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UPDATES FOR JULY
From this point on, material will be posted throughout each month at random times
INSTRUCTION & OTHER
 (April 5) IM Silman answers a reader's question about a new 8th move in the SMITH-MORRA GAMBIT ... MORE
(Feb. 9) IM Silman talks about DYING WITH YOUR BOOTS ON:
His brother (who was also playing at the event) rushed to his side and Cecil whispered something into his ear. Then he died. His final words? One might imagine something like, "Tell my wife I love her." Or "The gold is hidden under the bedroom floorboard." But no, this is a chess player and so his last thoughts were about chess. His dying message to his brother: "I have a win, but it will take time!" ... MORE
(Feb. 5) IM Silman tells the tale of THE MASKED GRANDMASTER:
Of course, Mills won the brilliancy prize, and none of us could do anything but applaud him. Truly a fantastic creative effort and, perhaps, the greatest game by a non-master of all time... MORE
(Jan. 7) Postal Master Manuel Gerardo Monasterio tells us HOW TO DEAL WITH THE CHIGORIN DEFENSE ... MORE
(November 12) Grandmaster van der Weide gives us Part 15 of THE PAIN AND ANGUISH OF OPENING THEORY ... MORE
(October 07) Larry Tamarkin gives us Part Four of his entertaining series, MEMOIRS OF A CHESS FISH ... MORE
(September 07) IM Silman presents ENDGAME OF THE MONTH 4 ... MORE
BOOK REVIEWS
WANT TO WRITE A GUEST REVIEW? Anyone that has a strong need to praise or lambast a chess book should send their review to jeremysilman.com for consideration.
(July 10) IM Silman reviews PAWN SACRIFICE:
Tim’s excitement with the subject matter is obvious on every page, and his conversational writing style and humor keep things hopping. A couple original tidbits he tosses in are “Favorable Omens,” a term he coins to show you how to spot situations where such sacrifices make sense, and “Mr. Fritz?” which appears every time a pawn is tossed ... MORE
(July 4) IM Donaldson reviews THE ART OF BISGUIER 1961-2003:
What sets this book apart from other game collections are the stories that preface each encounter. Bisguier, who has lived American chess history for over 60 years, has always been known as an excellent raconteur and his memory for the clever observation and ability to bring to life Caissa's departed soldiers is second to none ... MORE
(July 4) IM Donaldson reviews FORCING CHESS MOVES:
Through his many years of teaching, Hertan has come to believe that a key failing of all chess players, but particularly those at the club level, is their inability to find the sort of brute force tactics and combinations that computers instantly find ... MORE
(July 4) IM Donaldson reviews ELISTA DIARIES:
Karpov and Henley have produced a greatly expanded (almost 25 percent more material) edition of their classic and the timing couldn't be better with Gata Kamsky's recent triumph in the World Cup at Khanty-Mansiysk. Besides the 1996 match, this book includes short biographies and representative games of all the World Champions, annotations to the Karpov-Anand match and Anand's victory in Mexico City (the key moment's for Vishy) ... MORE
(July 4) IM Silman reviews both PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY BEYOND THE BASICS and PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY MASTERING THE BASICS:
It’s clear that the publisher of both books, Everyman Chess, wanted to give a one-two endgame punch that covered the full range of playing levels. The Flear book is advanced, while the Grivas book covers basic stuff ... MORE
(July 4) IM Silman reviews SECRETS OF SPECTACULAR CHESS (2nd Edition):
Most chess books are about openings, endgames, tactics, positional play, and various kinds of instruction. Very few are about the most obvious and simplest thing of all: the pure enjoyment of the game. This is one of those books that remind us, page by page, why we love chess so much. In fact, grandmaster Jonathan Speelman said it best: “A joyous celebration of chess beauty.” ... MORE
(July 4) IM Silman reviews THE CHEBANENKO SLAV:
Bologan’s THE CHEBANENKO SLAV stands head and shoulders above everything else on the subject, and is how I wish every advanced opening book would be written ... MORE
(June 20) IM Silman reviews both HOW TO CRUSH YOUR CHESS OPPONENTS and THE ART OF ATTACKING CHESS:
Chess books, like movies, seem to copy each other, in that a concept that one company feels is a good sell, is quickly replicated by other companies as well. After my endgame book appeared (which I claimed was the first truly instructive endgame tome), almost every other chess publishing company rushed to present their own “instructive” endgame book and thus claim a piece of the pie. This same pattern is being shown again, but this time the concept is “attacking chess.” In the last few months, we first got Jacob Aagaard’s excellent ATTACKING MANUAL 1, and now Gambit Publishing has presented their own attacking books ... MORE
(June 7) IM Silman reviews PLAY 1.b4!:
The Sokolsky Opening, also known as the Orangutan, creates an odd impression. In fact, most players have trouble taking things seriously when 1.b4 is trotted out. Though I’ve never played 1.b4, I did go through a period where 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b4 was a major (and successful) part of my repertoire! Strange how I cringe when seeing 1.b4, but glow with admiration when 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.b4 appears ... MORE
(June 3) IM Donaldson reviews SURVIVAL GUIDE TO ROOK ENDINGS 2ND EDITION:
The Canadian/American GM Peter Biyiasas was once quoted as saying he had gone through only two chess books in his life but had read them cover-to-cover several times. The two titles? ... MORE
(June 3) IM Donaldson reviews PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY - BASICS:
Drawing very heavily on GM Grivas' own play, this substantial book (320 over sized pages) covers all facets of the endgame from simple King and Pawn endings to complicated Rook and Pawn Endgames. Grivas supplies plenty of explanatory prose and lots of concrete analysis when needed ... MORE
(June 3) Guest writer Anthony Rotella reviews THE EASIEST SICILIAN:
This book’s a 10. Great format, great content, very interesting opening. After working my way through this book, not only have I already scored some nice wins, but I’m really enjoying the opening as well, which is what it’s all about anyway ... MORE
(May 17) IM Silman reviews ATTACKING MANUAL 1 ... MORE
(May 7) IM Donaldson reviews DANGEROUS WEAPONS, 1.e4 e5 ... MORE
(May 7) IM Donaldson reviews FROM LONDON TO ELISTA ... MORE
(May 7) IM Donaldson reviews JON SPEELMAN'S PUZZLE BOOK ... MORE
(May 7) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS ON THE EDGE ... MORE
(May 7) IM Donaldson reviews DANGEOUS WEAPONS, QUEEN'S GAMBIT ... MORE
(April 5) IM Saidy reviews EL FASCINANTE MUNDO DEL AJEDREZ ... MORE
(April 5) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS EXPLAINED THE NIMZO-INDIAN ... MORE
(April 5) IM Donaldson reviews THE ACCELERATED DRAGON ... MORE
(April 5) IM Donaldson reviews HOOKED ON CHESS - A MEMOIR ... MORE
(April 5) IM Donaldson reviews PLAY THE SEMI-SLAV ... MORE
(April 5) IM Donaldson reviews STARTING OUT - SICILIAN GRAND PRIX ... MORE
(April 5) IM Silman reviews CHESS TIPS FOR THE IMPROVING PLAYER ... MORE
(April 5) IM Silman reviews THE SURVIVAL GUIDE TO COMPETITIVE CHESS ... MORE
(April 5) Anthony Rotella reviews PLAY THE GRUNFELD ... MORE
(March 17) IM Donaldson reviews HOW TO PLAY CHESS ENDGAMES ... MORE
(March 17) IM Silman reviews 50 WAYS TO WIN AT CHESS ... MORE
(March 12) IM Silman reviews the new translation of CHESS PRAXIS ... MORE
(March 8) IM Silman reviews DANGEROUS WEAPONS THE SICILIAN ... MORE
(March 4) IM Silman reviews SAN LUIS 2005 ... MORE
(March 4) IM Donaldson reviews PLAY THE ENGLISH ... MORE
(March 4) IM Donaldson reviews NICK'S BEST SELECTED GAMES OF BRYAN NICKOLOFF ... MORE
(Feb 12, 08) IM Saidy reviews THIS CRAZY WORLD OF CHESS ... MORE
(Feb 2, 08) IM Silman reviews THE SAMISCH KING'S INDIAN UNCOVERED ... MORE
(Feb 2, 08) IM Donaldson reviews Marin's A SPANISH REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK and BEATING THE OPEN GAMES ... MORE
(Feb 2, 08) IM Donaldson reviews TRUE LIES IN CHESS ... MORE
(Feb 2, 08) IM Donaldson reviews GAMBITEER II ... MORE
(Feb 2, 08) IM Donaldson reviews FIGHTING THE ANTI-SICILIANS ... MORE
(Jan 7, 08) IM Silman reviews A SPANISH REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK ... MORE
(Jan 4, 08) IM Donaldson reviews THE FABULOUS BUDAPEST GAMBIT ... MORE
(Jan 4, 08) IM Donaldson reviews KING'S GAMBIT: a Son, a Father, and the World's Most Dangerous Game ... MORE
(Jan 4, 08) IM Donaldson reviews VICTOR BOLOGAN SELECTED GAMES 1985-2004 ... MORE
(Jan 4, 08) IM Donaldson reviews STARTING OUT: CLASSICAL SICILIAN ... MORE
(December 20) IM Donaldson reviews TOPALOV-KRAMNIK, 2006 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP ... MORE
(December 20) IM Silman reviews BEATING THE OPEN GAMES ... MORE
(December 5) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS GEMS ... MORE
(December 5) IM Donaldson reviews KARLSBAD 1907 ... MORE
(December 5) IM Donaldson reviews NIC YEARBOOK 82 ... MORE
(December 1) IM Donaldson reviews CHALLENGING THE NIMZO-INDIAN ... MORE
(November 14) IM Silman reviews KARLSBAD 1907 ... MORE
(November 5) IM Donaldson reviews THE MAROCZY SYSTEM ... MORE
(November 3) IM Silman reviews NEW IN CHESS YEARBOOK 84 ... MORE
(November 2) Guest reviewer Anthony Rotella reviews CHESS EXPLAINED MODERN BENONI ... MORE
(November 2) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS EXPLAINED THE MODERN BENONI ... MORE
(November 1) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS EXPLAINED THE QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED ... MORE
(November 1) IM Donaldson reviews PLAY 1...Nc6! ... MORE
(November 1) IM Donaldson reviews PLAY THE GRUNFELD ... MORE
(October) IM Donaldson reviews PRACTICAL ENDGAME PLAY ... MORE
(October) IM Silman reviews CHESS GEMS: 1,000 COMBINATIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW ... MORE
(October) IM Silman reviews VICTOR BOLOGAN SELECTED GAMES 1985-2004 ... MORE
(October) IM Silman reviews TOPALOV-KRAMNIK 2006 WORLD CHESS CHAMPIONSHIP ... MORE
(October) IM Silman reviews PLAY THE GRUNFELD ... MORE
(September) IM Saidy reviews SECRET NOTES ... MORE
(September) IM Silman reviews HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING ... MORE
(September) IM Donaldson reviews PERFECT YOUR CHESS ... MORE
(September) IM Donaldson reviews CHESS EXPLAINED - MERAN SEMI SLAV ... MORE
(September) IM Donaldson reviews HOW TO PLAY THE ENGLISH OPENING ... MORE
Click to see all our chess book reviews in our ENORMOUS REVIEW ARCHIVE.
Also check out our ARCHIVE OF READER'S LETTERS, our ARCHIVE OF RAVES, our ARCHIVE OF INTERVIEWS, and our ARCHIVE OF CHESS PUZZLES, our POSTAL ARCHIVES, GM Joel Benjamin's humorous and enlightening theoretical musings can be found in his OPENING SHORTCUTS ARCHIVE, IM Andrew Martin's offerings in his BITS & PIECES ARCHIVE, GM VAN DER WEIDE'S PAIN AND ANGUISH ARCHIVE, our amazing archive on OPENING THEORY, GM Ziatdinov's series, TRAINING TIPS, can be viewed in ZIATDINOV'S ARCHIVE, IM Tim Taylor's fine body of work can be viewed in TAYLOR'S TRUE COMBAT ARCHIVE, IM Orlov's excellent series of endgame articles can be viewed in ORLOV'S ENDGAME ARCHIVE, IM Orlov's instructive middlegame series can be viewed in ORLOV'S MIDDLEGAME ARCHIVES, GM Larry Christiansen's fun and instructive series on attack can be viewed in CHRISTIANSEN'S HOW TO ATTACK ARCHIVE, National Master Randy Bauer's fantastic series is a personal favorite of mine. Check it out in BAUER'S INSTRUCTIVE ARCHIVE, National Master Dan Heisman's instructive series can be found in HEISMAN'S INSTRUCTIVE ARCHIVE, and finally, to access some of Silman's instructive offerings, click on SILMAN'S INSTRUCTION FOR BEGINNER'S ARCHIVE, THE STUDY OF MASTER GAMES, MY GAMES AND STYLISTIC PROGRESSION |
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