The Art of Sacrifice in Chess

by Rudolf Spielmann

The 21st Century Edition of Spielmann’s Classic Work Austrian Grandmaster Rudolf Spielmann’s The Art of Sacrifice in Chess first appeared in the mid-1930s. It was immediately recognized as a classic, a masterpiece that examined the nature of chess sacrifices. In this modernized, 21st century edition, all of Spielmann’s original work has been preserved. The antiquated English Descriptive Notation has been replaced with modern Figurine Algebraic, and German grandmaster Karsten Müller has added his own notes to Spielmann’s original text. But the German grandmaster has gone far beyond simply inserting clarifying commentary. Müller has virtually doubled the size of the original work by adding eleven new chapters, including: The Greek Gift Sacrifice Bxh2/7+; Disaster on g7; The Achilles’ Heel f7; Strike at the Edge; Destroying the King’s Shelter; Sacrifices on f6; Sacrifices on e6; The Magic of Mikhail Tal; Shirov’s Sacrifices; and The Fine Art of Defense. There are exercises at the end of each new chapter to help you hone your skill of sacrificing. “Grandmaster Karsten Müller’s notes to the original text, along with the new material, brilliantly complements Spielmann’s classic work. A welcome addition to any chessplayer’s library…” – Garry Kasparov

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction

757 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1935

Reviews

[Alberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting games, but Spielmann tends to bog down in vague considerations not grounded in concrete analysis. Also, he seriously overestimates the attacker's chances in many positions, and several times this irretrievably mars otherwise sound analysis.

[John Ruf · Rating 5 out of 5]

classic in chess. lots of nasty little surprises useful for beginners and intermediate players.

[Swan_princess · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not finished.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's probably best to look upon this as a games collection rather than a textbook. There are indeed some great games here (I particularly liked that one against Bogoljubov where Spielmann's queen ends up on b1). As an instructional manual it's not of terribly much use: just some tedious discussions of classification and whatnot, during which Rudy unfortunately manages to indulge his penchant for being very pedantic indeed.