WILLIAM STEINITZ, CHESS CHAMPION

Author: Kurt Landsberger

487 pages

McFarland 1993

Reviewed by John Watson

I previously reviewed Kurt Landsberger’s book, THE STEINITZ PAPERS, but never discussed its precursor WILLIAM STEINITZ, CHESS CHAMPION. In recent columns I examined an impressive list of recent Steinitz material including Landsberger’s earlier work, a ChessBase biography/games collection by Heedt, and Pickard’s phenomenal collection of Steintz’ writings and games. WILLIAM STEINITZ, CHESS CHAMPION is an older work (1993) so I won’t delve into it much.

This is the ideal book for those who enjoy the traditional biography, i.e., the sort that is written about writers and statesmen. Such a narrative generally includes a multitude of details, some vital and others less absorbing. I personally like this approach and I haven’t read a better or more interesting summary of a World Champion’s life. (I would also recommend Winter’s fascinating volume on Capablanca, published by McFarland. It is not exactly a biography, but is absorbing and meticulously researched.) Landsberger’s work includes a fine selection of photographs and provides a fascinating cultural backdrop to Steinitz’ life story in, for example, Vienna and the United States. The book does go into some mundane details of Steinitz’ life, which I feel are nevertheless of use in forming a complete picture of his quest for recognition and financial security.

The bulk of WILLIAM STEINITZ, CHESS CHAMPION concentrates on biography rather than chess games. But it is salvaged in this respect by a concluding chapter of 15 Steinitz games annotated by Andy Soltis. In a perfect fit for a book of this sort and its potential readers, Soltis annotates without analytical detail, locating key points in games and writing with the clear and instructive style for which he is famous. I should give the warning that this book may seem too dry and scholarly for some readers with neither a strong interest in great players nor fascination with chess history. I also suspect that a majority of enthusiastic young players would be unlikely to get through it. However, for those of us who enjoy experiencing the human side of chess, I can definitely recommend this as a perfect piece of fireside reading. You will appreciate the fine physical quality of this hardback; in this respect the McFarland is in a class of its own among the leading United States publishers.