David McKay Company Inc (first English edition, hardcover, 154 pages, 1958)
Reviewed by Joshua Milton Anderson (with a short note by Silman at the end of the review)
In the body of a chess player, just the name Mikhail “The Magician of Riga” Tal causes the heart to race. The name Vassily Vassilievich Smyslov inspires no such reaction. Likewise, there are many famous books about Tal and only a few books about this often ignored World Champion.
So, while perusing a used bookstore, this reviewer was hardly surprised to find a copy of Smyslov’s MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS 1935-1957. The question was, “Is the book worth the $3.00?” I can now answer an emphatic yes.
The book, translated, and edited by P. H. Clarke, begins with a few fascinating chapters about Smyslov. Rather than the expected commentary about Smyslov as an endgame virtuoso (given Smyslov’s operatic talent, no review would be complete without a reference to music), the major theme is Smyslov’s creative and experimental nature.
The games that were chosen by Smyslov (the Dover edition subtracted 11 games from before 1952 and adds 18 games played between 1952 and 1957) focus on his ability to play harmoniously from opening through to the ending. Smyslov’s games are so representative of this form that Romanovsky, in his forward, felt the need to highlight Smyslov’s tactical feel with game examples. I can’t help but wonder if Smyslov smiled at this compliment, content with the knowledge that the harmonious games he chose were far more attractive to him than some singular combination.
The games themselves begin in 1935 and end with Smyslov’s victorious match over Mikhail Botvinnik. His opponents include World Champions, candidates for the World Championship, and lesser-known players. The games are frequently interspersed with comments. These comments are brief and usually words rather than lines. They often reinforce each other and help to provide the reader with the sense of harmony that Smyslov strove for.
Though the text is excellent, a potential reader should keep a few things in mind. First, the book is in descriptive notation, which can be a bit confusing. Second, each page is divided into columns, making it a bit hard to read and giving the page a crowded feel. Third, the fairly standard indexes, such as players or openings, is lacking.
These minor distractions are hardly enough to cause me not to heartily recommend this book.
Silman: MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS 1935-1957 is absolutely fantastic … both instructive and fun to read. Though Smyslov wrote books about his games from later dates, this volume (1935-1957) remains his best and is a must own for any serious chess book collector.
Though the Dover edition can be found for very little money at various used bookstores, I highly recommend that the serious collector to pick up a hardcover edition. I’ve found several available on http://www.alibris.com
