My Great Predecessors
Encyclopedia
My Great Predecessors is a series of chess
books written by World Champion Garry Kasparov
. The five volumes in the My Great Predecessors series are about the players who preceded Kasparov in being official World Champions. The series of books continued with the Modern Chess volumes that covers developments in the 1970s and Kasparov's games with Anatoly Karpov
. The series is being extended with three volumes of Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, covering his other games. The books contain some historical details, but for the most part the books are made up of annotated games.
Chess journalist Dmitry Plisetsky helped with the books and Kasparov thanks some other chess players in the prefaces of each of the volumes. The books were translated into English by Ken Neat. Each volume has an index of players of the games and an index of chess opening
s used in the games. They were published in 9.9" by 7.2" (25 cm by 18 cm) hardback by Everyman Chess
starting in 2003. Many copies of the books contain labels autographed by Kasparov.
Five volumes of My Great Predecessors were written:
The Modern Chess series covers chess opening
developments in the 1970s, all of Kasparov's five World Championship
matches with Karpov, and his other games with Karpov.
), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, chess historian Edward Winter
said, "The absence of, even, a basic bibliography is shocking in a work which claims to be 'Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship', and a lackadaisical attitude to basic academic standards and historical facts pervades the book." Critic Richard Forster, writing for the Chess History Center website, alleged that "a very great part of the analysis (certainly more than 95%) has been copied from earlier sources, mostly without proper acknowledgement."
International Master John L. Watson
said that Predecessors "must be recommended as an ambitious, interesting work by (I believe) the greatest player in history. It clearly delights and inspires some of its readership regardless of its weaknesses, and is a book that most players will want to own, if only for the story-like narration of events and chess developments. For these reasons alone, I would call it a significant book, perhaps even one of this year's best. But for some reason we have been led to believe that Predecessors is a masterpiece, belonging to the class of great books if not transcending them. In reality it is something less grandiose: a valuable book with numerous weak spots."
Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, International Master William John Donaldson
said the book "represents good value if one lowers one's expectations and views it as a very reasonably priced hardback game collection rather than the definitive historical guide to the early World Champions. It is too bad that Kasparov and Plisetsky didn't hire Winter
to fact check the book. It could have been much better and one hopes more care is taken with upcoming volumes."
Through suggestions on the book's website, some of the book's criticisms were addressed in following editions and translations. The books have received several awards from the English Chess Federation
, which said "... Kasparov’s mammoth series has set new standards for writing about chess history."
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
books written by World Champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....
. The five volumes in the My Great Predecessors series are about the players who preceded Kasparov in being official World Champions. The series of books continued with the Modern Chess volumes that covers developments in the 1970s and Kasparov's games with Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Karpov
Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. The series is being extended with three volumes of Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, covering his other games. The books contain some historical details, but for the most part the books are made up of annotated games.
Chess journalist Dmitry Plisetsky helped with the books and Kasparov thanks some other chess players in the prefaces of each of the volumes. The books were translated into English by Ken Neat. Each volume has an index of players of the games and an index of chess opening
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s used in the games. They were published in 9.9" by 7.2" (25 cm by 18 cm) hardback by Everyman Chess
Everyman Chess
Everyman Chess is a major publisher of books and CDs about chess. The company was formerly called Cadogan Chess. "Everyman" is a registered trademark of Random House and the company headquarters is in London. Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov is their chief advisor and John Emms is the...
starting in 2003. Many copies of the books contain labels autographed by Kasparov.
My Great Predecessors
- Part I starts with a chapter about some of the unofficial world champions (before 1886) in which Adolf AnderssenAdolf AnderssenKarl Ernst Adolf Anderssen was a German chess master. He is considered to have been the world's leading chess player in the 1850s and 1860s...
and Paul MorphyPaul MorphyPaul Charles Morphy was an American chess player. He is considered to have been the greatest chess master of his era and an unofficial World Chess Champion. He was a chess prodigy...
get the most coverage. Then it covers the first four official world champions: Wilhelm SteinitzWilhelm SteinitzWilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian and then American chess player and the first undisputed world chess champion from 1886 to 1894. From the 1870s onwards, commentators have debated whether Steinitz was effectively the champion earlier...
, Emanuel LaskerEmanuel LaskerEmanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...
, José Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl CapablancaJosé Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...
, and Alexander AlekhineAlexander AlekhineAlexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was the fourth World Chess Champion. He is often considered one of the greatest chess players ever.By the age of twenty-two, he was already among the strongest chess players in the world. During the 1920s, he won most of the tournaments in which he played...
.
- Part II covers the fifth through eighth world champions: Max EuweMax EuweMachgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...
, Mikhail BotvinnikMikhail BotvinnikMikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...
, Vasily SmyslovVasily SmyslovVasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...
, and Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
. Euwe briefly interrupted the reign of Alekhine. Botvinnik had a long reign that was briefly interrupted by Smyslov and by Tal.
- Part III covers the ninth and tenth champions, Tigran PetrosianTigran PetrosianTigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...
and Boris SpasskyBoris SpasskyBoris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...
. Petrosian ended Botvinnik's reign in 1963. Spassky challenged Petrosian unsuccessfully in 1966 and successfully in 1969.
- Part IV starts by covering some strong Western players who were not world champions: Samuel ReshevskySamuel ReshevskySamuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...
, Miguel NajdorfMiguel NajdorfMiguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....
, and Bent LarsenBent LarsenJørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...
. The primary focus of this volume is the eleventh World Champion Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
.
- Part V covers World Championship contender Victor Korchnoi and the twelfth World Champion Anatoly KarpovAnatoly KarpovAnatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...
. Korchnoi and Karpov played three matches in the World Championship, in 1974World Chess Championship 1975The 1975 World Chess Championship was never played due a dispute over the match format. Champion Bobby Fischer was to play Anatoly Karpov in Manila, commencing June 1, 1975....
, 1978World Chess Championship 1978The 1978 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Baguio City, Philippines from July 18 to October 18, 1978. Karpov won.- Qualification :...
, and 1981World Chess Championship 1981The 1981 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Viktor Korchnoi in Meran, Italy from October 1 to November 19, 1981. Karpov won.-Interzonals:Two Interzonal tournaments were held, one in Riga and the other in Rio de Janeiro...
. The first match was in the Candidates TournamentCandidates TournamentThe Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
to determine who would challenge Fischer in 1975World Chess Championship 1975The 1975 World Chess Championship was never played due a dispute over the match format. Champion Bobby Fischer was to play Anatoly Karpov in Manila, commencing June 1, 1975....
. Fischer refused to defend his title, making the 1974 Karpov versus Korchnoi match a de facto World Championship match.
Modern Chess
Chess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
developments in the 1970s, all of Kasparov's five World Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
matches with Karpov, and his other games with Karpov.
- Part One covers the revolution in chess openings of the 1970s in the wake of Fischer. The book covers new ideas in the Hedgehog system, several lines of the Sicilian Defense, the Grünfeld Defense, the Caro-Kann Defense, the Ruy LopezRuy LopezThe Ruy Lopez, also called the Spanish Opening or Spanish Game, is a chess opening characterised by the moves:-History:The opening is named after the 16th century Spanish priest Ruy López de Segura, who made a systematic study of this and other openings in the 150-page book on chess Libro del...
, the French Defense, the Nimzo-Indian Defense, and others. Complete games are used to illustrate these opening ideas. The book ends with the opinions of 28 experts.
- Part Two covers all of the games between Karpov and Kasparov himself through 1985, including their aborted match in 1984World Chess Championship 1984The World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov and defending champion Anatoly Karpov for the World Chess Championship title...
and their 1985 matchWorld Chess Championship 1985The 1985 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Moscow from September 3 to November 9, 1985. Kasparov won, to become the thirteenth and youngest world champion at the age of 22.-Background:...
in which Kasparov became the thirteenth World Champion. Four early games between the two players are included as well as all 48 games of their first match and all 24 games of their second match.
- Part Three covers the 1986 matchWorld Chess Championship 1986The 1986 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in London and Leningrad from July 28 to October 8, 1986. Kasparov won. Anatoly Karpov was already assured of this rematch during his previous year's match which was won by Garry Kasparov.-Results:The match was...
and the 1987 matchWorld Chess Championship 1987The 1987 World Chess Championship was played between Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov in Seville from October 12 to December 19, 1987. Before the 24th game, Kasparov was down 12-11, but in the 24th game, Kasparov made a comeback by using the English Opening to win the final game to retain his...
between Karpov and Kasparov. It includes all 24 games of the 1986 match, all 24 games of the 1987 match, and three games played between the two matches (two were blitz games).
- Part Four includes the 24 games of the 1990 matchWorld Chess Championship 1990The 1990 World Chess Championship was played between Garry Kasparov and Anatoly Karpov. It was the fifth and final Kasparov-Karpov championship match, Kasparov winning by a single point.-Interzonals:...
against Karpov and 42 of their other games through 2009.
Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov
- Part I: 1973-1985 This volume covers 100 games starting from his early days. It ends with a few of the games from his 1984 match with Karpov (the endings only).
- Part II: 1985-1993 The period of being the FIDE world champion.
- Part III: 1993-2005 After FIDE.
Reception
My Great Predecessors received lavish praise from some reviewers (including Nigel ShortNigel Short
Nigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
), while attracting criticism from others for historical inaccuracies and analysis of games directly copied from unattributed sources. Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, chess historian Edward Winter
Edward Winter (chess historian)
Edward Winter is an English journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author about the game of chess. He writes a regular column on that subject, Chess Notes, and is also a regular columnist for ChessBase.-Chess Notes:...
said, "The absence of, even, a basic bibliography is shocking in a work which claims to be 'Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship', and a lackadaisical attitude to basic academic standards and historical facts pervades the book." Critic Richard Forster, writing for the Chess History Center website, alleged that "a very great part of the analysis (certainly more than 95%) has been copied from earlier sources, mostly without proper acknowledgement."
International Master John L. Watson
John L. Watson
John Leonard Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering...
said that Predecessors "must be recommended as an ambitious, interesting work by (I believe) the greatest player in history. It clearly delights and inspires some of its readership regardless of its weaknesses, and is a book that most players will want to own, if only for the story-like narration of events and chess developments. For these reasons alone, I would call it a significant book, perhaps even one of this year's best. But for some reason we have been led to believe that Predecessors is a masterpiece, belonging to the class of great books if not transcending them. In reality it is something less grandiose: a valuable book with numerous weak spots."
Reviewing My Great Predecessors Part I, International Master William John Donaldson
William John Donaldson
William John Donaldson is an International Master of chess. He has been an IM since 1983. He is also an author, organizer, journalist and chess politician...
said the book "represents good value if one lowers one's expectations and views it as a very reasonably priced hardback game collection rather than the definitive historical guide to the early World Champions. It is too bad that Kasparov and Plisetsky didn't hire Winter
Edward Winter (chess historian)
Edward Winter is an English journalist, archivist, historian, collector and author about the game of chess. He writes a regular column on that subject, Chess Notes, and is also a regular columnist for ChessBase.-Chess Notes:...
to fact check the book. It could have been much better and one hopes more care is taken with upcoming volumes."
Through suggestions on the book's website, some of the book's criticisms were addressed in following editions and translations. The books have received several awards from the English Chess Federation
English Chess Federation
The English Chess Federation is the governing chess organisation in England and is affiliated to FIDE. The ECF was formed in 2004 and was effectively a re-constitution of the extant governing body, the British Chess Federation , an organisation founded in 1904...
, which said "... Kasparov’s mammoth series has set new standards for writing about chess history."
English Chess Federation Book of the Year Awards
- 2003: Part I - best book
- 2004: Part II - runner-up for best book
- 2005: Part IV - best book
- 2006: Part V - short list of the best books
- 2007: Modern Chess, Part One - short list of the best books