David Bronstein and the Italian Chess School

I am all admiration for Bronstein on many levels....as a chessplayer, as a person and as a teacher. I regret not having met him in person, but through his books I feel him.

He is one of my favorite writers, among whom are Bronstein, Tal, Tartakower, Judit Polgar and Jimmy Adams.

Yasser Seirawan pays a glowing tribute to David Bronstein in this TV Interview on YouTube..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_cuGsKhT-M

...and I have to concurr with Mr. Seirawan. I have various of David Bronstein's books, but perhaps my favorite is "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" .

I consider this book to be a masterpiece, for its richness in the variety of styles shown in Bronstein's play, as well as the pedagogical value of so many of his games.

David Bronstein could play in so many styles, which show the richness of his chess culture!

In this one blog, I will just showcase a game played in the Chess Olympiad in Munich, 1958. Bronstein had White against the Italian player, Palmiotto.

Prior to reading Bronstein's comments to this game, I did not know there was an Italian School of Chess....looking it up on Wikipedia, we see the definition of this term. It is also known as the Modenese School of Chess...

"The Modenese school is due to three 18th-century players known as the Modenese Masters: Domenico Lorenzo Ponziani, Giambattista Lolli, and Ercole del Rio. They recommended playing the Italian Game opening. In contrast to Philidor's idea of pawn structure and mobility, the Modenese school emphasized rapid development of the pieces for an attack on the opposing king, aiming for checkmate or winning material in the process. This style of play was used by Gioachino Greco, Alessandro Salvio, and other Italian players of the 16th century."

In this game, Bronstein plays in the Italian Style!