Inside the Chess Mind : How Players of All Levels Think About the Game

Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review: Aagaard's cheap microphone that he bought in order to save a few dollars malfunctioned when he tape-recorded Yusupov's thoughts regarding the 10 test positions so again Aagaard has rotten luck (or rushes his projects) and produces another flawed book, which is probably why the pub release date was held up a few months.
Still I like this book- you take 10 tests (solve 10 positions in total) and compare your results against players rated from 1500-2600.


Rating:
Summary: fascinating
Review: This book is hard to put down. It is a great concept (though not an original one) and the problems are awesome. I picked it up in the bookstore and browsed through it casually. I had grabbed three books to take a look at, but never even cracked the other 2 open. As noted in the other reviews, and the summary, there are 10 chess problems (most of which are very complex) and multiple participants who looked at each problem and recorded their thoughts on the continuations. Two of the particapants are GM and a third is a titled player. There are multiple non-titled players, and fritz also gives his thoughts. I was interested in the book because I thought the idea of seeing how 2200+ people look at these positions compared to lower rated players, might be helpful. Are they better at calculating? Better at understanding positions? Better at considering all candidate moves? Better at forming long term plans in closed games? Better at recognizing tactical shots? I won't spoil the conclusions, or perhaps, more accurately stated, the observations. However, the best value in the book seems to be the struggle to understand these positions and continuations yourself. They are not simple mate in 3 questions. Often, the titled players do not completely solve the problems; they are frequently on the right track, but haven't worked it out completely in the alloted time.
It is really a great book. When I am done with it, I will be hoping he puts out a follow up with 10 more problems to look at. I have a fairly large collection of chess books. Most of them are eventually rellocated to the bookshelf where they serve as "reference books" in the future. This book is fascinating, and there is only one way to read it - cover to cover. I highly recommend it.