A Chess Omnibus

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Summary: Fun Internet sites don't always make great books
Review: Edward Winter is familiar to on-line students of chess history through his long-running column at chesscafe.com. This book continues the tradition of chess scholarship he has shown there and in his similar book "Kings, Commoners and Knaves," but this time the effect, sad to say, is beginning to wear old. The problem is not that the material is ill-researched -- quite the contrary, it's as meticulously turned out as usual for Winter -- or uninteresting -- that's in the eye of the beholder. In all simplicity, it's that snippets and sound bites may be fine for a web site, but they don't make for a very good book. The free-ranging, vignette-oriented style characteristic of Winter's on-line column does not translate well into book form, creating a work that is disjointed to the point of being hard to read.

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Summary: Chess lore galore
Review: This is the third book of Edward Winter's that explores various aspects of chess lore in great detail (following on from Chess Explorations, and Kings, Commoners and Knaves). Winter has a derserved reputation as an excellent and exacting author, with very high standards in seeking chess truth and setting the record straight. His direct criticism and refusal to accept mediocrity, has often put him offside against some of the more frequent and sloppy chess authors. The book contents are presented in seven sections or themes (Positions, Games, Miscellaneous, Biography, Gaffes, Mysteries, and Quotes) and all are interesting, well researched, and unique in the sense of not being found anywhere else (except for some articles from his earlier Chess Notes series). Unlike the two previous publications, this book does not include Winter's book review section. Although missed, there is plenty of other excellent content that substitutes. The book is very hard to put down once started reading, and stimulates a continued interest in chess lore. See Winter's column on the excellent Chess Cafe site for an idea of the book's contents. Winter's knowledge of and keen interest in Capablanca continues throughout the book, and there are many excellent photos that bring the personalities to life. The book is excellently bound and presented and one of the best chess publications of 2003. It is unreservedly recommended for anyone with a keen interest in chess.