- Joined
- 18 Jan 07
- Moves
- 12477
I recently bought, second-hand, Reinfeld's Complete Book of Chess Tactics (originally, it repeatedly states, published as "Complete Book of Chess Stratagems"😉 and am working my way through a couple of the diagrams a day.
Now, never mind that it's in descriptive notation, which I detest; and never mind that even I myself found a cook in his solution of the second problem already (although the key move still works, just not his continuation of it) and my engine found a few more later on. The idea of giving you a diagram with not just "white to move" but also a few hints of the tactical principles involved is one I'm finding quite interesting and - as far as I can tell right now - helpful.
However. That's not my question. The thing that struck me is that the positions aren't your usual, obviously made up, tactical problem fare. They look as if they could come from real games; and his remarks after each game seem to indicate that they not just could have, but in fact did. Thing is, though, I don't think he ever states this outright. And he certainly never gives the source of the games, or the players involved. But if my supposition is correct, I'd really like to see the games which resulted in these positions.
Does anybody know
- whether these positions are indeed from real games;
- and if so, from which games?
It would be interesting to find out, and in my opinion, Reinfeld should have included this information in the book itself - if not the earlier moves, then at least the players, venue and date, so we could find them somewhere else if we wanted to.
Richard
Post three postions you think have come from games.
I don't know what arrangements Fred had with publishers.
He may and almost certainly took a flat fee (signed over the entire copyright)
for some of them.
Because sometimes you find the same book, with a slightly different title.
Other times they would combine two three books under a new title printed
by different publishers.
The book sounds like 'Win at Chess' this is just puzzles with a brief note.
Soltuions but not who played them - but they have all come from games.
Have a friend who started out with the ambitious plan of owning every
Reinfeld book. He gave up after 40-50 when these doublers appeared.
Fred also wrote about coin collecting and astromnomy.
Reinfeld's Complete Book of Chess Stratagems is a great book and one of my current favorites. As for your question, on the back of my edition it states, "Reinfeld gives 526 situations from master play and from the normal course of many chess games."
From which games the diagrams come from I do not know. Except for #60 of course.
Morphy v. Count Isouard and Duke Karl
What I like most about the book is that you're not always asked to solve a problem but rather to analyze a position. It's not white to play and win but just white to play and it's up to you to decide if white has the resources to come out on top or not.
Two examples
#390 Black to play
On this one, I found black's first move easy enough but I completely missed white's best reply
#328 Black to play
- Joined
- 18 Jan 07
- Moves
- 12477
Originally posted by greenpawn34Well, almost all of them, really. Or strictly speaking, I have no idea whether any of them actually do, but I think almost all of them look like they very well might have come from a real game. What I'd like to know is whether they do, or whether they are careful constructs (which could also be true). For example, this (nr. 174):
Post three postions you think have come from games.
looks like I could occur in one of my own games (and I would be guaranteed to miss the trick, too). It does not look like a random position made up to make a point.
Another thing which makes me wonder is that sometimes, the losing side plays a move which is less than optimal (leading to a clear mate, when another move, sometimes one even I could spot, would "merely" lead to a difficult position), and Reinfeld never even discusses the alternatives. This leads me to suspect that he might be following a real game... but again, this is a suspicion, and hardly proof.
Richard
- Joined
- 18 Jan 07
- Moves
- 12477
Originally posted by KneeCapsAh. Mine is a bit more unclear. Anyway, it's not as if they're all from master games... or someone dropped a clanger in position 12:
Reinfeld's Complete Book of Chess Stratagems is a great book and one of my current favorites. As for your question, on the back of my edition it states, "Reinfeld gives 526 situations from master play and from the normal course of many chess games."
I mean... what nutter plays the b pawn in the king's gambit? And what master doesn't see that mate coming? Even I spotted that one in the first second. If that one is "from master play", the master was drunk.
What I like most about the book is that you're not always asked to solve a problem but rather to analyze a position. It's not white to play and win but just white to play and it's up to you to decide if white has the resources to come out on top or not.
Yes. I'm only a handful of pages in, but I already suspect that it may teach me quite a bit. It's a good book; pity that it could so easily have been much better yet.
Richard
I ran the posted postions through my DB - nothing.
I did not recognise the other two postions, I think the one
with 2.Qg8+ would have stuck,
I have Fred's early columns that he wrote for Chess Review.
These became books. I'll see if I can spot any of the games.
This should result in finding an interesting 'combo' that I will use
to see if anyone on RHP has played (or missed) something similiar.
And that will be a Blog.
Originally posted by National Master DaleI play b3 in the King's Gambit: Game 4154154
This thread has inspired me to play b3 in the king`s gambit.
First outing was a success.
- Joined
- 18 Jan 07
- Moves
- 12477
Originally posted by gambit05Well, yeah. But in that position, it has a specific point. You also played it when the opening had developed a lot further than in the position Reinfeld gives, where White has other things to do than fianchetto his bishop or start a queenside attack.
I play b3 in the King's Gambit: Game 4154154
[pgn]
[Event "October 2007 Octet II 1800+"]
[Site "http://www.redhotpawn.com"]
[Date "2007.10.17"]
[EndDate "2008.01.28"]
[Round "1"]
[White "gambit05"]
[Black "SeinfeldFan91"]
[WhiteRating "2151"]
[BlackRating "2242"]
[WhiteELO "2151"]
[BlackELO "2242"]
[Result "1-0"]
[GameId "4154154"]
...[text shortened]... g8 35. Qf6f7 Kg8h8 36. Qf7c4 Re8g8 37. c7 Rg8c8 38. Rf5d5 1-0
[/pgn]
Richard