Start with Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev)
Could I ask some opinions of a few of specific chess books?
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VapourTrail-UK wrote:
... Discovering Chess Openings (John Emms) ,,,
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
VapourTrail-UK wrote:
... Winning Chess Openings (Yasser Seirawan) ...
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
One can see some discussion of the pros and cons of Chernev's Logical Chess at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132019/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman118.pdf
http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/logical-chernev
http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2013/01/logical-chess-book-review.html
http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2013/02/chernevs-errors.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708091057/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review465.pdf
John Nunn did the algebraic edition and made some alterations.
Dec 11, 2017
0
#6
FishEyedFools wrote:
Start with Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev)
Seconded.
as far as openings go, since you've got diamond membership here have a look at the videos. Simon Williams ("Ginger_GM"?) videos are good, I expect others are good too
Thank you all for your opinions. And thanks kindaspongey for all the articles. They’ll be very helpful in making my decision.
Here is a review that was, at one time, available online.
Logical Chess
Move by Move
Author: Irving Chernev
256 pages
Batsford (2002, reprint)
Reviewed by Randy Bauer
Randy's Rating: 9
In the search for understanding in chess, this book has been a beacon for aspiring players for decades, and Batsford's reprint provides an opportunity for another generation to learn from the author. Perhaps the best testament to its greatness is the fact that Grandmaster John Nunn's outstanding book UNDERSTANDING CHESS MOVE BY MOVE (Click to see Donaldson's and Watson's reviews of Nunn's book.) is recognized as patterned after Chernev's work.
For those who didn't grow up in the era of descriptive notation, Irving Chernev wrote books that mostly appealed to the mainstream player. One of the first books I owned, Chernev's THE FIRESIDE BOOK OF CHESS guided me through the many facets of chess during my formative years. Even though he wrote many other good books (for example, every aspiring player should also own THE MOST INSTRUCTIVE GAMES OF CHESS EVER PLAYED), this is widely recognized as his best.
In this book, Chernev annotates 33 games and comments on each move for both players. His goal is to explain what each player was thinking while making his move. In this way, the reader gets an insight into the rationale behind the moves of and the thought processes of a master player. The author splits the games into three chapters, dealing with kingside attacks (16 games), queen's pawn openings (7 games), and other concepts (10 games). Given the book's original 1957 copyright, it is not surprising that the earliest game is from 1889 and the latest was played in 1952.
The author does a great job of connecting with the reader - one feels that they really are inside the head of the players and that Chernev is explaining what they were thinking while deciding upon their moves. As a result, the games are absorbing and the lessons learned (at least in my case) tend to stick with the player.
I first came across this book at an early stage in my chess career, and I believe that it helped form my understanding of what chess mastery is all about. In fact, one of the games, Blackburne-Blanchard, probably gained me 100 rating points in my class days. I used the structure and natural kingside attack from that game in many, many of my own encounters.
While not a world-class player, Chernev was a prolific writer, and that combination serves the reader well in this book. The author can better relate to the reader and provide them the sort of insight that may be lost on stronger players.
While this is a great book, there are some areas where it is showing its age (having first been issued nearly a half century ago). It is notable, for example, that by far the most popular opening represented is the Queen's Gambit Declined; by contrast, today's favorite Sicilian Defense is found in just one game. There is just one Queen's Indian and one Nimzo-Indian included; there are no games featuring the popular King's Indian, Grunfeld, or Benoni Defenses. The players you will encounter are Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Rubinstein rather than Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik.
I had a few quibbles not related to the age of the book as well. I found the print in this reprint to be a little light for my taste, and the diagrams a bit too small. Finally, why oh why are the Chapter headers for each game the site where the game was played rather than the players? "Lodz 1908" doesn't really tell me as much as "Rubinstein-Salwe."
Regardless of these types of issues, this is a very good book. Perhaps it isn't as timeless as it once appeared to me, but it should prove useful to any aspiring player wanting to better understand how to develop logical plans, moves, and thought processes in chess.
Dec 11, 2017
0
#9
VapourTrail-UK wrote:
I have read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
The final book I'm considering is Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev).
That Fischer book is awful, in my opinion. Chernev's book is quite good.
I really like:
Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player (Palatnik)
The Most Instructive Games of Chess (Chernev)
VapourTrail-UK wrote:
Hi.
I'm quite new to chess, but have been studying over the past about 4 weeks, and I'm almost ready to buy some new books. I have read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, and now I'm getting closer to the end of Play Winning Chess. I have a couple of tactics books I have decided on but I need the opinions on a couple of other specific books.
I want to get a basic opening book built upon principles, since I don't want to spend too much time early in my chess study on remembering lines rather than learning chess. The two I have in mind are:
- Winning Chess Openings (Yasser Seirawan)
- Discovering Chess Openings (John Emms)
I'm really enjoying Yasser's writing style in Play winning chess, but unfortunately there are no eBook samples for John Emms' book. Any opinions?
The final book I'm considering is Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev). When looking through this book at the library recently it seemed like an enjoyable book that could help me improve. However, I have read John Nunn's criticisms of this book. That it has some mistaken interpretations in it. Does anyone know if there are some notes that describe which parts of the book to take with a grain of salt? A quick Google search hasn't helped me, unfortunately. I still feel like the book is probably a worthwhile investment, though. Would you recommend it?
Sorry for the lengthy post, and I'm greatly appreciative of anyone who has given their time to read this and comment on it. Thanks.
Logical Chess Move by Move is a good book for beginners. If you enjoy that book it means it is suitable for you. That book will actually teach you opening and middle game concepts that you should know. It explains well the idea behind every moves in its choosen games. It is a good book. GM Nunn is a GM, so his view might be from advance player's perspective. But for a beginner's perspective, Logical Move by Move is an excellent book that will improve a beginner's game. Combine studying that book with solving puzzles and you will see your game improving.
Since you like GM's Seirawan's book, you might also consider Winning Chess Strategy. I have this book before. It is an ejoyable instructive book. In fact Winning Chess Startegy is one of my favorite chess book of all time. In this book you will learn many middlegame, endgame and opening concepts that you must know. In fact I prefer this book for a beginner over the Logical Chess Move by Move. The good thing is you already know Seirawan's style of writting. So you will be 100 percent certain that you will really love this Winning Chess Strategy. I like books that organize by themes as they are easier to remember and understand. This book is thematic in arangement. Again combine solving tactics problems with studying this book and you will see a good improvement.
Sqod wrote:
... The Most Instructive Games of Chess (Chernev)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Dec 11, 2017
0
#12
Sqod wrote:
VapourTrail-UK wrote:
I have read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
The final book I'm considering is Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev).
That Fischer book is awful, in my opinion. Chernev's book is quite good.
I really like:
Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player (Palatnik)
The Most Instructive Games of Chess (Chernev)
The only thing Bobby Fischer has in common with the book Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, is that his name is attached to the book.
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is actually a good book for its intended audience(beginners who do not know how to play). But there are better beginner's chess book.
Sqod wrote:
... Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player (Palatnik) ...
http://mychess.blogspot.com/2004/12/review-of-chess-tactics-for-tournament.html
jambyvedar wrote:
... Winning Chess Strategy ...
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
Why not start with Chernev's from the library? Any good chess book that you can use for free is worth it. Later on there will probably be books you will want that aren't available for free and some might be costly.
Just like on the chessboard, it's usually not a bad idea to take what's offered as long as you get more than you give.
"Winning Chess Openings" by Yasser Seirawan is a cursory overview of most of the major openings - it is not intended to provide a comprehensive treatment - it simply gives a feeling for the openings discussed. The book has utility for what it is, but I would not necessarily recommend it as being particularly notable in its genre. "Discovering Chess Openings" by John Emms is completely different; it is not an openings reference in the normal sense; rather it is a book which is concerned with explaining fundamental principles of opening play in general and nothing more. For someone who is looking for an introductory text explaining the basics of opening play, i.e., the why's and wherefore's of how to analyze and decide where to place pieces and pawns in the opening phase of the game, then this is an excellent (probably the best IMO) book for that purpose.
As for "Logical Chess Move by Move" by Irving Chernev - it is an excellent book for beginners wanting to find out how chess was played by the masters and legends of the first half of the 20th century. Forget what John Nunn says about the book - his perspectives are probably of greater interest to "advanced" and titled players, and of less relevance to beginners and novices (the same is generally true for all of John Nunn's books - with the exception of "Learn Chess"). The games in Logical Chess span the period 1891-1952, but regardless of era are nevertheless very instructive for the intended readership. Another book, identical in format to Logical Chess but featuring more recent games (spanning 1978-2003) is "Chess - The Art of Logical Thinking" by Neil McDonald. GM McDonald is the equal of Chernev when it comes to explaining chess, and the book is outstanding as well. I would recommend both books highly.
Finally, you might like to check out some of my book suggestions here....
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
"... As an introduction to chess openings for novice and improving players [Winning Chess Openings] is certainly a decent place to start ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2013)
kindaspongey wrote:
"... As an introduction to chess openings for novice and improving players [Winning Chess Openings] is certainly a decent place to start ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2013)
Hansen's choice of the word "decent" is appropriate...
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that "Winning Chess Openings" by Seirawan is not a useful book. In fact for what it is - a cursory overview of the major openings - it serves its purpose well, perhaps even very well. But it should not be confused as being similar to some of the more comprehensive openings references such as "FCO Fundamental Chess Openings" by Paul van der Sterren (which is an outstanding single volume openings reference IMO).
Also should say that Seirawan's "Winning Chess..." series of books are, in general, very good to outstanding, and highly recommended to the beginner-novice readership.
Dec 11, 2017
0
#20
VapourTrail-UK wrote:
but unfortunately there are no eBook samples for John Emms' book. Any opinions?
I could post some excerpts from his book later, if you want. I found his book to be decent, though I had already read most of his main points in other books. The main points he made that I thought were good and not available elsewhere were:
the ideal set-up for White, if Black were able to pass for the first several moves
measuring development by counting developed pieces
one logical justification for the heuristic "knights before bishops"
Hi.
I'm quite new to chess, but have been studying over the past about 4 weeks, and I'm almost ready to buy some new books. I have read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, and now I'm getting closer to the end of Play Winning Chess. I have a couple of tactics books I have decided on but I need the opinions on a couple of other specific books.
I want to get a basic opening book built upon principles, since I don't want to spend too much time early in my chess study on remembering lines rather than learning chess. The two I have in mind are:
I'm really enjoying Yasser's writing style in Play winning chess, but unfortunately there are no eBook samples for John Emms' book. Any opinions?
The final book I'm considering is Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev). When looking through this book at the library recently it seemed like an enjoyable book that could help me improve. However, I have read John Nunn's criticisms of this book. That it has some mistaken interpretations in it. Does anyone know if there are some notes that describe which parts of the book to take with a grain of salt? A quick Google search hasn't helped me, unfortunately. I still feel like the book is probably a worthwhile investment, though. Would you recommend it?
Sorry for the lengthy post, and I'm greatly appreciative of anyone who has given their time to read this and comment on it. Thanks.