“A wonderful biography.... The secret of a great biography is not only to describe the subject but also the era in which he lived. ...a wealth of detail.... I was more and more intrigued with every page I read. ...A treasure trove of games and a wonderful overview of the German chess scene of this period! 5 shining stars!”—New in Chess; “this sumptuous book has given me the taste for his approach to chess...heartily recommend...it’s very much a labour of love”—Chess; “It’s evident that McGowan has left no stone unturned in piecing together Richter’s story. This is a superlative work.” —US Chess Federation; “fantastic...a phenomenal effort in unearthing an incredible amount of interesting material and exciting attacking games...all those with an interest in chess history will support this magnificent work which has been so thoroughly researched, detailed and referenced...many hours’ worth of absorbing reading.”—American Chess Magazine; “a model of scholarship...this is a book you will certainly want to add to your reading list.”—The Chess Improver; “wonderful made McFarland Book.... The research of this book done by the author is more than impressive”—Chessbooks.nl; “full of brilliant games, deeply annotated...a fascinating reconstruction of Kurt Richter’s life...numerous, often truly outstanding, photos of chess masters.”—Kingpin Chess Magazine; “a highly readable chess biography...what the book does incredibly well is relate Richter’s career to the context of the times and, indeed, recreate the ambience of those often extraordinary years. It is lavishly illustrated with a treasure trove of contemporary photos.... The extensive background material is detailed and vivid.... The sheer amount of material - much of it original - which Alan has processed throughout the work is phenomenal...timeless..a fabulous biography...it is a pleasure to be able to immerse oneself in a work to which the author has devoted four decades of his life...recommend...highly...superb”—Chess Scotland; “A model of what a game collection and biography should be. This beautifully produced oversize red hardback with library binding covers everything related to the life of Kurt Richter. The close to 500 well-annotated games in this book feature a wealth of aggressive chess with beautiful combinations and sharp attacks throughout. The games are not only reason to buy this book. McGowan, who spent three decades researching and writing this work in what was clearly a labor of love, has uncovered a great deal of previously unknown material pertaining to not only Richter but his contemporaries. McFarland has published many outstanding books the past three-plus decades and Kurt Richter: A Chess Biography with 499 Games ranks right up there with the best. This is a wonderful book...highly recommended”—IM John Donaldson; “The book highlights not only Richter’s career, but also the German chess culture and the effect that the two world wars had on his play. A well-researched monograph that does a nice job of introducing the reader to all aspects of [Richter’s] life, especially those before the Second World War”—Mind’s Eye Press; “I haven’t had a more compelling chess book in my hand in a long time!”—Berlin Chess History
