Art of Chess Analysis [Paperback]

Jan Timman (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Publishers; 2nd edition (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857441796
• ISBN-13: 978-1857441796
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #355,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for stronger players, May 8, 2000

By 

A. Ali "Harkonnen" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Art of Chess Analysis (Paperback)

Don't agree with the other reviewers. The analysis is certainly not 'passionate'; a more apposite description would be 'dispassionate'. Nor is it long on variations and short on explanations. Rather, the other way around. For 'long on variations' see the books by Speelman or Hubner. Timman seeks to get to the heart of the position. Enough analysis is given to explain the position. The analysis of variations is judiciously mixed with verbal assessments and explanations. The people who would profit most from the book would probably be of at least expert strength. Timman doesn't belabor the obvious or give unnecessary or irrelevant lines.

The second edition is a significant improvement. Criticisms given by Nunn and Dvoretsky have been taken into account,and some of their analysis has been incorporated, with due acknowledgement.

For players not quite able to cope with Timman, another good book is Nunn and Griffiths' 'Secrets of Grandmaster Play', which is more detailed, less terse, and written in a more pedagogic spirit.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for strong players, August 27, 1998

By 

N. Beach "romansperson" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Art of Chess Analysis (Paperback)

Timman analyzes the greatest games of the late 70's and early 80's with a depth and breadth rarely seen in any chess book. These are titanic struggles -- famous games like Bronstein - Ljubojevic, Petropolis 1973; Fischer - Petrosian, 1st match game 1971; and Korchnoi - Karpov, 21st match game 1978. The latter game runs no less than thirteen pages with numerous lengthy analyses of positions that "might have been" had one or another crucial continuation been chosen. Timman has attempted to find the absolute truth of each of these games and one suspects that he has come mighty close. I think that how much one gets out of this book will be directly in proportion to one's playing strength. Definitely recommended for players of class "A" strength and above. A classic.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for stronger players, August 22, 1998

By 

N. Beach "romansperson" (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Art of Chess Analysis (Paperback)

I do not own the current, reprinted version of this book, but my thumb-worn original RHM copy has taught me a lot about chess. Timman has selected absolute top-quality Grandmaster games from the 1970's and analyzed them deeply. Originally, these analyses were intended for himself -- an exercise in annotation for an aspiring International Master who wanted to play like the players of these games. As a result, this book is long on variations and short on prose explaining them. This book would be of minimal use to average players but would be an excellent lesson in annotation for "A" players and above. Highly recommended.