Best Lessons of a Chess Coach (Paperback)

~ (Author), Edward V. Eusebi (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Best Lessons of a Chess Coach welcomes you to the of the master. Sunil Weeramantry is a strong player, but more important, he's a gifted teacher -- one of the most successful the U.S. has ever had.... His inexorable logic should clear away misconceptions and start chess players looking at the game from a fresh perspective."

-- from the introduction by Bruce Pandolfini

This series of lessons by the master player and nationally recognized teacher Sunil Weeramantry brings the fundamentals of strategy and tactics to life and shows players at all levels how to think like a master. -- Review

Review

"Best Lessons of a Chess Coach welcomes you to the of the master. Sunil Weeramantry is a strong player, but more important, he's a gifted teacher -- one of the most successful the U.S. has ever had.... His inexorable logic should clear away misconceptions and start chess players looking at the game from a fresh perspective."

-- from the introduction by Bruce Pandolfini

This series of lessons by the master player and nationally recognized teacher Sunil Weeramantry brings the fundamentals of strategy and tactics to life and shows players at all levels how to think like a master.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Random House Puzzles & Games; 1 edition (February 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812922654
• ISBN-13: 978-0812922653
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #510,254 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best intermediate level books around!, September 13, 1999

By A Customer

I own a chess library of close to 100 titles. If I was only allowed to keep 10, this book would be one of them!

This book is extremely easy to read and follow: there are no typos and the socratic teaching style is fun and entertaining.

It covers the subjects of strategic planning and methods of conducting the attack. The method is to carefully disect a number of master games and examine the motives behind the moves. The difference is that this book does so using lots of words! (not endless variations and nonsensical symbols like some other books do). As a result, the reader will actually feel as though they can start understanding how a master formulates a plan during an actual game.

This book is probably best suited for players rated between 1200 - 1700 USCF.

It would ideally be read after reading a more basic book on chess such as "Logical Chess Move by Move" by Irving Chernev, or "Play Winning Chess" or "Winning Chess Strategies" by Yasser Seirawan.

By reading one or two of these other books first, it would assure the maximum learning value by reinforcing and then expanding on what is taught in these other, more elementary texts.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Coach Puts The Question To The Player, September 19, 2001

By A Customer

"What has White gained after all these trades?" Weeramantry asks his readers about a position, "Who stands better and why?" Weeramantry expects active participation, not just passive reading and shuffling of pieces on a chessboard - again and again he challenges the reader. "How does Black continue the attack?" he wonders, "Let's analyze this together. You play Black and I'll play White."

Weeramantry is a great coach and it shows: he questions the ambitious player about individual moves ("Why is 8. fxe5 bad here?") and long-term positional considerations ("On which side of the board is White strongest? How should he proceed?")

The ten lessons in the book are based on ten games - mostly played by Weeramantry, a FIDE Master - that exemplify attacking principles using weak squares, weak color complexes, piece coordination, and initiative.

He assumes an advanced beginner and intermediate player level of knowledge. Openings are discussed mostly in terms of general principles and their effects on planning. He shows how plans evolve out of pawn structures, piece placement and enemy counter play. Weeramantry does not forget to explain how weak pawns, decentralized forces, pawn majorities, all affect a player's decision to seek or avoid the endgame.

Weeramantry summarizes each lesson with guidelines, advice, and supplementary games (about 30-50 extra games in all). There is a lot of practical advice, encouragement, words of warning, and general consideration for readers of all strengths.

"With that in mind, what next? How do we keep the attack going?"

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A quick, easy read for early intermediate players, August 22, 2002

By	Christopher B. Hoehne "Brad Hoehne" (Columbus, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a great teacher Sunil Weeramantry is! In this book he goes through 10 entire games- one per chapter. Using a breezy, entertaining and verbose (for a chess book) Socratic dialog between himself and unnamed "students", Weeramantry walks through the major themes and strategies of his chosen games. Often, his very realistic "students", get answers wrong, and the author carefully steers their thinking to more promising ideas. With this, he guides his reader toward discovering various chess concepts for themselves. Happily, if you find yourself stumped, the answers are right there.

Many of the games are contemporary (of 80's and 90's vintage), engaging, and tactically juicy. About half are taken from Weeramantry's own, sometimes flawed, play. (But that's the point.) The themes covered include all aspects of the game from the earliest moves onward.

Each themed chapter can be read in about an hour, which makes this book a much swifter read than the average chess book. At the end of each chapter are a half dozen or so supplimentary games that follow similar ideas.

If you're rated 1000-1500, ten hours with this book should improve your game immensely. While very rich in ideas, it could easily be read by a bright and experienced 10-15 year old. Indeed, I suspect that many of Weeramantry's hypothetical interlocutors are inspired by real students- most of whom are bright youngsters themselves.

I found this book as useful and fun as the more well known "Logical Chess: Move by Move"- which I would recommend as a prelude to this book.