Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

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John Upham
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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by John Upham » Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:53 pm

Tim Harding wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 4:40 pm
Nick Ivell wrote:
Wed Jul 07, 2021 3:10 pm
My Unknown Capa is Batsford. Hardback.

As I recall, Dover were all paperbacks. They probably deserve a separate thread, but my favourite was the Tarrasch games (by Reinfeld I think).
,..
Dover is a reprint house. They don't publish original titles but quite often have incorporated revisions and additional material in their editions.
Who was the driving force behind Dover chess publications? I would ask the same question about George Bell and Sons Ltd if that is OK.
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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jul 09, 2021 5:56 pm

I very much liked Improve Your Chess Fast from club player to expert, Alberic O'Kelly de Galway. Not sure exactly when it was published, but mid 1970s. I think it is an excellent self-teaching resource for anyone rated say from 1200 to 1700. I remember it well as a school-boy struggling to understand chess and improve, out in the sticks without access to a large library of chess books or to any strong players (at all) for advice.

There were many horrendous books available, the old pot-boilers from Reinfeld, Horowitz, Chernev, etc., packed full of bad advice, fake histories and the imperative to play "brilliantly" at the cost of playing "well".

There were also opening books (and some of the Batsford books written by Keene, Hartston, Botterill, Moles, Levy and the like have been quoted), but they still suffered from the vice of giving lots of variations, but few (if any) complete illustrative games. They were thus aimed for expert players (or suckers).

O'Kelly's book and its follow-up ("Assess...") were different. It actually tried to teach all the skills of tactical, positional, opening and endgame play, assuming a low initial level, but the will to work hard and a little determination.

I would also like to recommend Owen Hindle's book, Book 2 in the blue RHP series eidted by PH Clarke from the 1960s. Further steps in chess, Owen Hindle, RHP 1968, ISBN 0 7100 5202 2/0 7100 5202 7 for the pb. Not Batsford, obviously, but a good explanatory text, well thought out with lots of well chosen game samples.

Sadly I see that the crooks of Ishi Press have stolen O'Kelly's book and are hawking it in their usual flagrant disregard of copyright.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Jul 09, 2021 5:59 pm

Dover appears to have been a New York company. No idea who the driving force was.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:01 pm

Some of the opening books had dodgy analysis.

I think it was Tony Miles who pointed out a howler by Levy in the Dragon book, where Black lost a piece in less than ten moves.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:07 pm

I'm wondering if Dover published anything original.

I now see that my treasured Tarrasch book was originally published by Chatto & Windus.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Tim Harding » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:13 pm

Yes Dover are based in Mineola on Long Island.
No, as I said in an earlier post, they were a reprint house and did not do original books.
They dealt (deal?) with authors to whom rights reverted when the original publisher didn't want to reprint.

I would have to dig through archive boxes with ancient contracts to see who I dealt with and it may have been somebody else originally. Not a known chess master anyway. I'm not sure if they are still taking on further chess titles.

I have no idea who was behind the George Bell & Son list in the latter days, maybe Hugh Alexander advised? Before him, probably Du Mont; they were doing chess books in the 1920s and 1930s. Maybe Leonard would know.

When did Bell's last do a chess book? I think Peter Clarke's on Petrosian must have been one of the final titles (1964)?
I don't think they ventured into algebraic.
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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:17 pm

Was Keene's best book (on Nimzo) not a Bell?

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:19 pm

I cannot think of a single memorably good book by Dover. I can think of several memorably bad books, though. And they had a horrible practise of taking a previously published and excellent book, then abridging it, so that all that was good in the book vanished. Their edition of Bronstein's 200 Open Games is a notorious example. Get the Batsford edition.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:20 pm

Nick Ivell wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:17 pm
Was Keene's best book (on Nimzo) not a Bell?
I have this in a Bell edition, yes.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Nick Ivell » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:24 pm

Dover printed a lot of excellent game collections. For example, their book on Keres contains some of his brilliant early correspondence games.

Every chess library should have a smattering of Dover.

Strangely, although paperbacks, they big themselves up as 'permanent' - meant to last. I have not found this to be the case.

A collectable book must be hardback!

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Paul McKeown » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:27 pm

Nick Ivell wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:24 pm
Every chess library should have a smattering of Dover.
I would absolutely disagree, however de gustibus non est disputandum.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by JustinHorton » Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:27 pm

Paul McKeown wrote:
Fri Jul 09, 2021 6:19 pm
I cannot think of a single memorably good book by Dover.
Dunno about memorably good, but I always liked Pachman's Decisive Games In Chess History, and should maybe have paid more attention to Renaud and Kahn's Art of The Checkmate. Oh, there was also Botvinnik's One Hundred Selected Games, which is probably not a classic but occupied lots of my time as a kid.

Checking my bookshelves I find Coles' Dynamic Chess, which I think was a well-considered book in its day, and some well-known old tournament books - Alekhine on New York 1924 and Nottingham 1936, and of course Bronstein on Zurich 1953.
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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by JohnBass » Fri Jul 09, 2021 9:33 pm

Not to defend Dover Publications, but I have in my collection:

Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 by Bronstein
100 Soviet Chess Miniatures by PH Clarke
A Guide to Chess Endings by Euwe and Hooper
The Art of the Middle Game by Keres and Kotov
One Hundred Selected Games by Botvinnik
Rubinstein's Chess Masterpieces by Kmoch

All decent (and some excellent) books, in my opinion.

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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Fri Jul 09, 2021 10:27 pm

No less a modern writer than John Nunn rates Chernev's best work, its certainly wrong to think of him as just a producer of "potboilers".
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Re: Best Bob Wade era Hardback Batsford book

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sat Jul 10, 2021 12:33 am

Tartakowers best Games and 500 Master Games with Du Mont are Dover although the latter
and possibly the former started as Bells as did '100 Soviet Chess Miniatures'.
I think Bells split the Tartakowers Best Games into two hardbacks, Dover joined them together.

I can honestly say I played over every game in Tartakowers Best Games.
That book and Tarrasch best games by Reinfeld is another I completed. Two wonderful books.

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