While it may seem to some as if everything about Paul Keres and his matches which could have been written, already has been, particularly in Estonian, the new publication offers something different, and is in English.

Weighing-in at a total of 8.5 kilos, the four-volume series covers 550 or so of Keres' annotated games, across 4,000 pages.

Volumes One and Two are "As seen by other chess players," and the latter two volumes have the byline "In his own words."

The set was compiled by Englishman Jimmy Adams, who handled the analysis of Keres' matches, and Estonian Joosep Grents, who contributed the biographical aspects and other Estonian-language source material.

Grents told ERR: "Jimmy Adams first wrote to me at the start of Covid in 2020, and by then he had already gathered the material, but this four-volume edition didn't exist at that point."

"It took shape as we worked on it."

The volumes include commentary on Keres' games by both his competitors and by the master himself.

Some encounters have been analyzed using modern computer-based methods, providing fresh insights into Keres' play.

"How are the books sub-divided? The first two are biographical, including my own biography, with game commentary inserted between each chapter," Grents explained.

Grents' approach differs from previous works on Keres; Valter Heuer and Paavo Kivine have written comprehensive biographies of the chess grandmaster, but Grents' role is not to duplicate this corpus of work, down even to the published language.

"For this reason, I haven't thought about doing this in Estonian, because there are already some titans in the field who have undertaken such a monumental work, and completed it once," he explained.

"My role is more to bring their work to light for the English-speaking world," Grents summarized.

Born in Narva, Paul Keres (1916-1975) was a world-class grandmaster and three-time Soviet champion admired for his exceptional chess skills, sportsmanship, and six near-misses at a world title match over a career spanning forty years.

His likeness graces the 5-Kroon bill in use in Estonia from 1992 until the adoption of the Euro at the start of 2011.

The four-volume hardcover set is published by New In Chess.

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