Customer Reviews

Complete Chess Course

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is an excellent book if, like me, you are seeking a single book to study AND you only aspire to be a casual chessplayer. If, on the other hand, you are looking to become a competitive tournament player, this book probably isn't for you.

I'll take the word of some other reviewers that the analysis and openings are out of date. However, in my casual circle of play, it doesn't matter. Most of us can't tell a Giuoco Piano from a Steinway Piano, and most of us don't care. We play for fun, not competition. (I'm not slamming competitive players, merely recognizing that different people play for different reasons.)

This book helped me to become a better casual player. I can now make sense out of my games, and have a better ability to plan my game. It's made chess a lot more fun, even when I lose (a not-uncommon outcome.) The analysis isn't deep, but it's understandable and to the point. It's also relevant to the level of chess at which I play.

An outstanding book for beginners as well as advanced chess players. The book takes the player from beginner to the advanced stages of chess with outstanding advice on openings,middlegame and endings, all illustrated by master games. There are chapters on how to play the white and black pieces and a host of clear diagrams and easily understood explanations. All of this in a big book of over 600 pages. This book is a classic, without question. Although Reinfeld is criticized for making his books simple I dont find this to be a fault, but a virtue. This book is an excellent example of clear and easy to understand writing. Practice not knowledge makes the master. A GREAT book!

I stumbled across this book as a child when I ambled down the wrong aisle at the library - thus began a lifelong attachment to chess! I was astounded that so much could be written about a mere game. Reinfeld does several things which are guaranteed to get the beginner involved right off the mark:

1) No hero worship - The names of the masters who play the example games and positions are almost entirely omitted. Thus the beginning student is presented, not with unapproachable paragons of skill, rather, cold hard chess as it happens at the board.

2) Games chosen from the "golden" age - The games in the book are mostly from the 19th century, and highlight the basic themes beginners should understand in stark clarity. Many of the games are by Steinitz. You won't see the fantastically deep strategies of Alekhine, which are incomprehensible to a beginner. The book concludes with the great Pillsbury-Tarrasch game from Hastings 1895.

3) Explicit instructions on basic checkmates - Surprising how hard to find this simple material can be.

4) General tone of great enthusiasm for the game - Yes, the double exclamation points and so on are a little "homerish" now and then, but infectious for the beginning player.

5) Just enough about openings to allow the beginner to master the main lines - It would be foolish to overwhelm the beginning player with page after page of detailed opening theory. I'm convinced that only advanced players should study the openings it great detail.

6) A "break it down" approach - There may be 8 or 10 "bad moves" instead of 9 - nevertheless Reinfeld gives the beginner a "hook" to focus on and I entirely approve of this approach. In my case it made an instant and drastic improvement of my game. This part of the book might well have been titled "The Discoveries of Paul Morphy".

I could go on but I'll just say, this is a wonderful book for beginners and I wholeheartedly endorse it!

-drl

For the money, this is probably one of the better picks I have made. The language and terminology is quite usable in this large volume. The diagrams are very helpful. I can truely say that this work helped my game. Having played this wonderful game for over 52 years now, I am still what I consider a rank beginner. Having played this game competitively for a number of years, I learned first hand just how far I had to go and how far I had come (which apparently is not very far). For me, this was a good book. I found it quite helpful to stay centered. By the looks of some of the other reviewers here, I see we have some "real" experts who apparently gleaned little from this work. I feel great for them and certainly hope after another fifty or so years I will be able to reach their heights. In the meantime, I will enjoy this great game, have fun doing it, and still return to this work, if for nothing else, then a brush-up or tune-up. Sometimes the simplist things are overlooked. This work reminds you of those things. Recommend you add this one to your collection. For those beginners...you will find, after playing competitively, that there are many, many egos which sort of run amok in the world of chess, which can, if you let them, sort of ruin a very nice time. Ignore them and play on!

Don Blankenshp
The Ozarks

This is the most comprehensive book on chess I've ever read. Eight books in 1 volume include approx.1,000 diagrams with clear-cut advice on how to win, as played by the Masters. "The Complete Chess Course" is the key to succesful chess like Reinfeld's other 'Classics': "How To Be A Winner at Chess" and "Chess How To Win in 20 Moves Or Less" etc. are also required reading. "The Complete Chess Course" is yet another Reinfeld Winner in a 5-STAR CHESS Match.

I am a little baffled at the number of favorable, contemporary reviews of this book. These days, there are MUCH better books out there.

I first read this book during the Fischer craze around 1972. It served my purposes then. It had openings, and none of the other high schoolers of the time tried to book up at all. I was definitely better because of the book and I have some sentimental attachments from reading it.

I dropped Chess for 20 years and started back in 2001. I took Reinfeld's book with me to my first Chess camp and was privileged to have GM Art Bisguier as my instructor. He looked at my booked-up Sicilian from Reinfeld and said, "That's the way we used to play in the 50's!" I started back as a "D" player, started looking for new instructors, new books, computer programs, and dearly wished I had had these resources back in 1970s. Learning Chess is so much more clear-cut these days!

With the advent of the Russian immigrant wave, the Russian system of Chess instruction has been introduced to the US. Karpov, Kasparov, and the new "Anti-Nimzovitch" type modern players have really changed the game. In serious competition, Chess is much more about openings these days and the Reinfeld book is unfortunately outdated in that regard.

I'm a "C" player now, still trying to improve, and I help teach kids for my daughter's Chess team along with an "A" player and an Expert. I am always looking for new aids and ways to teach the kids. From elementary through high school level, there is remarkably little reading that even the serious kids do these days in Chess. There are many paths to get better.

If one is just wanting to learn Chess and not play seriously in competition, the book is adequate. These days for teaching kids, I prefer the Comprehensive Chess Course Volumes I & II (Chess Course Volumes 1 & 2 From beginner to advanced player in 24 lessions 3rd Revised and Enlarged Edition, Volume 1 & 2) to get to "C" level. It has emphasis in tactics and mating patterns, valuable elements I was missing in the 70s! It is programmed instruction format, so parents can read ahead and then teach kids without knowing a lot of Chess themselves.

Then, I would read a classic like Nimzovitch's My System (Chess Classics) and/or Chess Praxis: The Praxis of My System (Chess Classics) to get to "A" level. I like Chess Openings for White, Explained: Winning with 1. E4 (Alburt's Opening Guide, Book 1) and Chess Openings for Black, Explained: A Complete Repertoire to develop a repetoire of openings. There are SO many good books these days along with some real classics that stood up to the test of time. The Reinfeld book is a part of the history, but has not held up as well as other classics over time.

Reinfeld did not write this book for Bobby Fisher, or for the club expert for that matter. Those guys could write their own books. But he did write it for almost everyone else, which is about 99% of all chess players. I believe anyone from weak beginner up to USCF 1700 or 1800 could benefit from this book, or books, as it is really eight separate volumes Fred wrote way back in the 1950's. The first section is The basic Rules of Chess and the last two sections are Reinfeld's Winning Chess openings book, which, contrary to what some of the other reviewers think ,are still pretty good for most players. Sure some of these opening lines have changed, or been improved over the years - as this could also be true of newer books written just a few years ago. Chess openings contantly change, and sometimes the older lines comeback into style. Their is a very good endgame section, endgames dont change by the way,in other sections of the book their are some beautiful games showing how to take advantage of mistakes that are probably made by up to 99% of all chess players from time to time. All in all a very uncomplicated but COMPLETE chess corurse. I also like Reinfelds two tactics books 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate and 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices And combinations, these three books alone could make you a strong player and save you some money. Ok Ive given you enough information now, I may have to face you in a tournament someday.

This is a summation of Reinfeld's works on chess. I grew up on Reinfeld and Horowitz chess books. I am now a USCF rated class B player rated 1752. This group of books will take you to Class C USCF. This book is definitely adequate for anyone who just wants to play casual chess in parks and amongst friends. Enjoy!

Reinfeld is (was) one of the most user-friendly authors of introductory chess books. Reinfeld loved the game, explained it in simple and clear terms and made a reader believe he could play better chess too. This is a book for novices and lower-rated players looking for concepts and simple themes. For me this book has nostalgia value only (I'm rated 2150 USCF now) but I'd recommend this book for people who are casual players not looking for serious annotations with riqorous analysis, but do want something instructional that won't be over their heads. As a kid, reading Reinfeld WAS FUN!!

Way back in 1981 I bought this book. I don't think I have ever made such a tremendous jump in my playing ability since then with just one book.
Sure, I have gone on and reached new levels of play since then, but once somebody has read a beginner book such as Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess this should be your next book.
There are many great players with various courses out in the Chess world, but few have the ability to explain things so vividly and memorable as Reinfeld does.
Some works are timeless and this is one of them.
You can continue upward in your climb of knowledge but if you are just starting out in your quest for Chess knowledge this book will propel you forward and you will forever fondly remember all the things you learned from reading it.