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Rare and/or Unavailable chess books
Here I plan to make a simple list.
I
am going to name players and events where:
A.) A book was never written on this
important event or player; or
B.) The book was never adequate, was never
published in English,
or
is too many years out of print and is completely
unavailable.
Dozens of events (tournaments) have been played over the years. Many of these great and fine events never had a book published on these events. (Or there was never a book published in English.) If something is not done soon, many of these games and stories could be lost forever. I don't think this should be allowed to happen.
Write a publisher and demand these books be printed, reprinted or made available to the general public. Many of these events and people are slipping ... perhaps irretrievably so ... into the mists of time.
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Just a suggestion.
After reading many of my other pages, (such as "The Best Players," or "The Best Tournaments,"); and if you see something that interests you, get a book on it. And if there is no book on that player/tournament/topic/event; then you should definitely write as many chess publishers as you can get hold of and request one be written!!
Events
# 1.) Cambridge Springs, 1904. - (Won by Frank J. Marshall.) One of the most important events ever held in the U.S. For many, it was the first real and true International Chess Event held in the United States. Lasker - the current World Champion - played, but did not win. In fact many of the best tournament players of that era competed in this event. Some really fantastic chess was played here. A real IMPORTANT piece of American chess history. And it threatens to be lost forever. Chess-Players - everywhere - cannot let this happen!
This book ... to the best of my knowledge ... is not in print and is no longer available.
I used to have a very old book on this event. It was very old and tattered and in pretty bad shape. Many pages were missing. Yet, it was one of my greatest chess treasures. (I have lost it over the years. Alas, a true tragedy.) How I got this book was a story in itself.
There used to be a player in Pensacola by the name of Frank Goodenough. (He has been deceased for a number of years now.) He was my friend and a good and faithful member ... for many years! ... of the Pensacola Chess Club. In the late sixties and early seventies, Frank was easily one of the strongest players in the whole area of North-West Florida. [The pan-handle.] His King's Gambit was well thought out and very well researched. (He owned several books on this opening.) He was also The Club Champion at least once - perhaps several times. For many years he never missed a Thursday night meeting. (Of the chess club.)
Unfortunately old age began creeping up on Frank. Towards the end of his life he called me over for a visit. He gave me several old chess books, many I had never seen before. One of the books he gave me was on the event, Cambridge Springs, 1904. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this gift and how many hours I spent going through this collection of games.
It would be a great gift ... to the lore of our royal game ... if someone could gather as many games of this event as possible and publish the definitive book on this event.
(Until the book is available, you should definitely check out this web site on this great tourney.)
***
# 2.) U.S. Championship; New York City, N.Y. 1963-64. - The United States Championship where Bobby Fischer rolled to a perfect score. As far as I know, no one ever wrote a book on this tournament. Yet MANY of the games - and not just the ones that Fischer played! - are real masterpieces. As this may be the ONLY national championship of ANY kind where any player managed a perfect score, shouldn't someone write a book on this great event? This is, I think, a historical necessity. (July, 2004. There IS a book on this event. However, it was printed in 1965, and is almost impossible to obtain. I have a full photocopy of the book.)
***
#
3.) A.V.R.O; 1938. - Maybe the strongest tournament ever held. Many
(around 12) of these games are true masterpieces, yet as far as I know, there
has never been a really good book, (at least one in English!); ever written on
this tournament. Sad, but true!
(I have a small pamphlet on this event that has just the basic game
scores, very light notes, and a few pictures. Hardly adequate.)
I think it is time someone wrote a really outstanding book on this event before
the sands of time obscure many of the relevant facts and good stories that had to
have occurred at this tournament. (Many of the players who played in this event
are already dead.) This is sad, as any extra facts or memories may already
be lost forever.
NOTE: Last year (2003) I purchased a book of this event. (By Antler.) This book is nice, and is certainly better than nothing. But until we have a book that documents - as much as possible - all the events of the tournament ... and a GM annotates all the games ... we will never know the truth or importance of this event. And the simple fact is that this tournament was one of the strongest in chess history. Chess players everywhere should demand a good book on this event!!!
Players
# 1.) Isidor Gunsberg - This player once a serious contender for the World Championship. (He later became a very important chess patron.) He played great chess and lived a very interesting chess life. But as far as I know, no one has ever published a book on this player. A serious loss to the history of chess.
# 2.) Ossip Bernstein - One the real legends of chess. This guy played everyone, from Steinitz to Lasker to Botvinnik. And the story of his life is very fascinating. Yet as far as I know, nobody has ever bothered to publish a book on this great player. (Certainly none has ever been published in the English Language that I know of.)
Stay tuned as I bring you (more) ...
BOOKS THAT NEED TO BE WRITTEN OR REPRINTED OR TRANSLATED!!!
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby I
Copyright (©) A.J. Goldsby, 1985 - 2013.
Copyright © A.J. Goldsby, 2014. All rights reserved.
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This page was last updated on 04/14/14 .
