I.A.Horowitz was a Master & put out many good books for the under expert crowd. I was a subsciber to his Chess Magazine in the day. This brings back a lot of memories. May God rest his soul!
Three Books that helped me break 1400
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One short, simple book that's helped me is 'Chess Fundamentals' by Capablanca. It doesn't teach everything, by any means, but it gives a very good overview of the theoretical elements behind all three stages of the game, as well as an eye-opening dissection of 14 of his own games.
Capablanca's annotations are also marvellous for beginners/intermediates, as they're very light on complicated variations (which ultimately teach nothing theoretical purely in themselves), but heavy on strategic overview, which is an important thing to begin developing.
Definetly need to read chernevs book. Even if he keeps on commenting the first move. Its an awesome Book
Edmar Mednis, didnt he write the book how to get crushed by Bobby Fischer??
by the way does
There was a funny List of books where a guy gave funny names to chess books, like take my books or lose 400 rating points now. Instead of Mednis how to beat Fischer, he wrote how i got crushed by Fischer. Its a pitty i cant find the list anymore
OldIronSide wrote:
Book 1
How to Win Chess Openings by I.A.Horowitz
Many have said it is a waste of time for lower rated players to study openings, I agree with this as long as they naturally make good opening moves and have an intuitive understanding of opening theory. Others have suggested that all you need to do is open up the game and practice your tactics. Of course opening up the game implies some understanding of opening theory and a desire to play aggressively. For the rest of us the above book has an easily understood introduction to opening theory and then introduces some openings and how they implement theory. For each opening there is also an example game, which helps you understand how the opening impacts the middle game etc. If you do not play the opening well it is difficult to win games or raise your rating. This is not meant to suggest that you memorize opening lines to the 10th move etc but knowing some book moves (which after all are the accepted best application of opening theory) and how they implement opening theory is key to improving your game
Book 2
Winning Chess Tactics by Bill Robertie
For me along with playing the opening poorly, I would often leave pieces hanging or make other blunders, in short I did not correctly assesses the position. The above book along with introducing tactics such as the fork and the pin from time to time will make suggestions on how to look at the board so that you can understand why your opponent made their move and the potential of your position. There are also a number of puzzles that help you find opportunities for forks etc. This book and the concepts it introduces were the primary factor in my breaking the 1400 barrier.
Book 3
Easy Endgame Strategies by Bill Robertie
To be honest pre 1400 I never did have a game that made it to the endgame phases. However, the introduction on how pawn structure impacts whether a knight or bishop is stronger etc was helpful. I also found the sections on how different pieces work together to deliver check beneficial.
i have personalized book to offer. i mean i should know your skills then,, i will make book for u. exclusively. from oppening to endgame. it is lessons that is good of 15 sessions
Book 1
How to Win Chess Openings by I.A.Horowitz
Many have said it is a waste of time for lower rated players to study openings, I agree with this as long as they naturally make good opening moves and have an intuitive understanding of opening theory. Others have suggested that all you need to do is open up the game and practice your tactics. Of course opening up the game implies some understanding of opening theory and a desire to play aggressively. For the rest of us the above book has an easily understood introduction to opening theory and then introduces some openings and how they implement theory. For each opening there is also an example game, which helps you understand how the opening impacts the middle game etc. If you do not play the opening well it is difficult to win games or raise your rating. This is not meant to suggest that you memorize opening lines to the 10th move etc but knowing some book moves (which after all are the accepted best application of opening theory) and how they implement opening theory is key to improving your game
Book 2
Winning Chess Tactics by Bill Robertie
For me along with playing the opening poorly, I would often leave pieces hanging or make other blunders, in short I did not correctly assesses the position. The above book along with introducing tactics such as the fork and the pin from time to time will make suggestions on how to look at the board so that you can understand why your opponent made their move and the potential of your position. There are also a number of puzzles that help you find opportunities for forks etc. This book and the concepts it introduces were the primary factor in my breaking the 1400 barrier.
Book 3
Easy Endgame Strategies by Bill Robertie
To be honest pre 1400 I never did have a game that made it to the endgame phases. However, the introduction on how pawn structure impacts whether a knight or bishop is stronger etc was helpful. I also found the sections on how different pieces work together to deliver check beneficial.