Photo of Zurich 1953 Attendees, via the Zurich Chess Club
It has been a while, but Perpetual Chess is back with a blockbuster bonus book recap podcast. For this episode of Chess Books Recaptured, I am joined by FIDE Master Nate Solon to compare two books about one of the most famous chess tournaments of all time, the 1953 Zurich-Neuhausen Candidates tournament, (more commonly known as just “Zurich 1953.”)
GM David Bronstein’s book, Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 , is one of the most popular chess books of all time, and it is often recommended on this podcast. GM Miguel Najdorf’s tournament book, Zurich 1953: 15 Contenders for the World Chess Championship, is also considered a classic by many. Najdorf’s book may not be as well known as Bronstein’s book, due to the fact that it was only translated into English during the last decade. So how do we compare the books? Do they live up to their reputation as instructional chess book classics? What made the tournament so special? What are we to make of the “ghost-writing” and “match-fixing” allegations which have come to light in recent decades? So much to discuss! We even feature a guest appearance by renowned author and GM Andy Soltis to help answer these questions! Please read on for lots more details and relevant links.
Click here to download the episode
0:00- Why did we choose these two books?
Mentioned: GM Andy Soltis’ Soviet Chess 1917-1991, Chess24 series: The 50 Greatest Chess Players of all Time, featuring GMs Jan Gustafsson and GM Peter Heine Nielsen, GM Genna Sosonko’s Smylov on the Couch, Boris Samoilovich Vainstein (author, collaborator of David Bronstein)
20:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com. Check out their latest offerings here: New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels- Chessable.com
Also be sure to subscribe to Chessable’s new podcast focused on chess improvement How to Chess (hosted by me.) More info here:
21:00- GM Andy Soltis joins the show to share his perspective on why he thinks these books are so famous.
Mentioned: Juan Perón,, Vasily Smyslov, GM Yuriy Averbakh, GM Alexander Kotov, IM Lev Aronin, GM Bobby Fischer, GM Ian Nepomniatchtchi, GM Sergei Karjakin, You can preorder Andy’s upcoming book here:
42:00-
Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by AImchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%.
42:30- For what level chess fans are these books most beneficial? How do the books compare?
Mentioned: IM Christof Sielecki video looking at the analysis of Zurich 1953:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHCE68qr5oQ
John Watson’s review of the Zurich 1953 books:
https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-106-zurich-1953-by-najdorf Episode 46 with IM John Watson
54:00- We share a few choice quotes from both books.
1:03:00- Who wrote Bronstein’s book? Bronstein or his friend Boris Vainstein? Is it important?
Mentioned: GM Genna Sosonko’s The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein
1:07:00- We finally dive deeper into the allegations that the Soviet government ordered match- fixing by the Soviet players
Mentioned: Chesscafe.com, GM Yuri Averbakh, Taylor Kingston, Taimanov vs. Smyslov
1:21:00- Thanks so much to Nate for donating so much time! Tune in next time for a recap of My System with IM Christof Sielecki.
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Hear Tunde on the Perpetual Chess Episode 219 here:
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2a57aGslpbGW08KozHQ2ih?si=Yg9RZqpgRMqonYQhGcBbOA&dl_branch=1
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Photo in middle of the participants courtesy of the Zurich Chess Club