G.Bell and Sons LTD, London, 1974, hardback, viii+211 pp, 425 grams, condition: very good.

Réti produces a penetrating thumbnail sketch of each of the great masters who contributed decisively to the progress of chess thinking from the days of Morphy and Anderssen up to the time of Capablanca, Alekhine, Nimzowitsch, Spielmann and the hypermoderns, amongst whom Réti numbered himself.

Reti's idea was to teach chess through its evolution, and teach that evolution through the players who drove it. Each chapter starts with a great player, and we are given a short biography of who these players are and what their most outstanding contribution to the game was. Thus the book starts with the great Adolph Anderssen, who broke onto the international stage by winning the first major tournament, London 1851. Each game is annotated in such a way as to share the core tactics in commentary, nothing more than a couple of moves deep, but impart basic ideas of the openings, and endless nuggets of wisdom that apply today and would be worthy showcases on one's wall. By the end of this great work, the budding student will have been given an introduction to the giants who helped develop the game as we know it today, the key ideas that drive the game, the wide assortment of openings in use in his day and their basic concepts, and of course a hugely entertaining games collection.