Chess books of interest

My idea here is to see what chess books RHP players may currently be studying. I would love to also see comments on favorites, or on books deemed most instructional, most helpful, of simply most enjoyable.

I’m thinking of adding to my modest collection with the aim of passing on my entire collection someday to some young person who proves a love for the game.

I’m currently slowly working through the “The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played—62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy” by Irving Chernev, 1965.

I am working through each game, and I find I retain more by transcribing the moves into algebraic form in a spiral notebook. I jot in the author’s notations, and also transcribe the possible combinations into modern form.

I only find the time to work through one or two games per week, but it has proven to be very rewarding. I, at least, “feel” like I’m a better player for it.

How about you?

Thanks in advance, and keep sharpening those skills!

@liljo said
My idea here is to see what chess books RHP players may currently be studying. I would love to also see comments on favorites, or on books deemed most instructional, most helpful, of simply most enjoyable.

I’m thinking of adding to my modest collection with the aim of passing on my entire collection someday to some young person who proves a love for the game.

I’m curren ...[text shortened]... a better player for it.

How about you?

Thanks in advance, and keep sharpening those skills!

Finished Susan Polgar's Chess Tactics for Champions about 2 months ago. Now grinding my way through Fundamental Chess Endings by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht; endgame study in this book is detailed, dense, and sometimes hard to master, but I'm serious about improving, and this is what separates strong players from the also ran's. This + 30 tactics drills/ day is what keeps me going. 🙂

I am currently working through "Game Changer," AlphaZero's crushing defeat of Stockfish. Too soon to tell whether I can learn anything from this. I am reminded of a remark of Max Euwe: "One can only marvel at Lasker's games; one learns nothing from them."

Many here probably know this already, but our own Greenpawn helped write a highly regarded chess book. I found it online and ordered a copy today. It is entitled, "Mastering Chess: A Course in 25 Lessons". It is a collaborative work by the late IM Danny Kopec and four others.

I think RHP is very blessed to have folks like that around! Here is the Amazon review part about Geoff:
"First there is a spritely written 1st Chapter on Tactics and Combinations by Geoff Chandler of Edinburgh Scotland. Mr. Chandler has updated his popular work with observations of play and missed opportunities from Internet play. "

I'll post later after receiving and reviewing the book for myself, but I am a huge Greepawn blog fan. He is a delightful writer and I never fail to learn something from his blogs.

@Liljo

21 lessons 😉 not 25.
Still a great book.

@very-musty said
@Liljo

21 lessons 😉 not 25.
Still a great book.

Oh my! If I'm gonna hype a book, I should at LEAST get the title right!
Thanks, Musty!
😆

Hi Liljo,

I wrote the first part of Tactics and Combinations in 1983/84 ish and it was
the book was quite well received, with good reviews and good sales and even
translated into Spanish.

Years later it was sold to another publishing house and Danny Kopec suggested
we update it. I said OK, we left the original stuff in and as an update I thought as
the net was the place where a lot of people played I'd use net games (RHP games).

Examples played by the people who buy the books rather than just examples
from the super-duper dudes. (and the same old famous positions.)

Then I had another idea(!) why not make it look it like a post in a chess forum.

This idea did not quite work (but had to IMO be tried) . The examples are good,
the layout for the update is dodgy. I recall it had a bad review from somewhere, which
is OK. The reviewer is doing their job. An honest review, too often you see a review
doing a kiss-ass review as I said when I reviewed 'Game Changer' Blog Post 427

The last two pieces of advice my dad shouted at me as his home made
canoe disappeared over Devil Fork rapids have stayed with me all my life.

‘Never kiss a woman with chapped lips and don’t do a review of a book if
you think you will be out of your depth and others are raving on about it"