Last updated on Mar. 25 2001

Key concepts: Openings
Audience: Beginner-Intermediate

I am not a big Yasser Seirawan, or Jeremy Silman fan. Yasser is usually to self-centered for my tastes, but I actually liked this book. If you are a novice or intermediate level player then this maybe the opening book for you. Great introduction for players still looking for an opening that they are comfortable playing. Besides, there is not much else out there for general openings that is worthwhile right now, except for Modern Chess Openings (MCO) 14th edition, which may be a little too dry and theoretical for some readers. The book will introduce you to most of the common openings and give you the main lines along with the rational for most moves. Memorizing opening lines is not good, but if you can understand and remember the key concepts covered in this book you will certainly improve your game. I am not sure about Seirawan's idea of building your house first, by always making a fianchetto with the bishop and castling. I personally believe that this may not fit the style of many players, in that it is not very aggressive, and it also may not force you to learn all the basic principles of attack, development, time, space, and tempo necessary to survive the opening. However, the main body of the work is very clearly written and of practical use for those looking to learn some openings with some degree of depth other than by trial and error. I would definitely recommend this book for any interested in general opening principles. This book is best suited for intermediate level players, to novices.

Last updated on Mar. 25 2001

Key concepts: Openings
Audience: Intermediate-Average

The comprehensive book on chess openings. If you need a reference for all the important openings and their key variations in detail then this is the book for you. This book will introduce each opening with a summary of general strategies and brief history for each opening, which is followed by an in depth treaty on each variation and who should theoretically have the advantage. If you want to memorize openings, or are an advanced chess player, buy this book for reference. If you would just like to become acquainted with the openings and you like to rely more upon general chess principles then buy Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan. This book was written with for the advanced chess student and will be difficult for the chess hobbyist, or beginner to swallow. Readers of this book should have already read a book that covers general chess principles such as The Game of Chess by Tarrasch, or My System by Nimzowitsch.

Last updated on Mar. 25 2001

Key concepts: Tactics
Audience: Novice-Intermediate

Tactics, tactics, tactics! If you need to strengthen your awareness of common chess tactics, then this book is a good match. Included are chapters on the fork, the pin, discoveries and skewers, the mating attack, removing the defense, and assorted attacks. Each chapters is broken up into sections such as knight forks, queen forks, etc., and is designed to progress from easier diagrams to harder ones. There are two things that I fault this book for not doing correctly. First of all, in diagrams where the reader is to play black, the diagrams still show white on the bottom of the board, and therefore, force the reader to play from the opposite side of the board, which may require some time for the reader to adjust too, as it is not often that one actually plays chess in such a manner. Secondly, there is no review or test chapter at the end of the book to help put all the different tactical concepts together, which would definitely be a boost to the overall quality of this book. Such a chapter would force the reader to be able to recognize when to use each of the various tactics they have just learned in a real game. Furthermore, another feature that is lacking from this book, but which does not detract from this book, as it is also missing in almost every other book that I have read, would be the addition of a hint section. This would allow the reader to continue studying and learning on their own for a particular diagram that they would otherwise have just given up on, and viewed the solution.

The sub-title should really be 3520 checkmates in either one or two moves, as about 2/3rds of this book is simple mating combinations. How many mating combinations do we need? What about some simple discovered attacks, skewers, pins, or forks? Does the average chess player not need any help with these types of tactical positions? Given all of these positions you may encounter a few where you want to know why a certain variation is no good; well, sorry you are out-of-luck because only a terse description of the correct combination is given. If you are a fan of the Polgar's or think that you will become as good as Judith Polgar, just by reading this book, then buy it. Bargain hunters my want to check-out our reviews of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, or 303 Tricky Chess Tactics for similar books with much lower prices. Apparently, popularity, and size do not count for everything, as we do not recommend this book, except for the chess puzzle diehards.