Chess Life Magazine - June 2011 Issue

Would you like to know how good you really are at chess? Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned master, this book will help you to evaluate your current level, identify your weaknesses and get training advice.

Now even beginners can reap the rewards of Pandolfini's acclaimed teaching system. Over 300 problems, tailored to beginning players, encompass everything a player needs to learn, from the basic rules and vocabulary to the moves of various chessmen to sophisticated strategies. 300 line drawings.

Publisher: Gambit
Author: John Nunn
Year of Publication: 2008 Pages: 240
Notation Type: Figurine (FN)


Book Description John Nunn is one of the most highly regarded chess writers in the world. He has carefully selected thirty modern games to help the reader understand the most important aspects of chess and to illustrate modern chess principles in action. Virtually every move is explained using words that everyone can understand. Jargon is avoided as far as possible. Almost all the examples are taken from the 1990s and show how key ideas are handled by the grandmasters of today. The emphasis is on general principles that readers will be able to use in their own games, and detailed analysis is only given where it is necessary. Each game contains many lessons, but to guide the reader through the most important ideas in each phase of the game, the thirty games are grouped thematically into those highlighting opening, middlegame and endgame themes. About the Author(s) John Nunn is a grandmaster from England. He has won four individual gold medals and three team silver medals at Chess Olympiads. In the Chess World Cup of 1988/9, he finished sixth overall, ahead of several former World Champions. He is arguably the most highly acclaimed chess writer in the world, with two of his books receiving the prestigious British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award.

Mistakes are often made in the early part of the game - at all levels of chess - but a key skill is to recognize these critical moments as they happen and to exploit them with maximum efficiency. This is a skill which Grandmaster Simon Williams addresses in this book. Using instructive and entertaining games in which one side wins quickly, he examines all the typical mistakes chess players make in the opening and early middlegame, how you should look to exploit them, and how to avoid falling into similar traps yourself.

This book developed out of the author working with chess teams. The five lessons taught are: 1)Sharpening of tactical ability, 2)The important principles of the opening, 3)An opening repertoire is needed. The most popular choice among many is the English Opening for White, 4)Basic principles of pawn endings, 5)Strategy is probably one of the more difficult concepts of chess to master. This is the ability to take advantage of structural weaknesses and an intuitive feel. Going through these lessons will help make the reader a more successful tournament

Professionals know that during the course of a game, the value of chess pieces change. And they use this knowledge to decide which pieces to exchange--and when. International grandmaster Andrew Soltis, the author of Bobby Fischer Rediscovered, helps pass this important information on to novices so they can benefit, too.

The main theme of Volume 4 is "prophylaxis", a concept first expounded by Nimzowitsch and one which has been brilliantly developed by Mark Dvoretsky and his pupils. The art of positional play is explained in terms of planning, maneuvering, the study of typical positions, and deep strategy in grandmaster games.

Mistakes are often made in the early part of the game - at all levels of chess - but a key skill is to recognize these critical moments as they happen and to exploit them with maximum efficiency. This is a skill which Grandmaster Simon Williams addresses in this book. Using instructive and entertaining games in which one side wins quickly, he examines all the typical mistakes chess players make in the opening and early middlegame, how you should look to exploit them, and how to avoid falling into similar traps yourself.