CAPABLANCA IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1911-1920
Author: Vlastimil Fiala
Moravian Chess (2007)
http://www.moravian-chess.cz/index.php
379 pages (hardback)
29 Euros

Reviewed by John Donaldson

There can be no doubt that Vlastimil Fiala is among the most devoted of Caissa's servants. Through his writing and publishing, Fiala is single-handedly rescuing and preserving a large amount of chess history. His publishing house, Moravian Chess, has reprinted hundreds of older chess magazines that were unavailable to all but wealthy collectors. Particularly useful for Americans are his complete reprinting of the entire run of the AMERICAN CHESS BULLETIN, the most important US magazine from 1904 until CHESS REVIEW started in 1933.
 
Fiala is not only a publisher but also a tremendous researcher with many fine discoveries that have been showcased in his excellent QUARTERLY FOR CHESS HISTORY series. His latest work, CAPABLANCA IN THE UNITED KINGDOM 1911-1920 will add to his reputation. This book, which is a must for any serious Capablanca fan, is a research piece de resistance. It covers every chess activity of Capablanca in the United Kingdom from 1911-1920 in incredible detail. First Fiala gleaned all the gold that was to be had from the BRITISH CHESS MAGAZINE and  CHESS AMATEUR and then he went digging through English newspapers. As one might imagine, this is tedious and mind-numbing work with no guarantee of success, but Fiala paid his dues and uncovered many new games, annotations and background material. I particularly enjoyed some of the newspaper accounts of his tournament play and simuls, which not only shed light on Capa but on British chess during this period.
 
Recommended