On the Origin of Good Moves

En fenomenal bok der IM Hendriks denne gang kombinerer en etterlengtet omskriving av sjakkens "idéhistorie" med en treningsbok med oppgaver til hvert kapittel. Det hele utrolig interessant.

Vi vet at det er mye, kanskje avgjørende mye, sjakk å lære av å forstå historien. Denne boka er levende sjakkhistorie om selve forståelsen av spillet som en evolusjon. Forfatteren viser gjennom masse eksempler at også mange spillere før Steinitz forsto mye av det Steinitz har fått æren for og som Lasker etterpå fortjenestefullt formulerte mer presist.

Forfatterens funn strekker seg helt tilbake til partier og analyser av Greco tidlig på 1600-tallet. Han tilbakeviser også den tradisjonelle inndelingen av mye av 1800-tallet som ren romantisk sjakk, med obligatoriske angrep og svak forsvarsevne. Willy Hendriks viser blant annet Adolf Anderssen som en langt mer moden og strategisk spiller med balansert sjakksyn, mot tradisjonelle forestillinger som nok har bygget på noen få og godt kjente partier.

Og den smarte forsiden og tittelen henspeiler naturligvis på Darwins hovedverk om evolusjonen: "On the Origin of Species".

Forlagets egen omtale:

The way a beginner develops into a strong chess player closely resembles the progress of the game of chess itself. This popular idea is the reason why many renowned chess instructors such as former World Champions Garry Kasparov and Max Euwe, emphasize the importance of studying the history of chess.

Willy Hendriks agrees that there is much to be learned from the pioneers of our game. He challenges, however, the conventional view on what the stages in the advancement of chess actually have been. Among the various articles of faith that Hendriks questions is Wilhelm Steinitz's reputation as the discoverer of the laws of positional chess.

In The Origin of Good Moves Hendriks undertakes a groundbreaking investigative journey into the history of chess. He explains what actually happened, creates fresh perspectives, finds new heroes, and reveals the real driving force behind improvement in chess: evolution.

This thought-provoking book is full of beautiful and instructive ‘new’ material from the old days. With plenty of exercises, the reader is invited to put themselves in the shoes of the old masters. Never before has the study of the history of chess been so entertaining and rewarding.

International Master Willy Hendriks (1966) has been working as a chess trainer for over 25 years. His acclaimed bestseller Move First, Think Later won the English Chess Federation Book of the Year Award.

Fra forordet:

This is a book about the history of improvement in chess – about the improvement of the chess-playing species as it were – but I hope it might contribute to the improvement of the chess-playing individual (i.e. you, the reader). In biology there is a theory summarized as ‘ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny’, meaning that the development of the individual resembles the development of the species. Today this old theory has few adherents left in the science of biology and I am not so sure about its worth for chess, but it is an interesting starting point. For one thing Garry Kasparov opens the first chapter of his major work My Great Predecessors with this perspective: ‘The stages in the development of chess resemble the path taken by everyone who proceeds from a beginner to a player of high standard.’ Kasparov stands in a tradition at this point. ...

However, I believe that if you take a closer look at this history, it seems rather strange that we have ended up with this ‘official’ version of how chess developed. The story of what did happen is a fascinating one and at first it was my intention to shape this book as a whodunnit. While describing all the battles that have been fought in the history of chess between different schools of thinking and styles of playing, and all the discussions and controversies that went along with it, somewhere near the end it should become clear how the crime was committed. Unfortunately, this asks too much of my writing abilities. So I may just as well give it away right here: Emanuel Lasker did it!