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How To Play Good Opening Moves
This brand-new revision, in modern algebraic notation, is sure to become a classic of chess instruction.
It was written for the chess player who needs to understand, not memorize, the chess openings. The three basic principles of the opening are well established and will not change in the foreseeable future. By emphasizing these principles, the author has created a timeless teaching volume that can be used by students, parents, teachers, and others for years to come.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 12, 1982
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 9, 2024
Got this one from the library on a whim because I want to get chess strategy a little more. In general, I think that the process of learning the basics of chess theory has changed the way I think about all kinds of strategy games for the better, I'm a bit more "positional"ly minded and think about tempo in anything I play now and it's fun to have a new perspective. I recommend it as a fun little hobby activity, and the systems and lines of the game are kind of beautiful.
As far as this book goes, my feelings are more mixed. At times I enjoyed the process of following along with games, and the way the book flows overall is a good way to get introduced to the different kinds of games, open vs. closed, kingside vs queenside focused. It provided a good intro to the important strategic fundamentals of chess, and has given me a "trust the process" mentality where I'm not going to take silly risks just because I think I see some special case advantage that isn't really there. The author's style is also sometimes very funny in how dismissive and derisive he gets of moves that he finds poor, which brought a nice level of enjoyment to what is otherwise a pretty academic and dry book. The book heavily makes use of algebraic chess notation, which is to be expected, and it was largely helpful for getting used to reading and interpreting that notation, but it still gave me a headache working through. But the book did accomplish what I expected it to do and I have a better understanding of the game now.
So why one star? Well this book would be a solid two stars if not for the fact that the copy I have has practically dozens of typos in the algebraic notation. A typo in normal text is fine, but in notation, it straight up breaks the game! You can only imagine my frustration in having to google a historic chess game to see what the actual move was, or, if that fails, simply trying to guess at what the real move might have been or being forced to abandon a game example altogether. In a book driven by chess notation, typos are inexcusable. Totally experience ruining. I can only hope in later editions they fixed this.
Otherwise, the book is dull and anticlimactic but it provides some solid pointers and opened up, for me at least, a lot of avenues of thought about the game. But I do wonder if in the internet age there are just straight up better educational resources online for learning chess strategy.
As far as this book goes, my feelings are more mixed. At times I enjoyed the process of following along with games, and the way the book flows overall is a good way to get introduced to the different kinds of games, open vs. closed, kingside vs queenside focused. It provided a good intro to the important strategic fundamentals of chess, and has given me a "trust the process" mentality where I'm not going to take silly risks just because I think I see some special case advantage that isn't really there. The author's style is also sometimes very funny in how dismissive and derisive he gets of moves that he finds poor, which brought a nice level of enjoyment to what is otherwise a pretty academic and dry book. The book heavily makes use of algebraic chess notation, which is to be expected, and it was largely helpful for getting used to reading and interpreting that notation, but it still gave me a headache working through. But the book did accomplish what I expected it to do and I have a better understanding of the game now.
So why one star? Well this book would be a solid two stars if not for the fact that the copy I have has practically dozens of typos in the algebraic notation. A typo in normal text is fine, but in notation, it straight up breaks the game! You can only imagine my frustration in having to google a historic chess game to see what the actual move was, or, if that fails, simply trying to guess at what the real move might have been or being forced to abandon a game example altogether. In a book driven by chess notation, typos are inexcusable. Totally experience ruining. I can only hope in later editions they fixed this.
Otherwise, the book is dull and anticlimactic but it provides some solid pointers and opened up, for me at least, a lot of avenues of thought about the game. But I do wonder if in the internet age there are just straight up better educational resources online for learning chess strategy.
December 31, 2013
A good solid guide, which alongside helpful advice from people I have been playing against online, has improved my openings and general playing ability.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews