A Tough Read

Due to overwhelming interest generated by my Forum post Chess Books I have decided to provide more information through this blog.

I read this book, at least most of it, last year.  It's been collecting dust on my book shelf since then.

I found the author pretentious.  It was difficult to follow, and then he would suggest that it was child's play.  To be fair, maybe it is for a really good chess player, but not for guys like me.

It often starts with a diagram of a chess position, then writes out many moves for the reader to keep track of, while also taking you down long lines that you wouldn't want to follow, then picking up from the original line and carrying on to another variation, and so on.

Now, I was reading this book during my lunch break at work without a chess board.  Trying to keep track of all these moves in my head with the TV on and all the other distractions in the break room were too much.

In conclusion, it might not be such a bad book for an advanced chess player.  I also recommend reading in a quiet place with a chess board at hand.