A Book by A Member

Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Immortal Chess Games - frontcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Immortal Chess Games - frontcover

by Henri Serruys

Our amiable and modest Spanish member Juan Sanz is the author of a delightful book entitled 64 Immortal Chess Games & More. The English-language edition appeared in May 2024.

There are, of course, other books in this genre — one might think, for example, of Andrew Soltis’s The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked. Yet Sanz’s book has a character of its own: it presents memorable games, though not necessarily the “best” ones in the conventional sense.

A few of the chapter titles give a good impression of the tone and scope: Immortal Zwischenzug, The Immortal Zugzwang Game, The Most Fantastic Defence, The Immortal Lost Game and The Immortal Game of Waiting Play (or, humorously, Immortal Shit), among others. The author also assigns “immortals” to individual players, ranging from Alexander Petrov to Magnus Carlsen. Further sections include titles such as The Immortal Postal Game, The Immortal Blitz Game, The Immortal Problem, and The Immortal Study. In short, the variety is so great that it is difficult to enumerate everything.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable book, each game richly illustrated with numerous diagrams, which makes it particularly well suited for relaxed reading — whether in a deck chair on the beach or in bed at night when sleep refuses to come. A further, rather curious feature is that each game is presented with diagrams set in different fonts, lending the book an additional touch of originality.

On the back flap, one finds the foreword to the original Spanish edition of 2021, written by Sanz’s friend and our fellow member Jesús Seoane. Of course, Seoane’s own “immortal” game — played at the age of thirteen — has also found a place in the book.

Those interested in acquiring the book, which is independently published, may contact the author directly. His email address can be found on our website.

Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez

64 Partidas de Ajedrez (64 Immortal Chess Games & More)

Inmortales O Con [Re]nombre Y +

Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Partidas de Ajedrez - frontcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Partidas de Ajedrez - frontcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Partidas de Ajedrez - backcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Partidas de Ajedrez - backcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Immortal Chess Games - frontcover
Juan Carlos Sanz Menéndez - 64 Immortal Chess Games - frontcover

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