New and interesting books
Here the Museum presents interesting books related to chess history, chess collectionism, board games in general and anything that fits into our range of interest. New books or re-editions are of course important, but some older books - especially if only published in foreign languages - are of great interest - everything we do not know or what has been forgotten, is new! Suggestions and reviews by You are most welcome .....
Emanuel Lasker - struggle and victories
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In the series of Lost and Forgotten Tournaments, Tony Gillam has come up with another batch of tournaments, and the games played in them. Especially interesting the contest of Luhacovice Spa from 1935 - all games have been found and printed. That also goes for the match of the Manhattan chess club against the Marshall chess club from 1935, as well as the constant activity of Selesniev in tournaments in 1921 and 1922. The booklets are available as always in chess bookshops, online from New in Chess, or from Tony himself!
Tournaments of 1909 and 1922
in tony gillam's Lost &Forgotten tournament Series
Good news - two more booklets out of Tony Gillam's mining business into 20th Century tournament history - this time tony has dug up games from unknown or little documented contests of 1909 and 1922. The booklets are available in every chess shop, online from New in Chess or from Tony himself.
More lost tournaments unearthed
by Anthony gillam / The Chess Player
Tony Gillam has unearthed a new batch of Lost and forgotten tournaments with the respective games played - one ready booklet is devoted to 1924, the other one is delayed and will contain games and contests from 1921. The brochures can be obtained from any chess book trader, or even better from Anthony Gillam himself .
A New Kramnik-Biography published
12.2. - Carsten Hensel, longtime manager of Wladimir Kramnik, has published a biography retracing the career of the Ex-World Champion over the last 20 years. Mind You, this is not a standard chess bio with the usual concentration on games and tournaments - in fact the book does without a single chess diagram, and offers only a limited number of decisive games, commented by Kramnik himself. Instead it retraces the ups and downs, the progress of Wladimir Kramnik , his private life with his move to Paris as center of operations, the intrigues and behind the scenes manoeuvres during the tumultuous times of the split in World Chess. This is an authorised biography, counting with Wladimir's cooperation - in german language - an english version is in the works and should appear later this year. Lots of photos, lots of inside views and infos - a highly unusual publication beyond the somewhat stereotyped form chess books usually take - an interview with Hensel was published here in Chess Base News in german language ....
Bibliographical details and order info:
Carsten Hensel, Wladimir Kramnik - aus dem Leben eines Schachgenies, Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2018, hardcover, 305 pp, in german language, format 13.5 x 21.2 cm, plenty of photos, games comments by Kramnik, ISBN 978-3-7307-0389-2, price € 24.90 or e-book € 19.99
Orders via
E-Mail: [email protected]
Bibliographical details and order info:
Carsten Hensel, Wladimir Kramnik - aus dem Leben eines Schachgenies, Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2018, hardcover, 305 pp, in german language, format 13.5 x 21.2 cm, plenty of photos, games comments by Kramnik, ISBN 978-3-7307-0389-2, price € 24.90 or e-book € 19.99
Orders via
E-Mail: [email protected]
Lost tournaments of 1902, 1903 and 1905
Another two booklets by Anthony Gillam / The Chess Player
These brochures are available from most chess book selelrs, online as well as from Tony himself.
Forgotten & unpublished tournaments of 1920 and 1938
Two new booklets by Anthony Gillam / The Chess Player
30.11. - Anthony Gillam has continued delving into musty newspapers , tattered tournametns write-ups, private docs, and other sources , to publish lost games from chess tournaments held in 1920, right after the 1.WW, and in 1938, on the verge of the 2.WW! The booklet for 1938 is most welcome, as reporting in those years was a bit sketchy, the Nazis had closed several chess magazines and chess columns, and tournament books were rarely published. For 1920, Gillam has found up to 80 % of the games, most of them unavailable - needless to say, not to be found in current games databases....where available, the author provides supplementary information on the events.
Vol. 119 of the series "Rare and unpublished tournaments" pursued by Tony over many years so far deals with 1938, namely with
- the match Estonia vz. Latvia (12 games + i postion out of 16 played, 9 games commented,
- Hamburg-Bergedorf (3 games, 1 commented, + 1 position),
- Great Britain vz. the Netherlands (all 20 games commented),
- Netherlands Championship in Amsterdam (42 games, 21 commented, + 2 positions),
- Moscow 1938 (19 games, 14 commented+ 3 openings, round to round surveys),
- another match Estonia vz. Latvia of the same year (all 16 games, 9 commented).
Vol.120 of the series deals with 1920, namely
- Berlin vz. Scheveningen 1920 (all 8 games),
- Vienna April 1920 - (7 games and positions) - a "mystery" tournament acc. to the author, so far not even the result had been known ! - Reti won ahead of Grünfeld, Breyer, Tartakower, von Balla and Löwy, a lengthy article explains Tony's documental finds,
- Atlantic City 1920 (all 22 games),
- Vienna July 1920 (7 games and postions, 2 "extra" games),
- Albany (NY) 1920 (8 games),
- The Hague 1920 (14 games),
- Amsterdam 1920 (10 games),
- Scheveningen 1920 (6 games).
All in all, these booklets should prove of great interest for historically interested chess fans.
Bibliographical Details:
Anthony Gillam (ed.), Tournaments of 1938 (Rare and unpublished tournaments nr. 119), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 83 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, ca. 110 games, many with notes, 34. diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-13-8; price 14.00 gbp
Anthony Gillam (ed.), Tournaments of 1938 (Rare and unpublished tournaments nr. 120), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 48 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, ca. 82 games and positions, 23 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-14-5, price 11.00 gbp
Available from most chess shops, online and directly from the publisher ...
Vol. 119 of the series "Rare and unpublished tournaments" pursued by Tony over many years so far deals with 1938, namely with
- the match Estonia vz. Latvia (12 games + i postion out of 16 played, 9 games commented,
- Hamburg-Bergedorf (3 games, 1 commented, + 1 position),
- Great Britain vz. the Netherlands (all 20 games commented),
- Netherlands Championship in Amsterdam (42 games, 21 commented, + 2 positions),
- Moscow 1938 (19 games, 14 commented+ 3 openings, round to round surveys),
- another match Estonia vz. Latvia of the same year (all 16 games, 9 commented).
Vol.120 of the series deals with 1920, namely
- Berlin vz. Scheveningen 1920 (all 8 games),
- Vienna April 1920 - (7 games and positions) - a "mystery" tournament acc. to the author, so far not even the result had been known ! - Reti won ahead of Grünfeld, Breyer, Tartakower, von Balla and Löwy, a lengthy article explains Tony's documental finds,
- Atlantic City 1920 (all 22 games),
- Vienna July 1920 (7 games and postions, 2 "extra" games),
- Albany (NY) 1920 (8 games),
- The Hague 1920 (14 games),
- Amsterdam 1920 (10 games),
- Scheveningen 1920 (6 games).
All in all, these booklets should prove of great interest for historically interested chess fans.
Bibliographical Details:
Anthony Gillam (ed.), Tournaments of 1938 (Rare and unpublished tournaments nr. 119), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 83 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, ca. 110 games, many with notes, 34. diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-13-8; price 14.00 gbp
Anthony Gillam (ed.), Tournaments of 1938 (Rare and unpublished tournaments nr. 120), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 48 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, ca. 82 games and positions, 23 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-14-5, price 11.00 gbp
Available from most chess shops, online and directly from the publisher ...
Chessmen from Venafro till tomorrow
a history by Franco Pratesi - in italian language
9.11. - Franco Pratesi from Florence is well known as an intimate connoisseur of the history of playing cards, and of the medieval and renaissance history of chess in Italy -it's a bit of a surprise to see our author publish a compact, erudite and concise history of the development of chess pieces in Europe, from the middle ages onwards till today and further, with the accent being on chessmen for actual play and competition. Pratesi presents a compact timeline, with the pieces changing from the imported abstract arab scheme (like the famous Venafro chessmen) to more elaborate pieces, according to local customs, the change of rules and practice, and in rhythm with the development of crafts. A real eye-opener for anybody not familiar with the material history of chess, and a challenging and thoughtful presentation for those who are. This is most certainly a book that should be translated into english - which publisher or translator is going to take up the ball?
Bibliographical Details:
Franco Pratesi, Scacchi da Venafro al futuro, Self Published/Youcanprint, Italy 2017, softcover, lots of fotos and designs in colour and b/w, 163 pp incl bibliography, net sources, indices and content, in italian language, ISBN 978-88-92686-22-9, price Euro 20.- (ca. USD 23.-)
Available via the book trade, from the publisher, or online fe from Amazon.
Bibliographical Details:
Franco Pratesi, Scacchi da Venafro al futuro, Self Published/Youcanprint, Italy 2017, softcover, lots of fotos and designs in colour and b/w, 163 pp incl bibliography, net sources, indices and content, in italian language, ISBN 978-88-92686-22-9, price Euro 20.- (ca. USD 23.-)
Available via the book trade, from the publisher, or online fe from Amazon.
Gyula Breyer
a biography by Jimmy Adams
7.9. New in Chess has published a massive biography of the Hungarian chess master Gyula (Julius) Breyer by veteran author Jimmy Adams. it is a truly impressive tome - over 800 pages - on the young player who shared the fate of several other chess geniuses of the time - died young, of heart failure aggravated by emaciation ! Jimmy Adams knows his period very well - earlier acclaimed biographies by him were about contemporary masters Mikhail Chigorin and Johannes Zukertort - the Chigorin bio was reissued recently by NIC in an enlarged version. The only other biography of Breyer - a thin pocket book by Ivan Bottlik - was published some 20 years ago by Manuel Fruth in Munich in german language, under "adverse conditions"!
Bibliographical details:
Jimmy Adams, Gyula Breyer, - the chess revolutionary, New in Chess, Alkmaar 2017, 876 pp, hardcover, many diagrams, and commented games, some photos, ISBN 9789056917210,
price € 45.95
Available in all good chess book shops, online or via New in Chess themselves....
Bibliographical details:
Jimmy Adams, Gyula Breyer, - the chess revolutionary, New in Chess, Alkmaar 2017, 876 pp, hardcover, many diagrams, and commented games, some photos, ISBN 9789056917210,
price € 45.95
Available in all good chess book shops, online or via New in Chess themselves....
Forgotten Tournaments unearthed
by Tony gillam of The Chess Player
6.9. - Anthony Gillam has been wielding his researcher's spade most actively these last months, and has come up with another batch of forgotten or baldy illuminated chess competitions from the crisis years around and after the 1. World War. Numbers 117 and 118 in his series "Rare and unpublished tournaments and matches " are devoted to tournaments in 1926 and 1918/1919, bridging the end of the war into the dreary aftermath. It goes without saying these tournaments either published no tournament book, or the games were either not published at all, or only partially or faultily - and that most of these games cannot be found in modern digital databases - hooray for analog publishing!
In volume 117 Tony publishes game finds from 1926, that is
- 4 of 5 games from Amsterdam 1926,
- 8 of 12 games played in section 1 of the New York Dimock tournament (Evans Gambit obligatory),
- 14 of 42 games in section 2 of the New York Dimock Tournament (Sicilian Wing Gambit obligatory),
- all 66 games of Utrecht 1926 !,
- 30 of 45 games from Trencianske Teplice ,
- all 6 games from the cable match London - Chicago,
- 9 of 15 games form Munich 1926.
In vol. 118, Tony comes up with
- 25 of 29 games from London 1917/1918,
- 5 of 6 games from Nijmegen 1918,
- 5 of 6 games from s'Hertogenbosch 1918,
- 8 of 20 ? games from Budapest 1918/1919 (finished in January!), Schlechter's last contest,
- all 24 games from Stockholm 1919 (December) - a quadrangular with Rubinstein, Spielmann, Reti and Bogoljubow, NEVER before published in english! We note this brochure complements Nr. 115 of 1918 tournaments - see our mention dated 25.7.
Bibliographical Details:
Rare and unpublished tournaments and matches No. 117
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1926, The Chess Player , Nottingham 2017, 64 pp, stapled brochure with plastic cover, summary of the tournament books and unpublished tournaments of that year, ca. 86 games/many commented, ca. 47 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-11-4, price gbp 12.-
Rare and unpublished tournaments and matches No. 118
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1918/1919, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 68 pp, stapled brochure with plastic jacket, ca. 79 games/many with notes, 32 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-12-1, price gbp 12.-
Available in all good chess book stores, via online sellers, or from Anthony Gillam himself.
In volume 117 Tony publishes game finds from 1926, that is
- 4 of 5 games from Amsterdam 1926,
- 8 of 12 games played in section 1 of the New York Dimock tournament (Evans Gambit obligatory),
- 14 of 42 games in section 2 of the New York Dimock Tournament (Sicilian Wing Gambit obligatory),
- all 66 games of Utrecht 1926 !,
- 30 of 45 games from Trencianske Teplice ,
- all 6 games from the cable match London - Chicago,
- 9 of 15 games form Munich 1926.
In vol. 118, Tony comes up with
- 25 of 29 games from London 1917/1918,
- 5 of 6 games from Nijmegen 1918,
- 5 of 6 games from s'Hertogenbosch 1918,
- 8 of 20 ? games from Budapest 1918/1919 (finished in January!), Schlechter's last contest,
- all 24 games from Stockholm 1919 (December) - a quadrangular with Rubinstein, Spielmann, Reti and Bogoljubow, NEVER before published in english! We note this brochure complements Nr. 115 of 1918 tournaments - see our mention dated 25.7.
Bibliographical Details:
Rare and unpublished tournaments and matches No. 117
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1926, The Chess Player , Nottingham 2017, 64 pp, stapled brochure with plastic cover, summary of the tournament books and unpublished tournaments of that year, ca. 86 games/many commented, ca. 47 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-11-4, price gbp 12.-
Rare and unpublished tournaments and matches No. 118
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1918/1919, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 68 pp, stapled brochure with plastic jacket, ca. 79 games/many with notes, 32 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-12-1, price gbp 12.-
Available in all good chess book stores, via online sellers, or from Anthony Gillam himself.
A world of Chess
by Jean-Louis Cazaux and Rick Knowlton
4.9. - What happens when a practical developer and connoisseur of ancient and off-standard chess pieces and a historian of chess in all its variants team up? We get a fascinating book - a melange of these different viewpoints, to recreate the way of chess through time in its material manifestations. Chess pieces for chaturanga, the Persian shatrandsh and Arabian games till the manyfold development of chessmen in Europe - from the middle ages onwards - chess pieces as used in other cultures , all this is here and masterfully described and pictured in this volume published by renowned publisher McFarland. A grand book, essential both for anybody interested in wider aspects of chess, as well as collectors, historians and chess people in general.
Jean-Louis Cazaux is an established chess historian with a large number of essays and books to his credit, his fascinating website about chess history has been a boon to the many visitors for several years, see
history.chess.free.fr
Rick Knowlton is a member of Chess Collectors International who has recreated many historic chess sets, and also owns a trade business with chess variants and replicas of ancient chess sets - see his website
www.ancientchess.com
his article on Chess Reproductions was published in the Chess Museum last year.
Bibliographical details:
Jean Louis Cazaux/ Rick Knowlton, A World of Chess, McFarland Publishers, Jefferson NC 2017, ca 350 pp, softcover, incl. 71 photos, 297 diagrams, 9 maps, notes , bibliography, price USD 49.95
Available in every good book shop, via online sellers or from the publishers himself!
Jean-Louis Cazaux is an established chess historian with a large number of essays and books to his credit, his fascinating website about chess history has been a boon to the many visitors for several years, see
history.chess.free.fr
Rick Knowlton is a member of Chess Collectors International who has recreated many historic chess sets, and also owns a trade business with chess variants and replicas of ancient chess sets - see his website
www.ancientchess.com
his article on Chess Reproductions was published in the Chess Museum last year.
Bibliographical details:
Jean Louis Cazaux/ Rick Knowlton, A World of Chess, McFarland Publishers, Jefferson NC 2017, ca 350 pp, softcover, incl. 71 photos, 297 diagrams, 9 maps, notes , bibliography, price USD 49.95
Available in every good book shop, via online sellers or from the publishers himself!
Porcelain Chess Sets
by Thomas Thomsen
4.9. - The recent CCI Germany meeting in German Selb and Czech Frantiskove Lazne girated all about porcelain, as Selb is the centre of porcelain industry in Germany, stars a lavish porcelain museum , plus local host and CCI member Barbara Flügel is an international porcelain artist with a workshop/manufactory in Selb. The centerpiece of the meeting was a wonderfully orchestrated show of porcelain chess sets, organized and almost entirely equipped by CCI doyen Thomas Thomsen, who also produced a catalogue of the show. Over 50 chess sets , from the arcane Meissen and Ludwigsburg examples to the mundane Bohemia and even Duncan mold (= Ganin) sets were presented and are described in photos in english and german in the catalogue. Plus we get a description of how chess pieces in porcelain are made, via the able hands of Barbara Flügel. A good part of the catalogue is dedicated to chess figurines, mainly groups of two in historic costumes playing chess, the so-called "Echecs d'Amour"- groups - very popular among porcelain fiends, chess playing or not, over a goodly hundred years.
The catalogue should not be missed, there has never been a show like this specializing in porcelain chess sets. Of course, not all sets ever made are there - that would be nigh impossible. Readers will amuse themselves in recounting other porcelain chess sets, or even some treasures of their own collections...
Bibliographical Details:
Thomas Thomsen, Porcelain and Chess, authors ed., Königstein/Taunus 2017, Format DIN A 5/ brochure, 30 pp plus covers, bilingual english/german, hundreds of photos, price € 15.-
How to get this catalogue? Directly from Thomas Thomsen for 15.- euros plus postage...
The catalogue should not be missed, there has never been a show like this specializing in porcelain chess sets. Of course, not all sets ever made are there - that would be nigh impossible. Readers will amuse themselves in recounting other porcelain chess sets, or even some treasures of their own collections...
Bibliographical Details:
Thomas Thomsen, Porcelain and Chess, authors ed., Königstein/Taunus 2017, Format DIN A 5/ brochure, 30 pp plus covers, bilingual english/german, hundreds of photos, price € 15.-
How to get this catalogue? Directly from Thomas Thomsen for 15.- euros plus postage...
chess in Vienna Coffeehouses
by Michael Ehn, Vienna
4.9. - Vienna-based chess historian Michael Ehn -one of the most fecund authors in the field! - has come up with a major work this year - a massive study on the development of chess in Vienna coffeehouses. Ehn is a past specialist of Vienna coffeehouses and Austrian chess history, with dozen of publications, books and essays to his credit - here he traces the rise of chess to a social rite via the first coffeehouses, Johann Allgaier and his circle, to the formation of Willliam Steinitz in Vienna chess, the Vienna Ches Club sponsored by the Rothschilds and other major finance barons, until the end of the 1. World War, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the "World of Yesterday" (Stefan Zweig). The book is both very solid on sources, as well as extremely readable, and astounds through the magistral use of the most varied sources. Ehn has been working for years on a history of chess in Central Europe, aided by his enormous chess library, this is a first fallout of his studies. It is also a beautifully produced book, with a number of black and white portraits of chess masters and other protagonists of the (hi)story, and even sports some chess games! One drawback for english readers: the book is in German, hopefully an english version will be available eventually. But if You understand German, this is one of these magic looking glasses into the past thatopen Your eyes to another world....
Michael Ehn, Geniales Schach im Wiener Kaffeehaus 1750 - 1918, Vienna/Austria 2017, Edition Steinbauer, 350 pp incl index, bibliography and annexes, , hardcover, ca. 50 illustrations and photos in b/w, price € 29.- (ca. USD 34.40 or gbp 26.50)
Available from from good chess book shops or via the Publisher
Edition Steinbauer GmbH
Halbgasse 27/30
A - 1070 Wien
E-Mail: [email protected]
Michael Ehn, Geniales Schach im Wiener Kaffeehaus 1750 - 1918, Vienna/Austria 2017, Edition Steinbauer, 350 pp incl index, bibliography and annexes, , hardcover, ca. 50 illustrations and photos in b/w, price € 29.- (ca. USD 34.40 or gbp 26.50)
Available from from good chess book shops or via the Publisher
Edition Steinbauer GmbH
Halbgasse 27/30
A - 1070 Wien
E-Mail: [email protected]
New books from The Chess Player
25.7. - Barely one month after launching two titles - 113 and 114 in the series of "Forgotten Chess Tournaments" - Anthony Gillam of "The Chess Player" fame has published four more volumes this month - and they are authentic crackers:
- first of all, a game collection of the baltic german chess master Paul Schmidt , a very strong player of Grandmaster level from the 30ies and 40ies who gave up chess for a chemists career in the USA at Westinghouse and Bell labs. The originally intended joint effort with Michael Negele on Schmidt fell apart because of incompatibilities, and each author published his own Schmidt book (see mention of the Negele bio further down) , which may be a pity, or may be a boon! Gillam managed to unearth 254 games of Schmidt's - many of them from the tournaments organized under Nazi rule as well as after the World War - many with notes, and diagrams, which is orundd of by a career record, and a short biography of Schmidt's, a major foe and competotor of Paul Keres in their day.
Quite sensational is Gillam's reconstruction of the 3rd Chess Olympiad, held in Hamburg in 1930 and won by PO´oland with Rubinstein and Tartakower in the team. No tournament book was published - this volume includes a lot more games than ever appeared anywhere! Gillam provides a 30-page introduction to the surroundings a, atmosphere etc. of the contest,, there are photos of all the players, the organizers and the playing venue, short biographies, most of the games are annotated , and finally newspaper articles on each t4eam have been included. A very complete documentation of an event which was not graced with such in those days or after.
1918 must have been a tumultuous year for chess due to major battle taking place, and tournament books were not in great evidence for this years contests. Volume 115 in Gillam's ongoing series of forgotten and badly documented tournaments brings tot the fore all the available games from the 1917/1918 Vienna Trebitsch tournament ( 14 games of 24), from Budapest 1918 (11 of 20 games), from Scheveningen 1918 (32 games plus one position out of 66 ), from Arnhem ( 14 games and one position of 15 played), and from Kaschau ( 33 games and one position of 66 played). Quite an effort, and a big step towards recovering - who knows? all of the games played. Needless to state that most of these games cannot be found in the comercial mega databases....
Last not least swedish researcher Peter Holmgren has dug up the games of the Schultz Memorial - Stockholm November 1919 tournament involving Bogoljubow, Spielmann, Reti, and 4 swedish players. This tournament has never been published before, so its should be interesting what these players were capable of in the aftermath of the war, and the collapse of the world they knew. Quite astonishing effort - and a great credit to both author and publisher!
Bibliographical details:
Anthony J. Gillam, Paul Felix Schmidt, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 229 pp, softbound, 254 games , many with notes and diagrams, short biography, career record, some photos, ISBN 978-1-911444-00-8, price GBP 20.-
Anthony J. Gillam, Chess Olympiad Hamburg 1930, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 312 pp, softbound, 30 pags of intro, many photos and cartoons, plenty of photos, all the games to be found (lots more than ever published), many with notes and diagrams, newspaper articles on each team copied in, ISBN 978-1-911444-06-0 , price GBP 25.-
Anthony J. Gillam (ed.) Tournaments of 1918, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, Rare and unpublshed tournaments and matches No.115, 79 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, summary of tournament books and unpublished tournaments, 90 games , many with notes and diagrams,ISBN 978-1-911444-09-7, price GBP 14.-
Peter Holmgren, Schultz Memorial - Stockholm November 1919, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, Rare and unpublshed tournaments and matches No.116, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, 51 pp, 21 diagrams, almost all 50 games with notes and diagrams by Reti, Bogoljubow, Spielmann , photos and articles on all participants, as well as Ludvik Collijn and Schultz, score sheets of Reti, Bogoljubow, Spielmann, Nyholm , 3 drawings, 2 extra games, ISBN 978-1-911444-10-7, price GBP 12.-
All books are available from the usual chess book sellers, as well as directly from
Anthony Gillam himself.
- first of all, a game collection of the baltic german chess master Paul Schmidt , a very strong player of Grandmaster level from the 30ies and 40ies who gave up chess for a chemists career in the USA at Westinghouse and Bell labs. The originally intended joint effort with Michael Negele on Schmidt fell apart because of incompatibilities, and each author published his own Schmidt book (see mention of the Negele bio further down) , which may be a pity, or may be a boon! Gillam managed to unearth 254 games of Schmidt's - many of them from the tournaments organized under Nazi rule as well as after the World War - many with notes, and diagrams, which is orundd of by a career record, and a short biography of Schmidt's, a major foe and competotor of Paul Keres in their day.
Quite sensational is Gillam's reconstruction of the 3rd Chess Olympiad, held in Hamburg in 1930 and won by PO´oland with Rubinstein and Tartakower in the team. No tournament book was published - this volume includes a lot more games than ever appeared anywhere! Gillam provides a 30-page introduction to the surroundings a, atmosphere etc. of the contest,, there are photos of all the players, the organizers and the playing venue, short biographies, most of the games are annotated , and finally newspaper articles on each t4eam have been included. A very complete documentation of an event which was not graced with such in those days or after.
1918 must have been a tumultuous year for chess due to major battle taking place, and tournament books were not in great evidence for this years contests. Volume 115 in Gillam's ongoing series of forgotten and badly documented tournaments brings tot the fore all the available games from the 1917/1918 Vienna Trebitsch tournament ( 14 games of 24), from Budapest 1918 (11 of 20 games), from Scheveningen 1918 (32 games plus one position out of 66 ), from Arnhem ( 14 games and one position of 15 played), and from Kaschau ( 33 games and one position of 66 played). Quite an effort, and a big step towards recovering - who knows? all of the games played. Needless to state that most of these games cannot be found in the comercial mega databases....
Last not least swedish researcher Peter Holmgren has dug up the games of the Schultz Memorial - Stockholm November 1919 tournament involving Bogoljubow, Spielmann, Reti, and 4 swedish players. This tournament has never been published before, so its should be interesting what these players were capable of in the aftermath of the war, and the collapse of the world they knew. Quite astonishing effort - and a great credit to both author and publisher!
Bibliographical details:
Anthony J. Gillam, Paul Felix Schmidt, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 229 pp, softbound, 254 games , many with notes and diagrams, short biography, career record, some photos, ISBN 978-1-911444-00-8, price GBP 20.-
Anthony J. Gillam, Chess Olympiad Hamburg 1930, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 312 pp, softbound, 30 pags of intro, many photos and cartoons, plenty of photos, all the games to be found (lots more than ever published), many with notes and diagrams, newspaper articles on each team copied in, ISBN 978-1-911444-06-0 , price GBP 25.-
Anthony J. Gillam (ed.) Tournaments of 1918, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, Rare and unpublshed tournaments and matches No.115, 79 pp, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, summary of tournament books and unpublished tournaments, 90 games , many with notes and diagrams,ISBN 978-1-911444-09-7, price GBP 14.-
Peter Holmgren, Schultz Memorial - Stockholm November 1919, The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, Rare and unpublshed tournaments and matches No.116, stapled booklet with plastic jacket, 51 pp, 21 diagrams, almost all 50 games with notes and diagrams by Reti, Bogoljubow, Spielmann , photos and articles on all participants, as well as Ludvik Collijn and Schultz, score sheets of Reti, Bogoljubow, Spielmann, Nyholm , 3 drawings, 2 extra games, ISBN 978-1-911444-10-7, price GBP 12.-
All books are available from the usual chess book sellers, as well as directly from
Anthony Gillam himself.
Paul Schmidt - baltic Grandmaster turned chemist
13.7. - Long in the making, the biography of Baltic chess master Paul Schmidt prepared by chess historian Michael Negele has finally seen the daylight. In collaboration with Schmidt's daughter Regina, who has contributed unique sidelights on his life in America, Negele traces the life of this "displaced person", a chess master swept up in World War 2, the occupation of his country first by the Germans and then by the Russians, and the resulting topsy-turvy world in postwar Europe. After the war Schmidt decided to emigrate to the USA with his family, found a job in the large Westinghouse laboratories and from then on became a full time working scientist - chess had to stay in the background, the former world class chess master never played competitive chess any more. The book encompasses Negele's biography in english and german, the personal memories of Eva Regina Magacs of her father, selected games, his career record, lots of photos, and a name and place index.
Eva Regina Magacs/Michael Negele, A winning formula, Excelsior Publishers, Berlin 2017, hardcover edition with dustjacket,185 photos, 320 pp, price € 39.80
available in chess book shops, by online sellers, or directly from the Publisher Excelsior.
Eva Regina Magacs/Michael Negele, A winning formula, Excelsior Publishers, Berlin 2017, hardcover edition with dustjacket,185 photos, 320 pp, price € 39.80
available in chess book shops, by online sellers, or directly from the Publisher Excelsior.
Chess titleholders - a compendium by Gino di Felice
13.7. - Mc Farland Publishers have announced a a new chess dictionary for autumn which is bound to generate some controversy - a summing up of all chess title holders between 1950 and 2016 by veteran chess data compiler Gino di Felice, well known for his multi-volume series of Historical Chess Results in the same edition. IN a work of this scope, some names will e missing, and some details will be picked over - wait and see! While the titel of Grand Master was used already in the 19th century, the first Grand Masters by Imperial decree were the five participants in the St.Petersburg chess tournament of 1914, on whom Czar Ncholas II bestowed these titles, that is , Capablanca, Marshall, Alekhine, Tarrasch and Pillsbury. But only from 1949 did the recently founded World Chess Organization FIDE start handing out GM titles - and later IM titles - according to a determined set of criteria in achievement - which is why di Felice has chosen the time frame he did. The book lists 18.000 title holders from 1950 onwards, with all details including peak rating in ELO, all biographical data. Should prove of great value to anybody needing such facts of chess history.
Gino di Felice, Chess International Titleholders 1950 - 2016, McFarland Publishers, Jefferson NC 2017, softcover PP ?, ISBN 978-1-4766-7132-1, price USD 49.95
(available from September)
Gino di Felice, Chess International Titleholders 1950 - 2016, McFarland Publishers, Jefferson NC 2017, softcover PP ?, ISBN 978-1-4766-7132-1, price USD 49.95
(available from September)
Parade of portuguese problem composers
22.6. A chess book in a country where no chess books are being published , is a major sensation, more so, if it is a publication on chess problems. Daniel Quintã has braved the odds and published a slim, but weighty anthology of 60 problems by the country's foremost problem composers, all the way from Damiano till the 20th century, from which naturally most of the composers hail. 2-movers predominate, but there are also 3-movers, 4-movers. but also some fairy chess compos, some helpmates and even some endgame studies. The graphically attractive volume in quadrangular form ! constitutes a homage to Rui Nascimento (1914 - 2012) , who figures as Portugals most prolific composer fo the last 60 years Nascimento was a close acquaintance of Alexander Alekhine in his final tragic years in Portugal, and also founded the "Tertulia do Damiano" , the main groupo of chess problemists in Portugals in the last quarter of the 20th C. The intrepid publisher is planning further books on chess history, and Portuguese chess lore... we are waiting with bated breath.
Details:
Daniel Gonçalves Quintâ, A arte da composiçâo em xadrez, Ed. Marmite de Gigante, Lisbon 2017, 80 pp, 62 problems with diagrams, format 17,5 x 17,5 cm, no ISBN , little text in Portuguese, price € 10.-
The book ist bet ordered from Daniel Quintâ himself ...
Details:
Daniel Gonçalves Quintâ, A arte da composiçâo em xadrez, Ed. Marmite de Gigante, Lisbon 2017, 80 pp, 62 problems with diagrams, format 17,5 x 17,5 cm, no ISBN , little text in Portuguese, price € 10.-
The book ist bet ordered from Daniel Quintâ himself ...
Lost Tournaments of 1917 and 1927 recovered
15.6. - Tony Gillam of the "The Chess Player" fame continues his longrunning series of "Rare and unpublished chess tournaments" with two booklets recuperating the lost battles of 1917 and 1927.
With vol 113 of the series Gillam recovers the tournaments of 1927 - namely Amsterdam 1926/1927, New York 1926/1927, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, Warsaw, Nijmegen, Mittweida, s'Hertogenbosch, The Hague/Rotterdam 1927. 108 games are provided, many of them commented, with 35 diagrams.
Vol. 114 is dedicated to the year 1917 - with 100 games from the tournaments The Hague (January), Amsterdam, Budapest, Scheveningen, Havana, Utrecht, The Hague (December) and the Handelsblad correspondance tournament 1917/1918. Further booklets are announced briefly, involving tourneys from 1918, 1919 and 1926.
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1927 (Rare and unpublished Chess Tournaments No. 113), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 52 pp, summary of the tournaments books of 1927 and the unpublished tournaments of that year, 108 games (many comm.), 35 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-07-7, GBP 11.-
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1917 (Rare and unpublished Chess Tournaments No. 113), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 67 pp, summary of the tournaments books of 1917 and the unpublished tournaments of that year, over 100 games (many comm.), 54 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-08-4, GBP 12.-
With vol 113 of the series Gillam recovers the tournaments of 1927 - namely Amsterdam 1926/1927, New York 1926/1927, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Den Haag, Warsaw, Nijmegen, Mittweida, s'Hertogenbosch, The Hague/Rotterdam 1927. 108 games are provided, many of them commented, with 35 diagrams.
Vol. 114 is dedicated to the year 1917 - with 100 games from the tournaments The Hague (January), Amsterdam, Budapest, Scheveningen, Havana, Utrecht, The Hague (December) and the Handelsblad correspondance tournament 1917/1918. Further booklets are announced briefly, involving tourneys from 1918, 1919 and 1926.
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1927 (Rare and unpublished Chess Tournaments No. 113), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 52 pp, summary of the tournaments books of 1927 and the unpublished tournaments of that year, 108 games (many comm.), 35 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-07-7, GBP 11.-
Anthony Gillam, Tournaments of 1917 (Rare and unpublished Chess Tournaments No. 113), The Chess Player, Nottingham 2017, 67 pp, summary of the tournaments books of 1917 and the unpublished tournaments of that year, over 100 games (many comm.), 54 diagrams, ISBN 978-1-911444-08-4, GBP 12.-
William Pollock's chess travails
15.6. - Olimpiu Urcan and John S. Hilbert - both well known chess biographers with several titles published - have collaborated ona biography of the anglo-irish master William Pollock, which has just been publihsed by Mc Faralnd In North Carolina. This massive tome(also available as e-book, by the way...) brings 523 games of Pollocks, recounts his career on both sides of the "pond", and details tournament tables and other relevant information. Available at any bookshop, esp. all chess traders.
Olimpiu G. Urcan/John S. Hilbert, W.H.K.Pollock - a chess biography with 523 games, McFarland, Jefferson NC 2017, 68 photo, tables, diagrams, appendices, indexes, bibliography, 512pp, library binding , ISBN: 978-0-7864-5868-4
USD 65.-
Olimpiu G. Urcan/John S. Hilbert, W.H.K.Pollock - a chess biography with 523 games, McFarland, Jefferson NC 2017, 68 photo, tables, diagrams, appendices, indexes, bibliography, 512pp, library binding , ISBN: 978-0-7864-5868-4
USD 65.-
Cassano's chess guidebook Italy on sale!
23.2.- Roberto Cassano's guidebook for chess lore through Italy, published in 2014 with co-author Mario Leoncini, is on a final reduced sale at the publisher Le Due Torri in Bologna - a last chance to get to grips with a unusual guidebook for chess fans touring Italy.
The authors had set themselves the task to list and describe all places of chessic interest in Italy - as far as humanly possibleof course, there is no end to chess as we know! The book - wittily ttiled "Italia a Scacchi ("Italy as a chessboard" or "Checkered Italy" with all double meanings implied.....) lists
- chess boards or chess motives on public buildings (fe the chess board in Piacenza cathedral) ,
- chess pictures in museums,
-statues or monument plaques to chess greats,
- the libraries holding the most important manuscripts and chess prints,
- chess clubs,
- chess open air sets in cities,
- other chess sights to see and visit.
It is a pity such chess guides do not exist for other countries - but Italy as one of the germination areas for modern chess is certainly overflowing with historic reminders. Possibly some enterprising editor will consdier translating the book into english - there might just be a market for such an undertaking!
Roberto Cassano / Mario Leoncini, Italia a Scacchi - guida turistica ai luoghi degli Scacchi, ed. Le Due Torri, Bologna 2014, 200 pp, lots of photos, diagrams and illustrations, softcover, or. price Euro 18.- , now Euro 15.30 - in italian language
This book is available at all well-stocked chess stores, and at Due Torri, Italy's major chess shop.
The authors had set themselves the task to list and describe all places of chessic interest in Italy - as far as humanly possibleof course, there is no end to chess as we know! The book - wittily ttiled "Italia a Scacchi ("Italy as a chessboard" or "Checkered Italy" with all double meanings implied.....) lists
- chess boards or chess motives on public buildings (fe the chess board in Piacenza cathedral) ,
- chess pictures in museums,
-statues or monument plaques to chess greats,
- the libraries holding the most important manuscripts and chess prints,
- chess clubs,
- chess open air sets in cities,
- other chess sights to see and visit.
It is a pity such chess guides do not exist for other countries - but Italy as one of the germination areas for modern chess is certainly overflowing with historic reminders. Possibly some enterprising editor will consdier translating the book into english - there might just be a market for such an undertaking!
Roberto Cassano / Mario Leoncini, Italia a Scacchi - guida turistica ai luoghi degli Scacchi, ed. Le Due Torri, Bologna 2014, 200 pp, lots of photos, diagrams and illustrations, softcover, or. price Euro 18.- , now Euro 15.30 - in italian language
This book is available at all well-stocked chess stores, and at Due Torri, Italy's major chess shop.
Vera Menchik Biography
11.2. Veteran czech chess historian Jan Kalendovsky has published a massive biography on the first Womens World Champion Vera Menchik - in czech language under the title "Kralovna Sachu Vera Menchik. The very first Biography on Menchik seems to have been written by her successor Elisaweta Bykowa in 1955. In 2016, Mc Farland Press published a Menchik-biography by Robert Tanner. This present book is certain to be translated very soon into a - hmphh - less exclusive language than the bohemian idiom - but for those who either speak czech or slovak, or would like to avail themselves of the massive photo documentation included, here are the details:
Jan Kalendovsky, Kralovna Sachu Vera Menchik,, Ed. Jakura 2016, 152 p, lots of photos, hardcover, 300 .- KC
available for example here
Jan Kalendovsky, Kralovna Sachu Vera Menchik,, Ed. Jakura 2016, 152 p, lots of photos, hardcover, 300 .- KC
available for example here
Kasparov on Kasparov - in spanish
A major splash in the chess book market, Garry Kasparov's three book series "Kasparov on Kasparov" - on himself! - was published in english in 2011 by Everyman Chess / Random House. It was a major coup for the Master - practically advancing and outflanking all his present, past and future would be biographers with this manoeuvre - as he has done thousands of times with opponents on the chess board! The book is a chessic autobiography - never before has a chess master published something like this, in three volumes to boot!
Now it is out in spanish - the publication by Madrid-based Casa del Ajedrez is a major event in spanish language chess books, and confirms Casa del Ajedrez as the leading chess book publisher in spanish! Casa del Ajedrez is an authentic chess center, the central hub of chess in Spain. Owner Daniel Elguezabal runs a chess school, there si a well - stocked shop, he iedtis books and there is a chess club attached as well. When in Madrid, do not miss it, it is right behind the (former?) Thyssen-Museum, viz-a-viz de Prado Museum. in the Calle San Marcos. If You stroll there from the Prado, there is a souvenir shop on the corner, well-stocked with spanish handicraft chess sets.
Now it is out in spanish - the publication by Madrid-based Casa del Ajedrez is a major event in spanish language chess books, and confirms Casa del Ajedrez as the leading chess book publisher in spanish! Casa del Ajedrez is an authentic chess center, the central hub of chess in Spain. Owner Daniel Elguezabal runs a chess school, there si a well - stocked shop, he iedtis books and there is a chess club attached as well. When in Madrid, do not miss it, it is right behind the (former?) Thyssen-Museum, viz-a-viz de Prado Museum. in the Calle San Marcos. If You stroll there from the Prado, there is a souvenir shop on the corner, well-stocked with spanish handicraft chess sets.
