Kasparov on My Great Chess Players

Garry KasparovThe four part Kasparov’s magnum opus concentrates various chess great player like Petrosian and Spassky. Other players who were contemporary rivals to the world champions are covered in some detail: here the big names are Gligoric, Polugaevsky, Portisch and Stein. Kasparov sees the Petrosian/Spassky championship eras as a continuation of the Botvinnik revolution, its keynotes being thorough preparation and sharp openings for White and Black.  Gary Kasparov is generally respectful of each of these champions of the past.

Kasparov takes a slightly unorthodox view of Spassky, veering away from the cliché that he is universal towards seeing him as having a leaning towards sharp, attacking play, whilst being somewhat suspect in the opening. So Kasparov brackets Spassky with Tal, and also with Stein, on whom he lavishes particular praise in an attempt to restore him to the renown which he feels he deserves. One of the best features of the book is the way Kasparov completes chapters about players with a discussion of his own games and experiences with that player, thereby giving insights into his own play and character as a young man. The annotations are distilled from many sources, often the player’s own notes, which are then topped with essence of Kasparov.