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Winning Chess Strategies : Proven Principles from One of the U.S.A.'s Top Chess Players

Winning Chess Strategies : Proven Principles from One of the U.S.A.'s Top Chess Players

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A move in the right direction
Review: After having previously worked my way through Seirawan's "Play Winning Chess" and "Winning Chess Tactics", I used this book as third in a probably endless row of books to (re)gain some skill in chess. While I have some comments on the book, I do think it is an excellent introduction to the deeper principles behind the moves and builds well upon the fundament of the previous two volumes in this series.

As in the previous two volumes the Seirawan/Silman team offers an ordered and well structured guide to fundamental principles. All concepts are explained clearly and illustrated with fragments of actual games. Moreover, the build up of the chapters is flawless and builds carefully upon the fundament of the previous two books.

I do have two minor points of comment. First, taking a subject like chess strategy apart is a much more difficult task than doing it for tactics. As such, the authors do get the ideas across, but do not quite give the level of support by game fragments that was present in the Tactics volume. In addition, the number of problems is rather limited and is often more geared towards tactic than strategic decisions.

Yet, in despite of these points of critique, I do think that this book offers a good basic introduction to chess strategy that can serve as a stepping stone to more advanced books like Silman's "Reassess Your Chess" and Vukovic' "Art of Attack".

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent book -- hella typos.
Review: ALL of Seirawan's books get five stars, this is no different. Buy this book, learn positional and long-term play.

However, my "Winning Chess Strategies" (published by Everyman Press, rather than the old Microsoft publication) is plauged by typographical errors! The books in this series I read, published by Microsoft, were pristine and free from mistakes. Similarly, my copy of "Winning Chess Tactics" published by Everyman Press had no typos.

But this book? Wow! Errors every few pages! Let's hope the upcoming Everyman publications of "Endings," "Openings," and "Brilliancies" are better proofread!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: real strategic insights for develoing players by a top GM
Review: Anyone who has ever read a chess book is probably familiar with the four key elements of position - force, time, space and pawn structure. This book contains the best treatment of the element of space that I have ever encountered.

Seirawan addresses the needs and treatment of each piece as well as strategic pawn play. His observations regarding the use of pawns to support N outposts are particularly insightful.

There is a very good treatment of B vs N and how to play this matchup from both sides. Creation and exploitation of weaknesses is explored in depth with an emphasis on focus that is rarely expressed in chess books.

Seirawan repeatedly stresses key themes such as utilizing all your pieces, or consolidating your position after winning material. These reminders are interwoven with the chapter material in a very natural and instructive manner. Example games or game fragments tend to illustrate several elements concurrently. The game commentary is very rich and instructive, and focused on the strategic principles, so there is little in the way of dense tactical variations.

This book is written in a very readable, engaging style. Seirawan is an excellent author as well as a top flight chess player. This book is probably best suited to club and tournament players advancing through USCF 1400 and higher.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Decent Book on Middlegame Strategy
Review: GM Yasser Seirawan is [was] one of the strongest American players since Bobby Fischer, so this book should definitely be taken seriously by anyone who wants to really learn the strategies of chess well. Everyone knows the basic principles- bishops in open positions, prophylactically limit your opponent's moves, trade pieces when on the defense, etc, but it takes a GM of Yasser's brilliance and poeticness to truly impart these lessons memorably. I regard this book as, in a sense, a modern "Chess Fundamentals." Seirawan's writing is clear and easy to understand. Like many authors, Seirawan uses games from other GMs to illustrate how to utilize an advantage in space, how to defend accurately, how to slow down your opponent's plans, and many other things. Unlike many authors however, Seirawan's writing style is informative yet not didactic, fluid and yet not frivolous. He manages to teach without becoming patronizing like Silman, or overly technical like Dvoretsky. This book is truly a classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A Good Follow-up to "Winning Chess Tactics"
Review: GrandMaster Seirawan and Master Silman again team up for their third collaboration in the "Winning" series, and there is no disappointment. Less a work book than "Winning Chess Tactics", and more a source for thorough study, a reader can learn everything from making the most of a material advantage to how to prevent enemy counterplay. I must admit some of the ideas behind the book's demonstrations are beyond me, but it has certainly improved my game. There is also a collection of games by certain grand masters, with some nice notations by Mr. Seirawan which help the reader to understand the reasoning behind the moves.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this book rocked my world
Review: i'm a 1000-1100 player and this book rocked my world. my rating unfortunately hasn't sky rocketed but i attribute that to the string of 1200-1500 players i keep playing online. dude but this book is sooo good. it'll walk you through really basic yet amazingly profound principles of chess. things as simple as "Playing with a material advantage." there is also great stuff on pawn play, creating weaknesses and territorial domination (also more pawn play commentary). i highly recommend it for beginners who have already played a bunch and are looking for that next level. it also has this phat chapter at the end with biographicals of master strategists (as opposed to tactitians and what not) and some of their great games. he has capablanca turning alekhine into a little school girl. and rubinstein just laying a colossal smackdown on tarrasch making his tarrasch defense look like so much butter.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: this book rocked my world
Review: i'm a 1000-1100 player and this book rocked my world. my rating unfortunately hasn't sky rocketed but i attribute that to the string of 1200-1500 players i keep playing online. dude but this book is sooo good. it'll walk you through really basic yet amazingly profound principles of chess. things as simple as "Playing with a material advantage." there is also great stuff on pawn play, creating weaknesses and territorial domination (also more pawn play commentary). i highly recommend it for beginners who have already played a bunch and are looking for that next level. it also has this phat chapter at the end with biographicals of master strategists (as opposed to tactitians and what not) and some of their great games. he has capablanca turning alekhine into a little school girl. and rubinstein just laying a colossal smackdown on tarrasch making his tarrasch defense look like so much butter.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Book from avid chess player.
Review: I've played in many chess tournaments, and this series of books is what helped me get through it all. Easy to read, and yet thorough enough for a beginner to semi-pro.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: excellent strategy book
Review: This book has some amazing examples. Different stratefies are very well classified, and actual games between gradmasters are shown and analyzed. Reading this book really improved my game and the way I think about chess now.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Overated book
Review: This book provides you with the basics of strategies of chess. However the ideas are very basic and the author doesnt elaborate as much as he should. I would suggest getting the "amateur's mind" by Geremy Silman which has the same ideas and is a more robust book.


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