How to read chess book and not be overwhelmed • page 2/3 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

@pwg said in #8:

Use two chess boards. One exclusively used for the actual game and another following the actual game on which you can try variations that are interesting to you. As you follow the actual game, make the moves on both boards. After you have followed a variation you can simply restore the position using the board which is exclusively used to follow the actual game.
I use same method

@pwg said in #8: > Use two chess boards. One exclusively used for the actual game and another following the actual game on which you can try variations that are interesting to you. As you follow the actual game, make the moves on both boards. After you have followed a variation you can simply restore the position using the board which is exclusively used to follow the actual game. I use same method

kindaspongey edited

#12

@fwh2025c said in #9:

I too get bogged down in variations, so I usually don't bother with them. I didn't like Nunn's Logical Chess Move by Move for that reason. ...
It seems to me that Logical Chess by Chernev and Understanding Chess by Nunn are very different books.

The comment in the Chernev book about 5 Nxe5 after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 d4 fxe4:
"Apparently a strong move. White gets his pawn back and prevents 5...d6 or 5...d5. After either of these moves, the continuation 6 Nxc6 bxc6 7 Bxc6+ wins the exchange.
White also has a powerful threat in 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 Qh5+ Ke7 8 Qf7+ Kd6 9 Nc4#.
This is all very tempting, since the possibility of mating so early in the game is attractive to the young player, but such ambition should be suppressed. Premature mating attacks are usually repulsed with loss of time or material to the aggressor."
https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/logical-chess-move-by-move-irving
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1242897

The comment in the Nunn book about 10 Be2 after 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 Nb6 5 f4 dxe5 6 fxe5 Nc6 7 Be3 Bf5 8 Nc3 e6 9 Nf3 Bg4:
"10 Qd2 is another idea, intending to defend the d4-pawn by 0-0-0. One possible line is 10...Qd7 (10...Bb4!? 11 a3 Be7 is interesting; after White plays 0-0-0, the reply ...Na5 will not only attack c4, but also threaten a fork at b3) 11 Be2 0-0-0 12 0-0-0 Na5, when White can no longer maintain his pawn-centre intact and must attempt to escape tactically by 13 Bg5, with unclear complications."
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_Chess_Move_by_Move.pdf
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1146084

"... While [Logical Chess by Chernev] still offers something for anyone rated under, say, Elo 1800, it is most beneficial for those just above novice up to 1400, approximately. In contrast, most players under 1400, unless they are
especially ambitious, will probably find [Understanding Chess by Nunn] rather daunting. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092945/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review269.pdf

@fwh2025c said in #9: > I too get bogged down in variations, so I usually don't bother with them. I didn't like Nunn's Logical Chess Move by Move for that reason. ... It seems to me that Logical Chess by Chernev and Understanding Chess by Nunn are very different books. The comment in the Chernev book about 5 Nxe5 after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 f5 4 d4 fxe4: "Apparently a strong move. White gets his pawn back and prevents 5...d6 or 5...d5. After either of these moves, the continuation 6 Nxc6 bxc6 7 Bxc6+ wins the exchange. White also has a powerful threat in 6 Bxc6 dxc6 7 Qh5+ Ke7 8 Qf7+ Kd6 9 Nc4#. This is all very tempting, since the possibility of mating so early in the game is attractive to the young player, but such ambition should be suppressed. Premature mating attacks are usually repulsed with loss of time or material to the aggressor." https://lichess.org/forum/general-chess-discussion/logical-chess-move-by-move-irving https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1242897 The comment in the Nunn book about 10 Be2 after 1 e4 Nf6 2 e5 Nd5 3 d4 d6 4 c4 Nb6 5 f4 dxe5 6 fxe5 Nc6 7 Be3 Bf5 8 Nc3 e6 9 Nf3 Bg4: "10 Qd2 is another idea, intending to defend the d4-pawn by 0-0-0. One possible line is 10...Qd7 (10...Bb4!? 11 a3 Be7 is interesting; after White plays 0-0-0, the reply ...Na5 will not only attack c4, but also threaten a fork at b3) 11 Be2 0-0-0 12 0-0-0 Na5, when White can no longer maintain his pawn-centre intact and must attempt to escape tactically by 13 Bg5, with unclear complications." http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_Chess_Move_by_Move.pdf https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1146084 "... While [Logical Chess by Chernev] still offers something for anyone rated under, say, Elo 1800, it is most beneficial for those just above novice up to 1400, approximately. In contrast, most players under 1400, unless they are especially ambitious, will probably find [Understanding Chess by Nunn] rather daunting. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2001) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092945/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review269.pdf

petri999

#13

working out sample variations makes sense if you really during a game work out critical variation before moving. It really should be done but I really don't see it happening in blitz games among anything but really good players. And I do doubt if most players do it even OTB 90/30 games unless it is concrete tactical situation.

Perhaps with these new computerized chess books where you can just click trought the variations.

working out sample variations makes sense if you really during a game work out critical variation before moving. It really should be done but I really don't see it happening in blitz games among anything but really good players. And I do doubt if most players do it even OTB 90/30 games unless it is concrete tactical situation. Perhaps with these new computerized chess books where you can just click trought the variations.

SolangeloForever

#14

well you can put them in an analysis board on lichess or chessbase

HasanMemik

#15

You can read Yasser Seirawan's books.

kajalmaya

#16

Keres has a book on the 1948 World Chess Championship, which was a tournament among 5 players. The style of annotations is amazing. Almost a move by move book with a lot of verbal annotations with light variations.

pkacprzak

#17

If you use digital books, e.g. pdfs, you can also try Chessvision.ai eBook Reader that allows you to double-click on any diagram in the book to load it into analysis board and make moves: https://ebook.chessvision.ai/. I'm the app's creator - happy to answer any questions!

GM RealDavidNavara

#18

@thewworldisyours said in #3:

Now I read "My Grear Predecessors" by G. Kasparov
I was skipping quite some lines when reading My Great Predecessors, there were too many of them for my taste. Please do not ask me why I often (though fortunately not always) annotate games in a similar way myself.

@thewworldisyours said in #3: > Now I read "My Grear Predecessors" by G. Kasparov I was skipping quite some lines when reading My Great Predecessors, there were too many of them for my taste. Please do not ask me why I often (though fortunately not always) annotate games in a similar way myself.

Toadofsky

#19

Practice makes perfect, but don't injure yourself.

Having books in digital form (viewable in ChessBase or similar, if that even exists?) seems like a labor-saving device for people who can't read books without a board.

Practice makes perfect, but don't injure yourself. Having books in digital form (viewable in ChessBase or similar, if that even exists?) seems like a labor-saving device for people who can't read books without a board.

mkubecek

#20

@RealDavidNavara said in #18:

I was skipping quite some lines when reading My Great Predecessors, there were too many of them for my taste. Please do not ask me why I often (though fortunately not always) annotate games in a similar way myself.
My experience (from different fields) is that one of the most difficult things when explaining something to an audience with significantly lower expertise (whether in person or in written form) is to keep it simple and not to go into too much detail. Often it's really hard to accept that what they need to hear/read is something you know to be imprecise, incomplete or technically incorrect. IMHO this ability is one of the things that distinguish a great expert from a great teacher.

@RealDavidNavara said in #18: > I was skipping quite some lines when reading My Great Predecessors, there were too many of them for my taste. Please do not ask me why I often (though fortunately not always) annotate games in a similar way myself. My experience (from different fields) is that one of the most difficult things when explaining something to an audience with significantly lower expertise (whether in person or in written form) is to keep it simple and not to go into too much detail. Often it's really hard to accept that what they need to hear/read is something you know to be imprecise, incomplete or technically incorrect. IMHO this ability is one of the things that distinguish a great expert from a great teacher.