Puzzles Books

This book is a repertoire book centered around the Leningrad Dutch - a very aggressive (yet slightly risky for both white and black), tactical line. The specific line highlighted is as follows- 1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. o-o o-o 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8.

This book has three features that I really like-

1)An intro chapter discussing typical middlegame plans, tactics, and various pawn structure that are likely to arise in this variation.

2)It covers many other sidelines such as staunton gambit, english, etc. that one is likely to face in addition to the main line.

3)It has a final chapter with "test" positions so that you can find out how well you have learned the opening.

Warning! This opening is not for the fainthearted! - If you like an all out slug fest where both sides "burn their bridges" early, and you enjoy putting maximum pressure on white's position-then play this opening.

Note: I have had pretty decent results with this opening. I am currently rated in the 1800-1900 USCF range and I find that many of my opponents are not terribly versed in dutch lines- they spend thier time preparing against the Nimzo-Indian, King's Indian, Queen's Gambit, etc. Therefore, an additional bonus in playing the dutch is that I have generally been more familiar with what's going on during the game than my opponent.

Let me say that the Dutch is an excellent, but risky, system that should appeal to people who like to "burn their pants" early. In the dutch, there is no such thing as as a loss that is based on one static factor. All losses are SLAUGHTERS.The Leningrad system is the most riskiest, newest, and most blood thirstiest system in the dutch. Both sides have to play on there toes , as one slip could cost the game for either side. Endgames are hardly never reached in this sytem for game usually last 30 moves. You have to be on your top at tactics. I wouldn't recommend weak players to play the dutch and especially the leningrad. However, if you are tacticaly good and accurate with your moves and love blood thirsty battles and hate endgames. Then I seriously recommend you get the book "The Dutch for the Attacking Player" by Steffen Pedersen. It provides you with a full repertoire against any thing that white can throw at you using the Leningrad system. All of whites major replies and sidelines are covered in detail with complete games and provides the logic behind the moves. But let me remind you.... The Leningrad is extremely risky. I hope this review has aided you in which system to play. Keep in mind that this is my opinian. If you like a rock-solid wall of pawns then play the Stonewall. If you like endgames and quiet play, then play the Classical dutch by all means. If you decide to play the Stonewall, please keep in mind the gaping holes you are letting white have.

This is a repertoire book for black, and it's geared towards the attacking player. The basis of the suggested repertoire is the Leningraddutch (with 7. - Qe8 ), but the more rare continuations after 1.d4/c4/Ktf3 f5 are also covered using 36 commented games. Analysis of typical dutch middlegamepositions are therefore thouroughly covered.

The books starts with a chapter on the common plans in the dutch for both sides, which gives you a jump start in understanding the opening. At the end there are also 9 strategical tests with the motto "How well do you understand the Dutch?", to test you and give you hints on what parts you need to study again. This book does a great job in explaining a difficult opening system to the point where it becomes close to being percieved as simple.

If you are planning on playing the dutch you must buy this book!

I was lucky enough to purchase this book when it came out and have never seen it for sale since. Combine this book with the Complete book of Dwarves and you have everything you need for a Dwarven campaign setting. This is extremly useful even if you aren't playing dwarves but they are being used as NPC's in a campaign setting. Everything you ever wanted to know about Dwarves but were afraid to ask. A must have!!

Welcome to the Netherworld! In this, one of the most fascinating sourcebooks in the vaunted FR series, Ed Greenwood takes you into the caverns far below the Forgotten Realms... where the Dwarves, a proud and dying race, do battle with the never-ending legions of humanoids, and spill their royal blood in their vicious battles against the Dragons who have stolen their ancient treasures. A grim, dark, and wonderful book, which will give you enough depth and drama for an entire Dwarven campaign! Highly recommended, for anyone who plays Dwarves, or enjoys Underdark epics.

Dwarves Deep has to be one of the BEST Forgotten Realms accessories ever made together with Old Empires, Moonsea and Dreams of Red Wizards! It sheds light on the DWARVES of the Forgotten Realms, their exotic lands and their proud heritage. Their distinct culture, history, and civilization will win you over for sure!
Ranging from background history, to city and social descriptions, to important people and characters, to the respective gods and pantheons, to dwarven spells and magical items, to details of the dwarven language and kingdoms, to new monsters and half-dwarves (!!!), to adventure hooks and maps, this accessory has it all.
For other FR references/adventures, I recommend: the Old Empires accessory on Chessenta, Mulhorand, and Unther, the Dreams of Red Wizards accessory on Thay, the Pirates of the Fallen Stars, Moonsea, and Draconimicon accessories, as well as the Ruins of Myth Drannor Box Set Adventure, and the Ruins of Zhentil Keep Box Set Adventure (they are Second Edition AD&D, out of print and it will take a bit of searching, but it's well worth it).
For a more complete picture on Dwarves, I STRONGLY recommend the Complete book of Dwarves which provides additional information relating to the hardy stone-loving people, thus supplementing the existing material.
For an updated edition of events on Faerun's Dwarves see the Third Edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, which even though is quite expensive, it is still very useful to all FR fans!
In conclusion, if you have a soft spot for the little stout short-tempered dwarvenfolk, try and get your hands on a copy of the Dwarves Deep accessory. You will not regret it! Trust me...

Very good book to use as a workbook for designing a garden, but not enough on it's own. I am working on designing a landscape for our home, and I use this book primarily, along with 'the well designed mixed garden', and 'your house, your garden'. a book about local plants is also very beneficial. Using all of these gives me confidence in doing something I have never done before.

This is an outstanding tool for both the beginner and advanced gardener. Janet has a way of explaining things in an order that helps prevent mistakes caused by over enthusiasm, and still feels like a game.
It is easy to read and use, doesn't feel like homework to work through.

Easy Garden Design helped me to think through the reasons I wanted a garden, and how to tell if the finished product is successful. My whole landscape was simply too overwhelming to think about or budget for, so now I've learned to design and complete one garden area at a time. Previously, I've taken a scattershot approach and was unhappy with the results. Now I have an overall landscape plan and am proceeding with confidence.. An excellent resource!

As a club player, I am often confronted to Sicilian players. I bought this book to find out what I was supposed to play againt the Sicilian. "Easy guide to the Classical Sicilian" not only shows the main variations on many positions types but more importantly it explains the plans behind these positions (the whats and the whys). For each position-type, Jouni Yrjola present, in an easy to understand way, half a dozen or so "Typical methods for White" and "Typical methods for Black". So this book tricked me, in addition to show me how to play againt Sicilian players, it taught how to become one of them!

Easy Guide to the Classical Sicilian does a good job of balancing the need for general information on an opening, as well as getting into the specifics of each variation. The main strength of this book is that it does not try to take huge shortcuts that would keep you from memorizing a lot of material for the sake of being easier. The main variations are all deeply covered, up to move twenty or so in the h6 Rauzer, which prevents doubled f pawns. Some of his suggestions are not technically the "main line," but they are all lines played by top grandmasters including Shirov, Leko, and Svidler. The variations themselves are easily understandable, even up to an advanced stage. This is because the author does a good job explaining the main ideas before each chapter, so you understand the basic early middlegame plan even if you don't know the exact move at the moment. Another plus is that while it is a repertoire book, there are about 6 different ways you could put the lines together to form a repertoire. For instance, in the Sozin you have both the 5. .. Qb6 line, forcing the knight away, but making the game less concrete, or the dangerous (for both players) early queenside activity lines in the sozin and Velimirovic, as well as the main lines. In the rauzer, you have the plan of h6 to kick out the bishop, or choice of several Bd7 lines, with doubled F pawns. This also isn't a book that tells you that everything you play will be able to counter white, in fact in some places the author tells you that at this point black doesn't have a foolproof answer, but it's going to be that way with every line. If you're not yet facing the open Sicilian much, concentrate on the Anti Siclilians, but if you are facing the open more and more, this is the book for you.

This is indeed a solid book. It covers the theory very well in a nice way, since he offers explanations after many moves instead of just listing the variations followed by a "with advantage to black".

Regarding all major variations, he presents general themes and plans for both sides. There are many diagrams, and in some cases the positions in the diagrams are closely related which helps you understand the connection between some plans.In my opinion, these are very instructive.

After each variation is covered, he starts a discussion entitled "Which line to choose in the (for example) Sozin)", where he explains firstly his own view and experience and then generally the differences, which line suits the positional player, the aggressive player, the solid player etc. From someone who has tested different lines in various variations and then read his discussion afterwards, I can say that he is right on many points.

Between me and some of my friends, we own all the Easy Guides in the different Sicilian Openings and a few others as well. In my opinion, this one is the best.

This book gently introduces the various concepts of studies, through annotated examples of studies.

The introductory chapter on "how a study differs from a game" will be most valuable for over the board and/or Internet players who have summarily dismissed chess studies as "weird."

This work also introduces the reader to the giants of composition: Rinck, Kasparian, Gurgenidze, just to name a few. These names may not be familiar, but in the study world they resonate strongly.

Very enjoyable, and most highly recommended.

The endgame study is a never ending source of fun for me. I am absolutely horrible at solving these things mind you (I got one study completely right the first time through), but they are great fun and make regular endgame play seem simple. It is a shame this one is out of print.

This is perhaps a book that was destined to be out of print after the first printing (1996). It is also one of my most prized chess books. None of the problems are easy; indeed, most of them are quite difficult even for grandmasters. Each endgame study has been designed to tease out the most fantastic, unexpected, and beautiful maneuvers and positions that the chessmen are capable of exhibiting. Even if you fail to solve the puzzles, playing through the copiously illustrated and annotated solutions is pure pleasure. The positions did not arise from actual play, but were composed, mainly for enjoyment rather than for instructional purposes. But this is chess at its most marvelous and breathtaking!

I travel a lot for work, so I need to keep myself occupied on flights, etc. What better way than to stimulate my thirst for knowledge? It made the time fly by.

The cover of this book tells one NOTHING about who wrote it. I happened onto it through a puzzler friend who knows I am a fan of Terry Stickels. It is a great compilation of some of the best and most interesting puzzles around, and people who have favorite puzzle writers will never find this book. I agree with the other review I saw--why would you put the EDITORS names on the front, and not the authors???

This is a great book of puzzles and that is fully illustrated and that adds a good deal to the quality of this fine book. The major contributor to the book is puzzle author Terry Stickels, famous for his FrameGames and Stickelers and his national and inter-national syndicated puzzle columns. Amazon has incorrectly shown the authors to be other than those who actually wrote the puzzles. The two authors mentioned are the editors. Most people who buy books of puzzles are quite interested in whose puzzles they are and could often care less about the editors. This book is a case in point. It is hoped that Amazon will update their listing to show the true scope of this book and especially to mention the major author.

This Chess book is so exhilarating that I actually feel COMPELLED to write a review on it. I won't bother repeating the information in the accompanying reviews. First of all, in the overall introduction of the whole book, it is suggested that as you progress through the games, you choose the winner (or, in the case of a drawn game, the stronger player) and cover his moves with a card (I folded "Sticky Notes" in half and stuck them on vertically). Then, based on your analysis of the position and the game, announce or write down your move and compare it to the actual move. Granted, this will slow down your progress through the book by great proportions, but, by even greater proportions, it will improve your chess game. That method is called the Tactical Vision Exercise. I took (notice I'm not saying, "...it took me") from around early April 2001 to February 17, 2002 to complete the book doing it this way and my chess understanding has become improved and clarified more than 100-fold (I took about 1 to 2 hour sessions of this at least once or twice per day).
Please don't become critical or skeptical when I tell you that I have lost quite a few games of my own in my trek through this book; after all, chess is a mentally demanding game. But, I have also won many more games against strong opponents than I have in the past. That says a lot for that exercise, but, to do that with this 3-in-1 book in particular, I believe, is an extremely required activity for any good amateur wanting to improve even more greatly in chess, whether to increase your chances at casual victories or to win in more tournament games!
Speaking of tournaments, this book also gives you tremendous insight to what goes through a top-level player's mind as the tournament progresses; it's more than just a series of games. Furthermore, the editors (or was it just Mr. Tykodi?) at various points throughout the book, did an excellent job at providing improved suggestions (moves, that is [whether from a computer or from their own analysis]) where Mr. Purdy (with all due respects) may have been a bit short-sighted.
And then there are the openings!! If you crave openings knowlege and tips, this is truly a recondite handbook to a few of the classically popular ones; the Sicilian only showed up in the Spassky versus Fischer match. I had always been one to spurn the Slav, but, it was definitely the most popular one among Euwe and Alekhine.
I had not studied many Fischer games at all before my journey through the "How Fischer Won" section of this book. And now after playing through his games (via tactical vision), I must say he is a "mad genius" on the chessboard!! Many of his moves left my mouth wide open in awe! I had studied chess consistently for at least 5 years before this book and never have I come across any player more outrageously spectacular than Bobby Fischer; keep in mind I've always been of the "don't believe the hype" mentality. But, I'm from Missouri, and he definitley Showed Me!! He shows that you shouldn't shut a move out of your mind simply because you see that your piece will be captured; play it through in your mind first and calculate beyond that!
Don't be afraid at all to mark in this book like crazy; it's really the only way to imprint the information on your brain and it'll make review of the book much easier (I can't imagine going through this book word-for-word and move-by-move again). It is truly a journey.

Chessco/TPI has produced another fine book, that is sure to be a best-seller. It covers the WC Matches between Alekhine and Euwe 35 and 37 and the still-discussed Spassky-Fischer duel of 72. All the games are annotated by Purdy based on his original work, but updated by Chessco; there are photographs I have not seen before. There are articles by Euwe and Alekhine written for papers/magazines give a frank and revealing picture of both champions. The notes are superb - pure unadulterated Purdy - this man had opinions and was not backward in coming forward with them. I like that! Buy this book and have the read of your life!

This is a three in one volume of the C.J.S. Purdy books: How Euwe Won, The Return of Alekhine, and How Fischer Won. While The Return of Alekhine is the largest of the three none outstrips the other as a far as readability and enjoyability. Purdy was a talented annotator famed for educating the intermediate chessplayer and he doesn't disappoint in these 80 annotated games. Opening nuances; complicated middlegames; well analyzed endings; missed opportunities and hidden combinations are all to be found. A summation of the openings follows each book and as an epilogue there is H.W.M. Lunney's biographical sketch on C.J.S. Purdy: The Annotator. A close reading will reveal Purdy's distinctly high regard for Euwe as both a player and a person. He had a lower opinion of Alekhine yet he had enormous esteem for Alekhine's chess and he completely disregards rumors of his drunkenness during the first match. As concerns Fischer - he is simply a chess deity. It's clear that Purdy strongly favored the two bishops, perhaps almost as much as he favored the term "Sword of Damocles" which is used recurrently. Naturally the book is somewhat dated by its stern opening opinions, but this doesn't detract from the cutthroat chess contained within. The extent of sharp tactics and engaging play that can result from the Slav Defense was truly astounding. Alekhine and Euwe each played it against each other and they were far from boring games. The Fischer-Spassky section is supplemented with a small pamphlet entitled Post Mortem 1976. Given at end of each game are corrections or reconsideration of analysis from the original text. In at least one instance the reader is told, after a column of analysis, that one of the moves was actually a typographical error. Here it may have been better to just correct the mistake than merely note its existence. I was surprised when playing through some of the games that I had never done so before. This might be expected with those from the Alekhine-Euwe matches, but even some of the Fischer-Spassky games as well. If you, too, haven't availed yourself of the opportunity of playing out these games consider Extreme Chess a grand chance to do so. The layout is well organized and there are photos interspersed throughout. The cover is colorful and artistically designed. Recommended.

This is an Awesome Adventure for starting DM's

This adventure for starting DM's gives you all you need to run an adventure!!!

"Fast Play" is the best D&D tutorial series I've ever played. Knocking down the learning curve, EotW is a module adventure, with "as needed" instructions on playing D&D. Not only are game mechanics presented this way, but also gaming and roleplaying tips, and information on mundane basic things, like armor and weapons. The module also has ample opportunities for roleplaying NPC's (non-player characters, who interact with the players), as well as standard combat. The only drawback is that the special dice you need to play are not included, but even so, the module comes with alternatives using six-sided dice!

I found this book on a shelf one day, and i thought huh looks good. Don't get me wrong I like the book, in fact I read it every now and again. Well I now this is not much of a review so if you like x-men and if you like a different story instead of all those x-men villians trying to take over the world. I recommend this book highly

I found this book at a used book store and I said hey that looks interesting. The next morning I had it finished. This book was so easy to read and so entertaining that I couldn't put it down. Mr. Odom's character were so believable you want to get in there with them. A must read. I hope there's a second.

This book is very well written. There are alot of characters to keep track of, but Mr. Odom makes them so detailed and interesting that there's no way you'll forget any of them. This book is one of the most original stories I have ever read. The story moves smoothly, with plenty of action, interesting technology and settings. You won't be disappointed with this one!

A renowned anthropologist, writing on magic, science, and religion, suggested that human beings are most likely to engage in magical beliefs and "religious" rituals when the stakes are important, their control is limited, the risk is considerable, and the outcome is uncertain. FENG SHUI, CRAPS, AND SUPERSTITIONS, to me, is a refreshing addition to this line of thinking. In his new publication, Wilfrido M. Sy, MD, offers unusual insights into the popular Eastern art, the Western dice game, and the universal practice. The book is delightful with its humorous accounts, and thought-provoking in its observations and reflections. I read it with much pleasure and deep interest.

Dr. Sy has outdone himself in using Feng Shui to help crapshooters. Although, I cannot play this game I'm sure it will help those who do. With his backround in Asian Martial Arts and his love for the casino he knew his subject very well. The great way he explains this process was always through experience and not of theory. Great Accomplishment Dr. Sy and I'm hopeful for more to come!

A lifetime of experience at the craps tables meets the Martial Way head-on in Dr. Sy's groundbreaking new book, Feng Shui, Craps, and Superstitions - The Martial Arts Approach to Winning at Craps.

Are some casinos luckier for players than others? How about the dice tables themselves? Are some better than others? And why is it that some players are natural hot shooters while others are natural coolers? It's all about "energy," and no one explains it better than Willy Sy.

If you've ever played craps seriously, you'll be nodding your head in agreement as you read this book.

Highly recommended.

Steve "Heavy" Haltom