Simple Chess (Everyman Chess) [Paperback]

John Emms (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002 | Series: Everyman Chess

It's been said many times before that chess is an easy game to learn, but a difficult one to master. The game is full of difficult questions such as, "What do you do when your opponent is skillful enough to prevent both checkmate and material loss?" However, once the principal strategic ideas are recognized, then everything becomes much clearer and the game becomes much simpler. In this book Grandmaster and experienced chess writer John Emms provides the reader with the fundamental knowledge required to enter every game with confidence.
-- A complete introduction to strategy
-- Important positional ideas are covered
-- Ideal for club and tournament players

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Chess is an easy game to learn, but a difficult one to master. A study of tactical play and some practical experience can get a player to a standard where they are skilful enough to prevent both checkmate and material loss. However, to advance from here to a higher level it is necessary to tackle positional play. This can appear daunting. However, once the principal strategic ideas are recognized, then everything becomes clearer and the game becomes simpler. In this book Grandmaster and experienced chess writer John Emms provides the improving player with the fundamental knowledge required to enter very game with confidence.This book offers a complete introduction to chess strategy, important positional ideas and is ideal for club and tournament players. (6 x 9, 144 pages, diagrams)

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857442385
• ISBN-13: 978-1857442380
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #453,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Its Good!, January 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Simple Chess (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

The reason this book is so good is that it has over 50 modern grandmaster games (and some other positions) that are clearly explained through a blend of vaiations and prose. Its an outstanding book. I find the games to be quite illustrative of the themes one encounters in Silman's Reassess or other strategic works. In this book you get to see how these strategic ideas emerge from the openings and how they are often resolved tactically. The book is also of managable size and depth so the serious amateur with limited study time can work through it in a timely fashion. Top stuff.

14 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Reasonable, March 1, 2002

By 

A. Ali "Harkonnen" (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Simple Chess (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

This book aspires to explain the positional basics. The title, "Simple Chess", is the same as a much earlier work by Michael Stean published in 1978. Indeed Emms cites Stean's book in the introduction.

Chapters in Emms' book cover ideas such as outposts, the two bishops, and the isolani. Many of the examples he gives are taken from his own games.

The problem is that many of the ideas are covered in other books (e.g. the two bishops are covered in Watson's "Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy"; similarly, the isolated pawn is covered comprehensively in Baburin's "Winning Pawn Structures"). Nor, I feel, does Emms' book shed any new light on these ideas. The notes are all right, but nothing spectacular.

In contrast, Stean's "Simple Chess" is a classic and both the analysis and discussion are exemplary (It is, however, extremely hard to find this book).I can't help but feel that Emms's "Simple Chess" is but a pale imitation of Stean's earlier work.

Who might find Emms' book useful? Perhaps a player in the 1400-1700 category, who either needs an introduction to positional ideas or doesn't wish to read more specialised literature.