Theo Todman's Book Collection (Book-Paper Abstracts)

Foreward

1. Revising Reese on Play after a long interval, I have decided that it is not, in a literary sense, my most stylish work. Like a woman who is noted more for her directness than her charm, it pursues without any frills its aim to transform an experienced player into an expert. In previous editions I have said something about the arrangement:
2. Chapter 1 stands on its own — 'a sentinel whose watchword is that all good play depends on forming a picture of the unseen hands'. The remainder of Part One, and Part Two, contain varied examples of advanced strategy in attack and defence. Part Three describes some clever tactical strokes and Part Four is an account of the different forms of end play.
3. The main changes in this edition are that I have omitted discussion of the 'Theory of Symmetry', which was one of Culbertson's obsessions but never had any logical basis to it, and have expanded the account of 'Probabilities' to accord with modern theories. Even so, there was more to revision than correcting a rogue hand, bringing the terminology up to date, and improving the style of capitals, symbols, and the like. Many forms of play that were presented with faint wonder when the book was first written are now standard themes in articles and problems. Thus it has been necessary to temper the amazement while at the same time bearing in mind that there is a first time for everyone to learn everything. As I remarked in the foreword to a recent American edition, the clever coups of yesteryear are more familiar now — but it's still a difficult game!