Addicted to chess books!

Originally posted by CaptainBIdseye
Agreed - about the Oxford companion. I went through every page in that book - its excellent.
The Oxford companion to the mind is absorbing too. Same format just 4 x bigger !

Finally ! Thank you ! It's just a priceless chess book to have and pour over, daily, for years. I wish they'd do an update on it.

Originally posted by Sam The Sham
Finally ! Thank you ! It's just a priceless chess book to have and pour over, daily, for years. I wish they'd do an update on it.

so what's so great about it?

Originally posted by wormwood
so what's so great about it?

I don't have the words to do it justice. Just buy it and see. You will thank me later.

Originally posted by Sam The Sham
I don't have the words to do it justice. Just buy it and see. You will thank me later.

Amazon Book Description:

The Oxford Companion to Chess is a comprehensive guide to all aspects of the game from the earliest myths describing the game's invention right up to recent World Championship competitions. For the second edition, all entries have been scrutinized, revised, and updated, maintaining the book's reputation for authority and accuracy. * Over 2,500 entries covering named openings, laws, and strategies * Biographies of all the major figures * Embraces all branches of the game, including correspondence chess and other forms of telechess, and regional variations such as Chinese and Japanese chess, as well as various unorthodox forms * A host of topics such as computers and chess, philately and chess, and the representation of the game in literature, art, theatre, and film



sounds more like a book about chess subculture than a book about chess improvement. I'll pass...

Originally posted by wormwood

sounds more like a book about chess subculture than a book about chess improvement. I'll pass...

I think it's more of a chess enjoyment/reference book than a chess improvement book. It's structured like an encyclopedia. Unfortunately, it's been out of print for many years, so it has to be scrounged up from the used book market. Not everyone is going to go to that much trouble to get it.

Originally posted by Sam The Sham
Quit pushing it, nobody is interested in your sexual orientation. This is a chess site, not a meating place.

What's your problem... it was humorous and no more or less appropriate than the element of the post it was responding too.

Also, you seem to have made a curious spelling of the word meet by accidentally using "meat" which is the fleshy stuff you eat...psychologists would have a field day!

Simple Chess by Michael Stean for a concise explanation of: Outposts, Weak Pawns, Open Files, Space, Black Square/White Square strategies.

The post that was quoted here has been removed

That's what I like about this site - there's always someone who makes me seem normal. 4000 books. Phew. I only have 60!

Originally posted by Mad Rook
I think it's more of a chess enjoyment/reference book than a chess improvement book. It's structured like an encyclopedia. Unfortunately, it's been out of print for many years, so it has to be scrounged up from the used book market. Not everyone is going to go to that much trouble to get it.

friend of mine just got it on ebay, it's easy to get

Originally posted by Sam The Sham
friend of mine just got it on ebay, it's easy to get

Well, sure, it's not THAT difficult to get a used copy of the book, but it's not as easy as simply ordering a new book online or picking one up from your local retail book store. You have to hunt them down.

If you're looking on the eBay auction side, you have to wait until one comes up for auction, then hope you're the winning bidder. If one is listed on an eBay store or on the Amazon reseller list, you simply pay the asking price (which sometimes is inflated). But regardless of the path you take, you're purchasing from the used book market, and different sellers of used books have different reputations and standards of grading.

Originally posted by Mad Rook
Well, sure, it's not THAT difficult to get a used copy of the book, but it's not as easy as simply ordering a new book online or picking one up from your local retail book store. You have to hunt them down.

If you're looking on the eBay auction side, you have to wait until one comes up for auction, then hope you're the winning bidder. If one is listed on ...[text shortened]... t, and different sellers of used books have different reputations and standards of grading.

actually he just ordered it from a used book store online after doing a key word search on the title, got an almost pristine copy

I've always found the used booksellers on amazon to be very strange.Take this Oxford companion...book for instance,it ranges in price from 82£ to 8.50£ all in 'very good' condition.Makes no sense to me 😕