Book Review- My System by Aron Nimzowitsch
My System written by Aron Nimzowitsch is one of the “must study” books in chess literature. This book is classified under the ‘Chess classics’ category by Quality Chess. The book should be studied in the earlier stages of learning chess. This book was first published in the German language in 1925. But there was no English translation available. The first English translation was in the year 2005 which had alterations by the translators. So to give the audience the perfect meaning of what the author meant, Quality Chess published this book in 2007.
Author Of The Book – Aron Nimzowitsch
Publishing Year – 1925
Published By – Quality Chess
A Glimpse Of This Book
There are a lot of positions so I will share the topics only.
- The Elements
- The center and development
- The open file
- The 7th and 8th ranks
- The passed pawns
- Exchanging
- The elements of endgame strategy
- The pinned piece
- Discovered check
- The pawn chain.
- Positional Play
- Prophylaxis and the center
- Doubled pawns and restraint
- The Isolated Queen’s pawn and its descendants
- Overprotection and weak pawns
- Maneuvering
- Postscript: The history of the revolution in chess from 1911-1914.
These topics also have subtopics so one can go through them properly and study them well.
What To Expect?
The book covers basic elements like checkmate, notation, etc. It also has key topics like a rook on the seventh rank, quality of pieces, prophylaxis, and endgame. Although at a few points I did feel that the writer went astray but I feel he wanted to make a point by being creative.
What Is A Unique Thing In This Book?
The most unique fact I felt about this book is that it is written in 1925. The material is of such high quality that 95 years have passed and still all the concepts are relatable! Another mind-boggling fact is the author’s vision of prophylaxis. He knew the importance of prophylaxis long back.
Who Can Read? [audience]
As I mentioned earlier, this book has basic stuff and also high-level stuff. So you can learn accordingly. Even a newcomer to chess can start with this book.
What Did I Like?
When I was going through the contents (index) page, that itself made me fall in love with this book. The author has taken a significant effort to classify a lot of topics and include sub-topics accordingly. He has also provided key examples and also the crucial points or tips are highlighted. Also, the variety of topics covered gives the desire to study the book again.
From Where You Can Buy This Book?
This book is available on Amazon. As this book has been published in several languages, I have just attached the English version. You will also get this book from the bookstore and many other chess websites.
About The Book Author
Aron Nimzowitsch was among the top players during the 1920s to 1930s along with Alexander Alekhine, Jose Raul Capablanca, and Akiba Rubinstein. Besides being a top player, Aron Nimzowitsch also contributed to chess literature with his books.
The Publisher
Quality chess is a UK-based company. This was founded by GM Jacob Aagaard, GM John Shaw, and IM Ari Ziegler. Quality chess is currently dominating the chess market and is currently one of the top publications in the chess world. Most of the books from quality chess are very famous. The page quality and binding quality are also excellent.