Korchnoi remarks in his My Best Games that in the old days every high level game was observed and commented on by the Soviet chess world. The English-speaking world only has Tarrasch's beginner's book The Game of Chess.
An example of what the Soviet Union had that the English speaking world did not have was the Soviet Union translated Siegbert Tarrasch's collection of annotated games, the equivalent of a graduate course in chess, Die moderne Schachpartie, while that book has still to this day not been translated into English.
Everything of value elsewhere was translated into Russian and made readily available. The Soviet Union had the equivalent of the Internet as far as chess was concerned. It was no coincidence the first player to break the Soviet hegemony in chess was Robert Fischer who learned Russian so he could study their chess literature. Also when Tigran Petrosian was a young man barely surviving as a street sweeper, he used his rations to purchase a copy of Nimzowitsch's Chess Praxis which Petrosian proceeded to memorize. In the beginning of 125 Selected Games, Smyslov makes a telling remark that his father had in his own personal library every single important book of chess. Please continue to give us your feedback and suggestions on how we can help make /r/chess better for everyone. Use the message the moderators link if your posts or comments don't appear, or for help with any administrative matters. Twitter/Facebook posts must contain a direct link to the tweet/post, and include the author's nameĬhess Spoiler format for problem answers etc., Instructions for /r/chess PGN addon ( Chrome, Firefox)ĭon’t engage in abusive, discriminatory, or bigoted behavior.ĭon't ask for advice about ongoing games.ĭon’t spoil tournament results in submission titlesĭo not use /r/chess exclusively to promote your own content. News Puzzles Games Strategy Twitch Other Resources