Publisher: New In Chess, 2015
Edition: Bound edition
ISBN: 978-90-5691-601-5
Pages: 750
Language: English
Mikhail Chigorin (1850-1908), the father of modern Russian chess, belongs to that select group of exceptionally strong players who never succeeded in winning the World Championship. The defining moment for Chigorin came when he blundered away a winning position in the final game of his second title match against Steinitz.
This book provides a vivid account of the life and times of Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin: his rise to chess fame after a difficult childhood, his unfaltering commitment to the promotion of the game in 19th-century Russia, his friends and enemies, and his chess exploits in many countries.
Chigorin remains universally admired for his creative and courageous style of play. He always played to win, preferably with dashing attacks. His games consistently featured precise calculation, purposeful manoeuvring, patient exploitation of positional weaknesses, artful defence and even refined endgame play.
Today Chigorin’s contributions to opening theory remain significant. He was the finest gambit player of his generation, but it is his pioneering work in the Ruy Lopez, the Queen’s Gambit as well as various King’s Indian formations that has been the most enduring.
Mikhail Chigorin, the Creative Genius is a hugely expanded second edition of the games collection published in 1987. The biographical material, telling the story of Chigorin’s turbulent chess career, now runs to hundreds of pages. Furthermore, 100 extra games have been added, annotated by Chigorin and his contemporaries or more modern grandmasters.
FIDE Master Jimmy Adams is a prolific chess author, who has written, translated and compiled a wide range of books on openings, historical tournaments and legendary players. From 1991 to 2010 he was the editor of the English magazine CHESS.
Fred Wilson, author of '100 Questions on How to Play Chess"':
“A superbly researched biography on Russia’s greatest 19th century player.”
British Chess Magazine, on 'Johannes Zukertort, Artist of the Chessboard'by Jimmy Adams:
“Such comments as ‘a labour of love’ and a tour de force come to mind when perusing this large book.”
