Rating: 
Summary: Instructive and Enjoyable
Review: This latest offering by Nunn is more accessible than his earlier "Secrets of Grandmaster Chess", though here too, top-flight games are being dissected. Thirty extensively annotated games are divided into three groups - opening, middlegame and endgame - depending on which phase they shed most light on. The bulk of the games - twenty-two - are devoted to middlegame themes.Positional analysis and concrete tactical analysis are interwoven; often an accurate positional evaluation depends on a tactical finesse in a sub-line. In following Nunn's notes, we enter the subtle and complex mind of a modern GM. Earlier annotators writing similar books, such as Reinfeld and Chernev, would give sweeping general assessments based on superficial and static evaluations of a position and backed up by one or two unconvincing lines of play to corroborate them. Furthermore, Nunn strives for objectivity. Earlier annotators would give exclamation marks only to the winner and question marks only to the loser. Not only does Nunn point out the mistakes of the winners and the good moves of the losers but he makes clear the pyschological problems in coping with poor but tenable positions. The games are taken from contemporary GM praxis, where both players are au fait with theory past and present. The games are not one-sided contests. Note particularly the four games devoted to defence. In each case we see a full-blooded fight between evenly matched opponents. These games receive minute analysis and not superficial and facetious comments. New positional methods are discussed, such as for combating the isolated d-pawn (Kamsky-Karpov 1996), where instead of playing the N to d5 in front of the isolated d-pawn, Karpov plays it to f5. Another example is playing with or against the hedgehog (Karpov-Ribli 1986). Exceptions to the classical 'rules' occur often in the games; Nunn provides the raison d'etre. The rules are seen to be half-truths at best. The book will likely appeal to players with ratings of at least 1600. Anyone who has been through such books as, say, "Logical Chess" and "The Most Instructive Games of Chess ever Played", both by Chernev. Class B players, who all too often have blinkered vision in that they concentrate exclusively on attack, or play on one part of the board, or one tactical theme, are likely to learn quite a bit as they see how the entire board has to be kept in mind, how attack has to be balanced with defence, and also how subtle and indirect methods can often be more effective than a crude and single-minded approach.
Rating:
Summary: The masked avenger (ahem...Dr. Nunn, that is) strikes again!
Review: Well written books are hard to come by. Even rarer are good authors. Dr. John Nunn has proven, time and again, that he can write Chess books better than 90% of the field. 'Understanding Chess Move by Move' is patterned after the famous book by Irving Chernev ('Logical Chess: Move by Move') but this recent work outshines the Chernev book in several ways. This is not to say that Chernev's work is useless; far from it! Chernev's book was a trail-blazer and has been held in high esteem for years, as it should be. Nunn borrows from and builds on Chernev and admits it without a moment's hesitation. Again, this is as it should be.
Where Nunn outshines Chernev is in the area of extensive (some would even say exhaustive) analysis. For those of us Chess players who want more than the paltry explanations of Chernev, Nunn has done us a favour. An extensive overview followed up by intensive analysis in many parts of the book helps the Chess student really understand what is happening on the board. There are many insights given by Nunn into the thought processes of modern grandmasters as they play. Who best to distil and explain these processes than a top GM? Chernev never was at the top of his Chess generation but Nunn is and that's yet another difference. Not only those Nunn do a marvellous job of explanation, his prose is easy to understand, a benefit, I suppose, of his being both English and having a PhD. in History (or so I've heard).
There are many top GM games reviewed and dissected in this body of work and each one is an example of modern Chess at its best. Kudos to Nunn on another masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: Explains every move
Review: Yes, the format is almost the same as Chernev's book but Dr. Nunn's notes are more grounded and professional. When I see a chess book that earns me points over the board for one reason or another, I considered that the book paid itself. In this sense I was fortunate to capture some ideas for White against the Sicilian Sveshnikov and the Kalashnikov. The games that Dr. Nunn present exemplify the right way to play against those openings and a starting point for more indeep study. Basically, the opening ideas presented by Nunn are good and very well explained to the mass of mediocre chess players.
On top of everything Nunn provides an interesting treatise of middlegame themes ranging from combinations to strategy. I believe that some of the material also serves in practical play (for instance, defensive play) and it should be reviewed carefully.
On a negative note Nunn doesn't even mention Chernev's name in the bibliography despite the fact that he virtually copied Chernev's format...
All in all a good lesson from a GM
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