Nostalgia- Why do I Love Chess?....and Irving Chernev.....

I love chess, and I have no idea why!

I remember, two years ago, coming back from Iceland, during the flight I was transferring the moves of a game I won (a rare occurrence!), and the love I felt for the game of chess was so big, I cannot describe it!

Recently Vladimir Kramnik retired, and although it is a loss for professional chess, his life is rich enough. I like him, because he is cultured, and humble, and when he speaks you can feel a generosity of spirit, an openness of mind, a depth of intellect that belies greatness and goodness.

Certain players emanate a love for chess.....among them Tal, Nezhmetdinov, Smyslov, Bronstein,  Tartakower, Chigorin, Gufeld.....the list is endless!

One of the books I own is "The Chess Companion", by Irving Chernev.

from the World Chess Hall of Fame:

https://worldchesshof.org/hof-inductee/irving-chernev

It is full of amusing, entertaining, illumining games, chess problems.....and here is one of my points: Some player/writers increase my love for the game!

I mean, looking at this position, I can only admire from a distance the imagination of the author!

White to move and mate all ten kings in one move!

The book includes a chapter with games by Petrosian, whom Chernev admires!

Here is a great game by Tarrasch, annotated by Chernev!

"I am hopelessly in love with the game."- Assiac

"Chess holds its master in its own bonds- fetters and in some ways shapes his spirit, so that under it the inner freedom of the very strongest must suffer." - Albert Einstein

"Properly taught, a student can learn more in a few hours than he would find out in ten years of untutored trial and error." - Emanuel Lasker

Another great book by Irving Chernev is "Capablanca's Best Chess Endings":

I highly recommend this book! It contains 60 complete games of Capablanca, and in it Chernev analyzes each whole game, highlighting the position where the endgame advantage is shown, and then proceeds to show how Capablanca steers his army to victory.

A third Chernev book which I own, but have not explored yet, is  "The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played".

I own a Dover First Edition (1965). It is in descriptive notation, but I love it! I grew up with descriptive notation, so for me it is not a problem.

It is a great book!

OK, let us learn from Chernev, as he annotates the game Marshall-Lasker, WC Match 1907!

"The best way to learn endings, as well as openings, " says Capablanca in Chess Fundamentals, "is from the games of the masters."

"Here is a game that bears out the wisdom of this advice. It flares up, almost from the beginning, with exciting combination play- the kind that inspires you tp exercise your own imagination in the opening. Then it plunges suddenly pat the midgame right into the ending, one of the most remarkable ever seen on a chessboard. It is played with the care, thought and finesse that is characteristic of Lasker at this best. And with Lasker at this best, we can always add to our understanding of the endgame."

Notes by Irving Chernev!