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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Chess Nuts Boasting
Great book. I love the premise- and the careful way the Mr. Chandler explains it- which is that pattern recognition is a more powerful tool than in-depth computation analysis. It serves as a nice illustration of Gladwell's "Blink" theory, that less information can be more when the brain is finely tuned in to the right information. Chandler points out that a human chess pro is better than a computer because our brains can quickly filter out the irrelevant info and just recognize the broad pattern, such as a set-up for a standard mate possibility. The computer is inferior, per the author, because while it might come to the same conclusion, it has to do it by generating every single possible move with every single piece on the board, following out hundreds of thousands of possible subsequent sequences to arrive at the checkmate. Of course, I would suggest that the computer is actually superior in this respect because, even though it has to analyze hundreds of thousands of possibilities, it really doesn't mind. It doesn't get bored, fatigued, or seduced by a bold capture. But, still, I appreciate his point.
The author gives examples of fifty standard checkmate motifs, and uses good illustrations to help recognize the pattern when it is there and understand the sequence of events. My only beef with the book, for which I've docked a star, is the sexist title. I can't help but comment on this in this post-Imus era. The author tells us from the start that it is really a book on how to beat anyone in chess so the title is just an eye-catcher. But I don't want to reinforce the many messages that young girls get about what they should or shouldn't be good at. Okay, to be truthful, in all the chess playing families that I can think of off the top of my head, it is in fact the fathers who are the chess nuts, who hand the game down to the next generation. But lets not reinforce the not uncommon notion that men are naturally superior chess players. I've even read the likes of Camille Paglia, in one of her faux-academic pieces, use the fact that chess champions are all men as evidence for a male superiority in spatial and mathematical reasoning. Without going too far into what is a complicated and emotionally loaded argument, I would just direct people to do a little internet search on Judit Polgar if you are not already familiar.
Still, overall, thumbs up. A good book, really for beginning to intermediate chess fans of any age, which will increase your arsenal of offensive tricks and improve your defensive vigilance.
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A must for kids with rating up to 600 (approx)
We purchased this book for my two kids, and saw an immediate improvement. It is written in a very easy to read style, and it goes to through a lot of the tactics needed to improve their game... The only disadvantage was that I had to improve my game too to keep ahead of them!
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Well-organized and useful to players of any ability
This is a very well-organized and highly readable book on various types of checkmates. Since this is the whole purpose of the game, it is an obvious area of emphasis from both offensive and defensive perspectives. In other words, if you want to be a winner you need to always be looking for checkmate whether you are on the "giving" or "receiving" side! I think the author is correct to be emphasising this early and teaching people to recognize patterns than come up that lead to checkmate. This will both prevent you from being checkmated by surprise and to see checkmate opportunities in real game situations that you might otherwise miss.
The other reviewers are correct in their observations that this book is suitable for players of any age. In fact, I would say it is even a bit misleading to position it as a book for kids. It seems to me that one would need to be at least 12 years old to fully appreciate and benefit from the contents. It might be a difficult read for younger kids, but one they can grow into over time. I wouldn't buy it for someone is 6 years old, but it certainly is a possiblity for a bright 9 year old.
I don't really have anything critical to say about the book. It gets to the point quickly and focuses on principles and patterns that come up again and again in chess. If you are serious about chess, but haven't really studied it, this would be a great place to start. The contents are not overwhelming and the book covers a lot of ground without becoming boring.
Finally, if you are a beginning chess player and you really want to beat your dad, this book will help enormously. The other books by this author are also very good. In addition, I would recommend getting a good chess program. This is one of the best ways to improve your play.
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They don't aways work but some good stuff anyway
I got this book. My dad didn't fall for all but one of these checkmates. But then I was happy. I tried them all, but he would get me down too much to use any of them so I think just the beginners book for juniors worked better anyway. I did get him in the backrank one because he was upset by my little sister tossing stuff when she didn't get her way and he was not paying attention. I got a beginners book for juniors and and a traps book and both worked better. I now beat my dad more than half the time.
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Great for 5th grade and up
I bought this book for my 3rd grader who is mediocre for a competing chess player at this age (a U.S. chess federation ranking of like 200). The book is a little hard for him, and I have to go over it with him, so I think it is better for older kids. Probably a middle school or high school age would be best if they are to read it and understand it on their own. It basically has a bunch of scenarios you review so you can recognize them in a game. The scenarios are more than I knew before I read the book, and have no doubt he would be able to whoop me if he could read and understand the book on his own. It is well written, and we enjoy reading it together. For the older child, I give it 5 stars, for the younger child it is too advanced.
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