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Reviews
The Chess Machine
Reviewed by
Bill Whited
9/22/02
The Chess Machine, by Tim Sawyer and Sid Pickard (Pickard and
Sons,
2002). CD-ROM format.
 If you are a fan of Jose Raul Capablanca, then this CD may be what you are
seeking. Capablanca was one of the strongest players in the history of the
game and his fluid effortless style, particularly in the ending, has made
him a model for players looking to improve their game for several
generations. This database has been assembled from the efforts of Tim
Sawyer, known for his books on the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit, and contains
1,214 games by Capablanca, 16 text documents, 80 fully annotated by
Capablanca himself, theme keys, photos, and music from one of Capablanca’s
friends, Andres Segovia. It also includes three e-book versions of works by
Capablanca: The Capablanca-Lasker Match, 1921, My Chess Career,
and Chess Fundamentals. The complete cross tables of all of his
tournaments may also be found on this CD. It is in Chessbase format and the
Chessbase reader has been provided so no additional software is necessary.
There is no original material on the CD, other than a brief forward by the
author. This is primarily a games compilation but a very thorough one. If
you are looking for a product that contains every known game that Capablanca
played with as accurate a game score as possible, then this CD should
definitely be part of your collection. If you are looking for a new
appraisal, original analysis, or anything new on Capablanca, then you may
want to look elsewhere.
That having been said, this compilation represents a tremendous amount of
effort and the games contained on the CD include many of the finest ever
played. It also makes an excellent resource on the late World Champion if
you have acquired those other resources. The photographs are a nice touch
and the various texts that are on the CD are very interesting as an insight
into what Capablanca’s contemporaries thought of him as a player and a man.
He was very popular in the United States and did much to popularize chess in
this country after the turn of the century. His remarkable career was due in
part to Frank J. Marshall who generously played a match with him when he was
an unknown college student at Columbia and then prevailed on the organizers
of San Sebastian 1911 to let him enter the tournament despite the objections
of some of the players, including Nimzowitsch and Bernstein, who felt that
he was unqualified to enter. He responded by winning a brilliancy prize in
the first round against Bernstein and also beating Nimzowitsch in their
encounter. He also won the tournament!
If you are interested in the career of Capablanca, you might also want to
check out the following books that were written by third parties. These
include Capablanca’s 100 Best Games of Chess by Harry Golombek and
The Immortal Games of Capablanca by Fred Reinfeld. Also of interest is
Capablanca's Best Chess Endings by Irving Chernev.
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