Five best books about chess

Gabriel Schoenfeld, the managing editor of Commentary and a chess columnist for the New York Sun, named his five best books about chess for the Wall Street Journal.

One book on the list:

Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors
By Garry Kasparov
Everyman, 2003-06

Before Garry Kasparov ended his playing career in 2005 to battle for democracy in Russia, he was rightly considered to be the greatest grandmaster of all time. But here he humbles himself charmingly before giants such as world champions Wilhelm Steinitz (1836-1900) and José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942). In this comprehensive study of grandmaster play -- from the "Italian school" of the 16th century to our current postmodern synthesis -- Kasparov aims to connect his forebears' playing style with "the values of the society in which they lived and worked" and the "geopolitical reality" of their respective eras. The result is a work of unparalleled depth, spirit and ambition -- it already stretches into five volumes, and a sixth is on the way.

Read the full list.

--Marshal Zeringue