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This book is a labour of love by John Beasley, author and
columnist for Endgame Studies, British Chess Magazine. Artur Mandler
(1891-1971) was a brilliant endgame composer and analyst. He was a
close friend of Reti whose studies he collected and published in 1931. This book is a critical edition of his work Studie (Prague, 1970), a collection of his endgame compositions. It deservedly won the Arves Book of the Year Award. [Arves is the world’s leading association of endgame study enthusiasts. It publishes the international magazine EG and also books on endgame studies.] Mandler was a product of the rich chess culture of Central Europe that produced great players like Duras and Reti. The flair of these masters for the endgame led them to the art of composition. Their example was followed by Hašek, Moravec and Mandler. Mandler, like his mentor Reti, was a master of the natural endgame study. The author asserts that the standard of their work has been equaled only by the famous Russian composer, Nikolai Grigoriev. The title of this book is inspired by the words of John Roycroft, the doyen of endgame studies. In a tribute after Mandler’s death, he summed up the master’s work in two sentences: “Here is no depth for depth’s sake. Instead, subtlety, beauty and economy combine… into one glorious achievement.”
Similarly John Beasley, the translator of this book, has left nothing to chance:
The result of this meticulous work showed that about three-quarters of Mandler’s work were sound. Indeed, his standards of accuracy, living as he did in the pre-computer era, were high. The material of the book is divided as under: Chapter 1 Pawn studies This is followed by four Appendices: A. Two personal appreciations This last section includes the flawed studies and analysis showing what is wrong with them. The author spares none. The first of these is a dedicatory problem to František Macek, a dear friend of Mandler. At the end of the refutation John Beasley writes:
This does not prevent him from offering his own composition as a tribute to the master’s memory! This book is the outcome of extraordinary research and sets standards of excellence worthy of emulation. I have chosen relatively easy examples from the book so that the solver is not daunted by the task and also enjoys the composition. The first study illustrates a simple theme: How to catch a stray knight in the ending. I
The second study offers a little combination with a remarkable feint by the White prelate to prevail over his counterpart. II
The third study is a pawn ending with a march and countermarch by the opposing monarchs. III
The last study offers a cut and thrust battle between the white king and the black bishop. The honours are even. IV
Highly recommended.
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Chessville
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How
good is this hyperbole? Today endgame studies (both past and present)
are subjected to the pitiless glare of computer analysis. When John
Nunn had to select studies for his work
