Forord

We are all romantics! Or who will be the firs t to deny it? If we know just one thing about Adolf Anderssen, the first of my five “great romantics”, it’s likely to be the fact that he won two of the most famous and most beautiful games ever played, later dubbed his “Immortal” and “Evergreen”. We don’t just crudely scramble for points when we sit at a chessboard. We also want to win magnificently. We surely all hope to create at least one work of great chess art in our own lifetime.

The essence of the romantic spirit in ch ess is primarily artistic. Inspired by a sense that chess is imbued with essentially aesthetic attributes, such as depth, wit, elegance, playfulness, paradox and lively combinations, the romantic regards the chessboard, much as an artist regards his or her canvas, as a rich expressive and communicative medium. The romantic ofte n also delights in confounding conven- tion, exuding a thoroughgoing scepticism towards all received wisdom.

The five great players in my book reflect this spirit in chess superbly. They don’t just play hard to win points (as we all do) but tend towards an exceptional artistry and an intense personal and logical purity in their best games. They have bucked many existing trends and set new fashions. In seeking to express great art and profound truths in chess, they have all occasionally bitten off more than they could chew and suffered abject disaster – but we all go off on wild goose chases. We are all human.

Chess knowledge may have accumulate d through radically differing chess- historical time frames, but the romantic spirit itself has endured. Get to know and enjoy some of the greatest achievements of all five of the players I consider to have exhibited a high degree of romance in their approach to chess. Admire their passion, independence of mind, distrust of convention, and commitment to beauty. Be inspired to create more of your own work s of immortal and evergreen chess art.