Chess Books

I haven't finished working my way through the test positions yet, however, I've seen enough to reccommend this book to anyone trying to improve their game. The positions are challenging. It enables you to isolate and identify gaps in knowledge so your efforts are more focused. I'd like to see more books like it.

I loved this book. I could hardly put it down! You do all the problems, and fill out the graphs at the end (no cheating! you have to be honest). Then when you get is a scientific report of your strengths and weaknesses in different areas of chess. It's uncanny how accurrate this is. The best thing is you know where you need to focus your training, and he gives you advice for that. If you are interested in improvement, then this is a must.

This book really helps to know how good/bad you are in Chess. Everyone will feel that Igor Khmelnitsky invested tremendous effort to make this book. This book comprises 120 questions to assess different levels of your chess knowledge. The good thing about this book is when you go through it and finish your exams and know your scores you will be amazed by the accuracy of the test. With this test and his recommendations everyone can play better chess after this. I found its very useful book even for beginners (like me) to assess their weakness and strength and improve further. Worth of buying it, highly recommended.

This contains an extremely well selected set of 120 questions. Unlike typical "Find the best move" books, the author gives 2 questions for each position and 4 multiple choice answers. None of the problems are simple, and force you to think deeply before answering, looking for every possible resource from both sides. The answer explanations are very instructive as well. You can't go wrong with this book, it will tell you what your stength is and which tactical theme/technique you need to improve.

This book has really helped me determine which areas I am strong and which I need to improve in. I am a 1550 level player and have been at this level for over a year. I wasn't able to figure our why I could not beat stronger players but after reading this book I am now much clearer.
They have very simple pictures and very easy to read information , unlike lots of chess books out there.
This will help everybody who is looking to got one notch above where they currently are. Lessons in Tactics, counter attacks, strategies, defense are all very well given. Also very easy to follow. I recommend this to everybody who wants to play better chess.

Before reading the works of Watson's opening manuals (Vol 1 and 2)one must read this work only you have to wait and see for its completion with closed games in a later volume.This book is easily explained and contains all the openings popular in open or semiopen games.But with less variations like MCO or NCO and still exellent study materials incorporated in one volume.For club players with ELO ratings of about 1500-1800 or more this is indespensible in the sense that you can have a very good idea about all the king pawn openings.What are their meanings etc.I love this book.

Chess Opening Essentials is a real winner and it is easy to see why it was voted Best Chess Book of the Year by the Italian Chess Federation.

The book is beautifully produced, with a very pleasant looking easy-to-read layout and graphics; the dual-colour printing makes it much easier to find information that I am searching for and further enhances the look of the book.

I have purchased many opening books in the past and I have found most of them to be disappointing and incomplete. I have had to use them together - selecting the best aspects of each one and ignoring their frequent weaknesses; a little like piling up slices of Swiss cheese - the slice on top covering the holes in the slice below. At last, in one volume I have found all the information and advice that I have been looking for.

The book has a lot of text that explains the concepts and ideas behind the openings in easy-to-understand language. Not just in the introductory passages before each opening, but also for the moves that follow. So often with these sort of books I find myself wondering why such and such a move is good or bad, and I end up more confused at the end than I was when I started. The authors of this book explain everything very clearly step by step, and I really felt I was learning something

I particularly appreciated the realistic assessment of lines that may not be played regularly at the very highest levels, but that are highly effective and dangerous against the sort of players that most of us encounter in club tournaments. Particularly useful are the conclusions at the end of each entry, which gave me a clear idea of what to expect in the middle and endgame phases of the game. There are also several example games at the end of each section which I also liked for the same reason

In my opinion a book like Chess Opening Essentials is long overdue and it comes highly-recommended.

Hamish Stuart

This book is great. There are plenty of diagrams, the layout is pleasing, and there are supplementary games to futher enhance your understanding of what "flavour" the opening might provide. Also, and you might think this is trivial, but it even has little arrows and colour emphasizing key squares, providing an effective visual of where to put your pieces, strategical aims, etc. Although this book deals with openings relating to 1.e4 and is best suited for class A players and below, it truly is an outstanding book. Keep in mind though that the analysis is brief, it's just a quick reference guide, or "refresher" for strong players, and a great learning tool for beginners/novices. Highly recommended.

This NIC publication is the best attempt I have yet seen to mix lots of variations with opening ideas. In my view, it does pass for an encyclopedia.

I would only recommend this book to players ~1500 and under however, as there just isn't enough depth for players beyond this level. That said, it is the ONLY "encyclopedia-style" opening book I would ever recommend to my students. The others are too dense and lack explanatory material to justify the variations. I'm a strong Class A player, and I do not own any encyclopedias (MCO, ECO, NCO, etc.), rather I buy specialized opening books and subscribe to ChessPub to learn openings.

For beginners, this is the choice. I would have been a lot better off if I started my career back in 1996 with this book instead of other encyclopedias.

Why four stars and not five as the other reviewers have given it? Because this could have been a truly GREAT book, useful for players up to 2200+. The authors/editors were so close! If only they would have included more supplementary games to illuminate critical variations, and ANNOTATED the supplementary games with words at critical junctures of the game (from a planning standpoint), so that the reader could understand the flow of the opening through the middlegame and to the endgame...If they do this for a second edition, the book would be worth almost any price.

Of course, this would have increased the book in size from 358 pages to 500+ pages, but they really would have succeeded in writing the greatest (reference) opening book ever. The quality of its competitors is such that for the majority of players, it may STILL be the best anyway.

Chess Opening Essentials: The Complete 1.e4 )
Finally: the book I've been waiting for! A modern replacement for Reuben Fine's and I.A. Horowitz's books on openings pitched to the Beginner / Intermediate improving player as well as a manual for the improving Club / Tournament player. Not as complicated as BCO or MCO or NCO nor as the rich opening material in Fritz, ChessBase or Bookup (now ChessOpeningsWizard) nor as other net resources -- from which a diligent and very sophisticated surfer might assemble much of the material in the book.
I emphatically agree with the positive reviews of others;and in this case the publisher's hype seems extraordinarily (and refreshingly) accurate.

It is volume 1: The Complete 1.e4, which I hope means that it will soon be followed by 1: The Complete 1.d4 (and perhaps at least one more "The Complete 1. something in addition" volume. Not as theoretical / philosophical (and purposefully 'incomplete') as John Watson's two wonderful "Mastering . . ." volumes.
Not as nearly uselessly elementary as Alberston's "51 Openings".

I am not expert enough to evaluate its shortcomings . . .
The one shortfall (which the book shares with many other chess materials) is lack of a bibliography (or reference to anything outside (or even inside) itself. One would have to know already where to find many of the important variations and 'subvariations' mentioned in the text (for example, the Berlin Defense (p.73) is not referenced in the `Contents' as it is a 'subvariation of the Ruy Lopez). The sole index is of player's last names (not actually of `games' as the Contents lists it). But these are faults variously common to chess books in general and do not make me hesitate at all in recommending it. It is unique for our time and needs.

Chess Rumble provides a gripping and moving account of an eleven-year old boy's struggles with living in poverty in a single-parent household after the death of his sister. Plagued by feelings of rage and provoked by his younger brothers' antics and the taunts of his classmate, Marcus uses his fists as a coping device. Of course fighting makes his problems worse to the point where he risks getting kicked out of school and having to leave home.

His bleak situation changes for the better when the school principal introduces Marcus to a chess master who has a program at the school that encourages troubled youth to fight their battles on the chessboard. Marcus does not take to the chess master or the program right away, but a particularly nasty fight and a visit to his sister's gravesite convince him to give the chess master another chance. Based on real inner-city enrichment programs that teach kids how to play chess, this book shows how a unique social program can help children to develop new skills, meet new people, and begin to overcome disadvantaged economic circumstances. This fast-paced and intriguing book is bound to hold the attention of most young readers as they get a good dose of important lessons in economics, sociology, and social policy.

A superb view of inner turmoil, this book speaks through street dialect a troubled boy's grief. Admirably illustrated and paced, the work deserves a space in libraries and in the hands of kids who are better at making fists than making amends.

G. Neri's CHESS RUMBLE is appealing to reluctant readers, especially boys, on a number of levels. Neri nails the voice of a boy growing up in the inner city in a way that's reminiscent of Walter Dean Myers. Neri's main character, Marcus, is a young man dealing with family troubles and fights at school, until he meets a powerful mentor and learns to fight his battles on a chessboard instead.

This novella in verse is full of language that's vivid and accessible, and Jesse Joshua Watson's illustrations in shades of black, brown, and gray help to set the mood. This one has serious kid-appeal -- not just for the kids who already love to read but for those who don't often find books on the library shelves that seem to be written for them. This one is.

Chess Rumble is a powerful book that reaches young readers through Neri's succint and compelling prose and Watson's impressive illustrations. Many young people will glimpse shadows of themselves in Marcus as they slip vicariously into his world to experience his sorrows, joys, mistakes,and triumphs.

The book shows a hurt and angry young man's gradual transformation as he learns to make better choices, fight battles without violence, and think about the consequences of his actions, all invaluable life lessons pertinent to inner-city and rural-youth.

Neri's book speaks to kids in a language they will understand and embrace. I think both students and teachers have been waiting for a book like Chess Rumble for a long time.

CR is a deft blend of text and illustration. Marcus is a big boy at whom life has thrown some mean punches. Beyond anyone's help, he takes his anger and frustration to the limit - the proverbial brick wall beyond which his survival lies in his own two hands. CM is the mentor who has walked in Marcus' shoes and found the King's game in time to be saved. But Marcus needs to get his big hands around chess pawns instead of an adversary's throat (as he'd like, his nemesis Latrell's) and to make game moves - with his own will - to prove he's redeemable. Masterfully expressed gamesmanship for life. Reluctant male readers and chess-player wannabes from 8 years will enjoy this.

If you are rated over 1800 then "Forcing Chess Moves" is a better choice. The first 100 puzzles in The Complete Chess Workout are for players rated 1200-1400, mostly one move deflection tactics, the remaining 1100 puzzles become progressively more difficult. I enjoy reading chess books and would rather lay on my back in bed and read a chess book than start a family and pop out three kids and send them to college and go into debt and pay off a mortgage and a car loan and credit cards and work like a slave or indentured servant in order to fulfill someone else's idea of the American dream, the American dream being to become enslaved to debt and work all your life and die a pauper with no savings. Yes, chess has saved my life!

Yes, there are other books on chess tactics. But I like this one. The problems are not too difficult, and they feel like the sorts of positions that one might not only come across in a game, but ones in which one would actually be looking for the kinds of combinations that work here. I like the fact that the reader is not warned what the theme is of the various combinations.

I recommend this book. Those who want to try other (and somewhat tougher) books as well might want to look at "Test Your Chess IQ" by Livshitz or "Perfect Your Chess" by Volokitin and Grabinsky.

As the other reviewers have noted this is a huge collection of tactical chess problems designed to help you strengthen your chess muscles. But just like joining a "24 Hour Fitness" center, that's just the BEGINNING! You have to use the book, work the problems, understand the ones you didn't get, go back and try them again, and then when you've done all that: DO IT SOME MORE! Find more tactical situations, analyze your games, your friend's games, get more books, buy a tactics disc and so on. Chess Fitness is just like physical fitness: It's not a mountain to scale and then you're done, it's a "health habit" you build into your life-style. The pay off comes when you play a game of chess you can be proud of. THAT is what all your hard work was aiming at. And this book is the ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER of tactical problem collections.

A skilled and prolific chess writer, Richard Palliser is also an International Master with numerous tournament successes and in 2006 became the Join British Rapidplay Champion. Clearly, he brings his many years of experience and expertise to bear in writing "The Complete Chess Workout", a comprehensive training manual for chess tactics that will prove invaluable for aspiring chess players from the novice to the expert. Special note should be made that all of the featured 1200 chess puzzles designed to built chess playing skills have been checked by computer engines. Thoroughly 'player friendly', "The Complete Chess Workout is nicely organized into eight distinct chapters: Warming Up!; Attack!; Opening Tricks and Traps; Skill in the Endgame; Loose Pieces and Overloading; Fiendish Calculation; Test Yourself; and Solutions. A comprehensive course of chess instruction under one cover, "The Complete Chess Workout" truly lives up to its title and will prove to be a welcome addition to personal, academic, and community library chess instruction reference collections.

Two things make this book a bit unusual among books of this sort. 1) Most of the positions are from very recent tournaments and 2) Most of the players are not household names. Both of these features make it harder for me to just remember the games.
I don't think there's anything more instructive or entertaining in chess than working through books like this one.

This book is broken down into an easy to read format and contains charts for quick overviews. I would definately recommend this book.

Excellent book, excellent understanding, excellent insight into how to manage Gen Y people. If you're looking for inspiration and how to ensure you capture this elusive loyalty, here's the book for you! Helps you utilise the questions to enhance your company - great stuff!

Employers and educators-parents, too-are befuddled by the younger generation. So, what's new? We've had that condition for generations. Ah, but this generation is quite different than anything we've encountered in history. Today's young people seem to be wired differently, making them more difficult to understand and work with. This book will lift the fog, increasing your insight, appreciation, and skill to more effectively tap this powerful resource.

The book is divided into three sections. In the first part of the book, Chester explains Generation Why's traits, values, and perspectives-the good, the bad, and the ugly. Readers will gain valuable insights into a generation that will have a tremendous impact on the workplace and on society. This section of the book is well-constructed as a sort of stream of consciousness that will hold your attention as your knowledge expands.

The second section is filled with information and advice for employers. You'll learn about recruiting, training, managing, appearance, fun, recognition and rewards, and retention in bite-size pieces. The design of this book is quite appropriate, as it fits the way your mind must work if you are to be successful in connecting with Gen Why. And that takes us to the third section-ways to connect...and disconnect...with these unique individuals.

Now the fine points. This book delivers useful information, but it also provides interpretation. You learn and you understand after reading each section. The consistent format aids in absorbing the volume of knowledge presented in these pages. Call-outs will help scanning readers grab the high points, but don't be surprised if they pull you into the text looking for more.

Reading a book with this much detail can be overwhelming. In these cases, I find myself wishing there were some kind of a summary or explanatory index at the end of the book. Bullet points would remind me of what I'd read and help me "get" the major concepts without wading through all the text again. Chester has done us all a big favor by presenting such an executive summary, chapter by chapter, at the end of the book. You can actually start at the end of the book to get an overview, then dig into the details.

This book is designed for efficient use, as well as an effective vehicle to deliver a considerable amount of information. There are no guarantees that you'll be totally successful working with Gen Whys after absorbing this book, but you'll be miles ahead of those who haven't read it yet.

Side note: as a consultant and speaker, I address generational issues in my work. Even with my prior knowledge, I gained quite a bit from Chester's work and will confidently recommend it to all my clients who might employ these young people. Come to think of it, that would be all my clients. Employers, teachers, parents, preachers-read this book!

If you manage "Generation Why" kids you can't manage without this book. It has some very valuable insights on how to employ, manage and motivate a very difficult generation of kids. I'm a Wendy's franchisee and this is my new bible. Thanks Eric for making my job so much easier.

Books about generational differences tend towards one of two poles: informative but not particularly interesting or interesting but marginally informative. Employing Generation Why is an exception. The author's insights into the real differences between Generation Why and those older is based on years of first-hand experience and research. This is not abstract, academic theory. But Chester does a great job of making his insights engaging and entertaining. His vivd illustrations are memorable, and he clarifies murky subject matter with easy-to-understand charts and graphics. Whether you're an employer who needs help managing a new generation at work, or simply a parent or concerned adult who wants to make more sense of what kids are dealing with today, this is a book well-worth reading.

If you never read any endings book before, you should try this book first before jump to another advance book. This book has helped me to climb up my rating up to from 1800 to 2200...thanks Howell

Endgames are hard to play because there are numerous cases where general endgame principles ("put the rook behind passed pawns"; "passed pawns must be pushed"; "move the pawns to a color opposite your bishop", etc.) are not only wrong, but suicidal: if you put your pawns on squares of the opposite color than those of your bishop in an opposite-colored bishops' ending, for example, you will lose in short order.

Howell's book to the rescue. First, he deals only with practical endings, so as to keep the book to a manageable length. For example, the rook endings chapter deals with two cases of 4-vs.-3 pawns: when they're all on the king's wing and when one side has an extra queenside pawn. But Howell, correctly, doesn't bother with the theoretical possiblity where, say, white has three passed pawns on the kingside an black four passed pawn on the queenside--as it never occurs in practice.

For each specific type of ending (say, oppositve-colored bishops, rook endings when one side has an extra passed queenside pawn) Howell not only gives many examples, but also detailed principles that apply *to that particular type of ending*. One should position one's pawns differently in opposite-colored bishops' endings and same-colored bishops' endings, for example; one should employ one's rook differently when one's king is cut off from enemy's pawns or when it isn't; and so on.

The result? The student avoids falling into the trap of following "general principles" of the "put your rook behind the pawns" sort in situations they don't apply, while also avoiding studying thousands upon thousands of theoretical "exceptions" to such general rules that rarely if ever occur in practice.

Highly recommended.

This book discusses the basics (and not so basics) of pawn endings, rook endings (two chapters), minor piece endings, queen endings and finally pawnless endings. It is written in a clear expository style with helpful examples and exercises. I bought it because I decided my endgame play needed remedial work, which I regarded as a necessary evil. Through reading it my attitude was completely turned around and I have become an avid student of endings. I personally found the last chapter, on pawnless endgames, a particular eye-opener.

Four stars does not seem generous to such a book, but I had to admit that after reading the chapter on minor pieces I was not much the wiser about how to use knights in the endgame. In contrast to the policy in other chapters, even the basics of knight blockades were not explained, and I found myself having to supplement the material (as opposed to further study). While omissions in general can be overlooked in a work of limited size, I feel that this one is a distinct flaw in what is generally a fine book.

Background: Currently, my ELO fluctuates between 1950 to about 2000, and I've made steady progress from about 1500 3 years ago. My initial upward surge could be attributed to a lot of tactical practice, and applying good middle game principles, and avoiding rapid chess. Most importantly, I kind of over-analyzed my losses, which really helped.
Just to give you a reference point, I'd give the Amateur's Mind 4 stars, although of course, it's a different subject (the Middle Game). Quite simply, James Howell has written a very high quality and more importantly, a very verbose end game (EG) book that I think is the ideal 2nd stage book on the EG. I also happen to have Dvoetsky's EG manual CD, and I realized that I was much better served by following Dvoertsky's own advice - learn a few concrete positions on the EG, but learn them thoroughly. If you've completed a basic chess ending's book such as those by Seirawan, Pandolphini, etc., then this book is a highly recommended next step.
I throughly enjoy Howell's didactic writing style - he takes the time to give you guidelines (often 4 or 5 steps) for both the superior side and the inferior side. I've learned not only the correct plan or technique to execute a winning position, but also, the correct plan to make life a lot harder for my opponent when my position is inferior. This is a critical piece of advice, given that (your opponent's) time pressure often allows you to save a lost ending. Another important thing about his heavy use of text and guidelines is that it is important for an intermediate level player (roughly 1600 - 1900 ELO) to have the ideas explained in detail. This is a little different from tactics books/CDs where the emphasis is on practice, practice, and more practice along multiple themes/motifs.
I'm quite surprised that this book hasn't gotten much press (although Silman's comments that this is a quality book is spot on).
My suggestion: After going through a basic endings book/CD/pgn file, this is a GREAT next step. I've finished 75% of this book over a 3 month period (remember, study these positions thoroughly), and I'm pretty sure that Dvoretsky's will be a very good next step.
Finally, as I look back at all the various books and phases I've picked up, I can firmly conclude that the thing that has helped me most is lots of tactical practice (starting with Winning chess Tactics, and then the George Renko CD), along with a basic understanding of the MG (Amateur's Mind), and then James Howell's book. This is a short & sweet, but very good quality book.

Some background: I have read HOW TO PLAY THE CHESS ENDINGS by Znosko-Borovsky (a wonderful text for beginners; don't worry about "Related Squares"), A GUIDE TO CHESS ENDINGS by Euwe and Hooper (boring but excellent), WINNING ENDGAME TECHNIQUE by Beliavsky and Mikhalchishin (very underrated!), FROM THE MIDDLEGAME TO THE ENDGAME by Mednis (the best "transition phase" book I have ever read, and I believe an essential work), along with FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS by Muller and Lamprecht (of course I did not read all of it, but it is excellent). I have also read other works, and I have DVORETSKY'S ENDGAME MANUAL, but never really took to it.

ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS: THE TOURNAMENT PLAYER'S GUIDE is the first (the only?) enjoyable endgame book I have ever read (I'm not done with it quite yet). GM Howell is an author who, for once, does not feel the need to write for the theoreticians! I am fascinated by the theoretical stuff, but found that I am not nearly as good an endgame player as I assumed I was (because of all the books I read).

I say that this book is mandatory reading because you can actually stay with it and learn the "why's" of the endgame. From the standpoint of helping the competitive player, I may come to regard it as the best endgame text I have yet read, which includes all those other works mentioned. Howell clearly explains play in the most important types of endgames (pawns, rooks, minor pieces, queens). He also has a sense of humor, a rare species indeed in endgame works.

My advice (I'll say that I am an 1800 player so that you know my point of view) is to look at Znosko-Borovsky's endgame book first. If this seems too daunting at first, begin with a Pandolfini book (I usually don't recommend his books, but some are good), then move on to Znosko-Borovsky. After that, Howell's book. Also, please get the Mednis book I mentioned above--I think it is his best work (nearly all of his works were high-quality, and I have read most of them), and fills a void in chess literature. Later on, try the Beliavsky/Mikhalchishin work.

Having read a lot of the theoretical endgame books above, my advice (further) is to skip them! I can impress my friends by giving checkmate with 2 knights vs. pawn (we practiced this one Friday night!?!), but you know what? I recently realized that I shortchanged myself in learning REAL endgames. Don't let this happen to you as well. And if it has, remedy this as quickly as possible!

I also have gotten Chernev's CAPABLANCA'S BEST CHESS ENDINGS, and while I havent't really studied it yet, it looks FANTASTIC in terms of showing winning technique-in-action.

This book has been around for a long time and it has been about 50 years since I first bought it. It contains many wonderful games played by great chess masters over a long period of time. It starts off with some short stories about chess. The games show how brilliant some of our chess masters were long before the likes of Bobby Fisher. This book is a must have in any chess lover's library. It is truly timeless!

Don't read this book to learn or improve your game (although that will happen at least to some degree anyways). Read it because you are a chess lover and you want to read some marvelous stories and anecdotes, all the more delighful because of their age (this is a 1949 book). A small third of the book is stories; a larger third is oddities, problems, studies, etc; and the largest third (really about half the book) is a collection of games which were chosen not so much for their teaching value as for their revealing certain facets of the game.

To experience the charm and nostalgia of this book, search around for a hard-cover original (I got one for about five dollars) and eschew the trade paperback reissues. The hard-cover has a nice substantial "bulk" and is a pleasure to use, all the more so with a worn copy that has been enjoyed by many other chess fans.

Yes, this book is good; and is a former incarnation of the Chess Companion. Therefore it is given 4 stars, as 3 1/2 for the Chess Companion. The games are good, even not as high standard as the games in the following decades later. The chess endings are very helpful. Many chess themes are very clear. But the story part is not great if you have high expectation. At least they are localized to one half of the book, imagine if those stories were inter-leaving with the real chess. I still don't know how to organinze those stories in a book. Like their current leading part of the book causes some distraction to the good chess to follow; however, if they were in the last half, then we or at least I would expect more exciting (and real-life) chess stories. I just got some idea. The book has two front covers and two halves and one is upside-down of other. To read from one end, it's the real chess games; turn it up-side down, and read from the back, it's the fairy tale chess. Let the publisher worry about how to print it. We are just the chess audience... ;-)

This is a unique chess book that has something for everyone. It has amusing and intersting stories that apply to people who have litereary interests as well as chess interests and it has a striong theme throufghout that although chess is wonderful, it is really secondary to life. It also has fascinating stats, stories, and great game collections and puzzles to solve. Really it is a perfect chess book to go over and read by the fireside on a cold night or any night for that matter. Buy it or pick it up at a library, and if you love chess, you will love this book..

This is a chess book of a different sort - it is not a how-to manual for beginners, nor is it a strategy and tactics book for the more advanced player. This is just what Fireside books are meant to be - collections of memories, anecdotes, puzzles, lists and other trivia (and not so trivial) bits about chess. This is of interest to those who have a deep abiding passion for chess, as well as for those who only dabble in it occasionally. Both editors have written other books on chess; both Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld have written some of the better books on learning chess separately, and together they also collaborated on a book showing strategy and skills development toward winning at chess.

This book is divided into three main sections. The first section contains stories and articles, collected from various publications such as the New Yorker and other newspapers and magazines. Included are also comics from the New Yorker, the Saturday Review of Literature, the New York Herald and other sources. Here are fake histories of the game, tongue-in-cheek stories, poignant memories and more. From the 'Capsule History of the Game' by Chielamangus, we get this snippet:

'The next great figure was Wilhelm Steinitz; a very deep player - also wide, though short. He held the world's championship for twenty-six years, and was therefore considered by his rivals to be very obstinate and pig-headed. Dr. Lasker then held the championship for another twenty-six years. Critics explained that this was because he made weak moves. This was psychology. Lasker thus became known as the apostle of common sense.'

The second section is entitled 'The Magic of Chess'. The entry 'Odd But True' includes a feast of trivia items. How can a game be won (or lost) in two moves? Was there really a master-level game that concluded in four moves? What was the longest master-level game, in number of moves? Many people through history have played through correspondence; given the amount of time permitted between moves, one would not expect too many mistakes, but the shortest of these types of games concluded in a mere six moves. There was also a book published once in Germany with the title, 'Advice to Spectators at Chess Tournaments'. All the pages were blank save one, which had but two words on it - 'Halt Maul!'

The third section is a collection of classic games and strategies, which includes a lot games more interesting for the circumstances surrounding them as much as for the play that takes place. These include miniatures (short games), blindfolded games, and even 'the perfect game'. This has a strange quality about it in chess - according to Chernev and Reinfeld, the perfect game is not one in which all the moves are 'perfect': 'A game in which neither side has made a mistake does not add up to perfection; in such games we find only a sterile dullness which lacks every memorable feature.'

Chernev and Reinfeld had the reputation for being able to speak for hours on end about chess without notes or books, much in the way many people will talk about sports, movies, politics or other areas. They write with wit and skill (much like the way they play the game), and have the hope that through their writing their love of the game is contagious. Judging from this book, one of my earliest books on chess, they are indeed.

I learned to play chess from this book decades ago and have kept up a comfortable skill level just by following Purdy's precepts. Purdy was an Australian, and was a World Correspondence Chess Champion.

This book is really good for someone wishing to take their chess to the next level after they've learned some basic strategies and tactics.It can be read fairly quickly and will give you some general strategies that you can apply in many chess games. If you need a good introductory chess book, then this is the one to buy.

Purdy is unmatched as a chess writer and teacher...

get anything with his name on it! This is a foundational book that every player should own!

There are many "all in one books" that are designed to be a person's first chess book, or only chess book. The Complete Idiot's Guide does a good job, but Purdy's "Guide to Good Chess" is by far the best out there. He is an excellent writer, that can take complex chess concepts, and make them understandable.

All essentials skills are covered, and he does a great job in pointing you in the right direction to further your skills if you are looking to get serious about chess.

For a casual player who is looking to improve their game, or for someone who thinks they might want to study chess, this is clearly the book you should pick up.

PS I am very stingy with the 5 stars, but this book truely deserves them.

Purdy does an excellent job of laying the foundation for more advanced concepts. If you know how to play, but are perplexed by concepts that you're always reading, you'll find a lot of it answered here. If you read through this and the Seirawan Microsoft Press books, your chess will take a nice leap forward.

If you want to learn how to play chess, this is the way. The first book of the series, Play Winning Chess, describes the moves, rules, and terminology. While many people claim to know how to move the pieces, do they really know what a fianchetto is? How about en passant? Or what does o-o-o mean?
The second book of the series, Winning Chess Strategies, describes how to best deploy your pieces. What are good and bad bishops? How can a knight be defeated? What to do with the rooks?
The last book of this series, Winning Chess Tactics, illustrates the heart and soul of chess, beneficial exchanges. It gives you some basic fundamentals such as x-rays, skewers, and pins.
These books are easily readable and have many diagrams and explanations. Thinking about starting to learn about chess? Start here.

THis set is amazing. As a gift or for yourself, you can't go wrong purchasing these 3 books from Yasser Seirawan. I purchased mine here at Amazon "used" from HPCB-Online. The books were in mint condition packaged with care and they arrived in record time! I was surprised to find them because they are now out-of-print and are becoming hard to find. If you or someone you love is into chess, then make sure you don't let this set pass you by! Cheers!

OK, so you know how the pieces move, have learned the four-move-checkmate, and like to attack. But, you are being hammered by better players who side-step your cheap attacks on f2 and f7, so what do you do? I recommend these books to all of my students because they methodically (and entertainingly) guide the reader through all the fundamentals of chess. These were some of the first books I read and I have gone back to them again and again to get material for teaching new players. These are the core of my chess book collection. Yasser, you are a great writer! How about an autobiography sometime soon?

If you are a beginner or rated slightly higher, this is the best one series of books you can study. There are actually six in this series and you would be wise to study them all. My rating jumped 200 points after I read only three books in the series! I still have three books left to study! Yasser Seirawan has demonstrated through this series and his other books how well he writes as well as plays chess. There are only about thirty or forty GREAT chess instructional books in print, this is a great place to start quality chess study.

I actually bought all these books seperatly! Seeing them available as a set for a lot cheaper is Great! I wish I knew it was sold that way. This set is full of usefull information for a serious chess beginner. The first book, Play Winning Chess, goes over the basic rules and covers most chess terminology. Kind of basic, but Yasser's four principles of chess are outstanding. The second, Winning Chess Tactics, is where it starts getting good, I am not even through it all the way, and I already noticed a real improvement on my games. I play on-line, and I was getting butchered, I spotted a nice Combination the way I learned in the book, and checkmate shortly followed. The third book is called Winning chess Stratagies, i havent even opened it yet, but i can't wait. If you are a serious beginner who is tired of hearing, "Check Mate!", and never saying it, this set is for you. If you are a "real" chess player you should read something a little more advanced. They are still full of valuable information, well worth a read.

This book is a great collection of strategic examples. You can dedicate many time in the themes of each position and also you will enjoy with this useful manual. A must for every chess player.

This is an excellent book on chess. The diagrams are clear and can easily be followed through and the previous reviewer who commented that they were too small, was on my part greatly exaggerated and didn't do any justice. Buy one copy for yourself and decide. This book gave me countless hours of enjoyment and I am sure it will do the same for you.

I am an avid player and own an extensive collection of chess books. As most chess fans have probably discovered, a lot of chess books are simply the same ideas rehashed and presented with different games. This book however, is a refreshing break from the rest, presenting strategic play in a condensed format with great exemplars of the theme discussed. Honestly, probably one of the best books on the game that I've read. Short, sweet and to the point--highly recommended!

I've rekindled my interest in chess and, not wanting to expend too much time on the game, have limited my reading to three books: on tactics, on the endgame, and on positional chess.

This book, serving the latter purpose, has 495 diagrams, mostly from practical games between top players, many of which are known classics. Each illustrates a point, and the author avoids copious variations. The moves usually extend from the diagram position to the end of the game. They are very well selected. As a result, my intuition has clearly improved in an important area of the game.

Gelfer's rigor is reflected in his impeccable English (no translator or editor is mentioned). I can't think of a single typo, in word or variation, and the text is clear, no nonsense and to the point. He seems to have honed the work, culled from his training manuals for the Israeli youth and women's teams, over years. This makes the book a pleasure to read.

My copy, which isn't a Dover edition (which have excellent bindings), is getting old (1993) and pages are beginning to fall out. But that's a good sign: it's due to the use the book has seen. Highly recommended.

I recommend this book for any 1500+ ELO player who wants to improve their strategic game. A lot of the variations are given few comments, so a solid chess understanding and playing the moves on a board are essential. The book is organized into themes which any chess player can appreciate: discussion of good/bad knights/bishops, endgames, 2-bishops, bishops opposite colors, etc.