Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca: Free interactive ebook

These days, a good chess book isn’t hard to find. Over here at Forward Chess, we have nearly a thousand titles in our catalogue, and new ones - from beginner guides aimed at children to theoretical analyses from strong grandmasters - are being written constantly. 

A century ago, that was far from the case. Back then, the formal study of chess theory was still in its infancy, reeling from the end of the sacrifice-for-the-sport-of-it Romantic era, and yet to undergo the Hypermodern Revolution of Aron Nimzowitsch and co. A definitive text on foundational principles was direly needed, and there was no man better suited to provide it than the newly crowned world champion, Jose Raul Capablanca. 

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Aptly named Chess Fundamentals, Capablanca’s 1921 bestseller shone light upon a great number of chess ideas, including some we take for granted today. Using clear, concise language, the Cuban master showcased studies and examples useful for players of all levels.

Here’s an excellent example from the book with Capablanca’s annotations:

White to play in this position.

And now, Chess Fundamentals is turning 100. That in itself is reason to celebrate, but it turns out there’s more! For this anniversary, we over at Forward Chess have put it up on our site, free for all our users to enjoy in a fully interactive digital format! 

And believe us, it still holds up. As Capablanca himself notes in the preface, written in 1934, after the wave of Hypermodernism that roared through the 1920’s:

"In chess the tactics may change but the strategic fundamental principles are always the same, so that Chess Fundamentals is as good now as it was thirteen years ago. It will be as good a hundred years from now; as long in fact as the laws and rules of the game remain what they are at present. The reader may therefore go over the contents of the book with the assurance that there is in it everything he needs, and that there is nothing to be added and nothing to be changed. Chess Fundamentals was the one standard work of its kind thirteen years ago and the author firmly believes that it is the one standard work of its kind now.” 

– J. R. CAPABLANCA, New York, Sept. 1, 1934