50 Essential Chess Lessons (Paperback)

by Steve Giddins (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Steve Giddins has chosen 50 supremely instructive games – some old, some new, and including many that few readers will have seen before. He has annotated these games in detail from a modern perspective, explaining the useful lessons that can be learnt from them, while avoiding the harmful dogma that characterized many older works of this type. Topics include: Attacking the King, Defense, Piece Power, and Endgame Themes. Each game is followed by a recap of the main lessons to be learned.

About the Author
Steve Giddins is a FIDE Master from England who plays regularly in international events and has frequently contributed to the British Chess Magazine. This is his third book for Gambit. He has gained a reputation as a writer who provides useful, no-nonsense advice on topics of genuine practical importance.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Gambit Publications (February 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1904600417
• ISBN-13: 978-1904600411
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #445,834 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

183 of 190 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book on Lessons using Games, September 12, 2006

A Kid's Review

Steve Giddins books seem to hit on some of the most important themes for players to learn and improve their ability to understand and play chess better. Gidden's two books, "50 Essential Chess Lessons" and "101 Chess Traps" being my two favorite Giddins books.
In Giddins "50 Essential Chess Lessons" he selects one or two important themes that he is trying to get across. There is exceptional clarity of thought brought onto paper! Mr. Giddins uses a lot of original games, not easy to find (or impossible to find) elsewhere. This is an excellent book for an intermediate player wanting to improve their overall understanding of chess.

50 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bedrock solid chess instruction, September 5, 2006

By	A.J. Goldsby I "A.J.G." (Pensacola, FL (U.S.A.)) - See all my reviews

<50 Essential Chess Lessons,> by Steve Giddins

When a friend suggested that I take a look at this book, I thought: "Oh great, yet another book aimed at the beginner." Yet this friend persisted - so I scanned the book at the local bookshop. I liked it so much that I purchased a copy for the local chess club. (We raffle off a free chess book at our local tournaments now.) I am also a chess master and teach chess for a living ... so I like to think that I know a thing or two about this subject.

First the basics. The publisher - Gambit Books - does nothing but chess. A solid book, flex cover, firm binding, acid-free pages with minimal 'bleed through,' excellent diagrams, (several per page); and top-notch editing. {You probably won't ever buy a real clunker from this publishing house.}

I thought that this was a good book, but when I got it home, I discovered that I was wrong. To quote Tony the Tiger, its GRRRRREAT!! (I gave it five stars, even though I had said I was not going to do this any more ... I try to save this for exceptional books. Well, maybe this is one of those cases.)

Why? Well let me explain. Most of the time when I recommend a book, some players will complain that "the book's subject matter is over my head," or that "it drowns me in a sea of variations." Not here, think of this as a "Nunn-LITE" book, the main emphasis is on teaching and explanation, and NOT on variations! (Much like Irving Chernev, although this book is in algebraic, of course!)

A Grand-Master once told me (many years ago) that there were only three proven ways to get better. One study method he said was to study COMPLETE master-level games, this book follows that edict to the letter. Fifty (50) nicely annotated games. (I had seen most of the games in this volume before, but the average player will not be familiar with the large percentage of these masterful struggles.)

I would say the main target group would be 1200 - 1799, although players on both ends of this spectrum should enjoy this volume. (I did, and my USCF rating is over 2200.)

There are 50 entries organized into five sections. (Attacking the King, Defence, Piece Power, Pawn Structure and End-Game themes.) All of these are highly instructional and annotated with lots of explanations and entertaining verbiage. For example, Game # 16, (Short-Timman, Tillburg; 1991); can be found on my website. But the player rated below 2000 will DEFINITELY want to review this game with Giddin's polished notes ... it will open many of the secret doors of chess knowledge for you. (Many of the themes and ideas that I commonly try to teach my students in the first 1-2 years are covered by Giddins in his analysis of these 50 instructive contests.)


I "fritzed" about five of these games with the computer, I found NO noticeable mistakes of any kind. I can offer no honest criticisms of this volume. ADVICE: I will note that the serious student will want to use a general reference work on the opening, (like MCO-14); when studying this book, just to see for themselves what the best lines are. (And to familiarize yourself with opening theory.) Additionally, the serious student should use a strong computer program to analyze these games, the author does not even try to examine every tactical possibility ... this would be impossible in a book of this size. (156 pages)

If you enjoy this book and get a lot out of it, then you may want to check out Neil McDonald's book, "Chess, The art of logical thinking," (from the first move to the last); by GM Neil McDonald.

In closing, this is a first-rate book, and I highly recommend it. I am certain that the average player will get a lot out of close study of this work, several of my on-line students recommend this volume to all of their friends. (The author is not one of the most well-known in the chess market, but perhaps this is about to change!)

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Lessons using Games for the Intermediate Chess Player, October 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

This is one of the best books that uses games as lessons. As a couple of the reviews have pointed it it may not have every move analyzed, but then this is not a book for a lower rated chess player, so it not so critical here.
What is nice is that "50 ESSENTIAL CHESS LESSONS" selects many important themes and is clear and understandable. Among the numerous books using games as lessons, this book is one of the best!