My System

Why is this book so hard to read?

Do other players also find it difficult and a bit boring

The openings are also strange.

My positional and middlegame are very weak.....many strong players refer to this book to remedythe problem.

Is there a good summary of the ideas or great youtube vids that are helpful.

Watched some vids by Killegar but later it got boring and complex.

Are there alternative lectures discussing Nimzo's chess book?

Yup, I freaking hate Nimzwovitch's My system. 

It's dry, boring as hell, and sucks the life out of chess play and study. This is coming from someone who really likes chess books, too. 

It does have its moments of excellence, and yes, the concepts are ideas are good, but it the modern era, there are SO many better choices that are more interesting and relevant, and (importantly) computer checked so you're not studying a line that's busted after 4 stronger moves.

I'm sure back in the day when there was nothing else like it on the chess book market, it was groundbreaking, but there are like hundreds of books that have evolved from it. I give it its due credit as being the first or one of the first to lay out positional chess principles, but there are many better choices specific to one's level of play.

Choose a different book - Simple Chess by Stean is excellent for a positional primer.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105648/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review600.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf

I've never read My System. But I know most of the aphoristic bits of advice:

put a rook behind a passed pawn

the threat is stronger than the execution

passed pawns have a lust to expand

a thrust in the wings must be countered with a thrust in the center

There, now you don't have to waste any more time with it.

Started My System and Chess Praxis this morning after finishing Winning Chess Strategies (Seirawan). Let's be honest, guys - You really have to get yourself in the mood to study some of these chess books but the payoff is huge. Just the tactical visualization benefit of learning how to go through games simply by reading the notation is invaluable. That said, I can't agree with anyone who says that the concepts and ideas in My System aren't worth their time. Who is - Dan Heisman? Silman? These guys are great but My System is the bible of positional chess. I'm actually going to start Silman's "Roots of Positional Understanding" alongside reading these books.

"... I found [Nimzowitsch's] own books very difficult to read or understand. ... [Nimzowitsch: A Reappraisal by Raymond Keene] explain's Nimzowitsch's thinking and influence on the modern game in a far more lucid and accessible way. ... The books that are most highly thought of are not necessarily the most useful. Go with those that you find to be readable ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)

One should be aware that apart from the first few chapters My System is actually quite advanced book. There are other reasons as well why it's totally unsuitable as a positional primer. Get a more modern book for that purpose.

It's also true that My System is written in very different style compared to most modern books. Some people like Nimzowitsch's colourful language but it may make the contents more difficult to understand. I think My System is still well worth reading eventually but it certainly shouldn't be the only source of one's strategic knowledge.

This is hardly relevant for a book containing general strategic advice, don't you think. Besides, at least the Quality Chess edition from 2007 has some modern commentary including computer influenced corrections to the analysis.

My System is 1.move 2. think

The same reason fantasy movies with special effects are more popular than

arthouse films.

My System is the book that helped me more than any other . I went from 1500 to 1800 in one year while studying this book and never had a 300 point gain before or since in one year . 

There isn't anything that I am willing to say about the raw quality of the book's concepts. I may not be at a high enough level to appreciate them. What I can say is that from a more global point of view, this book and the whole hypermodern movement, in general. was a disgrace to the game. It sought to make chess as boring as checkers.

There are few things more exasperating than watching a 1000 or 1100 get all positional and maneuvy and then hang a piece. We could have done nicely without Aron and his gang. By now, all of the important concepts would have been discovered, perhaps without the mind numbing pain.

USCF  

My System is well worth reading if you put in the effort and understand the concepts.

http://www.theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/my-new-cds-and-somebody-elses-system

http://www.theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/quality-books-reply

http://www.theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-108-of-eplus-books-part-2-nimzowitsch-classics

You forgot Overprotection.

Yes, and that a pawn chain must be attacked at its base--except, of course for when black plays f6 in the Advance French.

(Individual results may vary)

I always find it a bit shocking about people's attitude towards those who have came before us.

It's equilavent to saying f*ck those who came before Newton. But he stood on the shoulders of giants in order to produce his work by reading their work. Then Newton's work was bombarded by criticism. Then the general theory of relativity came along by Einstein who had read Newton's work and the cycle repeats.

Yes, Nimzowitch's work is outdated but it's still a masterpiece that paved the way for more research. In a century from now, the modern books you're reading will recieve the same horse sh*t critisicm you lot are giving.

Why not show some respect that's put theory where it is?

I am with Reb. I spent a summer reading My System and some other classic works* when I was ~1500 strength USCF, and my rating jumped to +2000. 

I have heard that the prose is challenging, but I enjoyed it. There are plenty of other great books out there, but they all have one major element in common: they are only useful if the reader is willing to put in the work.

I read Nimzo first, then went through the various game collections below. I would not have understood those games as well as I did without Nimzo's help!

____________

* The other books I read that summer include My 60 Memorable Games , a collection of Rubinstein's best games http://www.amazon.com/Rubinsteins-Chess-Masterpieces-Selected-Games/dp/0486206173/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447718666&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Rubinstein+chess+greatest+games, Alekhine's My Best Games of Chess, 1908-1937 http://www.amazon.com/My-Best-Games-Chess-1908/dp/0486249417/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447718628&sr=1-2&keywords=Alekhine+My+best, Life and Games of Mikhail Tal http://www.amazon.com/Life-Games-Mikhail-Tal/dp/1857442024/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447718756&sr=1-1&keywords=life+and+games+of+mikhail+tal, Zurich, 1953 by Bronstein http://www.amazon.com/Zurich-International-Chess-Tournament-Dover/dp/0486238008/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447718798&sr=1-1&keywords=zurich+international+chess+tournament+1953, and World Chess Championship, Botvinnik to Kasparov http://www.amazon.com/World-Chess-Championship-Botvinnik-Kasparov/dp/0713453451/ref=sr_1_sc_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447718568&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=World+Chess+Championship%2C+Botvirnnik+to+Kasparov