Old Wine in New Bottles

Mihail Marin

Sample pages (pdf)

From the author:
"I may be old-fashioned, but I keep using for my inspiration the treasure of the past. It does not make sense to speculate whether, for instance, Carlsen is stronger than Fischer or Korchnoi, as matches between players separated in time by so many decades are impossible. But this book aims to prove that some of the basic aspects of our game did not change over the generations. The same kind of brilliant ideas and mistakes are played again and again in specific situations."

"I actually launch an invitation to examine the games of the classics, featuring ideas thought over only by human brains, and by no means less deep than those used today. We all use computer assistance when preparing or writing, but at the chess board we are all alone with our opponent, so educating our mind to work along the classical values is essential.It is virtually impossible to write a "complete" chess course, as the general themes and examples to each of them are practically inexhaustible. But I hope that after studying the book the reader will feel enriched, technically and aesthetically."

"I remember my enthusiasm when receiving my first original copy of the Chess informant in 1987 (number 43) after having annotated some of my games from the Warsaw zonal tournament, ending in my first qualification to the Interzonal. Almost a third of a century has passed since then, but I am looking forward to hold this new book in my hands with no less excitement."
Mihail Marin

Marin's book is both a collection of over 100 of the best and most instructive Grandmaster games of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as an instructive work on various aspects of tactics and strategy. The games are arranged in six sections of the book covering, Basic Principles, Tactics, Strategy, The Attack, Middlegame Plans of Specific Openings and The Individual and Joined Abilities of the Pieces. All the games feature commentary and analysis from Marin, who also provides introductions to each chapter and backgorund material on some of the games.

Mihail Marin is a grandmaster from Romania. His books and articles on chess have established him as one of the world's finest chess authors.

Published 2019, hardback, 384 pages.