Hello I am just surfing for a new chess book to read. I heard from a friend that Alexander Kotov's books are good; there're "Think like a GM" "Play like a GM" even "Train like a GM".
Even though they are old books, I personally have read an old book by Bobby Fischer which I found to be really good (B.F. teaches chess)
any thoughts anyone?
thank you
Hugo
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Think Like a Grandmaster was a pioneering work but the other two
were dished out to cash in on the former's popularity. I have all the three and I find the Plan and Train a little advanced (or superficial)
for me.
By the way, Bobby Fischer Teaches chess wasn't written by Bobby Fischer. The legend allowed a couple of obscure authors to use his
name for some monetary benefits.
Thanks,
Phani
Originally posted by AcapaYespadayou may just ignore train like a grandmaster, it's all about "look how a novelty in this game changed the outcome ----annotated game----" etc.
Hello I am just surfing for a new chess book to read. I heard from a friend that Alexander Kotov's books are good; there're "Think like a GM" "Play like a GM" even "Train like a GM".
Even though they are old books, I personally have read an old book by Bobby Fischer which I found to be really good (B.F. teaches chess)
any thoughts anyone?
thank you
Hugo
think like a grandmaster is a masterpiece however. It's about how to analyze in general. Play like a grandmaster focuses more on positional judgement.
Kotov's "Think like a Grandmaster" and "Play like a Grandmaster" are very fine chess books that deserve a place in any collection. Of the two, I actually got a lot more from Play, due to its focus on rapid positional evaluation in the middle game.
Train, by all accounts, is not worth the effort.
Originally posted by AcapaYespadaWhen I read "Think Like a GM", I got a lot from it. It's then a good idea to follow up with "modern calculation theory" via Attack and Defence (Dvoretsky/Yusupov); Improve Your Chess Now (Tisdall); Secrets of Practical Chess (Nunn); The Inner Game of Chess (Soltis). Each of these suggest refinements to Kotov's theory.
As an aside, Plan Like a GM - written by Suetin, not Kotov - is an excellent collection of games. It's not very well explained but the games themselves are instructive. They mainly focus on the transition from opening to middlegame.
Originally posted by VarenkaYou could also add to this list "excelling at chess", by Aagaard, which also refers to kotov.
When I read "Think Like a GM", I got a lot from it. It's then a good idea to follow up with "modern calculation theory" via Attack and Defence (Dvoretsky/Yusupov); Improve Your Chess Now (Tisdall); Secrets of Practical Chess (Nunn); The Inner Game of Chess (Soltis). Each of these suggest refinements to Kotov's theory.
As an aside, [b]Plan Like a GM ...[text shortened]... mselves are instructive. They mainly focus on the transition from opening to middlegame.[/b]
The books you mention are all great training books for advanced players (although i don't know the inner game), except one : improve your chess now.
It's not just great, it's outstanding (i would say way above kotov's book), a shame it's out of print !
when you say tactics you don't mean the usually the pinned piece, discovered check, fork...and so on; since I am trying to find out a book that could help me out w/ my games that i usually get to a more drawish position, and I just like something that could help me see through
would Think like a GM be what I am looking for?
thanks
Originally posted by AcapaYespadaOk : Practical chess books, which one to choose ?
when you say tactics you don't mean the usually the pinned piece, discovered check, fork...and so on; since I am trying to find out a book that could help me out w/ my games that i usually get to a more drawish position, and I just like something that could help me see through
would Think like a GM be what I am looking for?
thanks
- easy to read and fun : reassess your chess by silman (although more theoreticalo than practical) (1600+ elo)
- The great classic, but a bit dogmatic : kotov (1800+ elo)
- Same kind but more modern than kotov :
* secrets of practical chess by Nunn (1700+ elo),
* excelling at chess by aagaard (1900+ elo),
* improve your chess now by tisdall (2000+ elo, out of print 🙁 ),
* secrets of chess training by dvoretsky (2100+), more in the subject than attack and defence by the same author
All excellent books! now make your choice
(given your good level but apparently low theoretical knowledge, i would advice silman or nunn)
Originally posted by AcapaYespadatheory means the collective public/published knowledge of what has been found out. all correct (and currently thought as correct) analysis of positions which have been reached or studied so far.
I have seen many stuff talking about theory but I don't seem to understand WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY THEORY? openings? middlegame(I have learned that my games go better when I control the center) endgame(dominate the open files w/ rooks & bishops)???
thank you
Originally posted by wormwoodit's probably mostly for the openings and the endgame, where certain things are absolute. (like wrong coloured bishop etc). for the middlegame, ideas still just keep flying in the air.
theory means the collective public/published knowledge of what has been found out. all correct (and currently thought as correct) analysis of positions which have been reached or studied so far.
Years ago I attended a chess congress with 600 participants.
Along with their score sheets I had placed a small questionairre
asking them to list their top three books.
This is 1983/84 about 16 GM's and 20 IM's took part.
Fischer's 60
Simple Chess by Stean (a really good book for the student a classic)
Think Like a GM. Kotov.
It was still fairly new then. Of late I've heard people knocking it.
It's OK - did nothing for me
Runners up Alekhines Books, Chernev's Most Instructive
and Bronstein's Struggle and Practise - though Bronstein
may not have written it.
My System.
The new version of My System is good. You can read it.
The original was like reading treacle.
Some modern books you can compare but a good chess is
a good chess book from any era. (the pieces still move the
same - they have done for the past 500 years).
In some of today's books (the last 5 years) you get the feeling this
book was not written to enlighten under 1800 players,
but to impress their GM/IM friends. A lot of them are pigs swill.
99% of chess books should never have been written.
Polugayesky said that. (I bet I have spelt his name wrong - again)
Chess books have their place and I would never have become
the player I bacame if were not for chess books.
Tarrasch's Best Games by Reinfeld turned me practically overnight
into a good 2200+ player. Reinfeld's best book.
It's actually Tarrasch's writings, Fred added his famous game
introductions.
Something Fischer said put me onto Tarrasch. Before then I had
gone along with everybody else - the dreaded D word. Dogmatic.
Trouble with Fred is he wrote over 100 chess books.
About 6-7 are very good - the rest... and it's only the
naff one's you remember
Also the various publishers he wrote for brought out the
same book under different titles. Nothing to do with Fred,
but he got and still gets the flack.
The best way to improve is to get yourself a good coach.
Get lessons from a good player. The only person I ever paid
to give me face to face instruction was Danny Kopec back in
1982. He was in his prime then. An excellent teacher face to face.
He is OK at writing for the masses, I think his books are fair to good
and just make it into Poly's 1%.
(except of course Master Chess which is brilliant - 18 editions
speaks for itself - I've plugged my own book).
But one on one Kopec was very good.
Lasker (the good one) said you will learn more from in one year
from face to face coaching than you will from 20 years of self study.
You cannot ask a book questions.
Originally posted by greenpawn34Do you have any idea if the annotations in Reinfeld's book are similar to Tarrasch's annotations in his "Three Hundred Chess Games" book? I do know that Reinfeld's book only has 183 games. Also, Reinfeld's book has a higher "page-to-game" ratio, but who knows, that might just be different page formatting.
Tarrasch's Best Games by Reinfeld turned me practically overnight
into a good 2200+ player. Reinfeld's best book.
It's actually Tarrasch's writings, Fred added his famous game
introductions.