Montreal 1979 - Tournament of Stars (out of print title)

[Panayoti Tsialas]

*Update*: The book is no longer available. Thank you.

"Montreal 1979 - Tournament of Stars"

Authors: M. Tal, V. Chepizhny & A. Rosahl
Pages: 204 - Algebraic Notation
Publisher: Pergamon Press - Hardcover Edition (1980)
Condition: Like New (purchased in Germany - brought to Toronto)

*out of print title* - five star reviews on amazon.ca

Summary

Montreal 1979 was one of the strongest tournaments in the history of chess, and it produced many absorbing games of the highest quality. It hosted ten top players (Hubner, Karpov, Larsen, Ljobojevic, Portisch, Hort, Tal, Spassky, Kavalek, Timman) in a double round robin for a total of 90 games. This book contains all of the games played in the tournament, many of which have been annotated in great depth. Each round is introduced by Mikhail Tal. The first 21 pages present the "Montreal Diary", penned by Aleksandr Roshal. The book also contains interviews with the winners, Karpov and Tal (pages 23-38), as well as background information and photographs of the players.

Being a Greek chess player with a passion for chess history, I suspect that this books means a lot more to Canadian readers than to me. If a serious collector is interested in adding the book to their collection, I would be willing to part with it. Priority to prospective buyers from Montreal.

For photos of the book, please click on this link.

[Don Parakin]

I'm not from Montreal but back in 1979 a buddy and I drove from North Bay, ON to Montreal to watch the games live. I even managed to get Karpov to sign the back of my Garde chess clock on his way out after one of his games. You link is to a private facebook group. I've requested to join.

[Frank Dixon]

Spectating for one day at Montreal 1979, courtesy of a friend who organized an up-and-back same-day car trip, from Kingston to Montreal, was my introduction to top-class chess. I was, simply put, in a state of absolute wonder when at this event. I believe that it was the highest-rated tournament in the history of chess to that juncture.

I had a copy of the book discussed here, for a while, until it was borrowed and not returned. GRR!

There is also a Canadian-published title on Montreal 1979, which is cited as a reference in IM Crouch's book on attacking, featuring GMs Stein, Tal, and Kasparov; I recently acquired that book. IM Crouch published very deep notes on two Tal games from Montreal 1979, where he tied for first with GM Karpov.

[Amit R]

Spectating for one day at Montreal 1979, courtesy of a friend who organized an up-and-back same-day car trip, from Kingston to Montreal, was my introduction to top-class chess. I was, simply put, in a state of absolute wonder when at this event. I believe that it was the highest-rated tournament in the history of chess to that juncture.

I had a copy of the book discussed here, for a while, until it was borrowed and not returned. GRR!

There is also a Canadian-published title on Montreal 1979, which is cited as a reference in IM Crouch's book on attacking, featuring GMs Stein, Tal, and Kasparov; I recently acquired that book. IM Crouch published very deep notes on two Tal games from Montreal 1979, where he tied for first with GM Karpov.

May I know what's the Canadian-published title ? Also, which Colin Crouch book is this exactly ? "Attacking technique" or "Great Attackers" ?

[Emil Smilovici]

The official book of the tournament, published in French in Montreal is:

Le grand tournois international d'echecs Montreal 1979
by Svetozar Gligorić,
that was the chief arbiter of the tournament

The book referred by Colin Crouch is:

Le Tournoi International d'Echecs Montreal 1979
by Gilles Brodeur, Pierre Jodoin, Jacques Labelle, , Pierre Lemyre, and Kevin Spraggett
(Guérin 1979)

[Frank Dixon]

Thanks to Emil for his input of two titles about Montreal 1979.

The book by IM Colin Crouch I referred to is: 'Great Attackers', published by Everyman Chess, 2007.

I really like this book, since the author chose a small number of games, each annotated in great detail, with some supplementary games as well. His method is virtually conversational with the reader! Very effective. He begins with the young Kasparov (teenager from mid-1970s), then moves to Stein, and connects Kasparov circa 1978 with Tal at that time, through the 1978 Soviet Championship, Kasparov's first (at age 15), which was won by Tal (age 42). He then includes two Tal wins from Montreal 1979 (where he tied for first with GM Karpov, then world champion), and concludes with Kasparov 1979-early 1980s, as he was emerging into a world-class player. He uses a range of references for the analysis, provides some of his own, and connects engine evaluations at key junctures. Highly recommended!!

[John Brown]

I have the copy with Tal as one of the Authors.

[Amit R]

The official book of the tournament, published in French in Montreal is:

Le grand tournois international d'echecs Montreal 1979
by Svetozar Gligorić,
that was the chief arbiter of the tournament

The book referred by Colin Crouch is:

Le Tournoi International d'Echecs Montreal 1979
by Gilles Brodeur, Pierre Jodoin, Jacques Labelle, , Pierre Lemyre, and Kevin Spraggett
(Guérin 1979)

Thank you for these, Emil !

[Amit R]

Thanks to Emil for his input of two titles about Montreal 1979.

The book by IM Colin Crouch I referred to is: 'Great Attackers', published by Everyman Chess, 2007.

I really like this book, since the author chose a small number of games, each annotated in great detail, with some supplementary games as well. His method is virtually conversational with the reader! Very effective. He begins with the young Kasparov (teenager from mid-1970s), then moves to Stein, and connects Kasparov circa 1978 with Tal at that time, through the 1978 Soviet Championship, Kasparov's first (at age 15), which was won by Tal (age 42). He then includes two Tal wins from Montreal 1979 (where he tied for first with GM Karpov, then world champion), and concludes with Kasparov 1979-early 1980s, as he was emerging into a world-class player. He uses a range of references for the analysis, provides some of his own, and connects engine evaluations at key junctures. Highly recommended!!

Thanks a lot, Frank, for your detailed notes & recommendation!

[Frank Dixon]

Amit, thanks for the kind words. I just realized that this book was actually published in 2009, not 2007, as I wrote.