The Art of Positional Play

by Samuel Reshevsky

Completely revised and reset in English algebraic notation, this modern classic by one of the greatest players of the 20th century explains the inner workings of a unique chess mind. Reshevsky, a world-famous chess prodigy by the age of 9, adopted a pragmatic, positional playing style quite unusual for a young player. In this collection of 61 deeply annotated games played by Reshevsky and other modern masters, he shows how all players can learn from his methods to exploit positional mistakes by their opponents and improve their own results.

Genres: Chess

335 pages, Paperback

First published October 12, 1980

Reviews

[Robin Banks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't finish more than 10% of this book. Following the games was painfully slow, and that's without having to deal with the many typos that someone had corrected in pencil in my library copy. The openings are not common today, and the games too good to be relevant to me.

[Hank Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

45 years have passed since this book was originally published, so any remarks about openings should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. Since this edition, computer analysis has become much more popular so it's probable that some of the variations cited by Mr. Reshevsky would not hold up under such scrutiny.

A major problem with the book, however, is the number of mistakes in the transliteration from descriptive notation to algebraic notation.

Still holding up well, however, are Reshevsky's comments on positional elements of chess; in this context, he is in his element.

All in all, though, there are probably better books on positional chess available that have been written since the turn of the 21st century.

[Mike]

I forget how this ended up in my possession. A bit over my head at the moment, but studying it makes me feel like I'm improving.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just bought this today for £5 from the chess shop on Euston Road. Looks pretty good and very nicely designed and laid out.