Lakdawala: The Greatest (hardcover)

Who is the greatest chess player of all time, the GOAT? Who is in the top ten? Let the debate ensue!

How do you measure greatness? Is Morphy "greater" than Carlsen? Can such judgements be made, and do they mean anything?

This fascinating topic is tackled head on in The Greatest by prolific chess author Cyrus Lakdawala. Avoiding presentism with carefully established criteria, Lakdawala considers "pure strength factors", such as dominance over peers, longevity, and tournament wins, as well as other categories such as: Who was most ahead of their time? Who advanced chess theory most?

All these factors are discussed at length alongside 80 fully annotated and instructive games from every era to back up the author’s arguments. A fascinating read on a fascinating topic.
 

Content:

006 Introduction
016 1) Battle of the Prodigies
050 2) Divine Madness: the Greatest Irrationalists/Risk-Takers
088 3) Domination Over Rivals
111 4) No Country for Old Men: the Longevity Factor
139 5) The Greatest Attackers
194 6) Defence and Counterattack
249 7) The Dynamic Element
306 8) Strategic Accumulation
349 Index of Openings
350 Index of Complete Games

352 Seiten, gebunden, 1. Auflage 2024