Kasparov How his Predecessors Misled Him About Chess

KASPAROV: HOW HIS PREDECESSORS MISLED HIM ABOUT CHESS
Author: Tibor Karolyi and Nick Aplin
Batsford (2009)
271 pages
$22.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

When I look at the game collection section of my library and compare the books written on World Champions, it’s quickly apparent that Bobby Fischer has the most dedicated to him and that Mikhail Tal is a clear but distant second. This state of affairs is not likely to change anytime soon, but I would not count out Garry Kasparov just yet. The recent subject of well-received game collections by GM Igor Stohl (Gambit) and IM Tibor Karolyi with Nick Aplin (Batsford), Kasparov himself is the author of a 2008 book on his first two World Championship matches with Anatoly Karpov (Kasparov vs. Karpov: 1975-1985). Clearly he intends to say much more about his career. This might make one wonder why other authors would write yet another book, especially when they have already penned more than 650 pages on him. That is just what Hungarian IM Tibor Karolyi, former trainer of Peter Leko, and his co-author Nick Aplin have done.

Fear not, KASPAROV: HOW HIS PREDECESSORS MISLED HIM ABOUT CHESS is not a rehash of any earlier work on the 13th World Champion. Not only is it not a rehash, this book is in fact a most original work combining instructional writing and humor. The cheeky title, playing on Kasparov’s My Great Predecessors series, is a clear indication that this is not going to be just another book about Garry’s many brilliant games. Instead, Karolyi and Aplin, have opted for a completely different approach, somewhat akin to the well received book the late Edmar Mednis wrote about the games that Bobby Fischer lost. Here Karolyi and Aplin liven things up by using a first-person narrative wherein “Kasparov” (i.e. them speaking as Kasparov) blames his predecessors for his losses.

In each chapter, starting with Karpov and going back in reverse chronological order to Steinitz, “Kasparov” presents games where his predecessors succeeded with a given idea or motif, one which he used in his own games and then lost. The message from Karolyi and Aplin (speaking as Kasparov) is clear – chess is a concrete game and what has proven successful in similar positions is not guaranteed to succeed in one that is not exactly the same.

The author’s are to be commended for their diligence and erudition in finding many analogous but not precisely the same positions from the games of Kasparov and other World Champions. Sometimes the examples given are a bit of a stretch but for the most part they fit the bill well. One example given is how Karpov effortlessly drew a four versus three rook endgame against Kortchnoi in their 1981 World Championship match in Merano while Kasparov lost against Piket in 2000 in just the same situation, albeit in an internet game played at a fast time control. The authors might also have mentioned game 14 of the Kasparov-Kramnik 2000 World Championship match where Kasparov came very close to winning this ending. The message from this example is not spelled out but clear enough – putting up maximum resistance in worse endgames is a very rare quality that few chess players possess. It requires a combination of excellent theoretical knowledge, practical skill and psychological toughness.

Though quite instructive, KASPAROV: HOW HIS PREDECESSORS MISLED HIM ABOUT CHESS is a light-hearted book that is intended to be enjoyed and can be browsed rather than read from front to back. The games are well annotated with an emphasis on prose description of the action with concrete variations given as needed. It can be recommended to a wide audience of players from club level to those possessing FIDE titles.

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