Think Like a Grandmaster

Rating:
Summary: Worth its weight in gold !
Review: I think this is one of the best chess books ever written ! Kotov's comments,examples and instructions are simply superb.Buy this and then buy `Play Like a Grandmaster'.

Rating:
Summary: good one
Review: This is a great book, but a word of warning, this is an advanced book. You have to put in a lot of time and effort to get something out of this book. Kotov's book is specific for strong players who have the skill, & want to improve their abilities to calculate accurately. Though he talks about candidate moves, he never answers how to find them. The problem is that it will take an average player lot of time to find the canditate, if he is able to figure the position out. I am never able to find more than 3-4 lines on my own when the author gives 8-10 different lines each analyzed 8-10 moves or further deep. I recommend this book to anyone 2200+. good luck.

Rating:
Summary: READ AND LEARN TO THINK!
Review: This isn't your standard chess strategy or tactics book. This is much more about thinking and learning how to think. While Kotov uses many of his own games, he is really telling you how to use your own games and find your own mistakes. With the advent of chess programs likes Fritz 6.0 this is even easier but you still must produce your own skull sweat and learn to think. This isn't the type of book you read once! Every couple of years, reread it and take its lessons and reapply them to your games and you will improve. Thoughout the book Kotov gives plenty of advice on other ways to improve your game and if you use those you will see your chess strength come up even more. Will it make you a Grand master? Probably not but if you use and take heed it will lead to an improvement in your game!