Grand-Master Emms - - - on some of ... 
the best chess moves ever played. 

Emms … on Great Chess Moves
A  Book Review  by  LIFE-Master  A.J. Goldsby I

Before you read my review, you should know that I am a Life-Master of Chess.

And lately, it seems I have been bashing books – my reviews have generated a lot of e-mail – some has been rather negative. But I am always honest, and I always try to point out any flaws or mistakes that I find. As the man says: "I call ‘em the way I see ‘em."

So it is with a great deal of pure joy that I tell you … 
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!
(In fact, I have created several new web pages … just with the material that this book contains. With a search engine, you should find it easily.)

This book is NOT perfect; I have found quite a few errors. For example: on page # 168, (second column); the note after move after move 35.Ne6, the author gives: "Also losing is 35.Rdb1, Nh3+; 36.Ke1," etc. BUT 35…Nh3 is NOT the best move. (35…Ne4 is MUCH better.) In fact, …Nh3 is NOT even check!! <giggle>

And I do not entirely approve of the author’s "Top Ten." #1 is from a game where the loser said it was, "one of the worst games he ever played." (But all losers might say this!) His number five is almost an exact copy, (in type, AND theme); to his number one. And on it goes. Games from lesser-known players, games of questionable content, moves that are NOT even real double-exclams. (Real mistakes are the lack of some simple, thorough player and position indexes.)

BUT!!!! All these are minor quibbles, really. (The author covers this ground in his intro.) Consider all the really FANTASTIC THINGS that this book offers:

# 1.)  200 of the BEST – and most astounding – chess moves ever played;

# 2.)  EVERY phase of the game is covered. 
(Opening, middle-game, end-game.);

# 3.)  Some really GREAT analysis, I estimate the author worked at least a year on this book. The analysis of some of the moves … is worth the price of the book! The author holds NOTHING back!! In one of the examples, the author points out things like themes, recurring tactics, and opening traps!!

Chess IS tactics. And this book is really all about tactics. And there are no easy ones in here. I had my daughter pick about 30 problems at random. Half of these I knew, there are from fairly well-known chess games. But of the ones I did not already know the answer to, I correctly solved only three problems!! (I don’t count problems where I guessed the solutions.) If a Master needs to work on this area, how about you?

At last – a FUN book, that if used intelligently – will help you get better at chess. And once you have spent some time with this book, you will have a smile almost as big as mine! Outstanding!!

   ---> I gave this book  FIVE STARS!!  (Out of a possible five.) 

From the game,  GM V. Topalov - GM A. Shirov; 
Linares (ESP), 1998. 

Black to play and win.  (Move # 47... for Black coming up.) 

EMMS # 2 Greatest Chess Move

From the game,  Brzozka - GM David Bronstein;  Miskolc, 1963.

***

White to move and win.  (White to play his 26th move.)

EMMS # 4 Greatest Chess Move

From the very famous encounter: 
 GM Ratmir Kholmov - GM David Bronstein; 
U.S.S.R. Championship, (Kiev) 1964/65. 

White to play and win.  (White to play and make his 18th move.)

EMMS # 5 Greatest Chess Move

From the game:  Hindle - Mohring; 
Tel-Aviv, 1964

EMMS # 6 Greatest Chess Move

EMMS # 8 Greatest Chess Move

  From the game:  Bura - Puric´;  Yugoslavia, 1982. 

  White to move and win.  

***

Another game from two lightweights - and while interesting ... 
it is NOT worthy of being in the list of the TEN GREATEST. 
(I would give the first move ONLY one exclam!)

EMMS # 9 Greatest Chess Move

***

  BLACK to move and win.  

***

  Easily one of the greatest plays of all time ... 
and overlooked by many other writers!

EMMS # 10  Greatest Chess Move

From the unbelievable game: 
GM Garry Kasparov - GM Veselin Topalov; 
Super-GM Tournament/Wijk ann Zee, 1999.

***