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The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Cadogan Chess Books) by Tom Furstenberg
Book by Furstenberg, Tom, Bronstein, David
Mass Market Paperback
First published November 28, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 30, 2017
This ranks up there with the best chess books I've read. Bronstein was a phenomenal player - one blunder kept him from being one world champion in the match he tied 12-12 with Botvinnik - and he has written several great books. This one is pretty amazing and not just for the chess analysis. It has quite a bit of biography and description by Bronstein of tournaments, plus a bunch of photos. A great section on playing against computers, including extensive annotations of Bronstein's games against supercomputers. The core of the book are the games. There are four big sections of complete games with various levels of analysis. 40 combinations with explanations is a great section because each game concludes with a paragraph on "What we learned from this game." Then there's 50 games with comments, 60 games with diagrams, and 70 picturesque games, the latter are all a bit different but feature some striking theme such as dual bishop or knight attacks.
July 19, 2020
Este libro lo empecé a leer a los 13-14 años porque en mi mente era un gran libro para volverse un campeón ajedrecista de forma rápida, y creo que por mi aproximación a esa edad no lo disfruté tanto como ahora que veo el ajedrez más que como una competencia como un juego con su propia filosofía detrás.
Este verano me di cuenta que Aprendiz de Brujo es más que un manual de ajedrez, es una biografía de uno de los mejores jugadores que hubo en este deporte, uno que aportó ideas que valen la pena ser revisadas no sólo por su valor en este juego, porque son lecciones de vida de una persona que se dedicó en cuerpo y alma a promocionar e innovar su pasatiempo preferido.
Mi única queja con el libro es que aún no he podido mejorar mi apertura de India de Rey a pesar de los grandes análisis con esta apertura. Espero que en un futuro me maneje con más facilidad esa estrategia .:(
Este verano me di cuenta que Aprendiz de Brujo es más que un manual de ajedrez, es una biografía de uno de los mejores jugadores que hubo en este deporte, uno que aportó ideas que valen la pena ser revisadas no sólo por su valor en este juego, porque son lecciones de vida de una persona que se dedicó en cuerpo y alma a promocionar e innovar su pasatiempo preferido.
Mi única queja con el libro es que aún no he podido mejorar mi apertura de India de Rey a pesar de los grandes análisis con esta apertura. Espero que en un futuro me maneje con más facilidad esa estrategia .:(
September 25, 2017
This has become one of my favorite chess books. Easily in the top 5. The only book that immediately springs to mind that I would favor is my all-time favorite, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal.
Bronstein has a great writing style.
Only tiny complaint is that some sections I found not as interesting as others (for example the games given without commentary weren't as interesting to me as those that were, but YMMV).
Bronstein has a great writing style.
Only tiny complaint is that some sections I found not as interesting as others (for example the games given without commentary weren't as interesting to me as those that were, but YMMV).
October 14, 2012
David Bronstein was one of the greatest players of all time, yet never won a World Championship. However, he was able to contribute a great deal to the world of chess, and in this book he gives a bit more. Interesting insight into one of the more creative minds to play the game.
May 18, 2020
Simply one of the best chess players ever and his explanations are no less. You can learn a lot from this book.
April 17, 2013
A major major disappointment. Seriously, this is probably the worst book I've ever seen from a great player (and I don't even exempt Reshevsky's offerings from that remark).
I guess I should've realized from the beginning that I was in for a letdown with the early chapter of advice to beginners. Then I came across a chapter of games with one position from each diagrammed...and not really much of an explanation about any of it (and certainly no annotations or words of wisdom about the rest of the moves). Later on there were a bunch of games "with diagrams" (which apparently were deemed so illuminating that they would take the place of notes). And we finished up with a slew of "picturesque" games (although how that adjective applied to some of them was beyond all conjecture on my part). I'm not sure what was supposed to be so terribly eye-catching about his 120-move queen ending loss to Alexander, for example.
The only really usable section of this book was the 50 annotated games. But even here (as throughout) Bronstein comes off like a thorough-going space cadet. Seriously, he sounds like he's just tumbled out of Spicoli's van, and you're barely able to discern his vague outline through a haze of smoke while he coughs up his latest imponderable dictum (no doubt about it, the man definitely puts the "sage" in "sagely").
In addition to all of this, his snide little ongoing spat with Botvinnik infuses the pages and belies his whole message of Love of Chess and Being Above All Competition, one which he is so obviously trying to embody. Truthfully, I would've given this godawful mess 1 star, but a collection of 200 Bronstein games (even if they are largely unannotated) has to be worth something anyway...
I guess I should've realized from the beginning that I was in for a letdown with the early chapter of advice to beginners. Then I came across a chapter of games with one position from each diagrammed...and not really much of an explanation about any of it (and certainly no annotations or words of wisdom about the rest of the moves). Later on there were a bunch of games "with diagrams" (which apparently were deemed so illuminating that they would take the place of notes). And we finished up with a slew of "picturesque" games (although how that adjective applied to some of them was beyond all conjecture on my part). I'm not sure what was supposed to be so terribly eye-catching about his 120-move queen ending loss to Alexander, for example.
The only really usable section of this book was the 50 annotated games. But even here (as throughout) Bronstein comes off like a thorough-going space cadet. Seriously, he sounds like he's just tumbled out of Spicoli's van, and you're barely able to discern his vague outline through a haze of smoke while he coughs up his latest imponderable dictum (no doubt about it, the man definitely puts the "sage" in "sagely").
In addition to all of this, his snide little ongoing spat with Botvinnik infuses the pages and belies his whole message of Love of Chess and Being Above All Competition, one which he is so obviously trying to embody. Truthfully, I would've given this godawful mess 1 star, but a collection of 200 Bronstein games (even if they are largely unannotated) has to be worth something anyway...
February 16, 2012
The definitive personal statement of the greatest chess player to never be World Champion.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews