Rating: 
Summary: Something clicked
Review: As the other reviewers stated, this book covers the usual suspects, like bishops versus knights, ranks/files, weak and strong squares, etc. What this book does, that the others haven't for me, is pull it all together. His examples, not only show how to create an advantage, but also show how to USE that advantage to create advantages for your other pieces or as the center piece of an attack. I've read several tactical books and can solve most of the challenges, but never seem to be able to create strong combinations in real games. This book has made the practical use of tactics also more clear _ as a player accumulates strategic advantages their opponents defenses begin to break down naturally, creating the opportunity for tactical blows or a break-through into enemy territory. Obviously, there is nothing earth shattering about what I'm saying here. But the clarity of the examples and connections that Alburt/Palatnik make, have made these concepts usable to me in games I play _ I've only had the book a couple of days and I already see a big difference in the complexity of positions I am creating. I definitely recommend.
Rating:
Summary: Something clicked
Review: As the other reviewers stated, this book covers the usual suspects, like bishops versus knights, ranks/files, weak and strong squares, etc. What this book does, that the others haven't for me, is pull it all together. His examples, not only show how to create an advantage, but also show how to USE that advantage to create advantages for your other pieces or as the center piece of an attack. I've read several tactical books and can solve most of the challenges, but never seem to be able to create strong combinations in real games. This book has made the practical use of tactics also more clear _ as a player accumulates strategic advantages their opponents defenses begin to break down naturally, creating the opportunity for tactical blows or a break-through into enemy territory. Obviously, there is nothing earth shattering about what I'm saying here. But the clarity of the examples and connections that Alburt/Palatnik make, have made these concepts usable to me in games I play _ I've only had the book a couple of days and I already see a big difference in the complexity of positions I am creating. I definitely recommend.
Rating: 
Summary: Good for the aspiring player
Review: I am fairly new to tournament level chess (USCF ~1400), and this book did outline some good points about strategic thinking in chess which has helped my game. I wouldn't say that GM Alburt has come up with anything Earth-shattering here, but the games he has chosen to illustrate his points are clear examples of how the abstract concepts he outlines have real effects on games. The text is easy to follow, and tries to keep things simple for the beginning player. It was probably worth the investment for me.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, USEFUL book on strategy
Review: I disagree most ardently with the reviewer who gave one-star and claimed this book was misleading. I am a chess instructor and have found this book to be outstanding. Perhaps the other reviewer is used to Kotov or Timman or Igor Stohl; it is true, that this book by Alburt is not a book like that. But this book is magical and wonderful for several reasons. First, the instructive examples are absolutely wonderful. They seem very carefully chosen to illustrate the theme, and Alburt's comments are not extensive, but they constantly reiterate the theme to be followed. Deep study of these examples will pay huge dividends for your chess. For instance, just look at the first game, Alatortsev v. Levenfish. Not only is the good/bad bishop theme perfectly shown, but we see how that factor influences the endgame, and how the advantage of the good bishop is translated into a superior endgame. Second, the book is superbly produced. The paper is thick and strong, and so is the binding. It is true that there is quite a bit of blank space in the book, but I think this is a strength of the book. I have my students write notes and questions in the book, and there is plenty of room to do this. Other books have more text and variations, and I have found that students get bogged down in Kotov-like treatises. But with this book, they are filling up the margins with their comments and questions, they end up with a superior understanding of the straetgic theme being discussed, they know how the theme works in a practical setting, and they are truly progressing. Finally, I would like to address the other reviewer's point avout the title of the book being misleading. I disagree completely, as I think this book is in fact the ultimate book of strategy for the tournament player. "Tournament players" to me means the masses of players at tournaments. Those are the people who most need a practical guide such as this to show them how to implement crucial themes of strategy in their games. I have found that works like My System and Pawn Power in Chess are too abstract or unique to impart much practical working knowledge to the "tournament" player. This book by Alburt is of far more value to players than those books, even though they are of course classics. Many students get frustrated with the density of most chess books. It is valuable for a book to teach you without holding your hand. I have found that this book, and the companion books on Tactics, King in Jeopardy, 300 position pocket book, and Just the Facts, teach you, but make you learn for yourself too. THAT is the key--the knowledge in this book becomes the living property of the student, if he uses this book correctly. I love this book.
Rating:
Summary: Accessable to the intermediate player.
Review: I really improved after reading this book. I read this book on a plane ride to California (from Buffalo) and during my trip (4 days). I finished it a couple days after returning (about a week and a half total on the book). I did not have a board, but I visualized the board from the diagram as there were enough for me to do so. I enjoyed the examples and thought they were very useful in teaching the material. In any case, a couple weeks later, I won the Under 1600 section of the New York State Chess Championship. I'm not saying that this book was the only reason for doing this, but I learned much and was inspired by the positional play in all of the examples I read. My only criticism is that there wasn't enough analysis behind some of the moves where the author makes a statement such as "and of course move x was terrible" and doesn't explain it. However, in my specific case, this was good, as I couldn't really analyze too many variations anyway, and instead was able to get the ideas behind the strategies explained. I highly recommend this book as well as "Chess Tactics for the tournament Player" by the same author.
Rating: 
Summary: Just ok
Review: I think this book does an ok job covering a variety of strategies designed to make you play stronger in tournaments. This is part of a series of books with mainly Lev Albert behind them using his Russian School of Chess Methods. These methods need to be improved on to fit into today's world.
It doesn't begin to compair to "Winning Chess Tournaments for Juniors", which was recently released.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than his first books
Review: The least I can say is that this book is better than his first two books in the author's series, which I didn't like because it was designed for a teacher who didn't know chess to be able to go through it and teach the Russian masses.
I would say this book is ok, but there are really no secrets as you are lead to believe.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: There is something special about these books. It's not just the paper and production, which is probably the best in all of chess publishing, and it's not just the crystal clear instruction. More than that, it seems somehow that Alburt understands exactly how to teach an aspiring chess player. Alburt knows that the player must feel he is progressing through a book. How often have you spent two hours on a single page of Dvoretsky and felt that you were getting nowhere? (Not to say that Dvoretsky books are not great, because they are. The point is that those books are aimed at a very advanced player; these are aimed more at typical club players). With this Alburt book on Strategy, you will feel that you are learning, and that you are plowing through the book. His books are long in pages, leaving plenty of room on pages for your own notes or thoughts. The examples are very well chosen to inculcate core concepts into your head. This sounds trite, but there is really something here in that regard; Alburt knows how to pick examples that will provide maximum instruction. Most importantly, as I go through this book, I am having fun. It never goes over your head. There are variations placed at precisely the rights spots. Having fun going through a chess book is very key, since many of us have a very up and down relationship with chess. Sometimes is seems to hard to improve, and thus becomes less fun. If I had to sumamrize this Strategy book and all the other books of the Alburt series, I would say that they are fun, and you will ENJOY chess working through them. Is there a higher compliment than that?
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good strategy book
Review: This book is well organized, with 80 game examples and 30 test questions in total. If you want more detail into important middle game topics such as pawn structure and mating attacks, you will need other books in addition to this one, but I like the book layout very much- it seems well thought out Its easy to read and uncluttered, and can be recommended to all players under 2000 elo rating. Lets face it- this middle game strategy material is the most difficult to teach off all chess subjects as it often defies categorization, but this book does as good a job as any I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good strategy book
Review: This book is well organized, with 80 game examples and 30 test questions in total. If you want more detail into important middle game topics such as pawn structure and mating attacks, you will need other books in addition to this one, but I like the book layout very much- it seems well thought out Its easy to read and uncluttered, and can be recommended to all players under 2000 elo rating. Lets face it- this middle game strategy material is the most difficult to teach off all chess subjects as it often defies categorization, but this book does as good a job as any I have ever seen.
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