Abc's of Chess

Before criticizing a book by Pandolfini, it's important to understand the intended audience. The majority of his books are meant for people who have played no more than a handful of chess games. That explains the many negative reviews he receives.In contrast this book, one of Pandolfini's most advanced, is aimed at players around 1350-1450. Consisting of 50 articles culled from his old chess magazine column, it has some very useful explanation and illustration of the sort of strategic ideas that players of this strength seek, with a depth of analysis that is shallow enough for these players to follow without a board. (I'm about 1500, and this book is just a bit too simple for me. By the way, I was about 1200 at the start of the year, so I do know what I'm talking about when I suggest how beginners can improve.)Personally, I'd skip the early sections. The "Fundamentals" are not fundamental; they're simple pieces of advice you've already heard. The part on "Openings" is somewhat esoteric compared with the rest of the book, although I loved what Pandolfini had to say about the Four Knights Game, that ubiquitous and boring closed game which beginners wander into blindly. And there are far better sources of information on "Tactics" than what you'll find here.The true value of the book begins with the section on positional ideas. This is worth studying. Then continue to the end, through the sections on middlegame strategic concepts, endgame themes, and planning.As for prerequisites, you'll need to be fairly adept at tactics and possess strategic knowledge at the level of Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move.It is evidently difficult to bridge the gap between simple aphorisms for beginners and the complex positional understanding of veteran club players, so I give this book 4 stars for a noteworthy effort.

This volume is a general overview of how to improve one's chess. It is not a primer for total beginners, but rather a compilation of Mr. Pandolfini's fifty best "ABCs of Chess" columns from Chess Life magazine up to 1986, the year this book was published.To me, the best features of this book are the sections on openings, tactics, handling of the various pieces (i.e., the power each piece exudes), strategy, and a good introductory section on the closed game. I made good use of these principles and I believe that I'm a better player as a result. I'd thank Mr. Pandolfini personally if I could for sharing his knowledge. I can understand why he's America's most respected and perhaps best chess teacher. But I have to dock this book one star for it's only scratching the surface of the endgame. Only one article from this book was devoted to this arguably most important phase. Mind you, it was just as informative as all the others. Still, even I thought Mr. Pandolfini could have done better here.Still it's not a bad book. In fact, it's pretty good. I'd recommend it to semi-beginners who have gotten past the how-to-force-mate phase and want a good general overview of what awaits them in their chess studies.Another good title like this one, that I recommend, is Jose Capablanca's "Chess Fundamentals," which gives a good foundation in studying the endgame. And for folks like Scott Williams, whose review of this book appears in this column: Don't be so negative. If you want to find out what a book is about, read the synopsis. And if you want a really good chess primer, I'd recommend Mr. Pandolfini's "Beginning Chess."

This is a compilation of his Chess Life columns and it's packed with useful information. Because it is a collection of short articles, it's a wide-ranging, readable discussion of many concepts: open vs. closed games, mating nets, using the right rook, etc. For the beginner to intermediate player, this book is a one-volume reference on playing better chess. Think of it as an excellent "second book" after you know the pieces, moves and notation.

This book is good for beginner to intermediate chess players with emphasis on positional themes. Pandolfini is at his best teaching the endgame and following his endgame advice will help beginners play decent (but not great) endgames without further in depth study. I would recommend this book for the player who is looking to improve without doing too much hard work.

The hallmark of a good teacher is to be able to take an esoteric concept or idea and transform it into an easy to understand, and repeatable, system. Bruce Pandolfini in this book, as well as others, is most successful at this. For a beginning student, this book is a must for the library. I cannot recommend it highly enough.