The Art of Attack

Back then I expect it would have been really valuable to get so many complete games in a book.

We had Alekhine's books, Clarke's book on Tal (a masterpiece).
and Tartakower's 500. Bronstein's Zurich 1953....

Infact I cannot recall a bad chess book (some of Reinfeld's later
stuff was 'iffy'😉 pre-1978.

Some of these old books are classics and well worth reading.
The rules have not changed since 1600 so what was written then
still stands today.

The modern masters of today are standing on the shoulders of
these guys.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
This is a wind up....
.

Not at all ... and of course I know who wrote that section.

I didn't know how successful the book was generally ... but I do know how helpful it was to me. Have wanted to say thanks since you arrived but no decent opportunity arose. It seemed appropriate in this thread on tactics. Partly because of the subject matter and partly because of the advice earlier in the thread to actually play through stuff on the board. If I hadn't have set up all those mating positions on the board as suggested in the tactics chapter I'm sure I woudn't have spotted the chance to do the queen sac/rook and knight mate all those years ago.

J

btw: for the uninitiated it was greenpawn himself who wrote the tactics chapter and any effort it takes to hunt down this book will be greatly repaid.

You could have put on a single post.

GREEPAWN WROTE THIS GREAT CHESS BOOK.

I have found 3 copies in 2nd hand shops.

That is a great moment seeing your dog-eared book on the same shelf as
Alekhine, Capablanca, Kasparov - and then comes books on fishing,
bridge and yoga.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
I struggled with it.
I think it's for ECF 120+ (Elo 1800)

I think its a crappie book no commentary hardly at all.

Also reading it is like having a tooth pulled

Originally posted by NorrisB
I think its a crappie book no commentary hardly at all.

Well I can't disabuse you of you're opinion because if you found the book to be crappie so be it. But I'm confused by the comment "no commentary hardly at all".

Unless the explanatory text (of which there is plenty) and "commentary" are something different. Just one random example is chapter 3 "On castling and attacking the castled position in general"...has 15 pages of text (around 300 words a page) with just a few diagrams and a bit of notation. Not that quantity and quality are the same thing but whatever your view of it there is a lot.

Originally posted by NorrisB
I think its a crappie book no commentary hardly at all.

What did you expect?A novel?

Originally posted by NorrisB
Also reading it is like having a tooth pulled

If you are not enjoying reading/studing it then sling it.

Chess books should be enjoyable to read - you want to read them.

I've not seen the algebraic version of Art of Attack in Chess but
I am now looking my 1965 copy. (bought in 1972)

Quite a brick and i doubt if I picked up today I'd read it.
But back then I wanted to be a good chess player and this
came very highly recommended.

I suppose it all depends how much work you want to put in.
But if you hated it - leave it.
You never told us which book you found helpful.
It may guide others.

Originally posted by Squelchbelch
I struggled with it.
I think it's for ECF 120+ (Elo 1800)

hmm... now isn't that a surprise? Maybe they were cheating in the book?

I found this book somehow interesting...more like a collection of analysed games grouped on specific attacking theme...it is fine enough

Originally posted by JonathanB of London

btw: for the uninitiated it was greenpawn himself who wrote the tactics chapter and any effort it takes to hunt down this book will be greatly repaid.

It wasn't hard for me to find it at all. I ordered my copy of Mastering Chess: A Course in 21 Lessons new from an internet store. (I got it today.) Dover has reissued it, and I'm sure they'd like to sell lots of copies. 🙂 Dover prices are very reasonable.

My thanks to JonathanB for mentioning the book. I'd never heard of it before. (Couldn't find any reviews except for Amazon, even when I was looking for it.) But I figured if greenpawn34 wrote part of it, it's bound to be entertaining. I've only skimmed it, but it looks very good. (And Geoff, no fair sneaking in lessons on the Napoleonic Wars! 😛 )

Quote by Mad Rook
'I've only skimmed it...'

Skimmed it....skimmed it!!

Get those mating patterns stored.

Back in 82 we never had computers to do the diagrams.
they had to be done by hand with lettra-set (think that's spelt right).

I toiled for a whole weekedn on those mating patterns.
Set them up now....

One of the problems is wrong - don't know if Danny Kopec ever
got round to correcting it.

I've only skimmed it indeed. huh!

Endgame section by Ian Mullen very good - the wee names for
each study we thought up together one afternoon in a pub.

Thought my link to Spanish war was good.

I'll tell the rest of the lads.

The debate was Positional Play v Tactics.
I likened the game of chess to two big galleons having a fight
and then stated the strategy used by both sides in the
Spanish -English naval battles.

The Spanish aimed their guns at the English ships rigging (positional play)

The English aimed their guns at the Spanish crews (Tactical play).

Before the Spanish adopted the English tactics their losses
were incredible, something like 32 ships lost to nil.

Not seen the Dover version, have seen the Pergamon, Cadogen
and Persimmon ones - even seen the foriegn one's which is odd.
I've written a book I cannot read.

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Infact I cannot recall a bad chess book (some of Reinfeld's later
stuff was 'iffy'😉 pre-1978.

Surely you're forgetting "Chess and How to Play It" by B.Scriven?

Originally posted by greenpawn34
Quote by Mad Rook
'I've only skimmed it...'

Skimmed it....skimmed it!!

Get those mating patterns stored.

Back in 82 we never had computers to do the diagrams.
they had to be done by hand with lettra-set (think that's spelt right).

I toiled for a whole weekedn on those mating patterns.
Set them up now....

One of the problems is wrong - d ...[text shortened]... on ones - even seen the foriegn one's which is odd.
I've written a book I cannot read.

"Skimmed it....skimmed it!!"

Sorry, didn't mean to insult ya. I knew I should have taken those speed reading courses in school!

"One of the problems is wrong - don't know if Danny Kopec ever
got round to correcting it."

Great, now I won't rest until I find it. My luck he fixed it, and I'll spend a massive amount of time trying in vain to find a mistake that isn't there. 😞

"The Spanish aimed their guns at the English ships rigging (positional play)

The English aimed their guns at the Spanish crews (Tactical play).

Before the Spanish adopted the English tactics their losses
were incredible, something like 32 ships lost to nil."

Maybe we should warn Robbie not to read this part.
😉

"Not seen the Dover version, have seen the Pergamon, Cadogen
and Persimmon ones - even seen the foriegn one's which is odd.
I've written a book I cannot read."

I haven't seen the other editions. But this one looks okay. Fairly thin (around 130 pages or so, slightly over 1/4 inch thick), but fairly large format (6 inches by 9-1/4 inches) and fairly small font size. (Yeah, okay, so we still haven't gone completely metric yet! If it bugs you, 2.54 cm equals 1 inch - you can do the conversion, hehe.) So it packs in a decent amount of information. And the price is right, about 10 US dollars retail.

Originally posted by Fat Lady
Surely you're forgetting "Chess and How to Play It" by B.Scriven?

It is terrible.

"and here is a game played in the English County League."

and then appears Morphy v The Duke at the Opera.

Winter tears it to shreds and the bits he missed I gleefully
tear to sheds on my column.

But it's not the worst ever book according to Winter.

http://chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandlerarticle.php?ChandID=210

(and play out the game with my two Knight mate - be in awe).