Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part Three: KASPAROV VS. KARPOV 1986-1987
Author: Garry Kasparov
Everyman Chess (2009)
432 pages (hardcover)
$35.00
Reviewed by Jeremy Silman
The third book in this series covers two very important World Championship matches. Of course, all World Championship matches are important, but these two were filled with exceptional intrigue, great chess, emotional highs and lows, and (in Seville) one of the most amazing final two games in Championship history.
Naturally, various versions of these games, fully annotated, can be found elsewhere. But here, Kasparov updates his notes and gives much that hasn’t been seen before. More important, though, is his prose – Kasparov discusses every detail of these matches, from his preparation to his many changes in mood during every game to his views of Karpov. And, lest I forget, he goes deeply into a very sordid affair which features a member of his entourage secretly giving Karpov all of team-Kasparov’s opening analysis!
Kasparov writes with a lot of passion and, like every other person in the world, tends to see things through the prism of his own experience/reality. Thus, when he wins, the game was often a brilliant effort on his part. When he loses, it’s usually some sort of gift. And when he suffers from various emotional meltdowns, his ability to get beyond it and still triumph merely shows his greatness. Nonexistent is the thought that Karpov must have gone through his own emotional collapses. And there’s absolutely no doubt that Karpov would view the games in a very different manner, with his own wins coming via superior play and his losses being gifts to the opponent.
I’m not criticizing Kasparov here; in fact, I find his side of the story to be incredibly compelling – without a doubt the most personal, leave-nothing-to-the-imagination match memoir ever written.
KASPAROV VS. KARPOV 1986-1987 is a great book, and should be in the library of all serious chess fans.
If you're interested in owning one or all five of Kasparov's celebrated MY GREAT PREDECESSORS series ($30.00 to $35.00 a book, SIGNED by Kasparov for $50.00), click to buy (or get more information about):
