Rating: 
Summary: A Gem! Buy it! Clear Explanations On Chess Thought Inside
Review: A brilliant little book that is clearly written, extremely useful, and bargain-priced. Do not be misled by the author's use of maxims for chapter titles: he is not dogmatic whatsoever. Znosko-Borovsky's verbal analysis of a chess position, for example, on pages 54-60, regarding visualizing a plan based on the differences (however slight)in each side, and putting that plan into effect is an eye-opener. If you've read Jeremy Silman's How To Reassess Your Chess, you'll recognize the thinking method detailed decades before Silman published. I believe you will not regret time spent with this book.
Rating: 
Summary: A Condensed Capsule of Combination Introduction!
Review: A chess genius friend of mine from Cuba (that should tell you something right there!) was the first to introduce this slim gem on chess improvement to me (circa June of 2000). You see, in Cuba there is still a great deal of reverence for the late GREAT Jose Raoul Capablanca.
This friend of mine (named Alex {Alejandro}) had been TRAINED in chess as a youngster in Cuba at a chess academy that pays tribute to Capablanca. Alex sees with great depth the position on the chessboard and in record time. One day, after one of his many victories over me, he handed me his own "How Not To Play Chess" and said, "I think you could learn from this. It's the only chess book I've ever read." Now, I have written everything in this review up to this point, not "to pat my friend on the back" (O K that's part of it!), but, so that you can go through the same thought process I did after I completed this book the first time (I have read it at 3 different times over the past two years; the third time was just recently from February 18 through March 8). This is the only book Alex has read?!?!?!?! Since he's so good at the game, that fact alone tells me a lot about this book.
I would have to say this book introduces chess players to their own tendency toward mishaps; no matter what level you may be; even beyond 1800.
You can improve a lot when you keep in mind the author's intention that he has written in the book's introduction. The part that deals with the 3 types of analyses and then planning is very important to know like the back of your hand.
However, I am critical of the author's tone of voice throughout the book, as he seems to wonder why all chess players aren't able to see what an expert like himself sees. The book is generally easy to read, but at times the writing becomes rather cumbersome. I also am critical of how the author assumes that the reader, whom he is thinking is a beginner or amateur in chess, even knows what a combination is! I myself had absolutely no problem with his instruction on combinations, but I have to say it was a bad idea to just dive into talking about combinations in the way that the author does without explaining at all what a combination is. I started reviewing this book again a day after finishing "Extreme Chess" by C.J.S. Purdy (Read my review!) and afterwards my understanding of that "chess experience" I had just undergone (and of chess itself) solidified and clarified even more so!! This book is so thin that reading it thoroughly again at about 6 month intervals (until you've really got it down pat EACH TIME) is something I highly recommend. Take note that this third time around I got a pencil and paper and transposed all the book's dreaded descriptive notation into bi-column algebraic notation; I would recommend that you do the same. It will help your retention of the book's teachings. I think the chess quizzes at the end should have made specific mention of what principles were being addressed as you go over the answers; but definitely try to figure out the answer before looking at it. All in all, this is a good introduction into combinations, but beginners should pursue more instruction on combinations after reading this.
Rating:
Summary: A classic ... and a good instructional book too!
Review: First I would like to ask something unusual. Read ALL the other book reviews of this book FIRST and read my review last. (I think it is very un-necessary to repeat anything that is already said here!)I am a Chess Master. I teach chess for a living. I first read this book close to 30 years ago. This is a great book. A tremendous teaching vehicle. MANY of my students (AND people I have chatted with on various chess servers) have said this book helped them a lot!! But in actual application, it can be difficult to always do what the author advises. A few fairly minor criticisms. The organization of this book is somewhat dicey. He uses too many fancy terms that I guess he just sort of made up "on-the-fly." And he sometimes can be too repetitive. And several of my students said the descriptive notation version of this book was a little difficult for them to read. But the final verdict is that the basic premise of this book is brilliant. He basically shows you some of the the most common chess mistakes that the average player might make. And this more than makes up for any of the books minor flaws. Several students told me they learned more from this one book than all the other chess books they had read put together!! If you enjoy this book, you will also enjoy, "Chess Master vs Chess Amateur," by GM Max Euwe. I am sure if you take the time to work your way through this book you will get a lot from it and decide it was worth the trouble! Warning: If you have extreme difficulty with Descriptive Notation, or are rated 1800 or higher; this book may not be of much value to you.
Rating:
Summary: Funny name, serious book
Review: I've always been tickled pink by Eugene's first and last names and just like his books, have always given me something new each time I come in contact with either. ZB's intelligent writing shines through and the advice is germane even after all this time! Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Funny name, serious book
Review: I've always been tickled pink by Eugene's first and last names and just like his books, have always given me something new each time I come in contact with either. ZB's intelligent writing shines through and the advice is germane even after all this time! Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: A very minor criticism
Review: Still convinced this is a classic - a great work, and valuable even for people beyond intermediate strength. But recently, when playing some games online, I discovered that his rules for determining what our plan should be, based on our potential "ideal" position, could perhaps have benefited from a little bit of elaboration. He tells us that before concerning ourselves with our opponent's attempt to thwart our plans, we first must consider our ideal setup - that is, the best position we could hope to acquire for ourselves (taking as many moves as necessary) if our adversary did nothing to stop us. There are many times when it's completely obvious what this idealized position would entail, but also times when I found myself surprised to discover that I wasn't even completely sure just what my "ideal" setup should be. Maybe it's just a matter of one's temperament, intuition, what feels best, after tactical traps and swindles have been guarded against.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This book is indispensable. Yes, it is indispensable! Once you get over the fact that the notation is descriptive you will be fine. I don't mind reading books in descriptive notation and considering the content of the book this is just a minor inconvenience [Speaking of which, have you noticed how cheap are books in descriptive?] Znosko-Borovsky is entertaining, engaging and profound. The whole purpose of the book is to make you aware of the need to analyse the position both from the internal and the external points of view. In other words: How to make an inventory of who has the advantage in tempi, material, and space and how those factors compensate to determine which side has the advantage over the board. As a consequence of this analysis the author shows how to make a plan and execute it over the board. Sounds simple? It becomes simple after reading Znosko-Borovsky's book. Why is it that few people write in this manner nowadays? Why is it that authors can not be entertaining? I read this book at least once every month and have given it to some friends to help them improve their chess. At first sight it doesn't look like much but once you take the time to read it, understand it and go back to it, you will see what a treasure you have in your hands. For the prize of the book you get a lot and this is that rare type of book that read again and again and again...
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: This book is indispensable. Yes, it is indispensable! Once you get over the fact that the notation is descriptive you will be fine. I don't mind reading books in descriptive notation and considering the content of the book this is just a minor inconvenience [Speaking of which, have you noticed how cheap are books in descriptive?] Znosko-Borovsky is entertaining, engaging and profound. The whole purpose of the book is to make you aware of the need to analyse the position both from the internal and the external points of view. In other words: How to make an inventory of who has the advantage in tempi, material, and space and how those factors compensate to determine which side has the advantage over the board. As a consequence of this analysis the author shows how to make a plan and execute it over the board. Sounds simple? It becomes simple after reading Znosko-Borovsky's book. Why is it that few people write in this manner nowadays? Why is it that authors can not be entertaining? I read this book at least once every month and have given it to some friends to help them improve their chess. At first sight it doesn't look like much but once you take the time to read it, understand it and go back to it, you will see what a treasure you have in your hands. For the prize of the book you get a lot and this is that rare type of book that read again and again and again...
Rating:
Summary: Good for begginers. Great for the strong tournment player.
Review: This book, despite the curious title "How not to play chess", is a very deep work on the art of analysis in chess. One might think that this is a book for begginers.However, this thought is not that right, and the tournment player can learn about analysis and get some important tips from this experienced chess master and respectable writer. There are some points to be criticised, though. The book analyses quite few games, and some of them are very well known, and the 20 problems added by Rinfeld are very easy to solve. However, the book is quite valuable, and I strongly recommend it to everyone who want to improve.
Rating:
Summary: Good for begginers. Great for the strong tournment player.
Review: This book, despite the curious title "How not to play chess", is a very deep work on the art of analysis in chess. One might think that this is a book for begginers.However, this thought is not that right, and the tournment player can learn about analysis and get some important tips from this experienced chess master and respectable writer. There are some points to be criticised, though. The book analyses quite few games, and some of them are very well known, and the 20 problems added by Rinfeld are very easy to solve. However, the book is quite valuable, and I strongly recommend it to everyone who want to improve.
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