Hi All,
I've got an idea that I hope will be well received. I want to start a chess book club here. To do this, I have started the "Chess Book Club" clan, but I'm not accepting members yet, so don't try to join.
I want to use this thread to vote on a book and recruit members. I'm putting this here instead of the Clan Forum, because this will not be your typical clan. It will be inactive, not actually playing any games. The purpose for the clan is to identify the members of the club, and provide us with a private forum to discuss the book. I feel the quality of the posts will be better if only the folks studying the book are contributing.
To be a part of the book club, you should be able to study for at least one hour a week on the book. I'll work with members to create a calendar to follow, so we all stay in synch. If you are one to speed through a chess book, this might not be for you.
To get this started, we will first choose a book. I will provide a list of books that I would like to study, and please feel free to submit any that you would like. Please don't vote for a book now. After we get a list of submissions, then we will vote.
After the book is chosen, I will recruit for the club/clan. One problem is that only 20 people can be in a clan. But I would invite others to create copy-cat clans for the same or different books if this gets a lot of interest.
I hope this is a good idea and gets some support.
OK, here is a list of books that I would think are good options. I think books on strategy would be most appropriate for a book club.
HOW TO REASSES YOUR CHESS, Jeremy Silman: A lot of folks have already read this. Many swear its the best book ever written, but many say its full of mistakes. I'm a bit reluctant to read it because Silman is currently working on the next edition, in which he is replacing 90% of the examples. Still a good option though.
AMATURE'S MIND, Jeremy Silman: Also a popular book and highly rated book.
LOGICAL CHESS, MOVE BY MOVE, Irving Chernev: Greatly loved book. Maybe a little too beginner-level for most of us.
MY SYSTEM, Aron Nimzowitsch: The classic.
ART OF ATTACK IN CHESS: The manual on how to attack. This would be my vote. (Opps. We're not voting yet...)
UNDERSTANDING CHESS MOVE BY MOVE, John Nunn: Very advanced, but highly rated.
THE MIDDLE GAME, Max Euwe, H. Kramer, and Lou Hays: 2 books.
50 ESSENTIAL CHESS LESSONS, Steve Giddins: Good book and would be easy to divide up into a lesson a week.
THE POWER CHESS PROGRAM, Nigel Davies: This training program is already divided into a weeks and months.
THE ART OF THE MIDDLE GAME, Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov: Excellent book, and short enough to be a good trial starter.
HOW TO BECOME A DEADLY CHESS TACTICIAN, by David Lemoir and Ken Lemoir: Not very popular, but very enjoyable. Its more on attacking and sacrifice than tactics.
Please submit any book you feel would be a good option.
Well I love my chess books so would love to join clan such as this. I already belong to Chapter A Day which has been set up with a similar idea using The Amateurs Mind. However it has just 6 members and I reckon a larger membership would be better as I think more people are needed to make a vibrant community.i
I too would be interested in THE ART OF THE MIDDLE GAME, Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov: and agree it's a good idea to start with a shorter book.
My book suggestions are: 101 Endgame tips by Steve Giddins ...I suggest this as I'd like to do something on endings and it has a bite size structure making it easy to follow and to catch up if you're away for a bit.
The Road to Chess Improvement by Alex Yermolinsky... this book has a host of insights and depth
Anyway I'd be up for working through any recommended book.
I like your idea and I would be very interested in joining your clan. Any one of the books on your list would be an excellent start, especially Art of Attack, Understanding Chess Move by Move or Amateur's Mind. I have no others to suggest at the moment, but I'll browse the shelves at Borders and Barnes & Noble to see if any overlooked gems jump out. Let me know if I can do anything else to help.
Originally posted by AProdigyChapter a month would be a more appropriate title. What will work well in this clan if you don't mind me making a suggestion will be for you to take a clear leadership role and drive the progress along....it is quite easy for these things to fizzle out.
Nice, I didn't know about the Chapter a Day clan. Have you guys been able to keep up that pace?
I would be interested and would prefer one of these two books.
MY SYSTEM, Aron Nimzowitsch:
ART OF ATTACK IN CHESS
One thing to point out is that people study at various depths and read at various speeds, therefor at "1 hour per week" people will end up at different places. I think a better idea would be 1 chapter / week or perhaps 1 sample game per day etc.
If you are open to other book suggestions, Silman's Complete Endgame Manual would lend itself well to this.
Originally posted by MahoutOnce the clan is formed, I plan on creating a calendar with the chapter/section/pages divided out into weeks. So, as long as everyone keeps up, we can always stay on the same page. If folks fall behind, we can modify the calendar. I think this would work to keep us all going. Of course, I won't be able to help if people drop out, as probably half will. Hopefully there will be a strong core.
Chapter a month would be a more appropriate title. What will work well in this clan if you don't mind me making a suggestion will be for you to take a clear leadership role and drive the progress along....it is quite easy for these things to fizzle out.
Originally posted by zebanoYeah, I agree. Like I replied to Mahout, we will try to divide out the book into sections that take on hour on average. Some might spend 3 - 5 hours reading it over and over, while others read it in 20 minutes.
I would be interested and would prefer one of these two books.
MY SYSTEM, Aron Nimzowitsch:
ART OF ATTACK IN CHESS
One thing to point out is that people study at various depths and read at various speeds, therefor at "1 hour per week" people will end up at different places. I think a better idea would be 1 chapter / week or perhaps 1 sample game per ...[text shortened]... n to other book suggestions, Silman's Complete Endgame Manual would lend itself well to this.
I am very interested. Here is the list of books that I have as interested in - pretty much picked up the names from the forums or from other sites. I don't have any yet so cannot comment on how good they are:
Martin Weteschnik: Understanding Chess Tactics
Yasser Seirawan: Winning Chess Tactics (Beginner to Advanced)
Lazslo Polgar: 5334 Chess Problems, Combinations and Games (Beginner to Advanced)
Aron Nimzowitsch: My System
Jeremy Silman: Silman’s Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master
The Polgar probably wouldn't be appropriate for this kind of forum though.
Let me know once you get going.
Originally posted by AProdigyWhat's the minimum number of people you need to start? I think once we have 4 (enough for a clan forum) we should start and others can then join if they wish.
I can't think of anything interesting to say...just want to get this post back up to the top so it isn't missed by weekend movers.
Shameful, I know.
Yeah, that's enough. I wanted to give folks at least a week to see it and mention books. Then we can take a few days to vote. I don't know if there will then be folks that want to join, but will need to order the book first. If so, we might wait a while for that. But yeah, I would be happy to find even just one person to walk through this with.