The Best I Saw in Chess – Stuart Rachels

A review by Ben Graff

Stuart Rachels’ excellent, yet enigmatic book, left me with unanswered questions and a sense of what might have been.

A twenty-seven-year-old Bjorn Borg turned his back on tennis when it was clear that John McEnroe had surpassed him. Bobby Fischer was twenty-nine when he beat Spassky to the world title in the last meaningful chess of his life. While not at this exalted level, the hugely talented Stuart Rachels would, at twenty, become the youngest US champion since Fischer. Yet three years later he was done. Now after more than a quarter of a century, Rachels returns to reflect on his brief, but fascinating career and to share his memories of the chess world. 

The Best I Saw in Chess is badged as part coaching manual, part stories, part interesting games collection and part “highly personal memoir.” It succeeds on all fronts, bar the latter. Rather than following a standard chronology, Rachels breaks his games down into twenty-four chapters with themes ranging from “Tactical Snippets,” through to “Blunders” and “Pressing an Edge.” There are also several highly informative chapters on various aspects of endgame play and one on Rachels’  “Impressions of the Greats.” Some wonderful anecdotes, many of which I had not heard before are woven into the text. 

Rachels writes well. His style is a little folksy on occasion and draws the reader in. Every game is nicely annotated, and all follow the welcome modern trend of giving a sense as to what a human player might think, rather than simply splurging reams of computer analysis. I certainly enjoyed playing through them. I am sure players at all levels below the elite could learn something, as on many occasions Rachels did himself.  

There are stories of Kasparov behaving badly in simuls, one well known, one less so. Seirawan’s tips on the topics to be avoided if one wanted to have a sane conversation with Fischer are amusing – some might be predictable, but not all! The tale of Rachels accidently getting drunk before a crucial game in the US Championship against Tony Miles made me laugh out loud. There are a whole host of interesting vignettes, including one about a potential trip with Nigel Short to the Tower of London, and another on Rachels’ resolve when he had determined it was a good idea to take the legendary Najdorf’s seat in a press room. These are well worth the price of the book and I do not want to spoil them by saying more here. 

That said I cannot resist sharing Rachels’ story about “a delighted” Korchnoi approaching a group of players over dinner to tell them that Ljubojevic had failed to beat Georgiev after trying for one hundred moves. When Korchnoi departed, Rachels mused that Korchnoi must really not like Ljubojevic, only to be told that they got on fine. A baffled Rachels asked why in that case Korchnoi was so happy. As Kavalek explained, “Because life is unfair.” It seems that even the greatest player never to be world champion was not immune to the benefits of a little schadenfreude!

Yet for all the many positives, I finished the book with the same unanswered question I had started with. Namely, why did Stuart Rachels quit? Here was someone who had played everyone. A youthful US champion with a host of stories that are all warm and funny and a fascinating set of games to match. 

He could have had many more experiences. Most players would have killed for the opportunities his ability offered. There are hints that Rachels knew that for all his talent he would never make the very top. He is clearly a highly accomplished man who has doubtless achieved much in other fields. Yet I could not help but compare his level of candour on the subject with that of say, Josh Waitzkin, another US prodigy (of Searching for Bobby Fischer fame), who also walked away. Waitzkin said that from a distance, all he could remember of his career was the pain of the defeats.

Yet I do not sense equivalent anguish in Rachels, and this left me even more intrigued as to where he placed chess within the broader fabric of his life and how he came to make the choices that he did. Both in terms of quitting and subsequently staying away. 

Perhaps comebacks do not end well. Bjorn Borg could not win a set on his ill-feted return and the subsequent rumours that he was being carried on the senior’s tour never fully dissipated. Few would feel that Bobby Fischer’s come back did much for his reputation, beyond underscoring all that was worst about him. Yet it would have been interesting to know whether Rachels had ever been tempted to play again. 

As with his chess, Rachels comes and goes on his own terms. What he gives us with this book is excellent. Yet it is a testament to the man that this reviewer is left both appreciating what Stuart Rachels has written while still left wishing for more. Both at the chess board and on the page.

Ed: You can buy an e-book version of this from Forward Chess - click here!