Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS, 600 pages, 300 diagrams, links to 300 games

by Rodolfo Pardi, Evelyne Nicod (Illustrator)

I suggest you look to check that you will understand to see 17 out of the 101 patterns to see figurines instead of piece initials to appreciate the neat diagrams to link to sample games This ebook is a combination of "Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50 and 51-100", a directory of 101 patterns to be used as a reference, AND the complete analysis of the following Critical squares , Illusory Pin, Smothered Mate, Attack to the castled King. It presents on my web site one game for most of the patterns. With a small increase of price, the size increases to more than 600 pages, with a lot of diagrams (300 total) to help understanding the patterns It is not easy for beginners and intermediate players to learn how to play chess and improve their game. Instead of learning mainly through practice (which could take years) or the study of the games of Masters (difficult and easily forgotten, trying reverse engineering on things one does not understand), this book presents a toolkit of essential patterns that are necessary to know in order to play well! What you need to know before reading this * How to use algebraic chess notation * The ability to visualize at least 4 plies without a board * Standard tactical devices, such as Counting, Forks, Skewers, Pins What you will learn in this * Basic patterns that every player must know * How to improve your game * How to use Opposition and Critical Squares What you will NOT get, and * nobody can learn to play well merely from the study of a book, it can only serve as a guide, and the rest must be done by the teacher There is no limit to what is available to a chess student you can find gigabytes of books, software, and video - a jungle in which the student can go astray. It is well known that strong players see a position broken down into elementary groups (chunks), each having specific, known characteristics. This is due to the huge number of games they have played, analyzed and retained in memory. As a result, they immediately recognize winning patterns. This book includes NO puzzles, BUT a selection of 101 patterns chosen from among the essential patterns. They need to be engraved in your mind, so that you recognize them immediately (regardless of which side of the board you are on), without any doubt or hesitation. These are all patterns that are essential to know in order to be able to play well. They are not endless lists of moves, which would be impossible to remember, but rather positions that occur frequently, that you can learn to recognize without thinking, the way Masters do. Are all these patterns known? Sure they are, but this is not the point. A GM knows over ten thousand, a CM about 200, but what about you? Can you afford not to know these few key patterns? Novice and intermediate players are the target of this book, class B (1700 rating or less). Periodically going through these patterns will help you avoid losses, win more games, and reduce your thinking time. If only one of these patterns was unknown to you (or you were uncertain what to do when you saw it), your learning time will not be wasted. New! You can see for free on scacchi.vecchilibri.eu/partite (copy the link to your browser) many related games, with English comments. Follow through and download PGN. Appearance is simple and neat, and diagrams start at the appropriate move. An Internet connection is needed. Use a tablet or computer for best results.

Genres: Chess

710 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Rodolfo Pardi has had many careers in his lifetime. He was an electronics engineer for military aircraft equipment for 25 years, then a publisher for 20 years. Since 2010, he has been librarian, coach and arbiter of the Italian Chess Federation (FSI); he prepared more than 20 chess manuals in English and many more in Italian, covering many subjects not often seen in chess books.

His book, Chess Patterns, became a bestseller on Amazon.com.  As with all his chess books, there are plenty of diagrams, reducing the need for a chessboard. Piece names are not foreign capital letters, but figurines - one of the first ebooks with this feature.

Books are also linked to sample games on his website, keeping the books neat, but making it easy to follow many more games, and download the PGN versions. Additional free training material is also available on the site.

Most books target novice and club players, up to 1700 ELO.

While English is not his native language, the books are well-structured and easy to read.

The cat covers are designed by Evelyne Nicod, to be found in Goodreads as an illustrator.

Reviews

[Tim Boldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully-distilled chess tactics

Even though English is clearly not the author's first language, he does a fantastic job of distilling a large volume of chess theory into something that can easily be learned.