Customer Reviews

Chess Target Practice: Battle Tactics for Every Square on the Board (Fireside Chess Library)

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

 

 

I would like give this book 4.5 stars.

It has 200+ puzzles, basically. Majority of them are good
for 1000-1500. 1500-1700 rated people will benefit b/c
of the practice, b/c there are definitely some tough ones.

negative point:

this idea of "target" really does not work evry well
in real life. These should have been presented in
different context. e.g. What is white's best move?
Then, each could have been explained in terms what
should have tipped off the reader to the break
through tactics.

It still deserves 4.5 stars b/c they are so many
to practice with and they are all good ones (some
are easy, sure, but not all).

If you are over 1700, most likely you will not benefit
from this.

This book is for beginners. Just for beginners. It has lots of "nice" positions but it's _too_ easy and obvious. I didn't like the comments on each problem - sometimes Bruce is very ironic and looses the _real point_

Bruce Pandolfini shows his true abilities as a chess coach and player by writing this introductory/continuation of the ancient game chess. The book covers every square of the board, going over such battle tactics as the more obvious skewer, fork, basic trapping, to the subtler pin and Zugswang. He shows and teaches the player how to recognize the piece to be exploited, and how to do it quickly and visciously, leaving your opponent floundering in your mighty wake. I highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone wanting to beat their opponent.

Other than the "target practice" angle, which seems like a hook on which the prolific author could hang another book, this is a good volume for introducing--and reinforcing--basic tactical elements. He could have just as easily titled it, "Tactical Chess for Beginners" but publishers probably prefer catchy titles. Either way, pins, forks, skewers, discoveries, double attacks, sacrifices, and trapping comprise the bulk of the material.

Large, clear diagrams, which is good since there's one on every page. A gripe I have with many chess books (at least those that include puzzles or challenges, and this one is no exception) is that it is too easy to see the answers when they directly follow in the text. In his own book, Josh Waitzkin relates that his father would tape over the answers so he couldn't peek! Some books put the solution on the next page but obviously that takes up extra space or at least requires creative formatting.

The Pandolfini-sms are out in full force here. Some are funny, some wincingly so. For example:

Loose pieces are lost pieces.
A rim knight is a slim knight.
Nothing is safe against the sac.
The b-pawn can cause indigestion

A short test with a further ten positions is included as an appendix.

Ultimately this book would be fine for beginner or intermediate players who need to get a handle on attacking themes. I don't know how many of the positions came from over-the board play and how many were created expressly for the book or for Bruce's lessons. I would have liked to see the OTB ones (if there were any) attributed accordingly, and if there in fact weren't any, some should be included; it's nice to know that book learning can actually be used in practical play.

I noticed a couple typos but they are in the English text and don't impact the lessons. A solid book.

3.25 stars

This book is just too basic to be of any real use... The comments that Bruce makes are also a bit annoying on a few problems etc... Also I think they fail to capture the real point sometimes as well. If your rated about 800 and wanna make it to maybe 1000. Thats about as far as this book can take you at best to be honest. Try a book like The Mammoth book of Chess, or Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. Just to name to starter books that would help you more. If you wanna be another stepping stone for someone. Then by all means invest and waste your money in this book.

I thought this was a neat book. This book explains how to handle hand to hand combat for each and every square. I would reccomend this book to all beginers.