Chess Thinking: The Visual Dictionary of Chess Moves, Rules, Strategies and Concepts (Fireside Chess Library) - Softcover

Pandolfini, Bruce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0671795023 ISBN 13: 9780671795023

Publisher: Touchstone, 1995

Synopsis

From America’s foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit comes the ultimate chess reference—a visual dictionary of over 1,000 moves, rules, strategies, and concepts.

For new players needing clarification on a certain position to an expert brushing up on more obscure strategies, Chess Thinking covers the ABC’s of chess as never before—from algebraic notation to zugzwang.

Comprehensive, illustrated with 140 detailed drawings, and written with exceptional clarity, this is an indispensable guide to any player ready to make a move and belongs on the shelf of every chess player’s library.

About this title

About the Author

Bruce Pandolfini is one of the world’s most sought-after chess teachers and one of the most widely read chess writers working today. His role as analyst for PBS’s coverage of the 1972 match between chess superstars Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky first launched him into the public eye. His coaching of chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin was portrayed in the book and film Searching for Bobby Fischer. He is a regular columnist for Chess Life, the bible of the chess world, and continues to coach young players professionally and consults for CEOs from numerous Fortune 500 companies. Pandolfini also created over 300 hypothetical games as a consultant for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

Pandolfini is well known to chess enthusiasts, having written several introductory works as well as studies of major players (Fischer and Kasparov), chess openings, and endgame play. His new dictionary contains more than a thousand brief entries and many illustrations which clearly show what is taking place on the chess board.

The author's introduction contains an excellent explanation of "algebraic notation," which is a way to record moves using a combination of letters and numbers. This is an essential feature for beginners wishing to make good use of any book on chess. A classified index lists entries under such subject headings as Tactics, People, Game Variations, Endings, and Pawns. The author's "Short Chess Course" helps anyone understand major moves, rules, and principles.

The new dictionary earns library space by its easily understood, brief explanations and associated illustrations. Two other reference works, The Encyclopaedia of Chess (St. Martin's, 1976) and The Oxford Companion to Chess, (2d ed., 1992), are superior in coverage and designed for the seasoned player. They include short essays on history, hundreds of major players, strategies, chess commissions, laws of chess, tournament results, photographs of chess champions, and more detailed explanations of terms. A third work, The Chess Encyclopedia (Facts On File, 1990) is strong in biographical information, including play-by-play accounts of famous games. As a dictionary for terms, it is not as useful. Compared with these three works, Chess Thinking is more suited for the circulating collection.

Pandolfini is the author of numerous chess instruction and strategy books such as Chessersizes: New Winning Techniques for Players of All Levels (S. & S., 1991). Here, he also aims to instruct, but his approach is rather unconventional; he offers a dictionary of chess terms with related questions and answers attached to selected descriptions. The entry for Blind Swine Mate, for example, is followed by a brief explanation, a related problem illustrated by a chessboard and pieces, an analysis of the situation, and finally the answer, which also features recommended moves. David Hooper and Kenneth Whyld's more comprehensive Oxford Companion to Chess (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1984) is preferable for library reference collections, but this handy resource with over 100 questions and solutions is a good choice for circulating collections.?Will Hepfer, Buffalo Univ. Libs., N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671795023
• ISBN 13: 9780671795023
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 320