Another clear and thoughtfully prepared guide in a series for those traveling the chess-learning "road." Cardoza Publishing, 132 Hastings St., Brooklyn, NY 11235. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
The most confusing moves are explained very well, but there’s a fair number of notation errors in this edition that made it hard to follow. Also, it’s a chess book.
Inspired by an encounter with an old friend, I've been trying to rebuild my chess game. It's a challenge at this age, and one of the things I've lost is my opening theory, so I thought this little book might help me remember. But it's very much a survey and doesn't have enough depth to be really useful. It helped me recall a few things, but only because I once knew them. For a beginner, about all it would do is help you find the names of different openings. It's better on king pawn openings than queen pawn openings and mostly ignores everything else.
I feel like following the moves helped me see chess in a new way. I doubt I could remember the sequence if I were in a game with an actual opponent. But, I really enjoyed watching how chess masters set up their games. They made moves I'd never see. It was fascinating.
There were a few typos, and notation errors in the edition I got, but I found it a solid introduction to common chess opening strategies, as someone trying to learn how to play beyond the basic rules. Robertie's writing also flows well, and is easy to read.