Customer Reviews

More Chessercizes: Checkmate: 300 Winning Strategies for Players of All Levels

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a Chess Master. I teach chess for a living. I have had literally hundreds of students.

All my students who come to me always have the [wrong] idea of what is wrong with their game. And this reminds me of those ads on TV late at night. All these weight and exercise programs ... but very few that actually work.

What is the secret of getting better? Studying tactics. (All the great chess teachers pretty much agree on this point.) But it has to be in a way that is proven, 'do-able,' fun, and not too terribly difficult. Otherwise it will be like that expensive exercise machine you bought, used once (!) ... and now it sits somewhere in a forgotten corner gathering dust.

Here then, is a study program for you to use. You can start at the front of the book and work your way through. You can jump around. You can do a few here and a few there. But however you do it, you will have fun. My advice? Work you way through this book 3-4 times, like several of my students. See if your game does not improve!

If you like this book, (and it works for you) then I recommend the puzzle book by Emms. You should also get "Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves," also by Pandolfini. The Polgar book. And of course the two most proven puzzle books of all time. ("The 1001 ..." problem books by Fred Reinfeld.)

Like GM Larry Evans said, "Until you get to the 1800-2000 level, your first name shoud be tactics, your middle name should be tactics, and your last name ..." !!! ..., how can you possibly go wrong???

This is a must have, every puzzle is a gem!! The book shows you the board in a certain position and tells you how many moves til mate and lets you find it! It is great!!

This was one of the first chess puzzle books I have purchased. I was a beginner when I got this. By the time I finished it, a couple years later, I considered myself an intermediate (USCF Rating ~1600). This book, and other puzzle books, are the backbone of being able to visualize and calculate better.

Pandolfini's format is good, moving from the most easy to the most difficult problems throughout the book. The player can progress at his own pace. I personally kept a notebook with all of my analysis as I went through the harder ones. I also used the book to warm-up before games, solving 5-10 problems. How you use it is up to your own creativity. The problems are good too I think, and simulate game-like positions. Also, the layout of the book is nice and makes it easy to use.

My only criticism is some analytical or typographical errors in Pandolfini's solutions. A couple times, I spent a long time on a problem, found a solution, and went to the back and found that I was wrong, only to re-analyze the problem (and eventually show it to friends) and find that his solution was incorrect. There were a few of these errors in the book (maybe 5-7 out of the 300 or so problems), and one problem where he had as White to move, and it was really a Black-to-move problem.

However, despite these errors, this is a good book overall, and beginners and intermediate players can benefit from solving the problems held within.

This book is perfect for learning and memorizing mating patterns. Studying the book requires no board so that you can go through it quickly again and again. This helps to build and maintain chess "calculating" skills and to recognize tactical patterns that emerge during actual play. Your ability to select candidate moves will strengthen as you increase your tactical awareness!

300 Chess puzzles ranging from Mate in 2 to Mate in 7, though most are in 3 or 4. Many of the problems are forced mates, which makes them a bit easier, but they still get to be pretty challenging. I think this book is ideal for players rated 1200-1500 or so.

It's not as good a value as Reinfeld's 1001 books, but it's still a good value. The only downsides are the typical Pandolfinian cover hype ("Invaluable for practicing traps and winning opening moves") and occasional errors. But it's still a good book.

EDIT 2/08: Looking back years later, I think it's fair to say that Pandolfini wrote this book with a pre-9/11 mindset. I don't believe these tactical exercizes hold up given the new global-political realities.

I found this puzzle book to be very helpful. The positions are realistic with realistic variety (approximately an equal mix of kingside castled positions and "exposed king hunt" positions with few queenside positions). Unlike the Reinfeld 1001 Checkmates, each puzzle in this book tells you how many moves you need to make to reach checkmate. I found that this forces me to look more deeply at the position because a lot of times you might see what looks (for example) like a simple mate in two but it is actually a mate in three. When this happens you know you've missed the opponent's best reply. Even though not knowing the number of moves would be more realistic, this is a very valuable exercise and it has actually led to an improvement in my ability to solve the Reinfeld problems. I deducted a star for a few errors but otherwise this is a great exercise book.

This is my first puzzle book and I find it to be entertaining. There a number of errors and mistakes. I found a couple of mates in 4 that were actually mates in 3. I find that disturbing in this age of computers. If you enjoy puzzle books then get it. But, it's not the best out there.

This is a great book for quickly developing a large array of game-winning strategems while working on pattern recognition skills. I now spend some of my time looking for decisive combinations, instead of simple tactical gains, and I am winning more games, much earlier, because of it. As well, this book provides excellent practice for plying deeply into a position. Take Pandolfini's suggestion to time yourself on each solution; this will also increase your general problem solving efficiency. This book is a simple yet effective tool to quickly improve our game, especially for we beginner to mid-level players.

I love working through this book. It has really taught me many types of mates and sharpened my mating eye. I now watch out for others trying to to mate me, as well.
The problems are not categorized other than by the numbers of moves to mate. He does not list the types of mates either. You figure out the different mating patterns while doing the mates in 2. Then you find them in the more complicated problems to follow. The diagrams are big, clear, and easy to read, and the pages are made of good quality paper.

If you are below 1200, you might find most of the mates in 2 challenging. If you are above 1600, you will probably find most problems to be just a warm up.

This is a good book for anyone 1200 to 1500. The puzzles are not very difficult, and not too easy. Its a great tool for learning mating patterns. Another thing I like about the book is that some of the longer puzzles use spite checks or other methobs to delay mate. Some may find the delaying part annoying, but I think its helpful bc it forces you to analyze a bit deeper than the usual forced moves, to see if your opponent has a way out.