Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 1: 1973-1985

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov #1

by Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, part 1 is the first book in a major new three-volume series. This series will be unique by the fact that it will record the greatest chess battles played by the greatest chessplayer of all-time.

Genres: Chess, Biography

520 pages, Hardcover

First published September 13, 2011

About the author

Russian (formerly Soviet) chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist, whom many consider the greatest chess player of all time.

Reviews

[Igor Zveglic]

After covering pretty much everything that had to be thoroughly analyzed and elaborated, Kasparov finally switched his attention to his own illustrious career in great detail.
Volume 1 starts from the very beginning in Baku and deals with both personal struggles (loss of his father) and his steady rise through the ranks of Soviet chess.
His dedication to hard work is unparalleled as he trained and practiced more than any of his peers.

And, it shows in the games which are superbly annotated with deep commentary about the psychological aspects of each and every game.
He rises quickly through the 1970s and becomes world junior champion and gets invited by the organizers to elite events abroad.

One can hardly wait to pick up and swallow the next volume of this truly astounding series.

Highly recommended!

[Serge Pierro]

The first book in this autobiographical series by Garry Kasparov provides insights on his development from a child up to the infamous "stopped" match with Anatoly Karpov. Throughout the book, Kasparov shares many interesting anecdotes about his life and his "behind the scenes" viewpoint of many of the top level tournaments that he had participated in. Of special note is his relationship with many of the top Soviet players such as Botvinik, Tal, Petrosian and Spassky.

Of course one of the main features of the series is the in-depth and excellent analysis provided by Kasparov. Of note, is his comparison of his recommendations in his earlier books and Informator, to those of his current understandings and the availability of a chess computer.

Although "My Great Predecessors" might prove to be his best overall work, this series is thus far providing a great deal of insight into the inner workings of one of the all-time great chess players. I'm looking forward to seeing what the rest of the series has to offer!

[Alex Leach]

This is a great autobiography/games collection in which GK details his meteoric rise from his early teens.

[Tore]

Mostly interested in the stories behind, not the details of each game, but enough material to keep the interest.

[Junta]

Re-read after several years.