Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors Books

The My Great Predecessors series is five volumes followed by two Modern Chess Openings books.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Great_Predecessors

According to Wikipedia Part 3 volume is the only one that didn't win an ECF award (I don't know why, Part 3 is a great book).

2003: My Great Predecessors, Part I - best book
2004: My Great Predecessors, Part II - runner-up for best book
2005: My Great Predecessors, Part IV - best book
2006: My Great Predecessors, Part V - short list of the best books

Part 1

Part 1 covers the first four official world champions: Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine.

Many of the games from this book are featured in this club forum under the threads for the players Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca and Alekhine

Chapter One: Chess Before Steinitz

Chapter Two: Wilhelm the First

Chapter Three: Emanuel the Second

Chapter Four: Jose Raul the Third

Chapter Five: Alexander the Fourth

Part 2

On Part 2, the ECF wrote "Continues the high standard established in volume 1, which won last years Book of the Year Award. Indeed if anything it is even better as Kasparov is on more familiar ground as he met and played most of the champions discussed in the second volume, which considers Euwe, Botvinnik and Smyslov and Tal, with vignettes on Bronstein and Keres. He is particularly good on his early coach and mentor, Botvinnik writing with great sympathy about that remarkable mans strengths and weaknesses. As before the book is beautifully produced."

Chapter One - Max the Fifth, features 29 games by Max Euwe

Chapter Two - Mikhail Moiseevich the Sixth, celebrates Botvinnik and covers 43 games

Chapter Three - Vasily the Seventh, covers the next world champion Smyslov. There are another 38 games in this chapter.

Chapter Four - Mikhail Nekhemevich the Eighth is on the attacking "magician", Mikhail Tal.

By the end of this chapter, and the volume, 149 great Grandmaster games have been explained.

Part 3 book celebrates the genius of Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian and Boris Spassky. First chapter covers the following games:

Petrosian vs Smyslov 19th USSR Championship, Moscow 1951, Slav Defence D15

Reshevsjy vs Petrosian, Candidates Tournament, Zurich 1953, 2nd Round, Nimzo-Indian Defences E58
Tal vs Petrosian, 25th USSR Championship, Riga 1958, Ruy Lopez, C97
Petrosian vs Gligoric, Varna Olympiad 1962
Portisch vs Petrosian, San Antonio 1972
Petrosian vs Suetin, Riga 1954, King's Indian Defence E94
Petrosian vs Pilnik, Candidates Tournament, Amsterdam 1956, 6th Round, Benoni Defence A56
Bronstein vs Petrosian, Candidates Tournament, Amsterdam 1956, 11th Round
Petrosian vs Yukhtman, Tbilisi 1959, King's Indian Defence E92

It also includes some games by other players, such as Ivanchuk vs Kasparov, Dos Hermanas 1996, 5th Round

The commentary on the games is very good. Kasparov has such a deep understanding of the game that he can explain these games like no-one else.

This book has an average review score of 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Garry-Kasparov-Great-Predecessors-Three/dp/1781945179/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2WHL30C2WCT2V&dchild=1&keywords=my+great+predecessors+PArt+3&qid=1623412522&sprefix=My+Great+Predece%2Caps%2C274&sr=8-1

When I get time, I will find and post these games.

Part 4: Fischer

A whole volume is dedicated to the genius of Bobby Fischer. It covers 107 of his games and of course includes the same Fischer games that are covered in the World's Greatest Chess Games book. I will compare the game analyses of each of these books and let you know as soon as I can.

Part 5: Korchnoi and Karpov

Kasparov dubs Korchnoi "Viktor the terrible"

Chess Algoahri

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