within the reader.
Although not as big as in Bronstein’s case, which is the reason why I decided against including this book on the Best Chess Books List.
13) Genna Sosonko – Smyslov on the Couch
Finally, allow me to conclude this article with another biographical book by Sosonko devoted to a single person. This time, he pens the portrait of Vassily Smyslov the Seventh, mainly in the form of conversations and phone calls.
The book is as interesting as the others. There were a lot of things I didn’t know, such as the extent of Smyslov’s superstitions and his ‘pragmatism’ customary of the Soviet era. There were apparently several International tournaments where he ‘secured’ his participation in favor of another Soviet colleague without a hint of embarrassment. 8
I somehow never regarded Smyslov in that manner until this book.
So why is it not on the Best Chess Books list? Simply because it didn’t captivate me in the same way as the Bronstein book.
To be quite frank, when I was reading this book, I was a bit tired of Sosonko’s books and writing.
Which doesn’t mean I won’t reread any of it in 2020 🙂
- And not only Soviet-era
- Something I tried to emulate in my article about chess and mental illness
- Because marketing!
- Quite surprising, I know
- Which is something I have been trying to do for the greater part of this post, if you haven’t noticed
- Even a stagnating one
- Although it is not certain what exactly do “later years” refer toin Korchnoi’s case
- Back in the day, it was not so easy for Soviet Grandmasters to travel abroad and it was regarded as a huge privilege