The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions Into Chess Mastery

Most chess books introduce a topic (e.g., weak pawns) and show some example games without really explaining the idea behind each move. Maybe this is adequate for a master, but I never got much out of that approach. Silman, on the other hand, explains what he terms an "imbalance", demonstrates how to take advantage of an imbalance, and then shows examples of how his students played the same position. He explains the thought behind each move as do his students when they play a position. This alone made this book one of the best. However, what I liked best about this book (even more than "Reassess Your Chess") is that when the students where given a position, Silman played the other side and demonstrated how to take advantage of inferior play. I think this aspect of the book most separates it from other chess books. Since I am not a master, my opponents don't play the best possible move each time. It's good to find a book that demonstrates how to take advantage of the moves that amatures make. That is, not blunders, but the positional mistakes that causes ones game to slowly fall apart and leave you wondering where you went wrong.

Too often the aspiring amateur encounters serious and theoretically significant books that have a single failing: they are written by Grandmasters for Grandmasters. This book by Jeremy Silman is a wonderful antidote to this syndrome. Unlike many other chess professionals, Silman seems to be genuinely fascinated with the thought processes of typical amateur tournament players, many of whom have some mixture of talent, knowledge, and experience, but can't put these elements together forcefully.The format of the book is well described in other reviews here. Suffice it to say that this is the most valuable didactic about the real heart of chess- planning and execution in the middle game- I have encountered over 25 years of playing and teaching.Although Silman's frequently amusing expressions of derision about the faulty analyses of his students might seem demeaning, there is a genuine love of the game and eagerness to help others gain mastery that consistently shines through. This is a book that won't sit on your shelf if you have any affection and ambition in your chess playing, and genuinely merits the highest recommendation.

I had read wonderful reviews about Silman's other book, "How to Reassess Your Chess" ("HTRYC"), so I purchased it. Within a week after that I was told that I should read "Inside the Amateur's Mind" ("ITAM") first. So I put HTRYC down and picked up ITAM. I was skeptical at first. After all, who cares what goes through a patzer's head in a game -- I want to learn from masters and grandmasters. However, it was scary to see how similarly I incorrectly analyzed a given position or manner of executing a plan with the amateurs. These mistakes are vividly pointed out and practical advice for analysis and planning is presented. Silman's method is based on understanding the imbalances inherent in every position. He gives 7 elements to analyze: (1) material; (2) minor pieces; (3) pawn structure; (4) files and weak squares; (5) space; (6) development; and (7) initiative. I have started forcing myself to break down the elements of a position and develop a plan dictated by those elements. Silman demonstrates how even seemingly minor differences like the battle between a bishop and a knight can consume the entirety of a middlegame plan. I have already seen the benfits of this thinking method. For instance, I recently annotated one of the test positions at the end of ITAM (an excellent feature of the book BTW) and compared it with Silman's notes and found that I was 70-80% accurate in making my assessments -- a big improvement for me. He also emphasizes an attacking mentality (seize the initiative! Make you opponent react to your threats!) which has helped my game already. It is also very instructive to see the way Silman defeats amateurs who are given superior or winning positions. I don't play against GM's so it is instructive to see how to take apart a C through Expert player who misahandles a good position.After completing the test positions, I am going to spend a month or two sharpening my tactics so they can catch up with my new-found positional understanding. After that, I will read ITAM again to see what jewels of wisdom I missed (or need re-emphasized). This book definitely deserves being re-read.Two notes of criticism. It is one thing to get a strong positional advantage and develop the correct plan, it is another cash it in to a victory. There are several times throughout the book where Silman shows how an Amateur chose the incorrect plan but does not show the technique of carrying out the correct plan. In fairness, he usually does demonstrate the technique of the correct plan, but not always. It is frustrating to look at a position and say, "okay, I see what the incorrect plan is, but how do I impliment the correct one?" and then get no explanation. Also, there are a number of typographical errors. Although I understand the third edition is a vast improvement over earlier editions, they still creep up with regularity.Despite these criticisms, I highly recommend this book. Much more acces

This book is an example of Silman's popular "Reassess Your Chess" in action: amateurs evaluate and play a position and International Master Silman uses their comments as a springboard for his reassessments. Although I benefited from Silman's "Reassess," I almost passed this book by simply because I thought, "Interesting, but how much could I learn from a 1300 USCF player's comments?" Yet it is precisely their imprecise analysis that allows Silman to discuss imbalances and plans. Combined with nearly two dozen test positions that Silman exhausively explains, I felt I received a great bargain and a very efficient, effective, practical review. The cliche is "this book helped me gain (fill in the number) rating points." For me, "How to Reassess Your Chess" was that book. This book solidifies my progress (I am a 1950 rated player). Not for everyone, but many will benefit.