Why We Lose at Chess (Everyman Chess) eBook PDF

About the Author

Dr Colin Crouch is an International Master, a tremendously experienced tournament player, a highly regarded chess writer and a regular columnist for British Chess Magazine.

This is an unusual chess book that describes mistakes that the author made when he was trying to recover his game after a stroke. It gives positions and several possible moves. You consider the position and then can read a several page discussion of the position. I like it because these discussions make you think. For example, he is frequently concerned about piece activity and weak squares. He writes very well about these themes, and the whole approach makes you think. Finally, the author has a charming writing style that makes these exercises entertaining.

The reader should be aware that this is not a book for a beginner. You should have already read a good book or two on positional chess. If you understand the concepts, then this book stimulates you to better analyze and respond to the position.

I first and foremost like how the book is designed, with a number of problems and options to consider. The method recommended is to look at the problem and decided what you would do. Then look at the suggested moves under the problem A) do something B) do something else C) Other. The author then goes to explain the positives and negatives of the resulting set of moves. It's really like being with a stronger player and saying "I would play this here" and getting a reply, "well after so and so this happens, what if you looked at something else." So overall I have liked the book. He re-uses some of the games for multiple examples which I didn't like at first, but as I got further through the book I liked more as I could draw on the prior examples and the game planning to see a better picture of what he was hoping to accomplish.

More about Why We Lose at Chess (Everyman Chess)

Great book with good ideas about proper chess thinking at critical times in the games.