Build Up Your Chess The Fundamentals

BUILD UP YOUR CHESS: THE FUNDAMENTALS
Author: Artur Yusupov
Quality Chess (2008)
262 pages
$29.95

Reviewed by John Donaldson

Several years ago I bought a book entitled CHESS LESSONS by former World Championship Candidate Artur Yusupov and was greatly impressed. There wasn't a huge amount of prose but the examples were extremely well chosen and the solutions clearly presented. That book was geared for players over 2200, but now the former number three player in the world has written a book aimed at those rated under 1500.

BUILD UP YOUR CHESS: THE FUNDAMENTALS is the first in a series for players who want to build their skills on a solid foundation. In 24 chapters he sets out to cover the basics: simple tactics, openings, fundamental endgames, calculation of variations and the rudiments of positional chess. Each chapter starts with the introduction of a theme followed by progressively more difficult examples and finally exercises to solve with detailed solutions. Such an approach has been seen before but never as well done. One might ask why it is necessary to have such a high rated player write a book for less-advanced players? The answer is that Yusupov offers the rare combination of tremendous chess knowledge and the ability and desire to share it. BUILD UP YOUR CHESS: THE FUNDAMENTALS is not a random collection of positions tossed together but carefully chosen ones that methodically build the student's knowledge from exercise to exercise.

I see three target audiences for this book. The first is for less advanced players. Yusupov in his introduction says the book is aimed at players below 1500 but this needs some fine-tuning. National ratings very from country to country, but in the United States I would recommend this only to players rated above 1300. Those who know the rules and have only been playing awhile will likely find it too difficult.

Yusupov mentions in the introduction that players benefit greatly from having a trainer and his book is intended as a replacement and not a substitute for one. That may be true but many chess trainers from around the world will find BUILD UP YOUR CHESS: THE FUNDAMENTALS a very helpful guide in structuring their teaching.

This book will be very helpful for almost all players below 2200 who learned how to play chess outside the former Soviet Union. With very few exceptions such players have fundamental gaps in their knowledge. A player rated 2000 will likely whip through this book quite quickly but every so often they are going to find positions that they do not know the answer to. Better to learn at home what the positions are than over the board!

Highly Recommended.

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