Rating: 
Summary: Lacking in detail
Review: "500 Master Games Of Chess" is a reissue of a little-known 1938 book in three volumes that covers a large number of interesting games of chess played up to the time of Alekhine.The book classifies its games according to the opening, and because it deals with large numbers of early games many involve openings unfamiliar to the present-day chess player. As to how good the choice of games is it is most difficult for me to judge, but many of them were already familiar to me from reading on Chess as a child. What really makes this book by no means ideal to increase one's knowledge of chess, however, is the fact that none of the many games included are annotated or analysed with anything like enough detail to permit the casual reader with little time on his/her hands to understand exactly what went on during the course of these games. Thus, the games feel to the reader who knows anything about Chess to be merely recorded. Never is analysis of critical moves or mistakes given with an understanding of alternative routes the games shown could have taken. What annotation exists does little for the games at all. On the whole, this is more a collection of games than a book, and can best be described as of moderate value only.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic Collection of important games
Review: 500 MASTER GAMES OF CHESS contains a fantastic collection of lightly annotated games. The games are arranged by opening making it easy for you to concentrate on games using openings you are interested in studying.
The games are all older and the book are not in Algebraic Notation. Though, with this in mind this book is a must for any series student wanting access to some of the most theoretically important games over a wide period of chess history.
Rating:
Summary: What a classic!
Review: An absolute classic of a chess book. If you are a serious player and you don't have this book, shame on you! Play through the great games of legends such as Capablanca, Lasker and Alekhine and enjoy the annotations. See how the games and notes make the game appear to be so easy and compare the enjoyment of the annotations to today's "Informator" style. A great value publication that you will enjoy for years upon years upon years.
Rating:
Summary: Why is this a good book??
Review: Here's why! Chess games have come a long way since the 19th century, and in my opinion recent GM games have most of its charm. But the games from this book are 50+ years old, and the players varied. We have Stenitz the defensive master, Blackburne and Anderssen's attacking games, Capablanca's simplicity, and Sultan Khan's positional masterpeices. Not to mention Lasker, Morphy, Botvinnik, Charousek, Pillsbury and a host of others. In essence it is a complete book, which includes the most well known games. And the most important reason why this book is good? Because it brings the art back into chess, playing the game for the love of it!! Will it improve your rating? Dunno! Will it improve your understanding and love of chess? Surely!!
Rating:
Summary: A great collection of annotated games
Review: I bought this book when searching for a collection of annotated master games, so that I could study and improve my own games. This book is a treasure trove of fabulous chess games, carefully annotated by a grandmaster that was legendary in his time and by a chess editor that has a lot of experience under his belt. The annotations are very clear and concise, highlighting themes and individual combinatoral genius as it occurs. It is on par with the annotations made by Alekhine in his two volume set "My Best Games of Chess". This book was written in the age of descriptive notation. So, you will not find algebraic notation in this book anywhere. It is easy enough to translate between the two, and readers who are willing to make the translation will be rewarded with the masterpiece of a game as they play through it. Of course, there are databases out there that have these games in algebraic notation, should the reader be put off by such activity. This book is a 3-volume set bound into one cover, categorized into open games, semi-open games, and closed games. This makes this book not only a great value (can't beat the price with a stick!), but it makes finding specific TYPES of games easy. In addition, the table of contents goes one step further by stating the opening used in each game. Some of the openings have fallen out of vogue since the publication of this book, but they still provide an excellent study in classical chess. This book is a great value, essentially giving the reader three books in one cover for the cost of less than one single volume. Sure, the notation is an old style system, but it's more than outweighed by the quality of the games, notations, and cost. This book is an absolute bargain.
Rating:
Summary: A very very good book...
Review: I have used this book for practically anything with regards to that wonderful game called Chess: skittles, replays of famous games, chess opening repertoire (though dated), preparation for tournaments, and merely to amuse myself on a dull stretch of time. This book has actually improved my games. It is a very instructive compendium of master games, annotated by a GM himself. It contains the immortal games of the master, pre-1940. Like Anderssen's Evergreen game, Lasker's beautiful 2-Bishop sac against Bird, or Nimzovitch's immortal Zugzwang, or the highly exhilirating period pieces by Alekhine. Man, this is like Chess's Greatest Hits before the 40s. Though, it could be a bit ancient for those above master strength, it is a thoroughly enjoyable book, wherein one can pick a strategy or two. This book is arranged by openings, and does always try to include very tactical games, solid positional gems and with some delicious chess trivia minutiae. With all its masterful annotations, this book, at this price, is a steal. I wish some GM could come up with a book like this, with the games from 60s to the 90s. A must own, believe me...
Rating:
Summary: Lacking in detail
Review: I played through darn near every game in this book, and if I missed a couple it wasn't because I meant to! I found Tartakower's annotations to be extremely helpful and fun to read. By the time you finish this great book, you'll have a complete openings course! They're all of course old variations, and I'm sure that if you used a computer (or are yourself a grandmaster) you'll probably find errors or that many lines are sub-optimal. However, I found some of the neglected lines absolutely inspiring, and I loved the selection of very exciting games, lots of beautiful combinations. If you want to see how the "Old Masters" played the game, I recommend this very entertaining and refreshing text!
Rating:
Summary: A book with soul
Review: Tartakower wrote a masterpiece to remain forever. 500 completely anotated games from the past is a treasure. Forget about the fact that computer programs can trash these games and think about those days when people actually played chess over the board. The collection of games is classified according to the openings and is presented impecably so that the reader can browse the book in specific sections. The players index also facilitates studying games from a particular master from the past. I very much enjoy using this book because one of the advices that I received from a very strong player long time ago is that I must emulate a classical player and understand his game completely to incorporate his ideas on my game 9Simple enough, I copied the openings repertoire of a very strong player and literally studied all of his games.) Dover produces excellent books and this one is no exception.
Rating:
Summary: A book with soul
Review: Tartakower wrote a masterpiece to remain forever. 500 completely anotated games from the past is a treasure. Forget about the fact that computer programs can trash these games and think about those days when people actually played chess over the board. The collection of games is classified according to the openings and is presented impecably so that the reader can browse the book in specific sections. The players index also facilitates studying games from a particular master from the past. I very much enjoy using this book because one of the advices that I received from a very strong player long time ago is that I must emulate a classical player and understand his game completely to incorporate his ideas on my game 9Simple enough, I copied the openings repertoire of a very strong player and literally studied all of his games.) Dover produces excellent books and this one is no exception.
Rating:
Summary: A chess treasuretrove
Review: This is a Dover reprint of the classic work originally published by G. Bell & Sons in two volumes during the early 1950's. The games (in fact totalling over 600) are arranged in opening classification, which presents a very good view of the evolution of opening theory. Although, every game is a classic, and all of the great players are well represented, the collection ends in the late 1930's (ie. being followed by 100 Master Games of Chess, also by Dover, and also at Amazon). All games are well annotated, and the authors are careful to preserve the right balance between simplicity and detail. The English descriptive notation used may seem a bit dated to one grown up with the modern algebraic format, however, it is refreshing to get away from the increasingly common 'Informator' style notes that read like train timetables. In short, this is a veritable treasure trove of classic chess games that will repay close study, and a lesson on how chess books should be written. In this, Dover has preserved their excellent reputation for a high quality, and value-for-money publication that should stand up to years of use.
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