moving back to what "zug" had to say....i can concur that "think like a grandmaster" is a truly magnificent book. it blew my perception of chess out of the water and irreversibly forced my game onto a path of logic....which helped me innumerrably because before then i could see a favourable position and think it would all come about with a pawn storm or a quick sac, failing as i was to look at different options......i stress that the book is absolute must read material for anyone who speaka the english and love'a the game.

  forget the book mentioned. buy "think like a grandmaster" and if your above 1600 strength your game will flourish.

  (p.s. kramnik to beat anand in the world championship match)

(look for lots of QGD games)

 

@skyfrostsalvo:

he is capitalizing what is capitalized in the book!

To you non-paying members out there who are complaining, as far as I am concerned you can become a paying member in order to complain, or go elsewhere.  You are paying zero for a great chess site, and now you're complaining about a chess book review?  Go play at Yahoo.

For you premium members who are complaining, if I were Erik (or his staff), I would pay attention to what you say.  Your membership dues give you the right to voice your opinion about book reviews, or, for that matter, any other part of this site.

For all of you, regardless of your premium status (or lack of it), and regardless of your opinion of the book review, I would highly recommend you find a copy of Alexander Kotov's book, "Think Like a Grandmaster" and look up the sections on 'Candidate Moves'.  Kotov tells you to look at forcing moves first!  This book seems to be a natural follow-up.  Given the advancements in computer chess, it wouldn't hurt all you budding masters out there to either a) look at Kotov's book or b) look at this book.  Either one will definitely help your game.

Zug

advertising signs

they con

you into thinking

you're the one

that can do

what's never been done

that can win

what's never been won 

meantime

life outside goes on all around you 

--- Bob Dylan 

but seriously folks - I don't mind the advertising. How else will I find good chess books? 

Advertising! I'm sick and tired of this typical advertising psychology: 'We have what we need! And if you call now... we will give you an extra (whatever)..... for free!!'. The most annoying example is the famous company called 'Sprayette' and its never-ending commercials on TV.

Now, here, at chess.com we also have to put up with guys like Eric, who comes showing this absolutely 'amazing' book as a panacea to get to grandmaster level. My goodness! What a fiasco! I clicked on the article heading believing I was going to read something interesting but, to my dismay, desillusion and disappointment, I found another 'Sprayette' kind of stuff. An absolute shame!

Just advertisement

COMPUTER EYES?! I can be a superhero?? Yes! I'm buying this book.

Oh erik... your cheater_1 is showing.  Anyone else notice the overuse of CAPITALIZATION to emphasize RANDOM words that aren't ACTUALLY important? There's a reason noone except cheater and advertisers type like that; it presumes that the people reading your post are too utterly retarded to interpret the words for themselves without you helping them along.

Well, if IM Donaldson approves of it, I think that is a good sign this is a good book. I went to a trnt. in Denver back in '03 that had several GMs & IMs competing in it, & I met Donaldson @ a ? & answer session there. I've read quite a few of his reviews, & it's obvious he does it well. I plan to check this book out. I agree w/ FM Hertan that you need to calculate first before you discard a line. Don't let fear get the best of you & automatically discard a line just because you get an isolated pawn w/ it etc..  I remember the book Donaldson recommended that we buy @ that session was: Simple Chess by the English GM Michael Stean. This book will help chess players positionally & strategically. Although, chess is not simple. I guess he was trying to make it more simple to understand. I think most players would be able to improve immensely by reading both of these books.  

Yes Telmo, it seems to fit. This is a chess site, and the review is of a chess book. Personally, I think Erik has every right to post what he wants where he wants. This is his baby, and we are visitors here. I think some have a sense of entitlement about the internet due to the nature of it. After all, there is 100% free access to incredible amounts of information on thousands of other sites. It seems like the same sort of thing as asking for a new cheeseburger because they put pickles on it, when you could just take off the pickles. If you don't want to see ads, then don't visit this page. There is a ton of great chess information on this website. I think people should stop griping and go review their rook endgames.

 

On the other hand...

 

This website started out as a free site for chess. There were no ads or memberships. There wasn't anything that you could have paid for if you wanted to (maybe you could have donated). The feeling of this site has changed over time to seem more and more focused on making money. Some of this can be justified by expansion, but I still see no reason why my inbox always has to have a message from chess.com saying 'Come on TO, it's just pennies a day,' or why features that were once free are now being charged for. I don't really blame them, and I would probably do the exact same thing, but I can understand the frustration of some of the members.

 

So there you have it; the two sides of the story. 

 

 As you see, I´m not a member either. Yet I hope my opinion could be of some value.

  I think ads (even disguised a "news") are OK as long as they are about chess books, or chess related stuff that -probably- most chessplayers would be interested to know about.

 So I don´t think one -be a member or not- should be offended by the article about Hertan´s book: maybe you don´t want to purchase the book, but you could like to know about it.  

 

 

Interesting indeed, I will be sure to add it to my list to buy in the future aswell.

I think the main reasons some react negatively to this is because the ad's categorized as news (and it's being served up to premium members).

Many say good things about the book. IM Donaldson believes the target audience (the players who will gain the most from the tactical positions) is 1800-2200. There is less enthusiasm about his 'revolutionary approach'.

Donaldson's Review

Goldeberg's Review

Week's Review

Grandpatzer's Review

It says it is some kind of 'revolutionary' way of approaching chess, but nothing written is special or new. We know to look at forcing variations first. We know to look wide before looking deep. I guess it is revolutionary for a beginner, but then he could just spend some time on chess.com and learn all these things also.

 

BTW, I like the idea of a book review section of the site, as long as it is done by the members and free of 'sponsored' postings. 

Edit: Or have sponsored postings but somehow label them as sponsored; like 'Chess.com Favorite.'

I see no reason why I should not complain about a pure marketing blurb disguised as "news".  Not having to look at ads is being used as one of the selling points for getting a paid membership.  This is just a big ad with no real substance behind it.

Move it to the Resources->Books & Equipment section on the site, and put up an honest review, not something that reads like it just came off the desk of some over zealous Sales/Marketing person.

This book has had a lot of good reviews online (google the title, author and 'review' to see for yourself) so it's definitely one to consider.  One reviewer felt that the ideal audience would be those rated from 1800-2200, but I expect that players below 1800, (like me, I think) would benefit too.

I'm not convinced by the 'computer eyes' concept, but it helps to remind me that it's important to consider forcing moves, however unlikely they may seem.

If nothing else this looks like a great collection of tactics puzzles and should be worth getting just for that.

btw - can we quit with the negative comments about 'advertising'?  Many other websites are advertising this book as well.  We see thousands of unsolicited ads during our daily lives for stuff we aren't interested in, but seeing a promotion for an interesting chess book on a chess website seems to be beyond the pale for some people!  Get a grip!

RookeR - I notice you are not a member. There IS no free lunch. This site costs money to run.  As someone who can afford a computer and ISP fees, it won't break your bank to join. Pay a few dollars a month, and the only ads you will see are book recommendations like this one.

what's your cut, erik?  try a real job.  i'm so sick of ads.  it's non-stop.

It's sounds interesting. I looked at the reviews on amazon (only two) and they're positive. My only suggestion is if you're going to buy this book shop around. It's on amazon for $19.00 new and $17.00 used compared to the $28.00 they're asking.

This is not just a good book -- "Forcing Chess Moves" is a great book. If you can precisely calculate two moves ahead and/or "think like a grandmaster", then maybe you don't need this book. But if you want to take your human-all-too-human tactical analysis and board vision to the next level, you will not be disappointed in this book.