Sorry this review took so long, I had to finish checking Garry's analysis.    Has any world chess champion ever written so prolifically, after becoming world champion?

◦ Garry Kasparov's Chess Puzzle Book
◦ Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors Part 1
◦ Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors Part II
◦ Lessons in chess
◦ Garry Kasparov on Fischer: My Great Predecessors part 4
◦ Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors Part III
◦ Checkmate!  My First Chess Book
◦ Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, part 5
◦ Garry Kasparov On Modern Chess Part One Revolution in the '70s
◦ Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 2: Kasparov vs Karpov 1975-1985
◦ Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 3: Kasparov vs Karpov 1986-1987
◦ Checkmate Tactics
◦ Garry Kasparov on Modern Chess, Part 4: Kasparov vs Karpov 1988-2009

And that's just the titles from Everyman Chess!  But let's get back to this book...

This volume looks at Kasparov's 5th (!!!!!) World Championship match with Anatoly Karpov ('the eternal opponent'), played out in 1990 over two continents - the first half of the match in New York, the second half in London.

An amusing account is provided of the controversy surrounding Kasparov's choice to play under the Russian flag, rather than that of the Soviet Union.  This decision provoked a furor within Karpov's delegation, leading to official protests and eventually the comic scene of the playing stage being adorned with the US (remember the first half of the match was being played in New York) Soviet, and French flags, which someone had mistaken with the Russian.

Kasparov also analyzes his other OTB confrontations with Karpov during the latter stage of his career, including "the star-studded USSR Championship (Moscow, 25 July - 19 August 1988) ...the last in history to attract the entire cream of Soviet chess" and the final fizzle - a rapid & blitz match in Valencia, 2009.

The quality and depth of the analysis is already legendary, with Kasparov putting not just his own deep thinking to work, checked by the latest (and strongest!) computer assistants.  Really making things sparkle is the inclusion of so many other commentator's analysis, frequently corrected by Kasparov.  He is just as quick to criticize his own, earlier, mistaken analysis.

Along with his analysis, Kasparov reveals much of the opening preparation he and his seconds/trainers worked through, offering many variations and side lines, with references to stem games played as long ago as the 1800s!  E.g., in analyzing the 9th game of his 5th match with Karpov, a Grünfeld Defence - D85, he devotes nearly a full page to the position after 8.Qd2.  The first ten moves consume slightly more than two full pages.

What really makes the book fascinating though, is the back-story Kasparov provides for each game, and for the wider chess world.  He does more than merely 'setting-the-stage', he delves into the psychological state of both players, the surrounding chaos, and the reactions of the chess world to the events both on and off the board.

Kasparov recounts the "heyday of the Grandmasters Association" and the abortive attempt to (at last) wrest control of the championship away from FIDE via creation of yet another body - the Professional Chessplayer's Association:

At the time, in 1993, I dreamed of uniting the ideas of the PCA and the GMA, their managerial and trades union functions.  I hoped that Short would rally Western grandmasters around the new project, but it quickly became clear that he did not enjoy sufficient prestige among them.  Alas, under the fire of constant criticism it did not prove possible to create an efficient infrastructure, although in 1993-95 we found - for the only time in chess history! - a powerful corporate sponsor, and for the first time the leasing grandmasters made proper earnings.  But we were let down by the lack of solidarity.

The dismal state of chess since the end of the 20th century, the fact that it has effectively become the property of the President of Kalmykia, is in my view a direct consequence of the fact that the breakthrough, prepared by the GMA in 1990 and almost carried out by the PCA in 1995, was not supported by the chess elite.  They wanted also to be fed by FIDE, and in addition they were afraid of the 'Kasparov dictatorship'.  Thus a rare historic opportunity was missed.  It stands to reason that I bear the moral responsibility for this, but it should also be shared with those who categorically refused to support me and did everything possible to prevent the necessary changes.

Is it just me, or does that come across as slightly whiney?  It's Short's fault, for lacking 'prestige' and the chess elite, for wanting to be 'fed by FIDE'.  Politics, they say, is the art of the possible, and as yet Kasparov has not shown that mastery of the chessboard translates to mastery of the possible.

Eventually, as all things must end, so did the 'Duumvirate' of the Super-Ks, who had dominated chess for so long, as a new generation of strong young super-GMs began to take their rightful places at the table: Kramnik, Anand, Topalov...  This too, is recounted by Kasparov, perhaps with a twinge of sentimental regret for the passing of an era which saw him atop the chess world, yet always seemingly as an outsider, never with the complete support of FIDE's mercurial president, Florencio Campomanes, and later his successor, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

One thing missing from this otherwise riveting account are the photographs.  No pictures of the principal combatants, nor of the other myriad of chess stars and personalities referred to in the book.  No doubt Garry's photo albums must positively bulge with fascinating portraits of the times, yet none of this is shared here with the reader, much to our loss.

This book is a fascinating and instructive account of an important part of the Kasparov reign at the top of the chess world.  It should be a part of any serious student of chess history's library.
 

From the Publisher's website:  Garry Kasparov is generally regarded as the greatest chess player ever.  He was the thirteenth World Champion, holding the title between 1985 and 2000.  His tournament record is second to none, featuring numerous wins in the world's major events, often by substantial margins.  As well as his outstanding successes, Kasparov has constantly promoted the game; he has done more than anyone to popularise chess in modern times.  Download paper book sample (pdf).

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