Customer Reviews

WHAT'S THE BEST MOVE?: THE CLASSIC CHESS QUIZ BOOK THAT TEACHES YOU OPENINGS WITH NO MEMORIZING OF MOVE (Fireside Chess Library)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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No, it is not an opening treatise; but What's the Best Move just might teach you more about openings than any other general openings work in the whole literature of chess. I found this book in my favorite used/overstock store, misplaced in the sports section instead of in the chess section. Several times I looked through it, and foolishly put it aside because it only dealt with 1. e4 openings, and most of these were things like the Ponziani, the Kings's Gambit, the Two Knights, etc. I figured that if I wasn't playing these openings, I wouldn't get anything out of this book. Finally, however, upon seeing the good review here and seeing favorable mentions elsewhere, I took a chance on this book, and going through it has been an eye-popping experience. Evans brings you through several moves of an opening, giving you choices of three moves to pick at various spots. In the back are detailed explanations of why certain moves were wrong, and of which one was right. The explanations are incredible. They are lucid, poingnant, and highly instructive. The next diagram will show the same opening a little further on, and ask you to pick a move. White or black may not have played the right continuation up to that point, and you know this from reading the answers to the previous quiz. Thus, you start to recognize the appropriate setup in these various openings. What is even better is that the answers ulitmately have little do with the opening in question; that is, the thinking process you go through is applicable to any opening at all, and this book changes the way you look at openings. Plus, the positions selected will inevitably occur frequently in your games. It is ultimately the unique and effective instruction technique that Evans uses here that makes the book so wonderful. I thought I was reasonably proficient at openings until I went through this book. I since have realized that I frequently chose the second or third best move. Evans has opened my eyes and re-dedicated me to the opening. I consider this book absolutely essential to the intermediate player who really wishes to improve not only his openings, but his analytical abilities. Finally, the book is incredibly enjoyable to go through. Working through it I got the same feeling I had going through The Amateur's Mind by Silman; that is, that the instructor was right there with me giving me personal lessons. You will be very grateful that you bought this book.

This book is a wonderful collection of problems taken from early stages of chess games (they are grouped by the openings in which they arise). You try to pick which of three options is the best move under the circumstances. Unlike most problem books, this one tests and teaches not just tactics but strategic/positional considerations. Evans's explanations and analyses of the right and wrong moves are superb. It's ridiculous that the book is out of print, but at this writing Chess Digest apparently still has a few copies in stock.

This book really is a manual of opening thinking. In my experience it is unique among chess books in the instruction it offers. I didn't realize it until now, but this is exactly what I'd been looking for.

In selecting between three alternatives at various points in the opening Evans explains the considerations that led to his choosing one over the others. Although affected by concrete considerations, in most cases the advice is generalizable. By the way, this is way more sophisticated than traditional opening advice (eg. knights before bishops) but is still easily accessible to lesser players. If you take your time with each scenario and really try to internalize Evans thought process you are going to be very comfortable in unfamiliar opening positions. That plus some calculation skill for the concrete moments will get you a long way.

The book is old and in descriptive notation, but this is not nearly as distracting as it usually is because the move sequences are very short and there are diagrams for every position in question. I loathe DN, but I wouldn't let it stop you buying this little treasure. Also, you can get the positions from the book in PGN on the internet. The positions come from 14 open games, one Sicilian, and one English but the lessons are not really opening specific at all. There are 180 positions in all - that's a lot of instruction. If this book were re-released in algebraic with contemporary production qualities it could be a big hit.

On a brief inspection this book might look lightweight. Don't make that mistake! Very highly recommended for all class players.

Update: When I wrote this review the book was reasonably priced. It's very good, but it's not worth an outrageous price. Be sensible.

This is an excellent book to review basic openings, mostly the open games 1.e4. TYhe only thing is you will be dinged on a few things that are a matter of style. If you don't have a dynamic enough style which was popular when this book was published, you will get some wrong answers which would be correct by today's standards.