In my personal ranking list "Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953", by David Bronstein, is one of the top books - if not the first -. I don't remember if anyone buy it, or if my brother or me won it in any summer tournament (books was the prizes!).
What is the "key" of this book? I think it is easy and difficult at the same time: Bronstein tell us all the games of a great tournament (Candidates, 1953) in accesible words, speaking about the ideas of one move here, the plan of one side in next moves or a beautiful combination there. And anyone can understand this language...
I will show any examples which I like of this "classic". I hope you like them!
Next game was one of the best of Zurich, played on round 2. I have preserved the original comments - including one or two by Kasparov -
The critical position. White tries, for example, Rf1 and Nf5.
But the black's answer is very direct!
I enjoy black's encouragement to play in such energetic way, showing that all types of positions have "plus" and "minuses".
Next game become famous too, and Petrosian repeated that exchange sacrifice - a rook changed by a knight - occasionally. White is threatening e5-e6 proximately, and black pieces are not prepared for such advance: Nc6 and Re7 are bad situated, for example, but Petrosian found an antidote...
Of course there was too comments about openings - normally not very extensive -, but any dramatic game hardly came to middlegame. Here is it:
I keep in my mind clearly the next diagram. The ending position was put to me by one of my trainers time ago, and I had to dive in a possible continuation (commented by Bronstein, but I didn't remember it).
So, the correct moves (40, 41 and 42) are in the book's lines, but not the complete ending, which was a fruit of my headache :-P and have possibly a lot of mistakes...
But if you want to learn really good chess concepts, the next attack is for you. In a king's indian defence - not so explored as in recent times -, Najdorf played the "new" Yugoslav attack. White tried to play the break in the queenside with c4-c5 and, in turn, black played f5-f4, followed by g5-g4.
Bronstein comments: "Taimanov's kingside defensive array appears most imposing: the pawns on light squares form a kind of toothed fortress wall, with the dark-square bishop covering the gaps between the teeth. But if the position be examined without prejudgment, then it would be nave to speak of any sort of advantage to White.
Could Black hope to obtain more from the opening than the development of all his pieces, the advance f7-f5-f4, occupation of the dark squares and substantial attacking prospects on the kingside? Naturally, view of the extreme sharpness of the position, Black must play exactly, combining his attack with defense of the queen's wing, especially d6 and c7 - and seize every tactical chance."
To continue with effectivity Black needs to open lines. Not only columns for the rooks, as well diagonals for the Bg7. With the next move all dark squares surrounding white's king will go to black's hands; concretely for Bg7 and knights.
You know I am not lying to you if I say that black pieces are dominating the board :-) It is only neccesary to say "checkmate", and there is not only one way. Najdorf played the beautiful 33... Bh3!, and David Ionovich comments:
"What a picture! The queen's wing is by now completely deserted, while seven pieces assail the white king; now the square g2 is attacked four times, and there is obviously nothing left to defend it with: on 34 gxh3 there follows mate in three moves, and 34...Rxf3 is threatened too."
I can not say more... the end was:
A great game! The plans with c4-c5 for white and f5-f4, g6-g5, h7-h5 and finally g5-g4 have been played from that time in a lot of games, including Kasparov, for example, with any impressive victories.
Ok, this is the end of the first comment about Bronstein's book. I hope you liked it, and I will see you on the second "report"!! :-)