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I am trying to remember. Probably mid '70s. Probably Reuben Fine's Basic Chess Endings.
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Mid 70s also: Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy."We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De Quincey -
Yes I read that one cover to cover. Have long regretted not reading Modern Chess Tactics by Pachman at the same time. That held me back. Also read Fred Reinfeld's Basic Chess Course (all ten volumes).Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post
I correct myself, there was one chess book I devoured, in my '40s. That was Averbakh's "Chess Tactics for Advanced Players, which had a very interesting and useful idea, to broaden the concept of "double attack", whereby most chess combinations could be couched in terms of double attack.
So I start to wonder why it is that we don't finish. Probably once the initial infatuation with chess burns down, we become more critical? Maybe most chess books are too long? Diminishing returns for the effort? Not unusual enough? I really don't know.
What would you look for in a book that would make you want to read it cover to cover?Last edited by Fred Henderson; Friday, 10th February, 2023, 03:52 PM.Comment
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Simple Chess by Michael Stean, and the Chess Struggle in Practise, by Bronstein. 1987 or so.Comment
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Never heard of that Bronstein book. Sounds like one that might be worth reading full now. Something unique.Originally posted by J. Crowhurst View Post
I have Dvoretsky's books in my sights, have only read his Endgame Manual part of the way through. I expect they will be tough.Comment
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The Dvoretsky books are fantastic. When you get into the four volume School of Chess Excellence series the material is challenging because they ask you questions before proceeding. If you put in the work and read them they are rewarding.Comment
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In my 60s, not sure if I will live long enough to get that far. I'm not ready for them quite yet also. Maybe starting next year. Now that I am retired, I'll have time. Probably the first book on my list is Ivan Sokolov's book on pawn structures, "Winning Chess Middlegames", which is highly regarded. Also, Tisdall's "Improve your chess now", which documents his efforts to reach the GM title in his 40s.Originally posted by Sheldon Ab View Post
What's required is direction and a plan, to choose the books that will provide the most benefit.Last edited by Fred Henderson; Friday, 10th February, 2023, 09:00 PM.Comment
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Oh yes, of course. Probably one of the most highly regarded of chess books. Great prose, average analysis. Tried a few times, but didn't come close to finishing. Lots of great games, also lots of useless ones.Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View PostComment
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Hi EZ. I think Chess Improviser is not the same as Z53.Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post
Different book but, from what I've heard/read, very highly thought of.
Last edited by Peter McKillop; Saturday, 11th February, 2023, 12:50 PM."We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De QuinceyComment
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This week: Soltis' "Fabiano Caruana:60 Memorable Games".
Before that: "Winning", Nigel Short; "My Chess World", David Navarra; "The Application of Chess Theory", Geller... and maybe 4-6 others last year.Comment
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The only "chess books" that I will claim to have read cover to cover are the biographies of Fischer by Brady, and Kortchnoi's autobiography.Comment
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The talk was about - Chess Struggle in Practise, by BronsteinOriginally posted by Peter McKillop View Post
Hi EZ. I think Chess Improviser is not the same as Z53.
Different book but, from what I've heard/read, very highly thought of.
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Oops!! My mistake. Sorry EZ.Originally posted by Egidijus Zeromskis View Post"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office." - Aesop
"Only the dead have seen the end of war." - Plato
"If once a man indulges himself in murder, very soon he comes to think little of robbing; and from robbing he comes next to drinking and Sabbath-breaking, and from that to incivility and procrastination." - Thomas De QuinceyComment
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No problem.Originally posted by Peter McKillop View Post
I don't have "Chess Struggle..." thus looked around. Seems it has a different translator than the Dover edition. Both seems used the second Russian edition as the base. Maybe someone will publish a new version translated from the 3ed and would even add more material what came after collapse of Soviets. The tournament was 70 years ago. A good occasion :)Comment
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