Mastering the Nimzo-Indian: With the Read and Play Method [Paperback]

Tony Kosten (Author)

Book Description

Series: Mastering the Openings | Publication Date: June 30, 2003

The Nimzo-Indian is one of the game's most important openings, popular at every level. This superb manual utilizes the "Read and Play" method to explain typical plans and themes, rather than diving into dense reference material.


Intermediate

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Batsford (June 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0713483830
• ISBN-13: 978-0713483833
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,392,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where ALL Nimzo-Indian players need to start., June 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mastering the Nimzo-Indian: With the Read and Play Method (Paperback)

This book is an excellent starting point for learning the Nimzo-Indian. You learn all the basic ideas, such as pawn structure, weaknesses (such as c4 for white, repeatedly mentioned as one of White's weaknesses in many lines), certain tactical ideas that appear in certain pawn structures, weaknesses you must watch out for in your own camp, etc. Also has an annotated game at the end of each chapter. I would highly recommend reading this book first, and only after that, read a book that has a good number of annotated games, such as "New Ideas In The Nimzo-Indian Defense", also by Kosten.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the first place to start, April 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Mastering the Nimzo-Indian: With the Read and Play Method (Paperback)

Not a bad effort, and instructive in terms of general strategies and pawn structure (which appears to be the aim of the "Mastering" series.) However, as an intermediate player trying to learn the opening, I felt that it was lacking in terms of nuts and bolts. A book like John Emms's "Easy Guide to the Nimzo-Indian" would be a better place to start.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Some good information, but not so good binding..., July 30, 2005

By 

Wallace Hannum (Berkeley, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering the Nimzo-Indian: With the Read and Play Method (Paperback)

Kosten is one of the few chess authors I actually enjoy reading. He usually presents quality work with original ideas and analysis. This book has some good explanations about the positional themes within the Nimzo, but it is not meant as reference work or as a place to fill out your repertoire. Of course, it IS a nice place to start if you want to understand why theory develops the way it does it certain lines. Basically, what are the two sides fighting for within the pertinent lines. From a pedogogical standpoint, I would recommend it to players under 2000 who want to explore the ideas behind the Nimzo rather than trying to memorize the moves or basic themes.
However, as another reviewer mentioned, the binding on this book is bad. The pages will slowly (but surely) fall out as time goes on. And no, I haven't read it 20 times or something. Also, if you try to lie it flat (so you use your hands to move pieces on a board), you'll find that the binding cracks under even slight pressure. It might seem weird to some of you, but I would not recommend buying this book because it is so poorly manufactured. It is frustrating.
However, if you see it in a library or can borrow from a friend (who won't freak out if some pages go AWOL) then go for it. Understanding structure and how to plan based on it is one of the biggest differences between strong and weak players. This book can help you play the Nimzo better once your theoretical knowledge runs out.