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The Oxford Companion to Chess, Second Edition
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The Oxford Companion to Chess, Second Edition Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥ |
A Handy Companion in Getting to Know More About Chess
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Spanning centuries and tracing it's origins to the dawn of civilization, Chess is one of the greatest and most storied games. Developing from both the East and the West into the most mentally challenging sport, "The Oxford Companion to Chess" informs and illustrates adequately the rich and colorful history of the game of kings. In well-written articles, this companion features the various facets of the complex game. The great players, the numerous openings and their variations, and many topics in relation to the game are represented, including illustrations and b & w photographs to complement the text. One could come across the controversial and brilliant career of Bobby Fischer and in the turn of pages read about Computers and Chess. One glances though "gamesmanship", defined by it's inventor Stephen Potter as the "art of winning games without actually cheating", or "mansuba", an Arabic term for a composed middlegame or endgame position which serves as a form of instruction or solving. And the beginner could finally learn what in heaven's name that "en passant" means.
Some entries are a bit short, where a more comprehensive description of the particular subject would have helped. The British authors could barely restrain their pro-Anglo anti-American bias, and their contribution to the literature on Morphy and Staunton does neither man credit, and poorly to the writers. The limiting comments on the former and the patronising attitude towards the latter are criminal untruths which the novice could take for granted, which is a shame as Morphy is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time, and Staunton did his utmost to avoid playing him.
Also, the jumbling in one close pack of each player's career record makes for a weary read, like reading paragraphs of mathematical computations without having to solve them. The authors should have blended them with the tale in the text.
Truly serving as it's title shows, "The Oxford Companion to Chess" is a good reference and guide for both veteran and beginner alike in exploring Caissa.
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