John Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book

Rating:
Summary: Great puzzle book, but short on its promises...
Review: "Most chess puzzle books put you in an artificial situation: you are told a combination exists, what the theme is, and what you are required to achieve. This one is different." Really? This depends on your point of view. *All* puzzle books put you in an artificial position! Out of the 250 positions in the book, all of them, minus a few "spoilers", have something for you to find, prove or disprove. Every positions except for the 48 test positions have a short introductory comment. Often, hints about the solution can be elucidated through these statements. I guess what makes these "comments" different is that they do not tell you the specifics of the combination ("mate in 4", "knight fork", etc.). However, a position is included in a puzzle book precisely because it contains something for the reader to discover: Nunn's admits this himself in the book's introduction. The "spoilers", ie. the positions which do not have tactical possibilities and require "quiet" moves, are mostly concentrated in the 48 test positions at the end of the book. It so happens that the test positions are the only ones which really fulfill the book's promises because they have neither an associated hint nor a short introductory comment. To Nunn's credit, given that most of the positions hide something, that "something" is difficult to find, as the previous reviews suggest. These are high calibre puzzles taken from real chess games: you can forget about fantasy chess. In this sense, you are getting your money's worth... Or are you? Nunn gathered the material for this book from old Informator issues and some of his own games... Do we really need a puzzle book then? Discovering a "puzzle" position inside a game might be a more benificial exercise: the "puzzle" still needs to be solved, but the context of that puzzle has to be discovered first. Puzzle books, even good ones like Nunn's, rob the reader of this discovery.

Rating:
Summary: Emms book and this are both good
Review: I am a typical class C player trying to get better and I have purchased Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book and think that it is better than most chess puzzle books. Most books have sections such as "Mate - in - three" or "Queen Sacrifices" or "Pins and Skewrers". These groupings however obviously tell you what to look for and in a real chess game no one is sitting at your side and saying "there is a real nice knight fork somewhere on the board so find it"! Nunn's book also has a majority of all new problems so you won't be seeing that Reti - Tartakower queen sac and mate in three here. The only drawback is the cost. Consider also the "Chess Training Pocket Book" by Lev Alburt which does have well known problems (including the Reti - Tartakower one!) but has the advantage of throwing in postitions where there is no tactical solution but rather the position represents an important positional or endgame theme.

Rating:
Summary: A different type of puzzle book.
Review: I am a typical class C player trying to get better and I have purchased Nunn's Chess Puzzle Book and think that it is better than most chess puzzle books. Most books have sections such as "Mate - in - three" or "Queen Sacrifices" or "Pins and Skewrers". These groupings however obviously tell you what to look for and in a real chess game no one is sitting at your side and saying "there is a real nice knight fork somewhere on the board so find it"! Nunn's book also has a majority of all new problems so you won't be seeing that Reti - Tartakower queen sac and mate in three here. The only drawback is the cost. Consider also the "Chess Training Pocket Book" by Lev Alburt which does have well known problems (including the Reti - Tartakower one!) but has the advantage of throwing in postitions where there is no tactical solution but rather the position represents an important positional or endgame theme.

Rating:
Summary: A truely unique puzzle book
Review: I have never seen a book of this ilk with a category called find the wrong move.In addition most puzzle books spoon feed us by describing the problem. For example find the mate or someone to play and win etc.Nunn's book tends to put the onus on the individual to think for himself.Most puzzle books tend repeat problems from other books.Quite a number of these problems I have seen for the first time.That is what makes this book truely original and unique. A great book for a player in the 1800 plus elo range. An excellent training tool for chess players.

Rating:
Summary: Good Book for serious players
Review: This is a good book. I think that Upper lever Intermediate andespecially Advanced players would benefit the most. There are bettersuited books for lower rated players. Don't be afraid to challenge Nunn's solutions. He did a good job testing the problems, but he (and Fritz) are not perfect...

Rating:
Summary: One of best Puzzle books available
Review: This is not just another puzzle book. This work is a class act, very well produced. The positions have been checked by computer analysis, unlike much older puzzle books. There are 250 puzzles in total, and the solutions are explained in painstaking detail, and the puzzles include hints if you need them. This may be John Nunn's best effort and most useful book (and he has written several dozen books in the past decade). Highly recommended for players above 1800 elo rating as these are not easy problems. If you want a challenge and a book that will last you a lifetime, buy this most amazing book.

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent, Very Practical Chess Book
Review: This is one of my favorite chess books. The heart of this book is a series of exercises. I find that puzzle books are the most effective, practical, way to improve playing strength. One of the great advantages of this book is that the author does not tell you if the problems are tactical, positional, or strategic. This is of course the most practical approach, as at the board no one is there to tell you which it is.

I really enjoyed this book, and I can recommend it fully. It will help you improve your play.

Rating:
Summary: Emms book and this are both good
Review: Unlike John Emms' "The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book," which I strongly recommend for most anybody, this is not meant to be a tactics book. A previous reviewer apparently missed the point of this book, simply comparing the number of puzzles to judge the content in those 2 books. Nunn's book deliberately keeps the reader from expecting what is coming, thereby simulating the true game environment. This approach wouldn't necessarily get your pure tactical skills up, but if you look at the benefit you will gain in your overall play, this book is definitely worth its price.

One more note...there was a comment that "Not to mention Emms is a bettr player than Nunn ever was or will be" in a previous review, but that is simply not true. John Nunn hovered around #10-15 in the world during mid-80's, while John Emms has yet to break into top 100.

Rating:
Summary: Nice analysis
Review: Unlike other puzzle books with multiple solutions or outright errors, Nunn's book has been computer checked, and is laid out nicely. This book and Emms "200 Most Amazing Moves" are the best general puzzle books available.

Rating:
Summary: Nice analysis
Review: Unlike other puzzle books with multiple solutions or outright errors, Nunn's book has been computer checked, and is laid out nicely. This book and Emms "200 Most Amazing Moves" are the best general puzzle books available.