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Book review, © Copyright 2001, Jim Loy
There are many good collections of chess games. A few that I highly recommend are:
I haven't read any of the books of Kasparov's games.
Frank Marshall was a very strong and flashy player. He took risks; he sacrificed pieces; and he played some of the most brilliant moves of all time. In 1907, he lost a one-sided match to Emanuel Lasker for the World Championship. I recommend Marshall's book. The games are all highly entertaining. My favorite is this game (game 9 in the book), given here with Marshall's whimsical annotations in [brackets]:
F. J. Marshall - Amos Burn, Paris 1900
[Britisher Amos Burn was a very conservative player and liked to settle down for a long session of close, defensive chess. He loved to smoke his pipe while he studied the board. As I made my second move, Burn began hunting through his pockets for his pipe and tobacco] 1 P-Q4 P-Q4 2 P-QB4 P-K3 3 N-QB3 N-KB3 4 B-N5 B-K2 [Not much thought needed on these moves, but Burn had his pipe out and was looking for a pipe cleaner] 5 P-K3 O-O 6 N-B3 P-QN3 7 B-Q3 B-N2 8 PXP PXP [He began filling up his pipe. I speeded up my moves] 9 BxN BxB 10 P-KR4 [Made him think on that one -- and he still didn't have the pipe going. The threat is BxP+ KxB N-N5+, known as the Pillsbury attack] 10...P-N3 11 P-R5 R-K1 12 PxP RPxP [Now he was looking for matches] 13 Q-B2 B-N2 14 BxP! PxB [He struck a match, appeared nervous. The match burned his fingers and went out] 15 QxP N-Q2 [Another match was on its way] 16 N-KN5 Q-B3 [He was puffing away and lighting up at last. No time left] 17 R-R8+ Resigns [For if 17...KxR 18 Q-R7 mate. Poor Burn. I think I swindled him out of that one. If he could only have got his pipe going, it might have been a different story. He took it good-naturedly and we shook hands. Then his pipe went out]
The other games (from Queen's Gambits to King's Gambits) are annotated in a more serious manner. And Marshall tells us that after the game Lewitsky - Marshall, Breslau 1912, the spectators did indeed shower him with gold pieces.
This book is not listed at Amazon.com.