A great book about a famous chessplayer
593659
Frank Brady crafted an excellent recount of Bobby Fischer's professional and personal life. As most of us recognized Fischer's chess brillance as well as his personal demons; thankfully, Mr. Brady delivers both aspects superbly. Although no biography would be accurate without detailing his sickness, he managed to present Fischer's mental issues for what they were and how these issues defined his life away from the chessboard. Regardless of anything else you may have read, watched, or researched of Bobby Fischer, this book provides a complete and comprehensive recount of the life, times, and relationships of one of the greatest chess professionals who ever lived.
2255514
One of the best ways to improve at chess is to study the games of great players.  Steve Giddins put together a wonderful collection of games that includes some very famous players and also some lesser known masters and GMs.  The games are grouped by theme, which is really helpful. He also starts off with sort of an executive summary (so you know what is coming) and ends with a few bullet points of the key ideas and/or moves.

The author decided to minimize the tactical variations in favor of lots of text to fully explain the critical positions.  That's a tremendous help, especially to the beginner or intermediate player.

This book has something for everyone.  There are games that feature active piece play and attacking themes as well as coverage of important pawn structures where slower, more positional maneuvering is the norm.  If you liked Chernev's books you will like this one too.  Giddins makes a comment in the introduction that his book is sort of a modern twist to Chernev's writings.  You get some exposure to the openings that are popular today such as the QGD, KID, Ruy Lopez, French Defense, etc.

There are roughly 2-3 pages of text devoted to each game.  So in about 15-20 minutes you can go through the whole game and even review some of the sidelines too.  Lastly, there's a chapter on endings and these deserve some very careful study.  Giddins sheds some light on some extremely important concepts such as "don't hurry!"  In the ending, since there are less pieces, it is vital to think critically and weigh the consequences of each move.

This is a terrific book!
520787
The book is excellent.
All chess players must have it.
The notation used can be learned and it's fun too.
The book is Cheap and Short plus can  you improve a lot.
4554935
This book compiles all known games played by Alexander Alekhine over his career. It includes many (MANY) games from Simultaneous displays, as Alekhine did so many of these exhibitions all over the world, throughout his career. It also includes every 'serious' tournament game, and all of Alekhine's match games, along with many consultation and blindfold games. This is not a biography, although there are light biographical sketches periodically, and also information on his travels between each new destination.

As with every McFarland Chess book I own, the physical quality is quite high -- hardcover, very well bound.

There is a lot to like -- I'd consider it the only book on Alekhine's games anyone would need, but for two slight drawbacks:

First, not every serious game is annotated. This is not a really serious problem, because the games which are not annotated are generally annotated elsewhere. For example, none of the Alekhine/ Capablanca match games are annotated, despite the fact that Alekhine annotated most of his wins and some of the draws for his best games collection. It's hard to fathom why they were not included here. This makes it less all inclusive than it would otherwise be.

Second, all the annotations are Alekhine's. This is a minor issue, since his notes are generally accurate and good. Still, notes by other players would be nice, especially in the way it was done in Forster's epic biography of Amos Burn (in my opinion, the book by which all other Chess biographies should be measured). Forster commonly included notes by several players of the day within individual games, and he often added his own notes, or annotated a game fully himself where no other notes were available.

Another slight demerit to this book are a regrettable number of typos. I have not noticed any in the prose of the book, but I have noticed a few in the game notes, just going from a random sample of games.

That said, this is a great work. I wish it had been more of a true biography/ games collection, but that would have made the book absolutely huge, and a truly monumental work, as Alekhine lived, as the saying goes, in 'interesting times'.

This is a wonderful book in any Chess lover's collection, and is a true desert island book.
2895097
This book covers a variety of topics in chess, from how to play, tactics, strategy, trivia, and descriptions of many great players in the past.

Easily it's greatest strength are the problems at the end of each chapter, including the several chapters on tactics and strategy in the first half of the book, with no disrespect the breadth of material that it covers and Wolffe's enthusiasm and sense of humor, which help make this book rather enjoyable.

The reason why this book did not get 5 stars is that several problems in each chapter are clearly beyond a beginner level, especially for someone reading this as their first (or one of their first 5) chess books, sometimes markedly so, when one is still trying to learn the basics and just a little beyond.

Overall, I think Alburt/Palatnik's Comprehensive Chess Course I & II are better chess books for the beginner, as they cover the same material with more extensive repetition and drilling in a more logical progressive order (vol I = rules/board visualization; vol II = tactics/endgames/annotated games/review of vol I), although they do not have specific chapters on chess strategy (which is volume VI in the Comprehensive Chess Course Series, which I have not read yet).

But this book is otherwise pretty good.
3328713
This has become, I believe, the definitive biography of the life of the tortured chess genius that was Bobby Fischer.  It is not a book on the chess itself,  there are no games, no diagrams, no moves given.  It is a rather a richly detailed, well researched look into the most disturbed chess genius of all time, and it paints a sadly contrasting picture to the more upbeat and much earlier bio by the same author, 'Bobby Fischer-Profile of a Prodigy', written during the Fischermania of the 1970's.  If you want to at least try to understand Bobby ( a full understanding of the mind of someone so tortured and misguided is almost impossible it seems to me), this is by far the best researched and most authoritative look into Fischer's existence.  It is long, but not overly so, and it is a good read, a definite page turner, especially for serious chess players who share at least in small part the obsession with the game that drove Fischer.  Highly recommended.
2843845
I learned about the book through a friend who is an aspiring chess player. At first, I wasn't really interested but my friend gave me a little background info on the author so I decided to check it out. The author has written it in a very witty tone showing a lot of cleverness. It contains profiles of all the chess greats. The author doesn't bore you by going into a lot of detail so this book can be read in your spare time.

Heinrich Fraenkel, who went under the pseudonym of Assiac, was a German chess expert who fled the Nazis to take up residence in the UK. Heinrich was a regular at all the major chess events. Fraenkel had a particular love for the endgame study and for the charming anecdote in chess. He became chess editor for the New Statesman, and authored several books including the English translation of Lasker's biography and best games. This was a pleasant read and I recommend it to anyone even if you don't have the slightest interest in the game itself.
1018525
This massive volume of chess problems is a giant collector's piece.  The bulk of the book is comprised of one, two and three move mate combination puzzles, but also included is a look into famous chess games played by many of the greatest players of all time.  If one is able to get through the entire book and understand all the puzzles, my estimate is that you will be a formidable tournament player.

The value of this book as a collector's piece is unquestionable; it is massive, it stands out on any bookshelf, and the content is considerable.  You will only improve your game going through this book, and thus I recommend it to any chess player with an interest in expanding their chess library.
4345575
An excellent book that I love. Here though are a couple of cons
1) amazing moves are a subjective matter. Or as the author himself puts it one mans meat is another mans poison. Solutions the author labeled as being brilliant I did not find particularly impressive on certain occasions.
2) Some of these are ultra famous. for example 21, 22, 175, 176, 14.
3) could have been a larger book. 200 positions isn't many. Perhaps the author may want to augment the book with 50 positions in a later edition.
that said I loved the book and some of my favorite ones are 4, 7, 10 23, 52 67, and 76. Also my favorite position thus far was 185, I thought that it was one of the most beautiful combinations I've ever seen. In puzzle 7 there are alternative variations the author did not give. These are 1)e6 f6 2)exd7 kd8 3)dxc8 (Q) kxc8 4) Qx f8 Kc7 5)Qd6+ kc8 6) Qd8# also 1) e6 f6 2) exd7 Bxd7 3) Re1 +Kd8 4) Qxf8+ Kc7 5) Bf4 +Kc6 6) Qc5 # or 5) ...Kb6 6)Qc5+ Ka6 7) Qa5 # and Finally. 1)e6 f6 2) exd7 Nxd7 3) Re1+ Kd8 4) Qe7 + Kc7 5)Qd6+ Kd8 6) Qxf8 + Kc7 7) Qd6 + Kd8 8)Bxf6+ Qxf6 9) Qxf6+ Kc7 10) Qd6+ Kd8 11) Re7 also if 3)...Ne5 4)Rxe5 fxe5 5)Qe7# (I figured those lines out by myself).  also A.J. Goldsby I... claimed that, "there are no easy ones here". However, that is an incorrect claim. Certain positions like # 10 or 13 are relatively easy while others such as # 181 are suitable for 2700 + players (indeed, I distinctly felt that I could never find such a move).
4628710
This book was the first book I ever read on Chess and it hooked me on the game.  Although other books have more detail or are more comprehensive, this book gives the basic concepts of the game.  It is quite readable. It  is suitable for introducing a novice to basic strategies before they are  committed to learning serious Chess.  I still use concepts I learned from  this book 30 years ago to teach kids chess today.
1009731
The games selected for the purpose of providing lessons are excellent. Not only are some of the best games of world class players selected, but the author, an excellent player himself uses some his own games to provide an easy to understand explanation of each and every move played. The author's many years of experience in using these games during his lessons with his students makes it so that he knows exactly what the reader's questions about the moves would be. The author hits the nail right on the head!
Games are turned into lessons with questions challenging the reader to find the best moves at various critical parts of each game. A lot of "general" rules are given to help the advanced beginner or intermediate player understand concepts. It is nice that the general rules are usually not repeated more than once througout the book, and angled in a slightly different way when appearing a second time - this makes it so that there is not too much repetition - making it just right!
The author gives some interesting insights into the players and the games, which makes the book more interesting. Though the title contains the word "Juniors", I can recommend this book to adults as well. For study purposes the games are arranged by opening. Several of the games contain some excellent endgames.
I cannot wait until this author produces more books! I loved his first Random House book, "Chess For Juniors" which has already become a classic in chess literature - looks like this one may be his second classic.
981612
<50 Essential Chess Lessons,> by Steve Giddins

When a friend suggested that I take a look at this book, I thought: "Oh great, yet another book aimed at the beginner." Yet this friend persisted - so I scanned the book at the local bookshop. I liked it so much that I purchased a copy for the local chess club. (We raffle off a free chess book at our local tournaments now.) I am also a chess master and teach chess for a living ... so I like to think that I know a thing or two about this subject.

First the basics. The publisher - Gambit Books - does nothing but chess. A solid book, flex cover, firm binding, acid-free pages with minimal 'bleed through,' excellent diagrams, (several per page); and top-notch editing. {You probably won't ever buy a real clunker from this publishing house.}

I thought that this was a good book, but when I got it home, I discovered that I was wrong. To quote Tony the Tiger, its GRRRRREAT!! (I gave it five stars, even though I had said I was not going to do this any more ... I try to save this for exceptional books. Well, maybe this is one of those cases.)

Why? Well let me explain. Most of the time when I recommend a book, some players will complain that "the book's subject matter is over my head," or that "it drowns me in a sea of variations." Not here, think of this as a "Nunn-LITE" book, the main emphasis is on teaching and explanation, and NOT on variations! (Much like Irving Chernev, although this book is in algebraic, of course!)

A Grand-Master once told me (many years ago) that there were only three proven ways to get better. One study method he said was to study COMPLETE master-level games, this book follows that edict to the letter. Fifty (50) nicely annotated games. (I had seen most of the games in this volume before, but the average player will not be familiar with the large percentage of these masterful struggles.)

I would say the main target group would be 1200 - 1799, although players on both ends of this spectrum should enjoy this volume. (I did, and my USCF rating is over 2200.)

There are 50 entries organized into five sections. (Attacking the King, Defence, Piece Power, Pawn Structure and End-Game themes.) All of these are highly instructional and annotated with lots of explanations and entertaining verbiage. For example, Game # 16, (Short-Timman, Tillburg; 1991); can be found on my website. But the player rated below 2000 will DEFINITELY want to review this game with Giddin's polished notes ... it will open many of the secret doors of chess knowledge for you. (Many of the themes and ideas that I commonly try to teach my students in the first 1-2 years are covered by Giddins in his analysis of these 50 instructive contests.)

I "fritzed" about five of these games with the computer, I found NO noticeable mistakes of any kind. I can offer no honest criticisms of this volume. ADVICE: I will note that the serious student will want to use a general reference work on the opening, (like MCO-14); when studying this book, just to see for themselves what the best lines are. (And to familiarize yourself with opening theory.) Additionally, the serious student should use a strong computer program to analyze these games, the author does not even try to examine every tactical possibility ... this would be impossible in a book of this size. (156 pages)

If you enjoy this book and get a lot out of it, then you may want to check out Neil McDonald's book, "Chess, The art of logical thinking," (from the first move to the last); by GM Neil McDonald.

In closing, this is a first-rate book, and I highly recommend it. I am certain that the average player will get a lot out of close study of this work, several of my on-line students recommend this volume to all of their friends. (The author is not one of the most well-known in the chess market, but perhaps this is about to change!)
4740240
This is a tremendous book for the person interested in the subject of game theory.  It covers many interesting topics and should
be very accessible to students.  The subject/title of the book is misleading, however, since otherwise how could the authors neglect one of the oldest "Games of Strategy" that has been played and studied by mankind for more than one thousand years -- yes CHESS!?

There are more books written about chess than all games put together.  (This may be challenged by the explosion of interest in poker -- which also must be deemed a game of strategy and is also somewhat neglected by the book).  There are literally thousands of people in the world today, and in the past who have dedicated their lives to the study of chess. And it is true that the notion of chess and its premier status is regularly exploited by sports clubs (baseball, football, etc.) even though most of them
have never moved a piece or don't play the game.

 It is also true that in the classic leading book on the theory of games, "The Theory of Games and Economics" by the great John von Neumann and Oscar Morgenstein, chess is also neglected. We can excuse them because it is the classic work on the subject, very mathematical, and with plenty of material without chess. The same is true for Stephen Brams ' "Theory of Moves" which is a wonderful treatise on Prisoner's Dilemma type situations, but does not cover much chess.

However, with the title "Games of Strategy" the authors have done a great injustice to chess. The reason is probably because none of the three authors knows much about chess.  As an international chess master and professor of computer science, I am naturally offended by the typical "lip" service of three pages which are dedicated to chess. The depth of strategy which top human payers develop in choosing a move is probably beyond the comprehension of most people who are not deeply into the game of chess.
I won't even go into the distinction between "Stategy" and "Tactics" in chess which I address in my books and videos on chess.

They authors should have sought the help of a chess master, international chess master, or grandmaster to help them better understand the kinds of strategical decisions which are regularly made in chess play. They may have discovered relationships to other games of strategy which they discuss. There are plenty of chess players at these levels who could have used their employ.

That said, the book could be of interest and use to many students interested in problem solving, Artificial Intelligence, political science, mathematics, and economics -- but not chess.
1256803
Brady's Profile of a Prodigy should be on the bookshelf of every chessplayer who has more than a passing interest in the game of kings. The carefully researched and thoroughly enthralling text hooked me, from Bobby's formative years as a child in Brooklyn, playing in a simul with Max Pavey to his dramatic triumph for the title of World Champion in Reykjavik, I was compelled to read on. Bobby Fischer: Profile of a Prodigy is filled with keen observations and telling anecdotes that combine to create an insightful framing of this stormy chess genius. In addition to the text of the biography, ninety of Fischer's games are reproduced with annotations. In brief, the definitive Fischer tome.
2434855
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 first edition of this book (The Battle of Chess Ideas)in Spanish, and I regret that there is not a Spanish translation of the new edition. 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.
3102739
"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" is one of those books that may never go out of print. It occupies a niche in the chess book market by virtue of its quiz style of learning. For beginners (and those wanting a simple refresher course), it's a very good addition to your chess library.
The format of the book consists of a series of brief chapter intros to a particular aspect of chess playing, each chapter followed by a set of small quizzes that reinforce the intro. The quiz layouts are nicely done in that you take a look at a position on a chessboard, answer the question below it, and then turn to the top of the next page to find the answer. It's quick and easy. When you reach the end of the book, you simply turn it over and keep going. Each set of quizzes adds on to previously gained knowledge, so by the end of the book, you are presented with fairly difficult positions to analyze.
No chess book is perfect. You are not going to learn about openings or defenses. The mid-game is not discussed. No grandmaster analysis is provided. Fischer's insights are not very deep.
What the book does well is assist people in seeing the whole board. It's also good in helping understand massing of power. And while some might criticize its dependency on endgame offensive scenarios, anyone who has been a beginning player knows how hard it is sometimes to deliver the kill.
This is an inexpensive book that can be read in spurts. It is certainly not the last word on chess, but it will help people new to the game tremendously. For kids who can read, this is a fine resource for learning the game. No matter what your age, though, if you are new to chess consider this a must-have.
406544
This one of the best annotated best chess games collections ever written by the player himself. The Author was a great chess player and great narrator. He gives you annotations and ideas that penetrate into the chess grandmaster mind in actual play. If you love going over great games with excellent annotations, do not miss this his first best games collection or the later complete best games collection books. You will enjoy them and learn a lot about chess!