50 Essential Chess Lessons

I was very impressed with this book when I read it. It is very instructive for any player beyond the beginning stage and is written in a manner that is like having a master with you to explain what is going on in the game.The author avoids going into any detailed analysis in order to fully explain the ideas in the game. The games are chosen for their instructive value in illustrating the theme under discussion. In a way, the book is reminiscent of Chernev's "The Most Instructive Chess Games Ever Played." But, I consider this book to be even better. The serious student of the game cannot go wrong in purchasing this book and by reading it will gain greatly in understanding.

This is one of the best books that uses games as lessons. As a couple of the reviews have pointed it it may not have every move analyzed, but then this is not a book for a lower rated chess player, so it not so critical here. What is nice is that "50 ESSENTIAL CHESS LESSONS" selects many important themes and is clear and understandable. Among the numerous books using games as lessons, this book is one of the best!

Steve Giddins books seem to hit on some of the most important themes for players to learn and improve their ability to understand and play chess better. Gidden's two books, "50 Essential Chess Lessons" and "101 Chess Traps" being my two favorite Giddins books. In Giddins "50 Essential Chess Lessons" he selects one or two important themes that he is trying to get across. There is exceptional clarity of thought brought onto paper! Mr. Giddins uses a lot of original games, not easy to find (or impossible to find) elsewhere. This is an excellent book for an intermediate player wanting to improve their overall understanding of chess.

by Steve Giddins When a friend suggested that I take a look at this book, I thought: "Oh great, yet another book aimed at the beginner." Yet this friend persisted - so I scanned the book at the local bookshop. I liked it so much that I purchased a copy for the local chess club. (We raffle off a free chess book at our local tournaments now.) I am also a chess master and teach chess for a living ... so I like to think that I know a thing or two about this subject. First the basics. The publisher - Gambit Books - does nothing but chess. A solid book, flex cover, firm binding, acid-free pages with minimal 'bleed through,' excellent diagrams, (several per page); and top-notch editing. {You probably won't ever buy a real clunker from this publishing house.} I thought that this was a good book, but when I got it home, I discovered that I was wrong. To quote Tony the Tiger, its GRRRRREAT!! (I gave it five stars, even though I had said I was not going to do this any more ... I try to save this for exceptional books. Well, maybe this is one of those cases.) Why? Well let me explain. Most of the time when I recommend a book, some players will complain that "the book's subject matter is over my head," or that "it drowns me in a sea of variations." Not here, think of this as a "Nunn-LITE" book, the main emphasis is on teaching and explanation, and NOT on variations! (Much like Irving Chernev, although this book is in algebraic, of course!) A Grand-Master once told me (many years ago) that there were only three proven ways to get better. One study method he said was to study COMPLETE master-level games, this book follows that edict to the letter. Fifty (50) nicely annotated games. (I had seen most of the games in this volume before, but the average player will not be familiar with the large percentage of these masterful struggles.) I would say the main target group would be 1200 - 1799, although players on both ends of this spectrum should enjoy this volume. (I did, and my USCF rating is over 2200.) There are 50 entries organized into five sections. (Attacking the King, Defence, Piece Power, Pawn Structure and End-Game themes.) All of these are highly instructional and annotated with lots of explanations and entertaining verbiage. For example, Game # 16, (Short-Timman, Tillburg; 1991); can be found on my website. But the player rated below 2000 will DEFINITELY want to review this game with Giddin's polished notes ... it will open many of the secret doors of chess knowledge for you. (Many of the themes and ideas that I commonly try to teach my students in the first 1-2 years are covered by Giddins in his analysis of these 50 instructive contests.) I "fritzed" about five of these games with the computer, I found NO noticeable mistakes of any kind. I can offer no honest criticisms of this volume. ADVICE: I will note that the serious student will want to use a general reference work on the opening, (like MCO-14); when studying this book, just

I have another book authored by Steve Giddins in my library, How to build your chess opening repertoire. That book impressed me - Giddins clearly possesses both a fluent writing style, and a rare knowledge of Russian chess literature and training methods. In this latest book, based around fifty instructive annotated games, there is again a nice proportion of original material sourced from Russian origins. The content is split into five categories - Attacking the King, Piece Power, Pawn Structure and so on. There is a good amount of prose explanation to each game, and the emphasis is very much focused on what practical lessons are to be learned. The selection of games is a mixture on contemporary classics and some fascinating older games that I would wager few enthusiasts have seen before. I have to confess I do gain a great deal of pleasure playing through a well-annotated games collection like this one. You know you are working out on all aspects of your game - openings, middlegames and endings. I wholeheartedly recommend this book as a rich source of inspiration and fresh ideas.