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My Great Predecessors #2
Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part 2
The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators.
This magnificent compilation of chess from the mid-20th century forms the basis of the second part of Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chess player ever, subjects the play of his early predecessors to a rigorous analysis. This volume features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1948-1957, 1958-1960 and 1961-1963), Vasily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961).
However, this book is more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.
Garry Kasparov is generally regarded as the greatest chess player ever. He was the thirteenth world champion, holding the title between 1985 and 2000. His tournament record is second to none, featuring numerous wins in the world's elite events, often by substantial margins. Over the last few years, Kasparv has taken first prize in ten consecutive major international events.
This magnificent compilation of chess from the mid-20th century forms the basis of the second part of Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chess player ever, subjects the play of his early predecessors to a rigorous analysis. This volume features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1948-1957, 1958-1960 and 1961-1963), Vasily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961).
However, this book is more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas.
Garry Kasparov is generally regarded as the greatest chess player ever. He was the thirteenth world champion, holding the title between 1985 and 2000. His tournament record is second to none, featuring numerous wins in the world's elite events, often by substantial margins. Over the last few years, Kasparv has taken first prize in ten consecutive major international events.
1353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Garry Kasparov
161 books555 followersRussian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist, whom many consider the greatest chess player of all time.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 7, 2009
The second volume of Kasparov's magnum opus covers Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov and Tal, who were World Champions between 1935 and 1963. In contrast to Volume 1, this one is mostly about people the author knew well. The tone is correspondingly more personal; particularly since the central figure, who towers above the rest, is Mikhail Botvinnik, three times World Champion and Kasparov's great teacher. Kasparov's father died when he was only seven, and one gets the impression that Botvinnik was in many ways the father-figure in his life. During this period, chess was dominated by the Soviet School. Botvinnik and his contemporaries spent their most active years under Stalin, who, like Lenin, was a keen chessplayer.
Mostly, Kasparov talks about Botvinnik's contributions to chess. He considers that he was one of the three truly great World Champions (the other two being Steinitz and Fischer), and transformed the nature of the game with his impartial, scientific approach. Twice, he lost the title, made a thorough study of his opponents' weaknesses, and then won the return match on his deeper understanding. Kasparov describes the process from his own unique viewpoint, and one cannot help being extremely impressed. Botvinnik's lucidity of thought was remarkable. But you constantly feel Stalin there in the background. I'm guessing that people reading this review will, on the whole, find the political and human side more interesting than the chess, so I'll focus on that.
There is no doubt that Botvinnik supported Stalin, and believed he was the hero who won World War II for the Allies. Kasparov, who is absolutely not a Stalinist, tries to show you how it was possible for someone to admire this brutal dictator, to accept many favors from him, and still to be a decent, honest person with a strong sense of right and wrong. On the one hand, Botvinnik was the darling of the Soviet Communist Party, who accorded him all sorts of unusual privileges - his wife was even allowed to accompany him to tournaments in the West! An even more striking example: just before the outbreak of the war, Botvinnik wanted to enter negotiations with Alekhine for a world title match. He of course had to ask his superiors for permission, and it seems likely that the positive reply was dictated by Stalin himself. And despite this, he somehow still managed to stay true to his own ideals, and maintain his sense of his own worth.
The Soviet authorities were only too keen to help Botvinnik in any way possible, and I found it interesting to see which forms of help he was prepared to accept, and which he refused. The match with Alekhine never happened; Alekhine died still holding the title, and the World Chess Federation decided that the new champion would be the winner of a match-tournament between the world's five strongest players. Play was split between The Hague and Moscow. On the way to Moscow, Euwe, who had previously been a tough opponent for Botvinnik, had his notebooks confiscated by the customs officials, who (they claimed) thought that the chess moves might be code. Botvinnik intervened, and had them returned to him. Euwe was grateful, but it appears that the contents were copied, and his secrets were passed on to the Soviet players. On the other hand, Botvinnik adamantly refused several offers to have other Soviets throw key matches to him; he made it clear that he would resign games he thought were being fixed in his favor. Despite being Jewish, he was also one of the few prominent Soviet Jews who did not sign the infamous letter denouncing the "Doctor's Plot". Kasparov, clearly impressed, says he does not know how he managed this.
The most memorable episode is the 23rd game of Botvinnik's 1951 match against Bronstein. One down with two to play, Botvinnik desperately needs a win. The game is adjourned in a complex endgame, where he has chances, but everything depends on his sealed move (the last move of the session, written down and put into a secret envelope). Flohr, Botvinnik's second, is watching, and becomes more and more excited; if Botvinnik has sealed Bb1, he looks like he's doing very well! When Botvinnik leaves the hall, Flohr runs up to him, and tells him his thoughts. Botvinnik thanks him, but says he's tired; he'll look at the analysis in the morning. Flohr works all night, and next day tells Botvinnik that it's as he suspected. Bb1 wins in all variations, and he can prove it. He tries to show the lines to Botvinnik, and is surprised at how little interest he shows; probably he's figured it all out himself, but wouldn't it be safest to go through the material together? And it's only as they go back into the playing hall that Botvinnik turns to him and, "with his customary, mechanical intonation", says that in fact Flohr has wasted his time; he sealed a different move. Flohr, exhausted and overwrought, breaks down and cries openly. But Botvinnik still manages somehow to win the game, and retains his title.
As Kasparov says: what a dreadful story. Not to be able to trust anyone, not even your closest friend, for fear that he will betray you. Somehow, more than anything in Solzhenitsyn, this brought home to me what it was what was like to live in Stalin's Russia.
Mostly, Kasparov talks about Botvinnik's contributions to chess. He considers that he was one of the three truly great World Champions (the other two being Steinitz and Fischer), and transformed the nature of the game with his impartial, scientific approach. Twice, he lost the title, made a thorough study of his opponents' weaknesses, and then won the return match on his deeper understanding. Kasparov describes the process from his own unique viewpoint, and one cannot help being extremely impressed. Botvinnik's lucidity of thought was remarkable. But you constantly feel Stalin there in the background. I'm guessing that people reading this review will, on the whole, find the political and human side more interesting than the chess, so I'll focus on that.
There is no doubt that Botvinnik supported Stalin, and believed he was the hero who won World War II for the Allies. Kasparov, who is absolutely not a Stalinist, tries to show you how it was possible for someone to admire this brutal dictator, to accept many favors from him, and still to be a decent, honest person with a strong sense of right and wrong. On the one hand, Botvinnik was the darling of the Soviet Communist Party, who accorded him all sorts of unusual privileges - his wife was even allowed to accompany him to tournaments in the West! An even more striking example: just before the outbreak of the war, Botvinnik wanted to enter negotiations with Alekhine for a world title match. He of course had to ask his superiors for permission, and it seems likely that the positive reply was dictated by Stalin himself. And despite this, he somehow still managed to stay true to his own ideals, and maintain his sense of his own worth.
The Soviet authorities were only too keen to help Botvinnik in any way possible, and I found it interesting to see which forms of help he was prepared to accept, and which he refused. The match with Alekhine never happened; Alekhine died still holding the title, and the World Chess Federation decided that the new champion would be the winner of a match-tournament between the world's five strongest players. Play was split between The Hague and Moscow. On the way to Moscow, Euwe, who had previously been a tough opponent for Botvinnik, had his notebooks confiscated by the customs officials, who (they claimed) thought that the chess moves might be code. Botvinnik intervened, and had them returned to him. Euwe was grateful, but it appears that the contents were copied, and his secrets were passed on to the Soviet players. On the other hand, Botvinnik adamantly refused several offers to have other Soviets throw key matches to him; he made it clear that he would resign games he thought were being fixed in his favor. Despite being Jewish, he was also one of the few prominent Soviet Jews who did not sign the infamous letter denouncing the "Doctor's Plot". Kasparov, clearly impressed, says he does not know how he managed this.
The most memorable episode is the 23rd game of Botvinnik's 1951 match against Bronstein. One down with two to play, Botvinnik desperately needs a win. The game is adjourned in a complex endgame, where he has chances, but everything depends on his sealed move (the last move of the session, written down and put into a secret envelope). Flohr, Botvinnik's second, is watching, and becomes more and more excited; if Botvinnik has sealed Bb1, he looks like he's doing very well! When Botvinnik leaves the hall, Flohr runs up to him, and tells him his thoughts. Botvinnik thanks him, but says he's tired; he'll look at the analysis in the morning. Flohr works all night, and next day tells Botvinnik that it's as he suspected. Bb1 wins in all variations, and he can prove it. He tries to show the lines to Botvinnik, and is surprised at how little interest he shows; probably he's figured it all out himself, but wouldn't it be safest to go through the material together? And it's only as they go back into the playing hall that Botvinnik turns to him and, "with his customary, mechanical intonation", says that in fact Flohr has wasted his time; he sealed a different move. Flohr, exhausted and overwrought, breaks down and cries openly. But Botvinnik still manages somehow to win the game, and retains his title.
As Kasparov says: what a dreadful story. Not to be able to trust anyone, not even your closest friend, for fear that he will betray you. Somehow, more than anything in Solzhenitsyn, this brought home to me what it was what was like to live in Stalin's Russia.
July 1, 2018
The second volume in this amazing series of books by Garry Kasparov outdoes the incredible work he did with the first volume. Seeing as how these were individuals that he personally knew, we are provided with tremendous insights into the personalities and the behind the scenes anecdotes that can only be provided by someone who is friendly with the subjects.
This volume focuses on Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal. And while all of these former champions are noteworthy, Kasparov's portrayal of Botvinnik and Tal are noteworthy. Botvinnik was Kasparov's teacher, and some would say, his surrogate father. Seeing as how they worked together throughout the years, it is fascinating to see Kasparov's insight into this "cold" individual. On the other hand it was quite joyous to see what he had to say about Michail Tal. Tal is often referred to as the "Magician from Riga" as his incredibly aggressive style was so sharp that his games continue to stand out for their sheer creativity, even if modern chess computers are able to refute some of his spectacular sacrifices.
The chapters on Euwe and Smyslov were also interesting. Years ago I went through a stage of studying many of Smyslov's games from annotated game collections.
I am looking forward to the future volumes in this series. Next up will be Petrosian and Spassky. And seeing how Petrosian was one of my favorite players, I'm looking forward to seeing how a tactician such as Kasparov approaches the games of a master positional player. Plus, Kasparov has first hand knowledge of both individuals and the third volume is devoted to only two World Champions, as compared to the previous volumes which featured four in each.
A must read for the serious chess fan!
This volume focuses on Max Euwe, Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal. And while all of these former champions are noteworthy, Kasparov's portrayal of Botvinnik and Tal are noteworthy. Botvinnik was Kasparov's teacher, and some would say, his surrogate father. Seeing as how they worked together throughout the years, it is fascinating to see Kasparov's insight into this "cold" individual. On the other hand it was quite joyous to see what he had to say about Michail Tal. Tal is often referred to as the "Magician from Riga" as his incredibly aggressive style was so sharp that his games continue to stand out for their sheer creativity, even if modern chess computers are able to refute some of his spectacular sacrifices.
The chapters on Euwe and Smyslov were also interesting. Years ago I went through a stage of studying many of Smyslov's games from annotated game collections.
I am looking forward to the future volumes in this series. Next up will be Petrosian and Spassky. And seeing how Petrosian was one of my favorite players, I'm looking forward to seeing how a tactician such as Kasparov approaches the games of a master positional player. Plus, Kasparov has first hand knowledge of both individuals and the third volume is devoted to only two World Champions, as compared to the previous volumes which featured four in each.
A must read for the serious chess fan!
June 14, 2020
Have to give this 4 stars due to sheer volume and quality of the analysis and the ambition of the project. In truth the analysis was often so deep that I found myself lost in the positions and forgot the sense of the individual game itself. However, I've worked on my 'board vision' over the last year which means the simpler variations could be followed in my head instead of on the board. This helped me retain more sense of narrative as I worked through what has been a real labour of love these past three years. As always the present is sacrificed to promise o the future. I constantly felt myself drawn to volumes 3 and 4 (Petrosian, Spassky; Fischer) instead of enjoying Volume 2 properly right now! Ah well... silly humans.
March 14, 2019
Not quite what I was expecting.
The book was published just as computer programs were becoming de facto tools for checking analysis in chess games, and this book is caught up in the euphoria of the machine. Basically, Kasparov writes really interesting biographical stuff about each world champ covered in this volume (Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, and Tal), then dumps these players' own quotes and reams of analytical lines (many without any comment) into each game. The games became tedious with this method of line after line of moves given without much context, psychological explanation, or insight. When Kasparov does provide insight (e.g. brilliantly when writing about games from the Botvinnik vs. Bronstein world title match), it's fabulous. But overall there's simply too many unadorned lines.
Look, I know Kasparov is famously uncompromising about finding the "truth" of a chess position, but as such, this series seems mostly written for his own benefit, aside from the biographical prose packed around the various games.
I was left wondering who the audience for the series is. Simply other GMs or titled players? This is my guess.
My biggest takeaway though was the enriching cultural history, especially of the Soviet players, that Kasparov included. I wish there was MORE OF THIS, because it was valuable.
The book was published just as computer programs were becoming de facto tools for checking analysis in chess games, and this book is caught up in the euphoria of the machine. Basically, Kasparov writes really interesting biographical stuff about each world champ covered in this volume (Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, and Tal), then dumps these players' own quotes and reams of analytical lines (many without any comment) into each game. The games became tedious with this method of line after line of moves given without much context, psychological explanation, or insight. When Kasparov does provide insight (e.g. brilliantly when writing about games from the Botvinnik vs. Bronstein world title match), it's fabulous. But overall there's simply too many unadorned lines.
Look, I know Kasparov is famously uncompromising about finding the "truth" of a chess position, but as such, this series seems mostly written for his own benefit, aside from the biographical prose packed around the various games.
I was left wondering who the audience for the series is. Simply other GMs or titled players? This is my guess.
My biggest takeaway though was the enriching cultural history, especially of the Soviet players, that Kasparov included. I wish there was MORE OF THIS, because it was valuable.
July 5, 2025
Mooi boek over de wereldkampioenen.
Ik was vooral benieuwd naar wat er over Max Euwe geschreven werd.
Deze wordt vaak toch wel afgeschilderd als laatste amateurkampioen.
Echter spreekt Kasparov zijn lof wel degelijk uit.
Vooral voor de systematische benadering van het schaakspel.
Verder zaten er voor mij wel wat onbekende partijen tussen.
Ik had wat haast het uit te werken aangezien het aantal verlengingen was verlopen.
Maargoed ik heb alle partijen bestudeerd.
Ik was vooral benieuwd naar wat er over Max Euwe geschreven werd.
Deze wordt vaak toch wel afgeschilderd als laatste amateurkampioen.
Echter spreekt Kasparov zijn lof wel degelijk uit.
Vooral voor de systematische benadering van het schaakspel.
Verder zaten er voor mij wel wat onbekende partijen tussen.
Ik had wat haast het uit te werken aangezien het aantal verlengingen was verlopen.
Maargoed ik heb alle partijen bestudeerd.
June 17, 2025
Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Many great stories and games. His commentaries on some of the world championships are pure gold. It is also a great exercise to follow through games without a board (ie. visualising it in your mind). Some of the lines are really long and very hard to follow everything, but you eventually do get used to it if you try hard.
June 4, 2019
As Kramnik once said: "you cannot become a truly strong chess player, without experiencing the history of chess development."
November 14, 2020
Erg goed beeld van de grote mannen van het schaak.
Stockfish toont aan dat in 2004 de computers nog minder sterk waren. Bij tijd en wijlen klopt een analyse dan ook niet. Meerdere malen geeft Kasparov een vraagteken als het de keuze blijkt te zijn van de computer. Maar dat is allemaal te vergeven want er wordt veel fraais getoond. Tal blijkt een genie te zijn geweest. Stockfish geeft hem nogal eens gelijk als Kasparov twijfelt.
Stockfish toont aan dat in 2004 de computers nog minder sterk waren. Bij tijd en wijlen klopt een analyse dan ook niet. Meerdere malen geeft Kasparov een vraagteken als het de keuze blijkt te zijn van de computer. Maar dat is allemaal te vergeven want er wordt veel fraais getoond. Tal blijkt een genie te zijn geweest. Stockfish geeft hem nogal eens gelijk als Kasparov twijfelt.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews