My system should be your system?

One of the greates classics of chess literature. That's at least what it says on the cover. But let's not judge a book by the cover. Instead, we could listen to what others have said about this book.

In his review of My system, John Watson writes: "We no longer consider many classics to be essential to a chess education, not since the Internet; but if there’s an exception, Nimzowitch’s work is it". These are big words from a big man. Watson is an authority of chess theory, so his evaluation should not be taken too lightly.

Although My system has frequently been mentioned among the greatest books of all time, and has been recommended by many players, it has also been the subject of controversy. Of course, when the book was first published (almost 100 years ago), many ideas in the book challenged many of the established principles of chess theory at the time, and other authorities dismissed the ideas. But also to this day, many people are unimpressed with the book and the ideas that Nimzowitsch presents. GM Yasser Seirawan has reportedly deemed the book unreadable, and GM Nigel Short has suggested that the book should be banned. This might be a bit exaggerated and perhaps tongue-in-cheek, but I am thinking there is no smoke without fire. The book has its fair share of followers and critics. So let's take a closer look at this classic.

What can you expect from this book?

At the time of its initial publication, this book was quite unique. Nimzowitsch presents this as a book that covers all aspects of the chess game, and claims that this had not been attempted by any other author at the time. In the foreword, he writes that he has written the first real textbook of chess, and not just on the opening. Notwithstanding the validity of this claim, the book does cover all aspects of the game. However, the main focus is on the middlegame and positional play. Other aspects, such as the opening and tactics, are discussed in relation to positional considerations.

The book was initially not written as a book, but a series of articles or pamphlets. A consequence of this is that the book feels rather fragmented, and the overall structure is not as clear as readers of modern chess books are accustomed to. The book consists of five sections (the original pamphlets) which in turn are divided into a total of 14 chapters.

1. The center and development
2. Open lines for rooks
3. The 7th and 8th row
4. The passed pawn
5. Trading pieces
6. Elements of endgame strategy
7. Pinned pieces
8. Discovered attacks
9. The pawn chain
10. Elements of positional play
11. Double pawns and blockading
12. The isolated queen's pawn
13. Over protection of strong squares
14. Maneuvering towards a weakness

You can find several samples of the book on various pages. Here is one such example where you can find more details about the structure of the book.

Each topic is discussed and presented in detail. And examples are given in the form of constructed positions as well as annotated games. However, it is not always easy to follow Nimzo's train of thought. His writing style is quite eccentric and he makes repeated references to authorities and topics that were 'hot' in the chess community at the time. Unless you are well versed in chess history, it may be difficult to keep up at times.

In My system, Nimzowitsch presents a number of principles that nowadays are universally accepted (of course with some exceptions). Here are some examples of principles that you will find in the book:

• Rooks belong on open files
• A forepost should be occupied by a knight
• A forepost on the flank should be occupied by a rook
• A rook on the seventh rank is strong
• Don't grab pawns in the opening
• Take a center pawn if it can be done without risk
• Rooks belong behind passed pawns
• A pawn chain should be attacked at its base

You will probably come across most of these principles in other books that cover fundamental chess strategy, but Nimzowitsch doesn't present the principles in such a dry and plain fashion as I have done in the list above. Instead, he often uses peculiar references and a very particular sense of humor. For example, when discussing the principle of pawn grabbing in the opening, he draws a parallel to a child who wants to invest in the stockmarket. Why would a child want stocks? Just like a chess game in the opening phase, the child is not fully developed, and should focus on other things before making serious investments.

Mr. Candidate (a.k.a. the f-pawn)

Another example of some peculiar Nimzo-humor is his prescription for creating a passed pawn. When one side has a pawn majority, the unopposed pawn deserves particular respect. In the diagram above, the f-pawn is the candidate to become a passed pawn. Nimzowitsch therefore suggests that the pawn should be given the title Mr Candidate (Herr Kandidat), and with such a title also should be given preference over the other pawns. He could just as well have written something like "the unopposed pawn should move first", but that may not be as effective or memorable. This example has stuck in my memory since I first read the book 15 years ago, so at least for me personally, this writing style seems to be rather effective.

I would like to indicate the practical chances that knowledge of my system will provide. Good ideas will come more easily. The journey is more comfortable if you know the landscape. Here, a forepost waves at you. There, the seventh row 'absolute' blooms. And here, a protected passed pawn smiles at us and wishes happy travels...

This kind of dry chess humor is similar to the writing style of Jeremy Silman. The same kind of humor is also used by GM Simon Williams, who has made "Harry the h-pawn" a celebrity. For some readers, this can enhance the reading experience and make it easier to remember the content. But others may find it silly and annoying, and therefore put the book away. So know yourself before reading this book.

As stated above, there are many opinions about My system, and much has been written about it. I can recommend John Watson's review, which goes into some detail about the book and how it compares to current chess theory.

There are many versions of this book. If you choose to read it, you may want to spend some time finding a good edition. My version is a Swedish translation, which I found to be quite good. The original was written in German, and in some cases the translation has apparently not been very successful. John Watson (again) has described one such example in one of his reviews. Apparently, some versions have also been censored for some reason.

Who should read this book

For me personally, this was my first chess book, and I did not really understand much at the time when I first read it. As a more experienced player, it is much easier to relate to the discussions in the book. I can recommend it for players that have a good grasp of the fundamentals and chess terminology. In terms of rating, the book should be a good read for players around 1500 and upwards. The book is dense, with a lot of valuable information. However, it is not presented in the same reader friendly format that many modern chess books are. The writing style, language and structure all contribute to make it less easily digested. But if you can see past this and are prepared to put in some work to really engage with the content, you will probably come out as a stronger player.

About this book

Author:	Aaron Nimzowitsch
Title:	My system
Type of book:	Middlegame
Level:	Intermediate