Chess Books

This book will improve your play.
Walker goes through step by step how to improve your game.
He starts by making sure that you understand basic tactics, then where others go to openings he goes straight for the end game. By using this approach he shows you how to win from established positions. Once again it is about tactics.
From here he moves to openings, he gives you standard openings, then explains the principles behind them, once again it is tactics.

I strongly reccomend this book especially to beginners and average players, but I beleive that everyone will come away with something from it

I am a strong (A) player with a large library of quality books. I purchased this one to use in teaching my friends the joys of this ancient game without scaring them off with reams of variations. The beauty of this book is that it presents the most essential chess concepts in a manner that will not scare off newer students to the game. I especially enjoy how the book starts with the endings and tactics and then progresses to strategy.

I am a HUGE fan of Tarrasch's the Game of Chess and Lasker's famous Manual--however both of these works are quite verbose and will not foster a love from the game in most newbies. Get this book and use it to teach your friends how to play a solid game of chess. Get this and use it in combination with some of the classics (may I suggest art of the middlegame?) and begin the climb to expert status!

This is a really good chess book by Internacional Master Guil Russek, one of the best chess players in mexico. The book is for begginers to intemate players.

This book is written in Spanish by International Master Guil Russek. It is a very handy, well organized and complete chess tool for beginning players. I'm reviewing the 12th printing from February 2004.

In my opinion, what sets this book apart from the rest is the clarity of explanations of all the rules of chess. Also, the book is not cluttered with excessive algebraic or English(descriptive) system text that confuses and discourages beginning chess players. He mostly uses more effective diagrams to explain chess theory.

Chess strategy is explained, 36 opening moves are presented. Middle and end game tactics are clearly described. Famous matches are used as examples of these game strategies.

A very nice plus is the addition of a famous chess world champions section in pictures.

Recommended as an excellent introduction to chess. I wonder if this title has been translated to other languages for the enjoyment of a broader group.

"Annie Stories" (and its sequel, "More Annie Stories") give parents a useful tool to help children cope with any situation that is difficult or painful, like divorce, bedwetting, teasing, jealousy, or moving to a new home or school. It offers a simple, healing technique anyone can use. I found it a joy to read, and have recommended it many times. Enjoy!

Lots of concrete examples. Helping children deal with difficult situations in a non-threatening, creative way.

I have no doubt. This is the best chess book ever written. Saidy is not only a chess lover but also a wonderful writer and a great psychologist. I read the Spanish edition of this book, and I regret that there is not a Spanish translation of the new edition (The March of Ideas). This book is a piece of art, and I would recommend any chess lover to buy more than one copy. In short, a book for truly chess lovers and smart people.

I am an amateur chess player who loves the game and its lore. I've read many books on chess, but none quite as beautiful as this. Mr. Saidy has crafted a book which not only explores the rich history of the game, he illustrates this history with some of the most magical & fascinating games ever played. Because he wishes to focus upon the wondrous role of knowledge guided by imagination and well-earned intuitive insight, as well as upon the distinct ideas and playing styles which these variables have played in the evolution of the game, his book is symphonic in its approach and its illustrations. All major playing styles of modern times are illustrated, from the scientific precision of Botvinnik, to the attacking spirit of Keres, to the wizardry of Tal and to the joy, romance & genius of masters like Smyslov, Spassky & Fischer. Anyone who loves chess and its greatest artists should have a copy of this passionately conceived and brilliantly written book. It is, as indicated earlier, a Tour de Force, and is my most prized chess book.

This book is a must for anyone who wishes to use the Sicilian as a weapon against e4. I play the Najdorf and Dragon variations of the Sicilian as black and I get annoyed when my opponent cops out of an open Sicilian with Anti-Sicilian moves such as 2.c3 or 2.Nc3. This book by Joe Gallagher is the answer to such weak cop outs! The book is written by a leading expert on the Sicilian and certainly makes the player with the white pieces suffer. Buy this book and white will never have a chance!

Anyone who does not stay on the main line as white against the Sicilian deserves to be punished, and this is the book that will show you how to do just that. Black is assured an advantage against c3, Nc3, and even f4 systems, but you have to know how to do it. Its not the greatest opening book I've read, but its the best for anti-sicilian systems. Everything you need is right here, but since its out of print, you better get it while you still can. If a publisher is reading this, how about coming out with a second edition?

and his name is Mihail Marin. The combination of ECO-style columns of variations and in-depth coverage of games, variations and ideas makes this and its companion volume, A SPANISH REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK, the new gold standard in repertoire books. I cannot say enough for the quality of the writing; it has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Ever since I purchased his book Learn from the legends, I had begun to appreciate Mihail Marin as an exemplary chess writer. So, in my drive to broaden my tournament repertoire against e4 I taught I found an ideal starting point to begin with - this book. Reason is obvious for many chess (amateur) players; a dreaded and obscure lines and archaic swashbuckling openings coming regularly to you after 1.e4,e5 moves. After reading casually through this book I realized in what misconception I had been. Handle his instructions, and this book would become one's best friend before beginning a serious study of Ruy Lopez proper. Now, after reading this one, I ordered his Spanish main lines book in a wish of the same high quality as this in the book I am writing about.
Recommended.

I read this book to all of my kids, but my daughter liked it better than my boys did. It's a corky, cute little tale, about a butterfly who thinks her beloved mouse friend has been eaten by a fish. Out of this comes a story that follows the same format as "There was an old lady who swallowed a Fly." This happened, then this happened, then this, etc. It's a zany little book, especially at the end. It has a happy ending. There are 26 actual pages, not counting the cover page and dedication page. There are 5 pages of full color illustrations included in the 26 pages. The illustrations are bright and lively. It's probably 1st grade level, maybe second. Young children who hear the book several times will be telling this story, I'm sure. I'm also sure they'll want to hear it again.

WHEN YOU OPEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY CHILDREN'S BOOK THE COLORS IN THE BOOK WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY WHAT BEAUTY WHAT LIFE. THE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY IS A STORY ABOUT LIFE, FRIENDS, AND LOVE, BUT TOLD ON A LEVEL ANY CHILD WOULD UNDERSTAND. I BOUGHT THIS BOOK FOR MY FRIENDS NEW BABY GIRL. BUT FIRST I HAD TO READ AND READ AGAIN THIS WONDERFUL BOOK THAT WISHED ME BACK TO CHILDHOOD WHERE ALL DREAMS DO COME TRUE.

this book (22 pg's) was issued in Germany by Yucatan press / Randspringer Verlag and was a tremendous success among club chess players. It got a very good review in "Randspringer" ISSN 0724-1747 #75 in 1996 on pg. 136, which was well deserved due to it's wide scope of theoretical treatment. Among the 22 game examples it has an analysis part of 4 lines of play.
After reading this you will reach 1900 rating on icc in bullet tournaments !

The product has high market penetration in Germany.

A well conceived book that packs a lot of information in a small package. This book explains the opening 1 d4 Nf6, 2 c4 Nc6. Orlov completely explains all White responses (and there aren't that many)giving his preferred lines. You can play through the lines in a fairly short time and really get the feel of this opening. Orlov supplies just enough prose to explain the plans and ideas. This opening is worth having in your repertoire as it is easy and effective. It's definitely not an "oddball" opening though it currently is not fashionable. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Denker gives us a nice picture of the U.S. chess scene in the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his insights and much wanted and valued information on many of the great players of the era, as well as some before and after the period.I loved his chapter on Dr. Euwe and was shocked by his experience with Salo Flohr, a great player I used to admire. Grandmaster Denker, please write a sequel!

I have read at least 300 chess books in the last 25 years, and this is one of the very best. There is much information here about 20th century American players that I haven't seen elsewhere. I found out, for instance, that Arthur Dake did not learn chess until the advanced age of 17, but was beating Alekhine very one-sidedly in blitz chess just a few years later. This isn't the typical chess trivia/scandal book (e.g., the list of the 30 unusual words supposedly memorized by Pillsbury), which is exactly the sort of book we DON'T need more of.

There are plenty of games in this book, so it's not just a bunch of biographical sketches. I recommend this book to players of all levels. Even people who don't know anything about chess might enjoy this book. It's a much better read than "Searching for Bobby Fischer," another book that was, deservedly, appreciated by those with little knowledge of chess. And there is the added benefit that the author of "The Bobby Fischer I Knew" is, unlike the author of "Searching...", a very strong player in addition to being a good storyteller.

Grandmaster Ray Keene, chess impresario, broadcaster and writer, has been responsible for organising more world championship matches outside the USSR than any other person in the history of official contests. In 1986 he brought Kasparov and Karpov together and in 1993 Kasparov and Short. Finally, in 2000, after a five year gap with no world title match, Keene raised 2 million dollars to persuade Kasparov to defend his title in London against the rising Russian star Vladimir Kramnik. To almost universal surprise Kramnik toppled Kasparov after his 15 year reign and won with relative ease. He became World Champion without losing a single game, a feat not accomplished since Capablanca defeated Lasker in 1921. Kramnik's secret weapon was the psychological ploy of exchanging queens early in the game and thus regularly depriving Kasparov of his favourite attacking piece. To this end Kramnik unearthed the unlikely Berlin defence, which achieved world wide notoriety as the "Berlin Wall". In this book Ray Keene, present throughout the match as organiser and commentator for the London Times, gives the inside story of the games, while Don Morris, co-founder of the Brain Games Network, entrepreneur and former chairman of the Champagne Academy, highlights the Brain Games Network strategy for presenting intellectual games to the global community in the age of digital TV, broadband communications and the World Wide Web.

this book is the sensational account of how garry kasparov lost his world chess title to vladimir kramnik his former pupil. every game is annotated in great depth by grandmaster ray keene who also raised the finance for and organised the match.