Petrosian's Best Games of Chess 1946-1963

Rating:
Summary: OK/Descriptive notation
Review: Clarke's analysis is a bit superficial, and the games are all in descriptive notation (when will they stop publishing chess books with that clunky method?) The games are exceptional; it's hard to find books on Petrosian's games, but it could be better.

Rating:
Summary: Clarke reveals the modern Nimzowitsch
Review: If you haven't read Peter Clarke's works on Petrosian and Tal, you are missing a chess treat of the very highest order. Clarke is a phenomenally talented chess writer, whose annotations are an instructive as anything out there in the whole of chess literature. If you are into chess books, you need his major works. His Dover book, 100 Soviet miniatures, is great too.
The reason that Clarke's writing is so important is that Petrosian himself never annotated a collection of his own games. This is a great loss to the world of chess players, because to many players, Petrosian is the modern incarnation of Nimzowitsch. Petrosian worshipped Nimzowitsch, and prophylaxis was the bas is of his play. More than any other champion, Petrosian constantly sought to limit the options of his opponent. Importantly for the fan of Nimzowitsch, Petrosian played in a more modern era than Nimzo, and so he faced all the openings that Nimzo never faced (Benonis, Benkos, modern Sicilians, etc.). Nimzo lived long enough ago that we see many somewhat bizarre openings played in his games. If you wonder what Nimzo might have played like in the second half of the 20th century, the games of Petrosian are as good a place to look as any. His games need a great annotator to flesh them out. Clarke is up to the task: he is a truly great writer and annotator. Colin Crouch also is a great chess writer, and his study of Petrosian and Lasker, "How to Defend in Chess," is a masterpiece. This book by Clarke is, in my opinion, of monumental importance to chess literature.

Rating:
Summary: The best chess games of a World Champion
Review: Peter Clarke, a great chess player in his own right, annotates and discusses with great sensitivity the best games of chess by former World Champion Tigran Petrosian. A great strategian, Petrosian worked his way diligently to the top through admirable persistance and determination, allowing him to finally take the crown from the mighty Botvinnik. A classic anthology published by Hardinge and Simpole.