Customer Reviews

The Art of Chess Combination (Dover Chess)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a quite good minor classic. Znosko-Borovsky discusses several themes, such as the standard bishop sacrifice on h7 and combinations against the king in the center. A great number of examples are to the point and I was delighted by the examples from Alekhine and Capa. There is clearly something of value for most of us here.
But, in some cases the connection between examples and examples and text are not very clear. There are also a some instances of "... and white/black wins" where the continuation is not too obvious. With my modest rating (ICC Standard c.2000, handle: johanh) I also found a few examples where white/black does in fact not have a clear win at all and may even be lost if the opponent had defended properly. On the other hand it is always a good excercise trying to prove an author wrong. No-one is perfect and that's the beauty of chess!
Spielmann's The Art of Sacrifice in Chess is better though - simpler language, complete games and a more dynamic approach (structure vs. the initiative, sacrifices that win material/ lead to mate vs. sacrifices to obtain the initiative or an attack without being able to calculate to the end, etc.). I found Spielmann's book much more charming, revealing and also modern even though it was printed several years before Z-B's book.

Really, all combinatiions involve some type of tactics. And, and combination in particular involves piece capturing. For the novice or mid-level chess player knowledge of all tactics at all phases of the game (books on traps cover tactics in the openings - important to know, books on checkmates cover yet another type of tactic) - all important to know. Though an old book, using descriptive chess notation (which is akward for many), this is still a worthwhile book to consider. The ideas are clearly pointed out and will be helpful for improving your game! Just because a book was written many years ago does not necessarily mean that it will not be very useful!

Attempts to break down tactical patterns according to theme so the reader may recognize these patterns in his or her own games. Lots of text to go along with positions and variations (given in descriptive notation). Slightly more advanced than Reinfeld/Chernev's Winning Chess. Probably best used as an adjunct to one of those books filled with thousands of tactical problems. Like all Dover paperbacks, exceptional quality.

Znosko-Borovsky is a brilliant chess teacher; this and his How to Play the Chess Endings are his two best works. For the beginning tournament player, The Art of Chess Combination gives a wonderful, concise introduction to important motifs in attacking (and in some cases, defensive) play. Vukovic's Art of Attack in Chess is a good book, but after reading Znosko-Borovsky's shorter work felt it did not add that much extra.

The author does a tremendous job of introducing important tactical ideas, such "Geometry of the Chessboard," "The Knight's Star," and, what I consider to be the most important part of the book, the section on BxKRP+ sacrifices.

This is the most important work I have used to learn kingside attacking methods, and since reading it during my first year of playing tournament chess in 1996 have only supplemented it with some kingside attacking exercises, but not a tremendous amount. With this book, you learn what you need to do, and it sticks.

Other sources? Try these (I use quotation marks because I cannot underline and want to highlight the title):

"The Art of Attack in Chess" is good for more applications of the Bxh7+ sacrifice, and studying preconditions, other than that, it did not overly impress me.

"Play Chess Combinations and Sacrifices" by David Levy, is a good mix of instruction/advice, and exercises for the intermediate player.

"The Art of the Middle Game" by Kotov and Keres. In general I don't really like this book, but for the price it is worth the purchase if only for Kotov's chapter on opposite-wing castling attacks. His treatment of the topic is outstanding. (Keres's chapters are OK also).

"Attacking Technique" by Crouch (I had to order it from Austrailia!) is a nice, short book.

"Attack Like Mikhail Tal" by Tal and Damsky is excellent, but challenging for non-innate attackers like myself. A more advanced work.

Finally, because you need to hone your "hacking" skills somewhat no matter what type of player you are, get tactics workbooks which SPECIFICALLY stress kingside attacks (that would be sacrifices and other combinations).

Back to "The Art of Chess Combination." Many people on Amazon complain about books written in Descriptive Notation. My response is: Get Over It! So many classics of chess literature are written in this language (which I actually like). I used to struggle with DN also, but now I can read it as easily as I can algebraic, and you should be able to also.

this and "the art of the checkmate" by renaud and kahn, are two of the best tactical instruction books, not just positions to solve, available.

especially useful to those rated b and below by the uscf, uschess.org, this, the book cited above and "bobby fischer teaches chess" would be the three first books id give a young player to learn...it will enthrall him.

i am a uscf postal master

One of my favourite Chess authors, International Master Jeremy Silman, once gained 400 rating points after reading this book while a junior player. There is no better review of this classic than that, in my humble opinion. Tactics and combinations on the board make up close to 90% of weaker Chess games so it makes sense for one at that level to closely study them: Eugene ZB introduces the pupil to them in a nice, unhurried manner using language, albeit, that is quite ponderous from time to time and might take a re-reading to understand fully. All the better because the subject matter is key to your success at the Royal Game. Pick this book up and don't read another Chess book until you finish and understand it. Good luck!

The art of calculation and execution of chess combinations is explained lucidly in this book. I enjoyed seeing that almost all flashy combinations can be grouped and categorized by geometrical patterns that repeat themselves over and over again. This book is a masterpiece from a good writer and a pedagogue. Rarely do we find both qualities in chess writers.

Just to keep this short: For a few dollars you can get an older book (this uses the traditional descriptive notation) that is very humorous and insightful. The key is learning the deep principles of playing combinations--not just doing lots of puzzles. So this is primarily an instructional text that can be read in a few days and will be of value for anyone rated below expert level. Good Reading!

A few years ago, I had been playing my electronic chess at level 3 (of 9), and consistantly losing. After reading this book, setting up my own board and following along as strongly recommended, I demolished the computer. I originally bought this book at a used book store. This Holiday I am buying it for my brother, who has lately taken more of an interest in the game. I am a little concerned and feel that I should practice for when he has finished reading it.

This book is superb. The only book you will ever need on combinations & attack on the castled postion. Very advanced, recommended for players 1800+ (USCF).