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Chessville
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I Play Against Pieces
by Svetozar Gligoric © 2002 by Svetozar Gligoric Batsford, 2002 ISBN: 0713487704
Softcover When I was growing up, I always waited eagerly for each new issue of Chess Life and Review to arrive in my mailbox. What a wonderful world it revealed to me, the world of international chess! The names of the greatest (at that time) chess players in the world fairly spilled from the pages, enchanting me with their exotic sounds and conjuring images in my mind, images that seemed to shimmer just beyond my ability to understand. Tal, Geller, Korchnoi, Spassky, Petrosian, Fischer, Larsen, Gligoric, these were some of the names that fired my 17-year old imagination! The first column I looked for was the "Game of the Month", then the sole province of one of the strongest players in the world - Svetozar Gligoric. The magic that man could weave! First, he brought into my living room some of the finest games played from all over the globe, then - even greater magic - he made the pieces dance across the sixtyfour squares of the chessboard, all the while revealing their intricate dance for the carefully crafted and executed plans of a master's mind. I expected I Play Against Pieces to be like going home again, to that magical place in my memory. 130 of this giant of the chess world's finest efforts, against the best players in the world! How could I go wrong? This is the 3rd edition of Gligoric's autobiographical compendium, newly updated and expanded. Earlier editions contained 105 and 120 games, with the first edition having been published in 1981. The title of this book was taken from an interview Gligoric gave to the Editor of that first edition, referring "to chess as an art and a clean struggle of ideas, thereby trying to ignore the less dignified influence of psychology and personal conflicts." A mere half-dozen pages are used to recount the author's "Chess Autobiography", including some personal details that reveal more about the man then the chessplayer. Born in 1923, he was orphaned at age 17, just months before Hitler invaded his homeland. On the run in the mountains, he eventually joined the growing resistance movement, finishing the war a decorated Captain, with "the good fortune of not having been wounded." After losing six years of his life and his chess career to that war, he was understandably happy to return to his home town, and resume a more normal life. He would go on to acclaim in dual careers, both as a journalist and as a Grandmaster. A lengthy list of Gligoric's chess successes (over 50 first place finishes), and accounts of his decline, along with other details of his career complete this section. On to the games! This edition of the book contains 130 of Gligoric's finest efforts, spanning the period from 1939 to 2001. The games are arranged by opening, with 27 different openings represented. Naturally, I turned first to the section on my beloved French... Game 14, Gligoric vs the Swedish GM Gideon Stahlberg, from their
1949 match: "1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Ngf3 Nc6 6. Bb5
This short section of the game captured for me the beauty and simplicity of Gligoric's annotations, while frustrating me with the errors. Of course, it is possible that the game as given in my database is incorrect, but even so, the other errors show a need for better proofreading. While there may be the periodic error in the transcription of moves, there are no errors in the clear, lucid, and easily understandable text. Gligoric's pen is as crisp as ever, and time has not dimmed his chess eye. This is a book that will entertain you, but also educate you. I strongly recommend it both to younger players who may not be as familiar with Gligoric's play, as well as those who, like me, remember his play all too fondly. This time, you really can go home again. |
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