Unmissable. If there is one chess book, above all others, that we would be immensely proud to have written ourselves it is Amos Burn A Chess Biography by Richard Forster (Jefferson, 2004). An impeccable McFarland hardback of 972 pages, it is simply of matchless quality. —Edward Winter (Chess Notes, #3403)
[My] favourite tome of the year. (...) It is reassuring to see that scholarly traditions are not extinct; as long as meticulously researched and beautifully produced books like this occasionally appear, there is still some hope for civilisation. [The author] has done chess-lovers in this country, and indeed worldwide, a great service. —Nigel Short (Sunday Telegraph, 12 December 2004)
An excellent book... truly a labour of love. As a game collection this is a great book. (...) There is much more to be enjoyed in this biography; character sketches, tournament reports and tables and many unknown pictures from Edward Winter's collection. (...) The quality of the production is up to the publisher's high standards. Let's hope it will sell well. At three cents a gramme it's a bargain. —Hans Ree (New in Chess, 8/2004, pp. 92–95)
That Amos Burn A Chess Biography (...) is also a colossal achievement of chess scholarship and an excellent read is equally true. Richard Forster has produced one of the greatest chess biographies of all time. This book gives you pretty much everything you could wish for in a biography. Its heart is the 901 games, many of them annotated, often quite heavily. Annotations are drawn from many sources. It doesn't hurt that Forster is a strong International Master with good analytical skills. Combining historical chess research with strong playing ability is a rare combination and Forster has staked his claim as the best in the world at this combination. Readers don't only get the games. (...) I could go on and on. Forster gives his biggest thanks to Edward Winter in the Preface and the extreme thoroughness and attention to detail that mark the latter's books are present throughout Amos Burn A Chess Biography. (...) [Burn] met several generations of the world's top players from his teacher, Steinitz, to Alekhine and Capablanca. As you might have guessed, [the book] is not only about Burn. It is about chess in the late 19th and early 20th century and Forster does a fine job of bringing it to life. (...) Anyone with any interest at all in classical chess will have hundreds of hours of pleasure going through this book. (...) If you are looking for a Christmas present for a chess player here it is. Highest Recommendation. —John Donaldson (www.jeremysilman.com)
A monumental look at a British master considered one of the world's 10 best players at the end of the 19th century. On the importance of this era, Victor Korchnoi says in a foreword to Forster's book, "Even Garry Kasparov, who used to be convinced that people's brains worked incomparably worse in the nineteenth-century than they do today, has started to contemplate the roots of chess play and has written series of books on his predecessors." Burn was a pupil of Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion. Amazingly, he began his serious tournament play at the relatively late age of 37. Along with Burn, Forster looks at other legendary players, tracing major chess developments from 1870 to 1914 and beyond. The book is almost 1,000 pages long with some 900 excellently annotated games. It is one of the best chess biographies ever produced and should not be missing from any serious chess library. —Lubomir Kavalek (The Washington Post, 26 July 2004, p. C10)
Burn's immortal move. In his mammoth Amos Burn, a Chess Biography, Richard Forster gives one, up to now unknown, move by Burn which is worth the entire effort. (...) About his incredible 33...Qg4, Burn has said that it "seems to show that there is luck in chess," because 33.Be4 was winning. Forster calls Qg4 "the most spectacular move of his entire career", but it comes close to being the most spectacular move of any career. In my series The 110 most fantastic moves ever played, it certainly belongs in the top ten – in fact it is more amazing and wonderful than Marshall's comparable Qg3 against Lewitzky, which I put in third place. (...) —Tim Krabbé (Open Chess Diary, #258 and #260)
The Burn biography, by Richard Forster, is breathtakingly comprehensive (...). Not a single, small detail of Burn’s lengthly chess career has escaped the author’s notice, and the text is rich with information about his opponents and the chess world generally. The research is impressive. (...) [A] beautiful, clothbound volume written by [a] meticulous researcher and published by a company which obviously cares about quality. —Cecil Rosner (Winnipeg Free Press)
Amos Burn (1848–1925) was arguably England's strongest player between Staunton and Short. The author covers Burn's chess career and also vividly depicts the Victorian/ Edwardian chess world in which he played, via contemporary anecdotes, reports, annotations and many excellent photographs. The book itself is beautifully printed by McFarland. —R.B. Edwards, M. Fox, J. Toothill (BCF Book of the Year 2004: Short list)
Finally it's impossible not to mention the superb Amos Burn by Richard Forster; a quite magnificent biography and game collection. —Richard Palliser (Website of the Yorkshire Chess Association)
One for the chess history connoisseur: this magisterial work features approximately 800 games played by the great English player who was one of the world’s best players in the 1890s. (...) Check that your bookshelf is strongly supported before putting this colossal tome on it. —John Saunders (British Chess Magazine, September 2004, p. 482)
The secret with this book is that it brings Burn to life within the context of his times and historical setting (1870s to 1920s). The players, the tournaments, the controversies are analysed in at times great detail, and are overall very interesting and holds the reader's attention throughout. The various elements (games, notes, pictures, tournament tables, and background details) are superbly presented to enable the reader to drop in and out (you will not be able to digest the material in one sitting) without getting lost in the enormous detail. This is a desert island book par excellence and will provide interesting reading for years. (...) The annotations are outstanding, both contemporary and brought up to date by Forster (who is a strong player himself). Any serious student of chess will be richly rewarded. Although quite expensive, the book contains enormous value and will definitely become a classic. (...) I believe that this book sets a new challenge for chess authors and is quite likely to be the best book of its type ever written. (...) —Walter Hart (Amazon.com)
A colossal 972 pages... with photos, 5 indices, and a bibliography. The appendices and game notes are an addition which totally enhances the book. This book is in the league of Silman and Benko's book on Pal Benko, it might even be better. There are at least 901 annotated games. Stupendous is the only word I can think of. —Bob Long (Chessco.com)
It’s an incredible achievement. Four Stars. —Mark Donlan (Chess Horizons, October-December 2004, p. 10)
Ein Meisterwerk... eines der Bücher, die im Titel weniger versprechen als sie halten. Der Autor würdigt nicht nur den Lebensweg eines heute fast vergessenen englischen Schachspielers, sondern schreibt im doppelten Sinne Schachgeschichte: sowohl inhaltlich als auch durch die Bedeutung des vorliegenden Mammutwerkes, das einen Umfang von fast 1000 großformatigen Seiten hat. Diese Publikation setzt Maßstäbe, die für künftige Generationen nur schwer zu überbieten sein werden. (...) So wird dieser Foliant nicht nur zu einer ultimativen Burn-Biographie, sondern zu einem unentbehrlichen Nachschlagewerk der Schachgeschichte. Die fesselnde Präsentation der Fakten lässt die Person Amos Burns lebendig werden und durch zahlreiche Exkursionen zu Kontrahenten wie Randfiguren entsteht eine dichte Atmosphäre der Schachwelt einer vergangenen Epoche ...durch akribische Detailtreue bestechende Arbeit (...) Durch die Einbeziehung ausführlich zitierter Originalkommentare führender Spieler jener Zeit gelingt zudem ein Beitrag zur Ideengeschichte des Schachspiels. Zitate und Zeitungsartikel machen deutlich, welche widerstrebenden Positionen den schachimmanenten Diskurs am Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bestimmten. Dazu tragen auch die über 900 exzellent und durchweg sprachlich kommentierten Partien bei, die den Stand des Schachwissens von 1870 bis zu Burns Tod 1925 dokumentieren. Dieses umfassende Werk ist ein großer Wurf, mit dem sich der Autor ein Denkmal gesetzt hat. Amos Burn – A Chess Biography ist eines der besten Schachbücher, das je geschrieben wurde. —Harry Schaack (KARL, 4/2004, p. 60)
Während man bei Woodger mit Reuben Fine ein fast noch populärwissenschaftlichen Inhalt vermittelt bekommt, kann man mit Richard Forster und seiner Biographie über Amos Burn nun endgültig in die innersten Zirkel der Schachhistorie einsteigen, der sonst nur noch wenigen Auserwähltem zugänglich ist. Wenn spätere Generationen einmal unsere dann schön längst verschüttete Kultur wieder ausgraben und auf Richard Forsters Monument über Amos Burn stoßen, werden sie diesen ohne Zweifel für den bedeutendsten Schachspieler aller Zeiten halten, denn ihm wurde das mit Abstand dickste Buch gewidmet. (...) Schwerpunkt des Buches sind etwa 900 Partien von Amos Burn, durchweg sprachlich kommentiert und soweit verfügbar, mit zeitgenössischen Kommentaren bzw. solchen der Spieler selbst versehen sind. Es gibt außerdem zahlreiche Textstellen mit historischen Beschreibungen, Zeigungszitaten und Fotos, die ein sehr lebendiges Bild jener Zeit vermitteln. Forsters Burn-Biograpie ist im Wortsinn ein einzigartiges Buch. Der Leser blickt darin auf einen Schachspieler zurück, der für die Entwicklung des Schachs in England sehr wichtig war und der heute im Zuge der Mainstream-Schachgeschichtsbeschreibung etwas untergegangen und unterbewertet ist. Gleichzeitig wird man in die Geburtstunden des Turnierschachs und in eine spannende Zeit versetzt. Mit fast 1000 Seiten über den in breiten Kreisen relativ unbekannten Amos Burn kann man Richard Forster sicher nicht Oberflächlichkeit vorwerfen. Nicht nur Papierhersteller werden sich die Hände reiben, falls er einmal über Capablanca, Aljechin oder einen ähnlich populären Spieler schreiben wird. Sehr empfehlenswert. —André Schulz (Chessbase.de)
Amos Burn – le livre de l'année! Le maître international zurichois Richard Forster vient de publier chez McFarland & Company, un livre extraordinaire préfacé par Victor Korchnoi. Certainement la biographie la plus documentée et volumineuse consacrée à un joueur d’échecs (suivi d'une interview avec l'auteur). —Georges Bertola (Tribune de Genève/EuropeEchecs.com)
Er is niet veel bekend meer over Amos Burn. De schrijver Richard Forster produceerde echter een pil van een boek over deze bijna vergeten Engelse speler. (...) Een fors boek over een Engelsman pur sang en vele jaren lees – en schaakplezier! —www.vanstockum.nl
And as a curiosity:
David Norwood on a book he had not seen: A big new book about a little-known British master (The Daily Telegraph, 4 September 2004; free registration required).
Update: 17 December 2004.