The Relevance of Chess Games of the Past Today

Paul Morphy vs. Adolph Anderssen, 1858
(Google Photo)

One of the advantages of chess is – it is timeless. The games played a hundred years ago remained relevant even up to this day. There may have been studies and deeper analysis of the games that were played years ago, but the principles involved in those games remain the same. In the opening stages of the game, the tenet of a rapid development of the pieces and controlling the center is an idea that has been repeatedly exemplified in the games of Morphy, Alekhine and Capablanca.

In other words, the study of the games of past chess masters including those who lived even a hundred years ago, would give the player today an introduction and a deeper understanding of various chess concepts such as the “development of pieces”, “control of the center or centralization”, "blockade", and "initiative" and how it is concretely executed over the chessboard. The present chess player who has diligently studied the games of the past chess masters would have a solid comprehension of the reasons behind each and every move. This would enable present chess players to have the necessary wisdom in handling complications arising in the chessboard.  By just playing over the games of Capablanca one cannot fail to appreciate the coherence and fluidity of his style of play. And while Capablanca’s style of play is unique and is impossible to fully imitate on the chessboard, his games are very relevant, even to this day, serving as guides to present and future chess grandmasters. 

The games of the past are also very reliable documents for purposes of comparing the latest suggestions made by present computer programs on existing chess variations. Computer programs today with their very advanced functions can easily, if not accurately, suggest the soundest continuation on an existing variation in a chess game. However, despite this technological advantage of having the strongest computers to analyze chess games, the creativity of the past chess masters in annihilating their opponents cannot be duplicated by any chess machine. Creativity will always be a product of the human mind. Thus, the games of the past will forever remain pertinent in discovering creative insights about the game of chess.

The latest opening wrinkle and its corresponding solution can also be traced to games of long ago.  If certain chess variations are so named after the grandmasters that invented, practiced or popularized it – the basic and main ideas behind such variation can be fully understood by studying the games of that particular master. In other words, we can fully comprehend the ideas behind the “Rubinstein System” of the Queen’s Gambit Declined only after a review of the games of Akiba Rubinstein. Without fully studying the games of Rubinstein, important details that lead to the development of said variation may be missed out and ignored. Thus, any improvement on a particular “opening” in a chess game relies on the understanding of the previous ideas of the great masters who first played it.

Moreover, chess games that were played years ago are utilized as reference materials of present chess authors, writers and commentators. These games are akin to historical documents and records showing the development of chess through the centuries. With the use of historical chess records, chess writers can analyze the correctness of a particular variation as against the time it first appeared on the chessboard.  The annotators can find a concrete basis for their comments and recommendations by referring to previous games. These chess historical records would also show the percentages of the success of a particular opening and its corresponding variations.

In his book “Improve your Chess by learning from the champions”, Lars Bo Hansen explains the significance of studying chess history - “The reason why studying chess history is so important is straightforward: pattern recognition. The essence of making strategic decisions in a chess game is to be able to recognize patterns, distinguish patterns from each other, decide which are the crucial ones in the present situation, and finally come to a decision.” Hansen quoted what Vladimir Kramnik said on top of its introduction – “If you want to reach the heights, you should study the entire history of chess. I can’t give any clear logical explanation for it, but I think it is absolutely essential to soak up the whole chess history.”