The Oxford Companion to Chess

Rating:
Summary: Great reading and excellent reference.
Review: I don't believe the reader from Athens, GA that said this book helped his game. DON'T buy this book if you are looking for a book that will improve your game. (Its highly doubtful that you would improve much even after HOURS or even DAYS of reading this book.)

This book is a REFERENCE book only!! And it is a true jewel. I have both the '92 edition (In Hard-back), and the 96 editon. (A gift from one of my students that left the area. Obviously I would not buy the book, if I already owned a copy - I am not rich ... yet!) I can not help but believe that this book was the result of YEARS of work by the author(s).

Want to know what a chess "Automaton" is? Do you know what "The Bavarian Variation" is? What the "Noteboom" variation is? When a player lived? What was "Player X's" greatest tournament triumph? What happenned in "Cambridge Springs, 1904." ?? You will find the answer to all these questions, plus much more, in this book. Plus many nice photo's too.

For the chess lover who wants a good reference to look up virtually anything about chess. Or just the player who would enjoy hours of reading and learning about their great game. And for the real chess benefactors: Buy one and give it to the local library!! Get it today!! You'll thank me tomorrow!

Rating:
Summary: Very detailed
Review: This book really helped me in my chess-playing. As the review above says, it describes many many different words, terms, etc. It explains everything from the rules to what a zugzwang is (i wish this had a spell-checker). Best book on chess ever! (p.s. the '92 edition isn't a lot worse than this '96 edition)

Rating:
Summary: Very good reference book for chess terms and players
Review: This is a great reference book for looking up chess terms. Did you think that "Skittles" was the same as blitz chess in that a clock is used for example? (I did when I was reading Fischer's annotations in My 60 memorable games!) Your wrong! Skittles is "casual or friendly game or games played fast and without a clock". The book is also very strong on player biographies showing photos and key games.