Book Recommendations by Mark Kaprielian

10-28-02

First, let me say that I'm no Master, as my rating will attest. But, like anyone who has been playing for years and has tried to find a way to effectively improve their play, I have my opinions on what books I would recommend and why. If I were a better player, I might recommend different books, as my perspective would course be different.

Most everyone agrees that there are three phases of a chess game, the opening, middle game and end game. There are plenty of books that cover these three areas. What I have tried to find are books that help teach you how to think or show you the classic patterns that might otherwise take years to come across. Some of the books I've selected cover these areas specifically and others are more general.

In my list of books, you won't find any on openings. Openings are another subject all together. I have a little analogy that I came up with. "If your driving in another state that you've never been to and your following written directions to get where your going, if you had to pick either the first half of the directions or the second half of the directions, which would you rather have? I'd pick the second half because even if I did a real good job on the first half (get to the middle game), what good did it do me if I don't know where I'm going (win your won game)." I'm not saying you can do without the first half but lets face it, most people are always worrying about the first half because every time they play, there's a first half. How many times have you said, I played great and had a won game but I blew it.

Having found my collection of essential books, I find that all those other books I've accumulated over the years now look like specialty books. Certainly worth having but not nearly as useful as my favorites listed below.

How to Think
Win at Chess, Ron Curry
	I think this book is a must. This is the only book that I have ever found that gives you a set of mental checklists to follow all during a game. Now, when I talk to Masters, they have told me that you can't play high level chess by following rules. Well, fine. My opinion is that this book will help you improve your game so much that one day, you can stop using them. In the meanwhile, I could use a few rules. 251 pages
Everyone’s 2nd Chess Book, NM Dan Heisman
	I’ve only done a quick read of this book and need to revisit it but it offers up another collection of “rules” than you can apply so it makes my list. A lot of these rules you will learn over time but by seeing them in print, you might save yourself a lot of avoidable losses. Lots of useful information. 120 pages
Chess Master at any Age, Rolf Wetzell,
	I consider this book to be very unique and have seen no other that covers the material that this book does. This book analyzes the thought processes of playing chess and how to make changes to it. It is a very analytical book and being an Engineer, it feels like it was written by an Engineer to me. While it covers a lot of things, two are of particular note. One is its discussion of time pressure and how to eliminate getting into it. The second is an approach to study. I personally use a computer based method very similar to his non-computer assisted approach. Excellent for the introspective thinker.
Mating the King
The Art of the Checkmate, Renaud & Kahn, 208 pages.
	This book classifies the types of checkmates, gives them names and shows you how they are done. Every checkmate is boiled down to it's essential for you. Chess is a game of pattern recognition. This one shows you a comprehensive list of patterns. This book will help you see mates where you never saw them before.
The Art of Attack in Chess, V. Vukovic, 421 pages
	This book is often referred to as a classic. Having done a light read of it, I can see why. It is a very systematic explanation of how to attack the King wherever it is. It takes into account the various pawn formations that are around the king. This book will require a lot of work and is in descriptive, not algebraic notation.
The Endgame
Just the Facts, Winning Endgame Knowledge in One Volume, GM Lev Albur & GM Nikolay Krogious, 408 pages
	This book is the most systematic and easiest to read book on endgames I’ve ever come across. If I had to recommend only one endgame book, this would be it. This book won the Chess Journalist of America Book of the Year award for 2000-2001. .
The Survival Guide to Rook Endings, John Emms, 158 pages
	Rook endings make up 50% of all endgames so learning as much about them is vital to good endgame play. This book is a very comprehensive and systematic book to Rook Endings. The first few chapters offer a lot of practical information but after that, it gets tougher to come away with clear lessons. If you’ve been in a Rook and Pawn endgame, the chances are this book will show you a position of the same type and how to draw it. I was hoping to learn how to win more of these endings but with proper play, it turns out that most seem to end in a draw. .
Practical Chess Endings, Chernev, 318 pages
	This is the book that will help you get a feel for dealing with pawn endings. It is very easy to read and is very concise. It has example after example of various pawn endings, and chapters with a minor piece is involved. One of this books best features is that it shows the best moves for the defending side as well. The book is in descriptive notation, not algebraic.
Chess Endings, Essential Knowledge, Y. Averbakh, 108 pages
	This book shows you some of the tougher endings. Situations such as mating with two bishops or bishop and night are shown. While it shows you many use full endings, I find this book a bit tough to read as it is short on explanation. It's a thin and small book but its packed.
Knight Moves, Charles Alexander, 82 pages
	The first time I read this slender little book, I was too overwhelmed with details. It gives a complete analysis of Knight movement on the board. Two years later I gave it another try and, this time, realizing that it doing a lot restating of the same information on its way to building up to its conclusions, I absorbed it. Turns out that most of the book is background information and that a few rules at the end is the real substance of the book. This book delivers what it promises. When your done, you will indeed be able to tell how many moves it will take to move your knight to any and all squares on the board in just a few seconds. .
Getting you to realize
How to Reassess Your Chess, Jeremy Silman, 406 pages
	Another book that is called a classic. I've had many players, at least up through the rank of Expert, say that this book will change the way you think about chess. This is one of the only books that systematically helps you learn to evaluate what is going on. Even a light reading will help you but this book requires a serious effort to get the most out of it.
Logical Chess: Move by Move, Chernev,
	This book goes over a variety of games with different openings move by move. In addition, the games are selected to illustrate how the player loses the game due to his violating the integrity of his castled position.
The Genesis of Power Chess, Leslie Ault,
	This book discusses a topic and then provides examples where it asks you to select the best moves. It's not saying that there is a mate at the end but that you must select among the candidate moves. It then goes over which moves are better and why. I find this book rather unique in that it forces you to look at the whole board and think as though your were playing as opposed to letting you just seek out a single answer that you know is there. To put it in perspective, Reinfeld’s 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate which everyone seems to have at one time or another is the type of tactics book I just can’t stand. This book however was the first tactics book I enjoyed.
For Kids
Sammy Seahorse Teaches Chess, F. Donal Bloss & Andrew Kensler, 192 pages
	This book covers a lot of material in a “light-hearted and whimsical” way. I’ve recommended this book to several parents and they’ve all told me it was well done. It have solid step by step instructions that both child and adult will be able to appreciate.