Tartakower's Art

There is a certain sense of delight I feel when looking at some chess positions. Maybe the best proof that chess is Art is, for me, the fact that I can feel different things from different players- from Rubinstein, a sense of total cooperation, harmony between the pieces and pawns. From Tal, wonderment at how he opens a so called "closed" position and makes fireworks explode all over the board. From Keres, a sense of light, sparkling in the beauty of his ideas. From Bronstein, pure surprise at the level of imagination displayed before me and the unusual way to solve chess problems during a game. From Lasker and Nimzowitsch, the weight of Truth behind some of their moves; one feels like a sledge hammer landed on the board.

Each player brings his own soul into the game. Thus the game of chess becomes a source of beauty and fluidity, a freedom within the confines of an 8x8 chessboard. What an amazing privilege it is for me to play over the moves of the games of the great Grandmasters of the past.

Recently I am captivated by Savielly Tartakower (1877-1956)

Savielly Tartakower (1877-1956)

His book, "My Best Games of Chess 1905-1954" was originally published in 1953, and is in descriptive notation. The version I have is a Dover edition from 1985.

It is now also available in Algebraic notation:

I cannot recommend this book enough! 

Tartakower's games shine with courage, imagination and flair, like few Masters command.

Take the following position, which is the inspiration for this post:

For me, this is a work of art. It stems from a game he played in his first international tournament at the age of 18.

Let us take a look!

Comments by GM Savielly Tartakower.