<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: For the Expert and Up.....mostly
Review: as a 1600-1700 player, I found most of the advise here a bit elevated for my use. Be advised that virtually all the information is targeted to those who own and use ChessBase and Fritz, the book speaks to no other programs. Most players under 2000, I believe, will get more use from spending the money you would use for this book to buy other training software or books targeted to combination practice or strategy etc. To make a long story short, for a very strong player with a lot of time for study, this is probably full of good advise. For the average tournament player I think there are better uses for your money.
Rating: 
Summary: Mainly for ChessBase users
Review: I've changed my opinion on this book after looking at it more closely.Although the book concentrates on ChessBase products, ChessAssistant is given a fair mention, along with some freely available products. This is not a bad book. Its advice on using databases for self-improvement is sound and reasonable. It might be useful to somebody who has no idea whatsoever how to use a Chess database. I think there are better, easier, cheaper ways to learn. On the other hand, a database can be expensive. This is a small additional price to help you make the most of your investment. Why only 2 stars? There is too much fluff and filler. A book on chess software should not have so many single-position diagrams for study. Those diagrams might have been more useful if we knew the games they came from. Then we could pull them up in our handy-dandy database. The authors completely overlook what is by far the most valuable training software, from Convekta. In fact, tactics training is given short shrift, even though it is arguably the best reason for using a computer to study chess. Most of what is in this book is fairly obvious. The advice is available in paragraphs -- and sometimes full chapters -- in many other chess books. I would expect a full-length book to be detailed and comprehensive. There are definitely things I could learn about using chess databases, but not here.
Rating:
Summary: For ChessBase users only
Review: The authors seem to have experience with no chess software not produced by ChessBase. I do like ChessBase software, but I think Convekta is better for training. There are many other software options the authors neglect to mention. Something is fishy here. Either the authors have relationships with ChesBase, or they are simply not qualified to write this book. Perhaps they are poor chess professionals who cannot afford to buy all the chess software available. I sympathize, but I insist that they are wasting shelf-space with this book. I hope that bookstores refuse to carry it. Still, this might be a 3-star book for a ChessBase owner. I won't go into details on that.
Rating: 
Summary: Broadening one's playing styles to learn more about oneself
Review: The collaborative effort of computer chess experts Byron Jacobs, Jacob Aagaard, and John Emms, Chess Software User's Guide is a unique chess guide written especially for those who use computer software to practice their playing skills, store and replay games from data, analyze their game-related strengths and weaknesses, and much more. Individual chapters discuss taking advantage of software to learn a new opening more easily; training one's gaming skill; and broadening one's playing styles to learn more about oneself and one's opponents. Black-and-white diagrams and photographs round out this practical and forward-thinking instructional manual for playing computerized chess. Send for the free Everyman Chess catalog for a complete and up-to-date listing of all of their superb chess titles.
<< 1 >>
| 
