Dutch grandmaster Hans Ree is a columnist and chess writer for the NRC Handelsblad, and also contributes to the leading chess magazine New in Chess. His earlier publications include Een blinde reus (A Blind Giant, 1989), Rode dagen en zwarte dagen (Red Days, Black Days, 1993) and Schaakstukjes (Chess Pieces, 1993).
(L.J. Veen, 1997, 336 pages)
In the 1920s, gloom-mongers predicted the death of chess – the players’ technique and knowledge would soon reach such heights that they would no longer be able to defeat each other. Every game would end as a bloodless draw. Bobby Fischer, the 1972 world champion, has also predicted the game’s decline, saying that studying seems to have become more important than playing. The top players’ technique has now improved enormously since the 1920s and the introduction of computers has led to great leaps forward in chess players’ theoretical and tactical insight. The result of these developments however has not been the predicted death by draws, but modern top level chess: lively…
