You are here: http://freeshell.de/~dunne/review.Kasparov.The_Test_of_Time.html

Go to: index | contact | blog | RSS


Book Review: The Test of Time

The Test of Time. Garry Kasparov. Pergamon Press. First edition 1986.

Translated by K. P. Neat, with a foreword from M. M. Botvinnik.

From the back cover:

This collection of his writings covers all his major chess events from 1978 to 1984, culminating in his victories in the World Championship Candidates Matches... He has become the youngest World Champion in history.

This takes us from the 14-year-old's first encounter with a Grandmaster (Lutikov, of whom I confess I had never heard), during the Sokolsky Memorial Tournament at Minsk in 1978, up to the young GM's Candidates Final match in 1984 against former world champion Smyslov (8½ - 4½, with Kasparov not losing a single game).

There are 86 games and 14 endings. The openings are overwhelmingly Queen's Pawn — there are only two Ruy Lopez (Spanish), for example — although Kasparov even in those days played the Sicilian as Black if given the chance.

The book is a real blast from the past, showing Kasparov as a model Soviet citizen, a far cry from the "dissident" he has since re-invented himself as always having been.

For so many years they had everything the Soviet System could offer to their favorite sons. The resources were nearly unlimited: money, goods, power and coaching help, thousands of man-hours of coaching help. I remember, in the 1980's every strong young player who got drafted to the Army would serve his duty in Karpov's training camps. Ivanchuk, Khalifman - you name them - were forced to work and produce results that later went to Karpov's cache of opening secrets. Karpov himself didn't even have to be there... . Soon Garry realized that in order to beat Karpov he had to do the same - off he went with the team of his own. Timoschenko, Vladimirov, Chekhov, later Dorfman, what made all these people, strong GMs at the time, sell themselves out? Some got lured by offers of money and tournament invitations, some operated under a wrong assumption that they will benefit as chessplayers from working with the greats. Like if plantation slaves would grow to become Schwartzeneggers.... Slave work kills, and our K's triumphantly marched over dead bodies. ... Why am I recalling this? Just want to remind you what it took to made Kasparov and Karpov great.

—Alex Yermolinsky, "The Yermo Diary", February 1998


Viewable with any browser

This page was brought to you by ksh, vi, m4, sed & make.
Last changed: Sun Mar 3 11:49:37 CET 2019