Perspective on Aron Nimzowitsch's "My System"
Perspective on Aron Nimzowitsch's "My System"
The following is excerpted from John Watson's review (ref link below) of the e+Publishing edition of Robert Sherwood's translation of Aron Nimzonwitsh's "My System"...
"My System is of course one of the great masterpieces of chess literature, compulsory reading for generations of players. Although the author's Foreword is dated 1925, the complete book as we know it now was written in a series of 5 installments ending in 1927 (not counting revisions). Nimzowitsch clearly intended for it to summarize what he considered a new theory of play, one which had not "come into being all of a sudden but has developed slowly and gradually...
If you don't read "My System" until after you've become an experienced player, you may initially feel disappointed that the material is elementary and almost self-evident. Yes, the centre; yes, open files, the seventh rank, how to treat the pawn chain, doubled pawns, isolated pawns, and so forth. We know all that. But this is itself revealing. If we feel that his ideas are obvious and his suggested techniques routine, we are paying Nimzowitsch a great compliment, because many of these various concepts and techniques were unfamiliar to the chess public when Nimzowitsch first systematized his thought (as well as to experienced masters). Several core ideas didn't even have names yet.
More importantly, no one had outlined in detail when and how the relevant factors played out, for example, doubled pawns were a familiar problem, but Nimzowitsch analysed the consequences of many different types of doubled pawns with their advantages, disadvantages, and ideal treatments. Similarly, he demonstrated the techniques for exploiting the 6th, 7th, and 8th ranks; and did the same for hanging pawns. He famously constructed a theory of pawn chains, and showed both how to use them to advantage and how to undermine them.
Nimzowitsch's explication of these subjects is detailed and insightful. His lengthy explanation of passed pawns and their blockaders brought the complexities of this aspect of play to light for the first time. Furthermore, the very naming and conceptualization of prophylaxis and overprotection owes itself to Nimzowitsch. It seems remarkable now, but most of this was new at the time."
John Watson reviews Nimzowitsch's books....
Watson's review of the e+ edition (translation by Robert Sherwood) of Nimzowitsch's "My System"....
Watson reviews the e+ edition of Nimzowitsch's "Chess Praxis"....
https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-107-of-eplus-and-chess-praxis
John Watson's review of "My System" edition by Quality Chess (he doesn't like it, but makes positive comment on the [Lou] Hays Publishing 21st Century edition)...
https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/my-new-cds-and-somebody-elses-system
Yasser Seirawan on Nimzowitsch and "My System"...
The following is Yasser Seirawan's Introduction to the Lou Hays 21st Century Edition of Aron Nimzowitsch's "My System", published November 1991. In this introduction he describes his earlier misgivings regarding the book, then continues by praising not only the Lou Hays edition of the book, but "My System" in general....(note particularly his comments in the third from the last paragraph which begins "This then is the strength of My System......"
The following is a scathing criticism of Nimzowitsch's "My System" by Yasser Seirawan (penned in 2018, in response to an open criticism of his prior vocal criticisms of Nimzowitsch and his book)...
https://www.chess.com/blog/GMYAZ/open-letter-response-user-radovics-letter-to-me
So what are we to make of it - on the one hand Seirawan praises Nimzowitsch and his book, then later excoriates them both....
You be the judge.
Parody of Nimzowitsch's "Overprotection" concept...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-openings/the-immortal-overprotection-game
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1334664
Several popular editions of "My System"......(and my preference)...
The Quality Chess edition of "My System". This English language translation retains much of the stilted, abstruse writing style of Nimzowitcsh's original German edition. This was Yasser Seirawan's complaint above (i.e., "...too "European" and "Scientific"...") regarding his original copy of My System. Because of this, in my opinion, which I share with John Watson, the Quality Chess edition is a difficult, tedious translation to wade through...
https://www.amazon.com/System-Chess-Classics-Aron-Nimzowitsch/dp/9197600539/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534194611&sr=1-3&keywords=my+system+aron+nimzowitsch
Lou Hays' 21st Century edition of "My System". I prefer this English language translation, where the pedantic writing style of Nimzowitsch's original German has been purposefully recast into modern English, rendering the text easily readable for those who desire an English language edition...
https://www.amazon.com/My-System-Century-Aron-Nimzowitsch/dp/1880673851/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534194611&sr=1-2&keywords=my+system+aron+nimzowitsch
Lou Hays' 21st Century edition of "Chess Praxis"...
https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Praxis-Aron-Nimzowitsch/dp/1880673916/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534198433&sr=1-3&keywords=chess+praxis
Robert Sherwood's translation of "My System" and "Chess Praxis"...
https://www.amazon.com/My-System-Chess-Praxis-Landmark/dp/9056916599/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1534194611&sr=1-1&keywords=my+system+aron+nimzowitsch
https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_System_Chess_Praxis/_37ODAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=my+system&printsec=frontcover
New In Chess edition containing both "My System" and "Chess Praxis"...
https://www.amazon.com/My-System-Chess-Praxis-Landmark/dp/9056916599/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3J2H8X53FG7SI&keywords=aron+nimzovich+my+system&qid=1687085103&s=books&sprefix=aron+nimzovich+my+system%2Cstripbooks%2C374&sr=1-5
https://www.google.com/books/edition/My_System_Chess_Praxis/_37ODAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=my%20system%20chess&pg=PA20&printsec=frontcover
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