Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know [Paperback]

Igor Sukhin (Author), Vladimir Kramnik (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2007

Combinations have long been considered the most creative aspect of chess. From the vast sea of chess games a thousand combinations have been chosen: the most artistic, elegant, and famous. Yet chess tactics are not only for aesthetic enjoyment : they help win games.

 This book will expand your chess horizons and help you to

• See how chess combinations have evolved over the last 1,000 years
• Learn to recognize tactical patterns from real-life examples
• Improve your chances of finishing off your opponent with a tactical blow
• Find combinations missed by Grandmasters

 Chess Gems is certain to sharpen your knowledge of both tactics and chess history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

I opened it up and ... fell in love with it!

Igor Sukhin has created a thoroughly delightful book that is suitable for players from 1000 to grandmaster. CHESS GEMS serves the reader on several levels: tactical tests, chess history, pure reading enjoyment, fun, and instruction.

Needless to say, it gets my HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION and deserves a place in every chess library. -- Jeremy Silman

****************************************************

Seldom a chess book on combinations has impressed me so much as this work from Igor Sukhin. A fascinating read! --John Elburg Book Reviews, chessbooks.nl

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Mongoose Press; 1st edition (October 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979148251
• ISBN-13: 978-0979148255
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,193 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on tactics!, May 5, 2009

By 

Steven Craig Miller (New Lenox, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know (Paperback)

Back in the summer of 2007 I worked through the Russian edition of this book (even though I don't read Russian). I was very impressed with the collection of chess problems. Now that it has been translated into English, I'm going to work through the book again. The author works through the whole history of chess to present the best combinations from each period. The chapters are:
(1) According to the Rules of Shatranj, 9th to 15th centuries;
(2) From Lucena to Greco, 15th to 17th centuries;
(3) From Stamma to Philidor, 18th century;
(4) From Napoleon to Staunton, 1800-1850;
(5) Anderssen and Morphy, 1851-1860;
(6) First Unofficial World Championship Match, 1861-1870;
(7) Zukertort and Chigorin, 1871-1880;
(8) Steinitz -- the First World Champion, 1881-1890;
(9) Lasker and Pillsbury, 1891-1900;
(10) Matches of the Second World Champion, 1901-1920;
(11) Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, 1921-1940;
(12) Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, 1941-1960;
(13) Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, 1961-1980; and
(14) Karpov-Kasparov, 1981-2000.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great chess book on tactics, May 11, 2010

By 

TY - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know (Paperback)

I have several books on chess tactics. I bounce back and forth from book to book so I won't get bored with any one book. This book is probably in my top 3 as far as tactics go. Very well worth having in your chess library

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version not good!, November 21, 2010

By 

E. Meiners "pawnslinger" (Mesa, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chess Gems: 1,000 Combinations You Should Know (Kindle Edition)

I downloaded the sample of this book, and the diagrams were very small, and the figurine notation didn't have enough contrast to read easily. I suggest switching to straight algebraic notation and diagrams at least twice as big. If the publisher needs examples, look at Minev's book on Rook Endings, or the 2nd and 3rd versions of Muller's ChessCafe Puzzle books (the 1st version has small diagrams... but they fixed this in book 2 and 3). Chess books on the Kindle need readable diagrams and clear easy to read notation... this book doesn't have it at this time.