Reviews for Modern Chess Theory 1978

The average rating for Modern Chess Theory 1978 based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-11-06 00:00:00 Darian Gregory This was an e-book offered for free on Project Gutenberg which specializes in restoration and digitization of out-of-copyright material. H.E. Bird is a famous chess player with an opening named for him, and a historian of chess origins. He attempts to unearth the ancient origins of the game of chess, beginning with what is known from India, Persia (Iraq) and China. He follows the changes in the game into the final modifications in the mid 15th century and then looks briefly at the rise of interest in chess in England and elsewhere. There are only a half dozen games given in the work and it is not an instructional, but rather an historical look at some of the earliest games notated. There is some duplication of information, and some run-on sentences as would be expected from English text written in 1893 which seems to be the latest reference to chess in the book. Remarkably, it is two years before the amazing tournament of 1895 in Hastings that remains a classic to this day. For any fan of chess interested in its obscure and speculated history, this is a worthy read.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-01-26 00:00:00 Wheaton Illinois This is a very scattered and odd book. The author skips around a lot and spends more time talking about his contemporaries than the history of chess. The sections on history are repetitive and read much like notes the guy took to write a book, rather than an actual book. It is annoying that he refers to himself in the third person, and even praises himself. I would have stopped reading it very soon after starting, but I was fascinated by this train wreck. I have never read a book so poorly put together. Amazing!