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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.

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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 And secondly, I thought a 100 year old book would be outdated and irrelevant.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
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