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Chessville
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Considering what I knew about the author I felt that he had discovered some new format for a chess training book, some way to present a selection of GM games that involved the reader while incorporating the thoughts of the players. This is the recipe that training books seek and I was intrigued to find if Bosch had found a new formula. After reading the introduction it was apparent that there wasn't any new formula. The book is an updated version of the solitaire chess formula that had been used by other authors. The format of the book is to make the reader determine what move to make at each turn for one side and then there are point values given to the moves selected. At the end of the game the reader totals up the points gained and compares it to a chart which suggests a rating for specific point ranges. My personal experience with such books has been mixed, basically because I couldn't understand how points were attached to moves or how the totals were aligned to ratings. For example, I went over a game by Tal, found about 70 per cent of the moves in the middlegame, but couldn't figure out the 10 moves in the "winning" rook and pawn ending. So, I was rated at 2180. The part that was disappointing is that I didn't understand that it was the ending I needed to improve to get a better score. In any case, this formula hasn't always been my favorite. With all that, let me say that the only disappointment in the book is that format. Mr. Bosch has done an excellent job of putting the book together. The games selection is one of the best I have seen, in this book style or any other. Not being restricted to "Super-GM" games has made the book much more enjoyable as there is a wider exposure to styles and strengths of players - game 37,e.g., between Nijboer and Bosboom shows a stylistic approach that I personally appreciated and wouldn't expect to find in many books. Annotations or remarks about the games appear after the "move selection" part, and form one of the most intriguing parts of the book. Bosch does a good job of showing where the players decide to alter the course of a game, from a promising attack to an elementary ending or from pursuing the initiative to accepting a material advantage. That ability, to know when to alter one's thinking in order to limit the distance to victory, is a little understood quality that separates classes of players. In that regard this book achieves a high level of quality that make it worth working through. As with any book,
the more that a player becomes involved with the book the more it rewards
them. This was made apparent to me as I worked through the book, I felt
that I was becoming more involved with it. In fact, my estimated rating
went up from the first game to the middle of the book. The only reason it
didn't persist, I kept running into rook and pawn endings!!
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On
the cover of the book are 2 subtitles, "Test and Improve your chess with
50 Instructive Grandmaster Games" and "Move by move you pick a
Grandmaster's brain to become a better player." When I received this
book I was quite excited about it because of the title and what I knew about
Mr. Bosch. He is an IM from Holland who is noted for being the impetus for
the "
