The Times Winning Moves (Everyman Chess) [Paperback]

Byon Jacobs (Author), Ray Keene (Author)

Book Description

Series: Everyman Chess | Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Each year The Times daily chess column is voted by readers as the most widely read of all national chess articles in the UK. A key component of The Times daily chess coverage is the regular winning move feature. In these puzzles the player whose turn it is to move has available a knockout blow that obliterates the opposition. This book contains the pick of The Times winning moves. Every week readers are invited to solve one of the puzzles and a regular highlight of The Times newspaper's coverage of chess is the immense feedback from the reader mailbag where fans dissect and debate the solutions to these puzzles unearthed by the masters and grandmasters that originally played them. This book offers both instruction and entertainment. Players are able to hone their tactical skills by trying to guess the killer blow or simply sit back in the comfort of their home and enjoy the sacrificial displays concocted by the experts.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The daily chess column in The Times is the game's most widely read article in Britain. A regular part of the coverage is the Winning Move feature. In these puzzles, the player whose move it is has a knockout blow available to beat the opposition. This book contains the pick of Winning Move.
Every week readers are invited to solve a puzzle. The column attracts huge reader feedback, where fans dissect and debate the solutions provided by the masters and grandmasters who first played them. This book offers both instruction and entertainment. Use it to hone your tactical skills by trying to uncover the killer blow, or simply enjoy the sacrificial displays devised by the experts.

About the Author

Ray Keene is a grandmaster and is chess columnist for The London Times, the Sunday Times and The Spectator.

Byron Jacobs is a chess author and journalist who has written extensively on all aspects of the game.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Everyman Chess; 1st edition (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857443381
• ISBN-13: 978-1857443387
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #703,758 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good chess puzzle book, actual games, April 11, 2005

By 

Woodpusher (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Times Winning Moves (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

Well, what can I say more? The book is quite slim (so it travels well), there's 500 puzzles from actual games. The puzzles are not divided into any category, which is perfectly OK, because when playing your own games you have to know your tactical stuff well beforehand, you never know what lies within the position. Diagrams are big enough to pleasure your eyes. My only complaint is that there could be more (verbal) analysis with the solutions. But nevertheless, it does its job well.

Being 1500 player myself I feel they are perfectly challenging for me. Of course you should get your basic tactics skills honed, and for that job I like Winning chess tactics by Yasser Seirawan, and better yet, CT-ART 3.0 by Blokh (sorry if I remember wrong), Convekta software.

500 puzzles are great number of exercises, it's nice to try to solve these with board, but when travelling, for example, it's a nice companion.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine feast of chess puzzles offered up in this superb production, July 31, 2009

By 

Knight Hawk "jjl0113" (Chicagoland, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Times Winning Moves (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

Most puzzle collections target too broad a skill range, offering too many puzzles that are too easy and/or too hard for me. I'm rated about 1600, and nearly every puzzle in "Winning Moves" was within my ability to solve, yet most offered me a real challenge.

I don't read the London Times chess column, so none of the puzzles were familiar to me, even though some positions are from games played by the greats, long ago. Nearly every puzzle is a gem of the tactician's art; delightful to solve and savor. Every major tactical idea is well represented, including opening traps, middle game combinations, and end game finesses. All the answers (in English algebraic notation) were clear and convincing, with no dubious solutions!

A book of this type, which is subject to heavy use, benefits from high production values. "Winning Moves" is a quality production with crisp, dark, large type, printed on dense white paper. The plastic laminated cover stock is thicker than on most trade paperbacks, and resists creasing. The book's size is ideal for travel, and is thin enough to hold open easily. The covers are pre-stressed near the spine, to reduce tension on the adhesive binder. My copy is holding up well on this, my third solving of the puzzles.

The sharp, and ample-sized (4 per page) diagrams are in the USA standard chess font (Linares). Each diagram has algebraic coordinates along the left side and bottom. The clear diagrams invite solving directly from the page. No need to set up a board, which saves time and prevents cheating.

Captions quickly orient the solver to each position, without disclosing motif or method for solving. Each puzzle is identified by players, year, place, and event. All 500 puzzles are presented randomly (not by type) in one section, followed by a solutions section at the end.

I have not found any blatant typos or flaws in the analysis (very rare for a modern chess book). There are, however, one or two positions for which I found alternate solutions. I leave these for the clever reader to find.

I believe most intent puzzle solvers will agree that this is a truly exceptional puzzle book. Kudos to the London Times editors! I eagerly await their next puzzles offering.

5.0 out of 5 stars great chess book, October 19, 2011

By 

JAR (Ocala Forest, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Times Winning Moves (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

This book has kept my interest for the last two years. Taken from actual world class games, you must figure out the forced wins (not easy). Helps make you think like a master.