Chess Fundamentals, Revised [Paperback]

Jose R. Capablanca (Author), Nick De Firmian (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2006 | Series: Chess

J.R. Capablanca was a World Chess Champion and one of the greatest players in chess history, yet he wrote very little about the game. Chess Fundamentals, though normally for the beginning player, contains valuable insights that will benefit players at all levels of understanding, including masters. Capablanca explains:

·How to obtain and nurture a passed pawn
·How to get and keep the initiative
·Cardinal rules for rook and pawn endings
·How to attack using knight as the main force
·How to cut off enemy pieces

Chess Fundamentals is one of the jewels of chess literature.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Random House Puzzles & Games (April 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812936817
• ISBN-13: 978-0812936810
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,088,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book - choice of several editions, October 6, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Chess Fundamentals, Revised (Paperback)

Chess Fundamentals will help you help the advanced beginner learn numerous fundamental principles with a nice focus on endgame and middle games skills. It will not replace books on getting a "Chess Guide for the Beginner", Tactics, Opening Traps or openings. I did not particularly like the way the Random House edition was done, because it changed some of the meaning of what the author way trying to get across. The "Everyman Press" Alebraic Edition is much better and comes across more clearly with the original intent of Mr. Capablanca.

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 5 for Capablanca / 1 for Nick de Firmian, December 17, 2006

By 

Alberto Dominguez - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chess Fundamentals, Revised (Paperback)

Appalling. Aside from converting the notation to algebraic, de Firmian's main "contributions" to this new edition are (1) to completely rewrite the chapter on the opening and (2) delete more than half of the games that Capablanca included in HIS book and replace them with games that can be obtained in dozens of other contemporary sources. Is he kidding?

If I wanted to read those games, I would buy a modern book. I bought a book by Capablanca (first published in 1921) because I wanted to read what Capa had to say. Shame on de Firmian for replacing his writing for that of Capa. If he wants to annotate modern games, he should write his own book, not butcher a classic. I recommend the reader interested in Chess Fundamentals to buy the Cadogan Chess edition (ISBN 1857440730) instead.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A disastrous edition of a classic book, December 8, 2007

By 

GrenfellHunt - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chess Fundamentals, Revised (Paperback)

Editor GM Nick DeFirmian butchered Capablanca's classic chess book--rewritten on page after page with De Firmian's ideas, not Capablanca's. Do not under any circumstances buy this edition: get the edition listed at Amazon as "Chess Fundamentals (Algebraic)". This preserves Capablanca's original text, but with algebraic notation.