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Summary: The silman system-part 1
Review: If u r a player in the intermedite range(class c, class b uscf) this book will help u immensely. I have played chess off and on for 31 years and am currently rated 1731uscf(and 41 yrs young). After breaking my leg in 1997, I needed to do something with all the time on my hands. Again, I returned to the 64 square jungle after an absence of 10 years. boy, was I rusty-in fact, my game was nowhere near what I remembered it to be. thankfully, I saw this book, purchased it, studied it intensely and was completely blown away. everything u have read about Silman's writing style is true-I ignored my wife,food and playstation while studying this book. I had never been exposed to the idea of "imbalance" b4 and this was a revelation. having always prided myself on my positional ability, I didn't realize that when playing stronger players that "he who has no plan fails". If there aren't tactics to fall back on or a mate imminent, u MUST have(formulate) a plan. This book will teach u what to look for and recognize. yes, it is difficult, but the results in your game will b worth it. Now when your opponent is trying to figure out what is going on, you will b looking for the next move to strengthen your imbalances while weakening his. A MUST BUY!
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Summary: Silman's writing makes mastering chess enjoyable.
Review: I have gone through this book a couple times and have recently started reading Silman's The Amateur's Mind. Silman discusses his thinking technique on how to visualize and plan based on the imbalances of a chess position. He then spends the majority of the book going through each of these imbalances so that the player will understand this during their planning. When I first read this, I was rated about 1200 USCF (beginning player). I improved a little because before this time I was not using the elements of the position to make plans...actually I wasn't planning at all! Silman's writing is very clear and readable. He picks excellent examples from the play of masters including his own games. He gives enough extra analysis to understand the position without confusing the reader with extraneous analysis. On a superficial note, I also like the production of the book. Another aspect of the book is the problems. At the end of each section there are a couple positions to solve. These aren't the typical (mate in two or White to move and win) problems. He asks you to make plans or describe the imbalances. Basically, he makes you work. In the back of the book, his answers enlighten and makes you feel like he's sitting across from you giving you a lesson. My only caveat is that it is not easy for the total beginner. If I were to do it over again, I would read "The Amateur's Mind" first and after I reached 1500 or so, I would read HTRYC to get the most out of it. However, if one reads and works at it, this book gives you all of the information you need to understand chess better. In summary, HTRYC is as good as people say it is. It has helped me improve dramatically (500+ ratings points over 3 years of playing).
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Summary: Deep, cristal-clear book on chess strategy and thinking
Review: Silman is a great teacher. He has already written his share of books on tactics and on some openings. This book however is different and fairly unique, as far as I'm aware: It teaches you how the game works, APART from tactics and opening lanes. You learn how to evaluate a position, identifying the features (imbalances) that you should look for. You then learn how to evolve a plan around those imbalances. Using the imbalances, Silman provides simple, basic rules to evaluate a position and formulate a plan. Those rules are short, to the point, and easy to understand. Next to the rules, you get exercises and examples to convince you that applying them is HARD WORK :-). This translates to two levels of reading the book: While the rules are a fairly easy read, the exercises are typically difficult.They also give you a survey of a wide variety of openings and systems. This book brought me immediate identifiable benefits: 1. I play quicker in mid-game: When the position doesn't lend itself to deep tactics, I can formulate a plan, find a purpose to my game, act on this purpose. 2. A much better understanding of the dynamics of the game. It makes looking at tournament games online much more enjoyable. 3. I'm a better player then I was. Playing against strong players and learning tactics using a computer and a problem library also helped of course :-).
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Summary: this will put you on the road to mastership
Review: i first obtained this book when i was maybe 1200- it really educated me about chess! within a few months i had a superior knowledge and was improving rapidly. Donot listen to the people who complain about a few minor typos! the writing is extremely instructive, the imbalance thinking methods, and planning strategems will definitely improve your game. as someone who is nearing 2000 level now i believe that this book has been an essential building block in my development
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Summary: Only for those that have already assessed their chess
Review: I am an amateur chess enthusiast, and while I gained from reading this book, a lot of it both was incomprehensible and way beyond my level of playing. As my chessmaster aquaintance told me: "don't read this book until you're already very good, and it will make you better. it won't do anything for you until then."
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Summary: A Pleasing Rehash of Classic Examples
Review: Silman presents a fairly good book that does prompt one to think and the exercises build on that. Throughout the book are examples that I've run into before including one game between Kavalek and Karpov that is actually misquoted. Silman's games are also used as examples and for the most part those are very refreshing. While I'm only 1500 USCF, I think this book will be useful to players 1200-1700 and above or below that I must question its usefulness. If you are in that range, buy it! It is worth the money and more importantly it is worth the time to study it well.
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Summary: Simply An Amazing Book
Review: What a magnificent book. This book will teach you a whole lot about chess. It teaches you all about imbalances (what are they, where are they, which are better, etc. ) and it even teaches you how to think. Once you learn those steps it moves on to how to assess the board and help you to decide who is winning in what seem to be equal positions. It also teaches you when and if to calculate as well as showing you a ton of stuff that will help you improve your game. It even has a little endgame course, that could help anyone. Also the book is loaded with examples and diagrams. Every new topic has at least two examples to go with it, and almost every example has a diagram! Thanks to Jeremy Silman, this book is also very entertaining. Just when you start to get frustrated, Silman cheers you up with an amusing little line. This book is pretty easy to follow too. It has big parts, and in each part are different chapters. At the end of all the parts are little quizzes. These test what you learned and help put what you learned into actual chess. Also if you have any trouble understanding some of the new terms, there is an excellent glossary near the end of the book. Also near the end of the book is Silman's book reviews, and which books are the best for the different areas of the game. But this book is intended for advanced players. It's called "The Complete Chess Mastery Course" for a reason. I think all chess players who are serious about chess should own this book. PROS: Teaches You So Much Valuable Information Very Entertaining Many Examples and Diagrams Quizzes Help You Learn More Great Glossary Book Reviews by Silman Haven't Seen One Error! CONS: Advanced Summary: To put it simply, this is an amazing book. A must have for anyone who wants to take it to the next level.
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Summary: I learned a lot from just the first chapter
Review: I've played a lot of chess, have a USCF rating of 1900, and have studied chess for years. But never can I say that I learned anything from the first chapter of a chess book. Until now.
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Summary: A great course
Review: I was shown this at a tourney, and the first thing that i noticed was that there was more words than moves. I was used to the chess books that just showed old games with the occasional comments. This book was actualy freindly to the reader. I think it didn't do so much for my play at the beginning because I had played so long that I couldn't get out of my thinking rut. Despite the name, read this thing as soon as you know how the pieces move! It gives a good foundation of what to look for in a game, otherwise you will be honing your chess skills in the wrong direction. This book has given me a greater appreciation for chess, since I'm starting to understand the moves, and not just rotely memorising them. Understanding this book should also help you understand those mirad of chess books with just annotated games.
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Summary: Let me suggest...
Review: Silman's new book, "The Amateur's Mind," is better for most beginners than this book. "Mind" covers many of the same ideas in a more comprehensible manner. It teaches in a way that most people can understand more quickly. However, "Reassess" has become a classic, and developing players probably ought to read it eventually. I'd suggest reading "The Amateur's Mind" and then, a couple months later, "Reassess." At that point, the deeper coverage will be very helpful. These two books both cover positional strategy, which is essential for understanding opening strategy in any depth. They are the best in this field for beginners. But before they will do much good, some general tactical and endgame knowledge is essential. Don't waste time with either of these books until you've read at least one book on tactics and one on endings. For those subjects, I recommend Seirawan's books, though there are other good ones.
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