Skip to main content

Lessons from a legend

What if you could get chess lessons from a former world champion? Would you say yes? This is a question that Kostya Kavutskiy asked in a recent video. I decided to accept that offer, and during the past few weeks, I've spent some quality time with the third world champion, José Capablanca. In his 100 year old book, he outlines some of the most important principles of chess. If you haven't already read this book, maybe you should? Hopefully, this review will help to decide if this book is for you.

If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details.
Become a Patron! 

What can you expect from this book?

Several world champions (most of them?) have written books for advanced players. Capablanca is one of the few who have written chess books for beginners and intermediate players. And his book Chess Fundamentals is a classic introductory book. Many people have recommended it, and I've had it on my reading list for a long time. 

I put it on my reading list, not because I wanted to read it, but because I've felt obligated – just because it's a classic.  And to be honest, I didn't read it before, because I've had some preconceptions about the book. First of all, I was under the impression that it's too basic for my level. And secondly, I thought a 100 year old book would be outdated and irrelevant. Boy, was I wrong!

As the title suggests, Chess Fundamentals takes you through the fundamental principles of chess. In the foreword from 1934, Capablanca writes as follows:
In chess the tactics may change but the strategic fundamental principles are always the same, so that Chess Fundamentals [...] will be as good a hundred years from now; as long in fact as the laws and rules of the game remain what they are at present. The reader may therefore go over the contents of the book with the assurance that there is in it everything he needs, and that there is nothing to be added and nothing to be changed.
I think Capablanca may have exaggerated when he claimed that this book is everything you need, but it does cover a lot. The book is divided into two parts; the first part is the "text book" and the second part is a presentation of 14 of Capablancas own games. 

The 14 annotated games that make up part 2 is a bit different from what you'd expect. A refreshing touch is that Capablanca doesn't just highlights his brilliant wins. He also presents some of his most painful losses, and critiques his own play. Part 1 consists of six chapters. They all cover a variety of topics, but here is a rough summary:

Chapter 1General principles
Chapters 2 & 5Endgames
Chapters 3 & 4Middlegames
Chapter 6Opening principles and pawn structure

Capablanca was a strong proponent of the principle that you should begin your chess journey by studying the endgame. This is something that is clearly reflected in the book. The endgame takes up a large proportion of the book. Capablanca goes through just about every ending you can think of, from single pawns, through bishop and knight, two bishops and even the infamous queen vs rook ending. There is also a bit of endgame strategy in there. 

Regarding openings and middlegames, Capablanca covers some of the most important principles, but not with the same level of detail as the endgame.

Although the material is dense, this is not a large book. I was familiar with most of its contents, so I finished it in a few hours. But if you're encountering these things for the first time, you should be prepared to put in considerably more time to really absorb the lessons for all that they're worth. There are several endings that I've not yet mastered, so I think I'll have to revisit this book and work through them properly.

I spent the most time with part 2 of the book, the annotated games. I used these games as a part of my analytical training. I downloaded pgns of all the 14 games and put them into a lichess study. I then analyzed and annotated the games to the best of my abilities, and then compared my analyses to what Capablanca writes in his book. I also had Stockfish go over all the games and evaluate my (and Capablanca's) analyses. I found this to be an extremely rewarding exercise, and I suggest you try it.

The book has received mixed reviews on various sites, for instance on Goodreads. Many reviews seem to concern the print quality or changes made by the editors. And this is an important point. There are many versions of the book out there, and the quality varies. In some versions, the print quality is so bad that one might think it's been photocopied from the original text from 1921. And most versions are in descriptive notation. This is not necessarily a problem (you can learn descriptive!), but most modern readers will prefer an algebraic version. 

I read the algebraic edition from Everyman Chess, which I really liked. And many of you will have seen that there's a new version from Martin Justesen (SayChess) on the way. I've had the privilige of taking a sneak peek at it, and I think it looks great. So I suggest you keep an eye out for that!
I am deeply impressed by Capablanca's ability to explain important concepts in a clear and concise manner. The book is only about 120 pages (depending on the edition), but still manages to cover a lot of ground. The examples are well-selected and the explanations are to the point. There is little to no "filler" material in this book, which is something I've also noticed in other old chess books, such as Common sense in chess, The art of the middlegame and Chess master vs chess amateur. All of these are very "compact" and concise.

If you want to learn more about this book, I recommend you take a look at the review from Chess Atlas. You can also find previews on Google books. And if you're interested, I have created a graphical summary (mindmap) that you can find on my Patreon page.

Update: You can now get the 100 year anniversary edition here: capablancachessbooks.com

Who should read this book?

If you are fairly new to chess, or inexperienced when it comes to the endgame, this is a good book for you. In terms of playing strength, I believe that players in the range 1200-1600 will get the most benefit. So if this sounds like you, I strongly recommend that you read this book. Stronger players will probably not find much new material, but may enjoy going through the annotated games or just enjoy reading a true chess classic. I know I did.

About this book

Author:José R. Capablanca
Title:Chess Fundamentals
Type of book:Game collection, Middlegame, Endgame
Level:Beginner, Intermediate
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular reviews

Chaos on the board

Have you ever felt tired of chess? Maybe you’ve been uninspired or perhaps you think it’s too much work. To paraphrase a famous movie: All work and no play makes you a dull person. If that is the case, I may have a cure. You need a fun chess book. Something that will rekindle your joy for the game and inspire you to play creatively. I give you Tiger’s Chaos Theory ! This book found me at a time when I needed it the most. My inspiration and motivation to study chess was way down. And like a bolt from the blue, the Swedish Chess Federation approached me and wanted me to review this book. And the kind people at Quality Chess agreed to send me a review copy. An offer I couldn't refuse. So after this happy turn of events, I have a new review for you. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from this book? Grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson, a multi-time Swedish chess champion, has al...
Post a Comment
Read more

Under the surface

I did something different. I bought a chess book without doing any research. I decided to reward myself with a new book after having written ten reviews. So I asked my friends on Twitter for suggestions, and someone suggested that I take a look at the book Under the surface by Jan Markos. Since the book is quite new, I couldn't find much information about it, so I decided to blindly trust the recommendation. Luckily, I was not let down. What can you expect from this book? I am not the only one who has done something different. Jan Markos did the same when he wrote Under the surface . He takes a quite philosophical approach to chess, which should probably be expected from a former student of philosophy. This comes across quite clearly in his choice of chapter titles. The names "Magnetic Skin", "Anatoly Karpov's Billiard Balls" and "On the Breaking Ice" are not the most transparent chapter titles in the world. But once you get under the surfa...
Post a Comment
Read more

Judgement and planning

Some books "fly under the radar" and do not get the same attention as the evergreen classics. But sometimes, there is gold in old mines. And I found a little golden nugget while shopping for used books. A book written for amateurs, by (arguably) the best amateur of all time; former world champion Max Euwe. Sounds promising, right? If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from this book? In my previous review of Chess Fundamentals , said that few world champions have written books for beginners and intermediate players. Capablanca is, of course, one exception. And another is Max Euwe. Euwe is not the most well-known world champion. He was in his prime in the 1930s and 1940s, most notably in 1935 when he dethroned none other than the great Alexander Alekhine. Although many have suggested that Alekhine only lost because of heavy use of alcohol, beating him is no small feat (rega...
Post a Comment
Read more

Master of strategy

During the past two years, I’ve been working on improving my strategic/positional play. In this process, I have read a number of books, and two books that have long been on my reading list are the strategy books by Johan Hellsten. So when the Swedish chess federation requested reviewers for two of these books, I didn’t hesitate. I am happy that I was given the opportunity to review these books, and hope this review can be of help to you as a reader. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from these books? Johan Hellsten has created a name for himself as one of the leading experts of chess strategy in modern times. His series of strategy books ( Mastering Opening Strategy , Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Endgame Strategy ) have received glowing reviews from many parts of the chess world. So it feels good to finally dig into these nuggets. His endgame book is still in my boo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Understanding middlegames

Have you ever found yourself unable to find a move in the middlegame? Of course you have. We all have. About ten years ago, this was a recurring problem for me, which led to a lot of frustration. My conclusion was that I needed to learn how understand middlegames. So what better way than to read a book with the title Understanding Chess Middlegames ? Sound like the perfect remedy, right? Ok, let's find out. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron!   What can you expect from this book? I first read this book when I was just starting to study chess seriously. I bought it after reading a recommendation in an online forum. I would say this was ten years ago, but the book came out 2011, so it couldn't have been before that. Anyhow, my playing strength was probably around 1200 (I was unrated at the time) and I was having trouble choosing moves in non-tactical positions. Basically, I was playing without ...
1 comment
Read more