Going over a well-annotated games collection is not only one of the best ways to learn more about chess, it is also one of the most entertaining. Tim Harding’s 64 GREAT CHESS GAMES is an exciting look into the world of correspondence chess. It features 64 games that Harding feels are among the best played by mail or email. These stretch from 1872 to 2002 and are chosen with a stress on variety, e.g., “a good spread of openings, players from many countries, many types of game...” and so forth. He does explicitly point out that these are not the “64 Greatest Correspondence Games” but rather a “showcase of the best in correspondence chess.” Among the nice features of the book are the historical tidbits about the players and overviews of the game. Games from the likes of Steinitz, Chigorin, Ragozin, Keres and Ulf Andersson supplement those of famous correspondence specialists and add flavor to the book. Even relatively obscure players are accorded brief biographical sketches if there is sufficient information about them. Harding himself is represented in the final game; he is a strong correspondence player and author of more than 20 chess books. Granting that I have read a fairly modest subset of the latter, I would say that this is the very best work I’ve seen from him.

Harding presents mostly games of a tactical and dynamic nature; indeed, this book would be a very good way for a student to practice tactics that arise in real-world situations. Positional elements are present, as in most games, but they tend to provide only sketchy background for the many attacks, counterattacks and activity that permeate the book. There are exceptions, of course, as in largely strategic games such as Maroczy-Cipskes, Hungarian Ch 1893 and Zagarovsky-Arnlind, 8th CC World Ch Final 1975. But by and large he presents slugfests; and the attacks in numerous games are just wonderful, featuring spectacular sacrifices supplemented by unplayed variations that are equally attractive.

Harding’s notes, whether borrowed from others or not, are in most cases detailed and meticulous. He utilizes annotations from not only the players’ notes but from those of others who have been written articles or letters about the game. I used one of this book’s games in some recent work of my own and was impressed by both the author’s and the players’ search for the exact truth in positions. One might even say that this attitude is necessary in order to win in correspondence chess, whereas it is somewhat of a luxury and often a disadvantage for over-the-board players under pressure from the clock. Perhaps the only criticism that I have is that I found Harding’s and other annotators’ assessments of some quieter and/or unbalanced positions questionable. That may be inevitable given the enormous amount of time one has to devote to the most directly dangerous continuations, especially in these super-sharp contests. In any case the exceptionally high quality of these games and notes arises in the area of moves that lead by force to certain consequences, often with elaborate and captivating analysis to demonstrate that. The notes to a number of games may be too detailed for some readers, especially for those who haven’t reached expert or master strength. Of course, that is true of most games collections and should not deter readers, since the games are exciting and instructive in their own right.

64 GREAT CHESS GAMES is bound to be treasured by correspondence players and should be rated highly by most other fans of the game. It is a repository of sparkling attacking games and a look into the world of postal chess. I very much recommend it.