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Apr-24-09
 | | Open Defence: <<Does <<<anyone>>> have any recommendations for a good book on positional play suitable for an improving club player who's never going to be more than a quite good club player??>> Michael Stean's Simple Chess I cannot praise that book enough |
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Apr-24-09
| | Open Defence: what do people think of Colin Crouch's book on Attacking Technique ? he features some nice Morozevich games |
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| Apr-24-09 | | hms123: <Open Defence. Are you talking about the 1996 <Attacking technique> or this newer one; http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Secrets... The 1996 book has great reviews but isn't available. Do you have a copy? It looks very intersting. |
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Apr-24-09
| | Open Defence: <hms> my post was in reference to the 1996 book, my only criticism is that he could have saved some space by starting from the relevant game position rather than giving the full game <How to obtain an attacking position> could be the subject matter of a whole new book which I think would make an interesting topic for a book |
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Apr-24-09
| | Open Defence: I have a copy of the 1996 book |
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Apr-24-09
| | Open Defence: well.. on the question of the Caro-Kann
http://www.jeremysilman.com/book_re... |
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| Apr-24-09 | | crawfb5: I have the Gallagher book on the C-K and Silman is correct; there isn't much out there to choose from that covers enough and Gallagher isn't trying to push either side. |
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| Apr-24-09 | | hms123: <Open Defence> Hang on to it--Amazon wants at least $114 for a used copy of the paperback. |
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Apr-24-09
 | | chancho: Bobby Fischer is said to have thought very highly of Cecil Purdy's books. |
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| Apr-24-09 | | Jim Bartle: Did Fischer ever blurb anybody else's books? |
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| Apr-24-09 | | zanshin: Has nobody mentioned Logical Chess Move by Move (Irving Chernev)? http://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess... The current version is a far cry from the one I read and re-read as a child. If someone wanted to learn how to play chess, this book would be my first recommendation. |
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Apr-25-09
| | Open Defence: <hms> wow! btw my book is in great condition no dog ears at all which is an achievement, I wonder what my copy of Simple Chess is worth |
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| Apr-25-09 | | MaxxLange: I think this is a nice idea, so here I go with a review of the last chess book that I bought: Tactics in the Chess Opening 1: Sicilian Defense
This is the first in a five-volume series, from New In Chess , with light annotations of tactical games arising from all openings. Volume 1 has 250 games, from all the major systems in the Sicilian Defense, with a generous selection of "anti-Sicilian" systems such as the Closed, the c3 Sicilian,the Rossolimo, and the Morra Gambit. Although it is not an opening theory book - it's more like early middlegame study material for players who want to become candidate masters - the first game in the book throws us into deep waters with 6 Bg5 e6 7 f4 Qc7 8 Qf3 b5, then some other sharp lines in 6 Bg5, then 6 Be3, 6 Bc4 etc. I haven't looked at the Dragon or Rauzer or Sveshy chapters much, but I don't doubt that they have an interesting selection of sharp games from main and some side lines as well. The book is marketed to club strength players, but the light annotations and complicated and sometimes irrational tactical positions games may leave players under 2200 scratching their heads at some things that go uncommented. The book cost about $25 or $30 in US dollars; NiC provided timely delivery in a professionally packed cardboard box. It is an entertaining and instructive anthology that I would recommend. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | hoodrobin: <jess & hms> Keep the good job! IMVHO one has to learn somehow from scratch; then learn again and again, throwing away something and something keeping and modifying, and so on and so on... and sometimes he'll have some insight and sometimes he won't believe in learning anymore... |
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| Apr-25-09 | | blacksburg: oh, what a pleasant surprise! a chess book forum yay! ok let's see...
<Does <<<anyone>>> have any recommendations for a good book on positional play suitable for an improving club player who's never going to be more than a quite good club player??> i can second <OD>'s recommendation of Michael Stean's <Simple Chess>. but if i had to choose one book for this purpose, it would be Ludek Pachman <Modern Chess Strategy>. everything i know about strategy, i learned from this book. also, it's a Dover publication, so it's cheap and physically high quality. <Can <<<anyone>>> recommend a book how to deal with Caro-Kann??> i used to play the Caro-Kann, and even a chess book junkie like me failed to find a satisfactory book on this defense. a few points - i'm sure Karpov's books are very good, but you'd need to be a 2400+ to understand them. or rather, i don't understand them. there are two repertoire books for black that i've read - Houska's <Play the Caro-Kann> and Schiller's <Complette Defense To King Pawn Openings>. i have a big problem with both of them - they both refuse to cover the main line Advance Variation, and recommend instead sidelines like 3...Na6 and 3...c5. one of the main points of the caro is to get into a good french with the c8-bishop free in the event of e5, so to ignore 3...Bf5 really grinds my gears. <Has <<<anyone>>> here had the chance to read the new edition of fischer's book? i've always wanted to read it, but i hear very scary stories about editorial modifications?> i have the newest Batsford edition of 60MG, and i have an e-copy of the 1969 Simon & Schuster edition. despite the controversy about the previous Batsford hack job, i can assure that the most recent edition is a faithful reproduction of the original. the only difference i've noticed is the algebraic notation. and my only complaint about the book is the horrific doodoo brown cover art. <Can <<<anyone>>> recommend a good book on the Semi Slav??> i have not read it, but Matthew Sadler has written a book, <The Semi-Slav>. i have two other books by Sadler, on the QGD and pure Slav, and i cannot say enough good things about them. Sadler is a VERY good writer, so i would be confident that his semi-slav book is pretty good. basically, i've found that there is no one single currently available book that will satisfy caro-kann players. <Can <<<anyone>>> recommend a book on the KID for an 1800ish player with some knowledge of the ideas in the KID but not a lot of knowledge regarding specific lines??> i know nothing about the KID. :( |
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| Apr-25-09 | | blacksburg: i'd like to make a few recommendations. i'll pick 3 as an arbitrary number. if i had to pick 3 chess books to be limited to for the rest of my life, i think i'd pick these. 1. <<Anthology of Chess Combinations>> - from the Informator people, currently in its 3rd edition. this is basically a giant tactics book. endless combinations from the best players in history, and lots that you've never seen before, also. each position is from a real game, players and dates are listed. this is a very challenging book, and i would recommend knowing a thing or two or three about tactics before tackling it. not available on amazon, i ordered mine from the USCF website, but you can also get it from the Informant website. this is my bedside chess book. and it's hardcover, which is pretty cool, IMHO. this book will keep you busy for years. 2.<<Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics>> - Van Perlo. this is the most <entertaining> endgame book you'll ever read. this book will make you laugh out loud and say <oh my god> to no one in particular. this is not meant to be an endgame manual or reference work, like Dvoretsky or Fine. if you need to learn the Lucena or the Philidor, then Silman's Endgame Course is a good choice. but if you want to be entertained and learn a few things as well, get this book. it contains some advanced concepts, but the material can be understood by any club player, and the variations can be understood without use of a board. i'm not exaggerating, this book will make you laugh out loud in an empty room. 3.<<Modern Chess Strategy>> - Ludek Pachman. i cannot recommend this book enough. i don't even know how many times i've read it. this book made something <click> in my head when i was a beginner, when i didn't understand what people were talking about when they referred to strategic elements. read it, and then read it again. this book may be a little biased towards static factors over dynamics, but i can forgive this. and anyways, for dynamics, your best bet is a good tactics book, IMHO. everything i know about strategy, i learned from this book. |
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Apr-25-09
| | Open Defence: Yasser Seirawan's book on Winning Chess Strategies is also a pretty decent book |
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| Apr-25-09 | | just a kid: I think Simple chess is a great book.It Helped me improve my chess thinking.I wish many thanks to Open Defence for recommending it |
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| Apr-25-09 | | Jim Bartle: When I saw the title "Simple Chess," I simply assumed it was by Yasser Seirawan. He liked to use that phrase when annotating good moves in Inside Chess. I used to get irritated when he wrote that, as I was too much a simpleton to see what was simple. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | timhortons: I had this book "Secrets of Pawn Endings" by muller and Lamprect.I treasure this book so much, but had no time studying it. Ok but from time to time I'm studying it and pasting the problem and solution in my chess forum. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | hms123: <timhortons> I have Muller and Laprecht's <Fundamental Chess Endings> as well. It is a very good reference for endings. It also teaches you about the endings so it is not just a catalog of endings. For a less comprehensive approach, but one that is <excellent> for learning the principles of endings, I really like <Jesus de la Villa's> book <100 Endgames You Must Know>. The book is first-rate and appropriate for intermediates and advanced players alike. There are some examples from the book posted in my forum. (stop by and ask and I will find them for you) |
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| Apr-25-09 | | BadKnight: I have a copy of Grandmasters Secrets: The Caro Kann by Peter Wells. I play e4 as white, so often face the caro kann. would anybody like to comment on this book? I have skimmed through the chapters covering 3. Nc3. i have found that the book has lot of comments and explanations on the basic ideas on the openings. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | Eyal: Speaking of books on endgame, here's something <Domdaniel> wrote a while ago about <Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual> by Mark Dvoretsky: <[It] is the best chess book of any kind I've seen in about 20 years. Possibly ever, although Nimzo's My System has to keep the top spot for sentimental reasons.I bought a few books recently - more opening stuff that I don't need or won't use, Keene's Petrosian book because he told me I'd like it, Speelman on analysis (pretty good) - and Dvoretsky. Which is just phenomenal. Apart from the general quality and depth of analysis, which seems faultless, the layout, design, use of terminology, teaching methods, choice of examples etc etc are all wonderful. He illustrates important endgame ideas with a 'tragicomedy' - like a position from a GM game where White offered a draw despite having a forced win. Or grandmaster games with horribly misplayed endings. So many games where strong players threw away the good work they'd done earlier. Really striking examples. Dvoretsky's point is that these little tragicomic dramas actually stick in the mind better, and are thus useful teaching/learning aids. And I think he's right. Several of the examples have lodged in my brain much more forcefully than the usual endgame positions do. It's a very astute piece of psychology, maybe connected to our human urge for narrative. Or drama? And any of you who harbour the weird desire to improve your chess should get this book.> Knowing this book myself, I would add that it's very demanding and IMO probably not the ideal choice for beginners who feel they need to start with the most basic stuff. However, for those who believe they are ready to tackle something more advanced, it's superb. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | Woody Wood Pusher: Yeah with the Dvoretsky Endgame Manual Second Edition there is a problem with the print quality (on the first batch at least). The analysis is written in blue but it is way too light to read comfortably. I would recommend buying it only after looking at it in the flesh first. Or get the first edition. |
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| Apr-25-09 | | hms123: Glenn Flear's <Practical Endgame Play--beyond the basics> is also quite good. It is well written and (as advertized) has practical positions from real games. The quality of the analysis seems very good. |
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