Chess Lists

by Soltis, Andy

• ISBN13: 9780786412969
• ISBN10: 0786412968
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-07-01
• Publisher: McFarland Publishing

Summary

The best, the worst, the shortest, the oddest, the longest, the most deceitful, the most memorable, the most brilliant, the dumbest--of players, games, matches, tournaments, books, ideas, etc. The lists are replete with background detail and exact facts--this second edition of Soltis's classic 1984 book is altogether an essential part of any chess collection and a browser's delight. The new edition contains 25 percent more lists, games, diagrams and annotations. The majority of lists from the first edition have been updated or expanded--or both.

Table of Contents

Preface	1	(3)
How We Play the Game	3	(30)
Ten Botched Brilliancies	3	(7)
The Eight Most Misunderstood Chess Rules	10	(2)
Nine Unusual Venues	12	(3)
How Chess Games End	15	(1)
Thirteen Radical Ideas	15	(4)
The Fifteen Richest Prizes	19	(2)
Six Peaceful Events	21	(1)
The Eight Youngest-Ever Grandmasters	22	(2)
Nineteen Master Games with Illegal Moves	24	(9)
The Best (and Some Worst)	33	(27)
Elo's Highest Rated	33	(1)
The 18 Peak Ratings	34	(1)
The Polls	35	(1)
Informant Favorites	35	(1)
Bobby Fischer's ``Best'' List	36	(3)
The Great Match Players	39	(3)
Five Memorable Streaks	42	(2)
The World Championship Box Score	44	(1)
Eleven Long ``Thinks''	45	(5)
Their Worst Games	50	(10)
Masters at Play	60	(29)
Ten Cases of Suspected or Confirmed Cheating	60	(5)
Eleven World Class Players Who Got Mated	65	(3)
Eleven Non-Theoretical Innovations	68	(5)
The Sixteen Shortest Games Ever Played	73	(3)
The Ten Longest Games Ever Played	76	(1)
Seven Tournament Collapses	77	(4)
Perfect Scores	81	(2)
Eleven Costliest Blunders	83	(4)
The Eight Longest Running International Tournaments	87	(2)
Fakes, Myths and Real Jobs	89	(27)
Eleven Games That (Probably) Never Happened	89	(7)
Alekhine's Fifteen ``Improvements''	96	(4)
Four Faked Games	100	(2)
Fourteen Remarkable Exhibitions	102	(4)
Five Chess Myths	106	(2)
The Real Jobs of 30 Noted Players	108	(8)
Life, Death and the World Championship	116	(32)
Eight Games of Living Chess	116	(4)
The Reigns of World Champions	120	(1)
Nine Other World Championships	121	(3)
Sixteen Long-Reigning National Champions	124	(3)
Great Skittles	127	(3)
The Eleven Longest World Championship Matches	130	(1)
The Odd Deaths of Nine Masters	131	(1)
Nine Masters Who Died in Poverty	132	(3)
Eight Cases of Rapid Progress	135	(3)
The Nine Worst World Championship Games	138	(6)
Seven Famous Losers	144	(4)
The Great, the Most and the Tragic	148	(40)
The Great Rivalries	148	(2)
Ten Most Mispronounced Names	150	(2)
Ten Famous Patrons	152	(3)
``Difficult'' Opponents	155	(3)
The Three Who Really Knew ``How to Beat Bobby Fischer''	158	(1)
``Fischer's Fish''	159	(1)
Fischer's Ten Best Games	160	(1)
Ten Geriatric Achievements	161	(4)
Tragic Losses	165	(4)
Seventeen Nicknames	169	(5)
Ten Last Games	174	(3)
The Greatest Correspondence Games	177	(7)
Thirteen Masters Who Gave Up the Game	184	(4)
Openings and Endings and What's in Between	188	(38)
The Greatest King Pawn Players of All Time	188	(2)
Ten Dubious Debuts	190	(3)
The Greatest Queen Pawn Players of All Time	193	(2)
Ten Opening Theme Events	195	(5)
The Greatest English-Opening Players	200	(1)
Six Remarkable Games with Bizarre Openings	201	(4)
The Twelve Most Popular Openings Today	205	(2)
Informant Innovators	207	(1)
Steinitz's 22 Technical Terms	207	(1)
Four Cases of Middlegame Zugzwang	208	(1)
Lasker's Exchange Values	209	(1)
The Nine Greatest Endgame Players	210	(3)
The Five Notorious Endgames	213	(4)
Twenty Composer-Players	217	(4)
The Ten Greatest Problems	221	(5)
Last Words	226	(13)
The Twelve Finest Chess Books	226	(3)
Eighteen Novels with Chess Themes	229	(2)
Nobel Prize for Literature Players	231	(2)
Twelve Books That Haven't Been Translated into English---But Should Be	233	(1)
Five Eagerly Awaited Books	234	(1)
Chess Themes and Scenes in Movies	235	(4)
Index of Openings (Descriptive)	239	(1)
Index of Openings (ECO)	240	(1)
General Index	241