Positional Chess Handbook: 495 Instructive Positions from Grandmaster Games (Paperback)

by Israel Gelfer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The outcome of most matches depends on positional skills; the first player to establish a positional advantage gains the best chance of a successful direct attack. This complete guide, written by a grandmaster, can assist all players at every level in developing a more powerful strategic game. Spanning more than a century of chess, it presents examples on such themes as key squares, bad bishops, and pawn structures in ascending difficulty, with ample cross-references. 495 b/w illus.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Hebrew

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (October 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486419495
• ISBN-13: 978-0486419497
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,856 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Material for the Price, May 9, 2002

By A Customer

First off, this book is a compilation of strategic examples. The author groups these examples according to theme (Key Squares, Pawn Structure, Positional Sacrifices) and presents them with a few explanatory textual comments and variations. The author is far from prolix, so you should already understand the strategic themes and want to peruse a selection of illustrative examples and analyze them yourself. For the price, I feel this book is outstanding and one of the best of the Dover reprints. The author does not swamp the reader with Fritz like variations, but provides enough input to guide the independent reader on their way. For those formulating their approach to positional chess, the Positional Chess Handbook would be worth the $.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Concision in content means abundance of examples, December 2, 2007

By	John Bleau (Quebec, QC Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've rekindled my interest in chess and, not wanting to expend too much time on the game, have limited my reading to three books: on tactics, on the endgame, and on positional chess.

This book, serving the latter purpose, has 495 diagrams, mostly from practical games between top players, many of which are known classics. Each illustrates a point, and the author avoids copious variations. The moves usually extend from the diagram position to the end of the game. They are very well selected. As a result, my intuition has clearly improved in an important area of the game.

Gelfer's rigor is reflected in his impeccable English (no translator or editor is mentioned). I can't think of a single typo, in word or variation, and the text is clear, no nonsense and to the point. He seems to have honed the work, culled from his training manuals for the Israeli youth and women's teams, over years. This makes the book a pleasure to read.

My copy, which isn't a Dover edition (which have excellent bindings), is getting old (1993) and pages are beginning to fall out. But that's a good sign: it's due to the use the book has seen. Highly recommended.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Value For A Positional Chess Book!, August 17, 2004

By	M. Palang "Caissa And Jesse" (The Woodlands, tx United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an excellent book on chess. The diagrams are clear and can easily be followed through and the previous reviewer who commented that they were too small, was on my part greatly exaggerated and didn't do any justice. Buy one copy for yourself and decide. This book gave me countless hours of enjoyment and I am sure it will do the same for you.