Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas [Paperback]

Lev Alburt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

The most important and instructive positions over the last 100 years arranged as challenges, with illuminating explanations and solutions. Lev Alburt, Grandmaster of Chess and renowned three-time US chess champion, presents and analyzes the 300 most important game positions an average player should understand and remember to become a chess expert. These most crucial and instructive positions taken from games over the last 100 years are arranged as challenges, with instructive explanations and solutions on facing pages. Besides giving students this essential knowledge, this book also helps them to train their chess abilities and improve their skills steadily and efficiently. These practical exercises, easy to read and to understand, take the reader from beginner to tournament-strength chess player.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Grandmaster Lev Alburt, a three-time U.S. chess champion, has spent years translating secret lesson plans used to produce a long line of Soviet world champions. His "Comprehensive Chess Course" series is the result. Alburt lives in New York City and teaches at the Chess Information and Research Center.

Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: W W Norton & Co Inc (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889323047
• ISBN-13: 978-1889323046
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,976,226 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't Get Me Wrong..., June 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas (Comprehensive Chess Course Series) (Paperback)

I thought the book was both educational and interesting. I've gone through the book over a dozen times in the last three months as well as using ChessbaseLite to test myself on these same 300 positions. The positions definitely cover a great deal of topics: elementary tactics, endgames, calculation techniques (when to stop), quiet moves, and so on. I've definitely got my money's worth. HOWEVER, I gave the book 3 stars for two reasons. First, I resented the subtitle's "Most Important Positions" - it is a crude marketing gimmick that implies that you're getting something that you aren't going to get elsewhere and that there is something unique in the book's arrangement - there isn't. This is a tactics book and if you already own a few, don't worry that you're missing some "Russian chess secret" contained here. Second, other reviewers have gone way overboard in praising this book as though it were a comprehensive organized chess guide: it isn't. It is a solid tactics book you don't really need if you have a few already.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best tactical exercise book available, May 4, 2006

By 

L. Wolfley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas (Comprehensive Chess Course Series) (Paperback)

I'm not a big fan of Lev Alburt's other works, but this particular book is a real gem.

The size, layout, and selection of chess problems is the best I've ever seen. The book does not fall apart after a lot uf use either. I sometimes wonder if some of the other tactical exercize books were designed intentionally to self-destruct.

The book is smaller than average, and easy to carry around. The board size displayed and text solutions are larger than in most puzzle books and easy to see/read.

Many of the problems are common themes that occur over and over in actual games.

Not all the problems have a solution. Some are trick questions, where the apparent solution fails because of a hidden resource. This makes you look at each position more critically.

The problems are not arranged in any particular order. Some puzzle book authors seem to think we want a clue to the solution before trying to solve them (i.e. arranging problems by tactical theme). This is not one of those.

There are many practical endgame problems included, such as the Lucena technique and Philidor defense (rook and pawn vs rook drawing method).

The solutions are on the opposite page of the problems. This is very convenient. I don't have to look in the back of the book for the solution, and the solution is not staring me in the face while I'm trying to solve the problem. It's a perfect placement.

The solutions have a verbal explanation and most include the players involved. If the actual player to move missed the combination, that is also mentioned.

Most players will find these problems challenging and the book is suitable for any chess player of any rating. If you find all these problems simple, then I'd guess you already went through the book before. The correct solution to many of these problems were missed by grandmasters in an actual game.

I gave my copy of this book to a friend who really wanted it. Now I have buy it again.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best chess book I've seen for medium-ability players, January 16, 2001

By 

David Kennedy (Shippensburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas (Comprehensive Chess Course Series) (Paperback)

After working with a number of Pandolfini books (some of which were useful, some of which were not) this was my first experience with Lev Alburt, and it has been a good one. The big question when buying a chess book is "Is it at my ability level?" My tournament rating is in the 1200's. I felt that I've improved as much as I can by playing on the Internet, and needed to LEARN more about chess strategies in order to get better. The examples in this book are perfect for me. My mind is expanded again and again with new chess concepts in this book. I might not see these exact situations in real games, but probably will encounter variations on these themes. The way the book is organized, Alburt shows a picture of a board and lets you think about what you should do. Then he presents the "answer" which is usually 3 to 6 moves long. Not all are fancy checkmates; many are just ways to pick up a knight, for example. Alburt's explanations of why another line of play is not best are kept to a minimum, but when one is needed it's there. I am so glad I bought this book! For players rated 1150 to 1450 this book is ideal.