Modern Ideas in Chess
Modern Ideas in Chess by
Paperback: 184 pages
Publisher: Dover Publications (January 1950)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0486206386
ISBN-13: 978-0486206387
Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
Modern Ideas in Chess is one of the Great Classics of chess literature.
Originally published in German in 1923 as Die neuen Ideen im Schachspiel, it created an immediate sensation.
This was a period of the emergence of new theories and new ways of thinking about chess. The great opening systems that are standard today were just in the process of being invented and had not yet been named. Openings such as the King's Indian Defense, the Queen's Indian Defense, the Nimzo-Indian Defense and the Gruenfeld Indian Defense were called “Irregular Openings” or had not yet been played. Richard Réti was the leader of what was known as the “Hyper-Modern School of Chess”.
Their main idea was not to try to dominate the center as the classical way of playing required. Rather, allow the opponent to take the center and then chip away and undermine his center from the flanks until it collapses and falls.
This was the strategy that Bobby Fischer later used in many of his games which propelled him to the World Chess Championship. Best of all, Richard Réti was an entertaining writer.
This book is a good read even for those who are not interested in applying these theories to tournament chess.
About the Author
Reti was clearly one of the top players in the world, defeating at least once almost every leading player of his era. He defeated Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Rubinstein, Bogoljubov and Tartakower. The only top player he never defeated was Emanuel Lasker. Among his noteworthy accomplishments, he won the most famous game ever played between two grandmasters. He also created the most famous and most instructive endgame study ever created. He also defeated Capablanca in a game that was the Great Cuban's first loss in more than eight years. He created new opening systems, including the Réti Opening.
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