The chess game

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Siegbert Tarrasch

The game of chess is the title of a non-fiction book by Siegbert Tarrasch about the game of chess published in 1931 by the German Book Association . The subtitle is Systematic Textbook for Beginners and Experienced . In the first edition it had 483 pages and a half leather cover. The book is considered a classic in chess literature .

The game of chess is Tarrasch's last and at the same time most successful book. Over 16,000 copies of the first edition were sold. With a total print run of 130,000 copies, it is one of the most successful German chess books. In the editions from 1964 onwards, Rudolf Teschner made updates in the area of ​​opening theory, but other parts were shortened. It was first published as a paperback in 1973 by Rowohlt Verlag . Tarrasch addressed beginners as well as advanced players and tried to create a unique textbook that would stand out from the others of its time. Tarrasch's well-known saying "Like love, like music, chess has the ability to make people happy" is included in the foreword of the book.

The book is divided into three main parts. First, Tarrasch explains the beginnings and the endgame , then the middlegame and finally the opening . He justifies this structure with his conviction that as a beginner you first have to completely master the theoretical basics, and that "game play at the beginner's stage (...) is the sure way to become a bogus". Only at the very end does he present seven commented games from the master's practice.

The book has been criticized for its dogmatism , which is considered excessive . This was particularly true of some of his openings regarding openings. For example, Tarrasch considered the French Defense and the Slav Defense to be inadequate, and the defense of the Gambit pawn in the King's Gambit by 3… g7 – g5 was even suicidal. In the later, edited editions, changes to the original text were not indicated.

At the time the book was published, Tarrasch was still among the world's best, although his greatest successes were long behind him. At the same time he also published Tarrasch's chess newspaper , which he ran until his death in 1934. This was characterized in an obituary as the "current chess textbook with continuations". Idealism was given as Tarrasch's reason for writing the book and magazine.

In 1935 it was the first of Tarrasch's books to be translated into English, with some additional examples being added. The translation also sold well and was reprinted in 1938 and 1942.

Individual references and sources

  1. ^ Foreword by Siegbert Tarrasch in the subject of the article
  2. Review by Johannes Fischer on karlonline.org
  3. Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch , in: Wiener Schachzeitung , issue 04/1934 (February 1934). Pp. 49-54.
  4. Alex Dunne: Great chess books of the twentieth century in English . McFarland, Jefferson 2005, pp. 48-50.

literature

  • Siegbert Tarrasch: The chess game . Berlin 1931.