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re: Books about the history and beauty of Chess

Posted on 11/1/20 at 5:00 am to
Posted by Kafka
I am the moral conscience of TD
Member since Jul 2007
142434 posts
Posted on 11/1/20 at 5:00 am to
History/anecdotes:

The Fireside Book of Chess - Reinfeld and Chernev

The Chess Companion - Chernev

The World of Chess - Saidy and Leasing

Chess to Enjoy - Soltis

Playing/strategy:

A few bits of advice:

* Don't spend a lot of time studying/memorizing openings. This is the #1 mistake of nerw players. Play open games (e4) whenever possible. Play one e4 opening as white, such as the Scotch Game or the Ruy Lopez exchange variation. As black learn one defense against e4 and one against d4. Play the Closed Sicilian as white. Avoid the mainline Sicilian defense as white or black -- too much work!

* Study endgames. Know what kind of ending you want to go into, or avoid.

* Learn about pawn structure. What betting patterns are to Texas Hold 'Em, pawn structures are to chess.

I haven't played in 20+ years, so any books I recommend may be hard to find. But these books are worth studying if you can find them (check Amazon or your local libraries):

How To Open A Chess Game -- various authors. Especially the chapter by Portisch.

Ideas Behind The Chess Openings -- Reuben Fine

My Best Games Of Chess -- Alekhine

My 60 Memorable Games -- Bobby Fischer

The Most Instructive Games Of Chess Ever Played - Irving Chernev

1000 Best Short Games Of Chess - Irving Chernev

Practical Chess Endings -- Paul Keres

Practical Endgame Lessons -- Edmar Mednis

Chess Endings Theory and Practice -- Averbakh

Pawn Structure Chess -- Soltis

Also, the tactical quizzes by Reinfeld et al to hone your combinational skills
Posted by More&Les
Member since Nov 2012
14684 posts
Posted on 11/25/20 at 5:51 am to
So, out of the blue this weekend, at a litte gift shop we were at with my 6 year old, he picks up a chess game and decides he wants that over any other toy he was looking at.

We've played several times a day, every day since and he understands the board and movements and is even starting to think ahead a move or two....

Are there any kids books on Chess to recommend?
Posted by When in Rome
Telegraph Road
Member since Jan 2011
35558 posts
Posted on 12/5/20 at 8:54 am to
quote:

Kafka
This is an awesome list. Thank you so much!!

I will add that I ended up buying three books right after I posted this thread. I haven't been able to get through any of them (life with a baby) but I will update once I have read these among some (if not all!) on your list.

These are the books I bought:

The Immortal Game: A History of Chess

Chess Opening Names: The Fascinating & Entertaining History Behind The First Few Moves

Learn from the Legends: Chess Champions At Their Best

I've played almost 600 games (most of these are the 10-20 minute rapid games with other people; it's an obsession at this point) via the chess app since September, and I also took a bunch of lessons on the app as well, so I am getting there. Before September, and especially around when the baby was born in April, I only had time to do the app's puzzles (they basically throw you into a scenario and the puzzle is to perform the statistically best move) which helped a lot. I will say, with regard to opening moves and general beginning strategy, I tend to stick with really classic opening moves, developing pieces and controlling the center, castling, etc. but a guilty pleasure for me is perpetrating a wayward queen attack upon unsuspecting opponents . I do need to work on my end game, but I'm getting better at it. I really try to protect my rooks at all costs because I like using the queen/rooks to slide them to the edge and trap them there. I laughed when the app gave me a badge for checkmating someone with a pawn.

Thanks again for the tips and book suggestions; I look forward to reading these books!
This post was edited on 2/7/21 at 11:09 am
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