Skip to main content

Everything you need?

You should not judge a book by its cover. I don’t think this has ever been more true about a chess book than in this case. Lev Alburt’s Chess training pocket book is an excellent book, but the cover is horrible. I first read about this book in a forum on chess.com, and one member described how he wrapped a piece of paper around the book so people on the bus wouldn’t think that he read a book about how to attract women through chess (however unrealistic that concept is). But don’t be put off by the artwork. Let’s take a look at the content instead.

What can you expect from this book?

According to the author, this tiny book (only 175 pages) contains the most important positions and ideas you need in order to improve as a player. The statement on the cover (”300 most important positions & ideas”) may be interpreted as an indication that the book contains all you need to know in order to become a strong player. Of course, this is not true.

It is hard to disagree with the fact that the 300 positions in the book contain important lessons, but seeing as the author has made a follow-up (Chess training pocket book II) with another 320 positions, it seems that you won’t get everything you need from this book. Rather, these positions should serve as a good foundation for more advanced studies and will most likely be useful along the way. In the author’s own words:
The 300 positions selected for this book will be useful to everyone, and will alert you to the kinds of positions and ideas that are essential to the development of your own theory.
The book has a short introduction that describes the logic of the book, how to practice and thought process. After these 17 pages, the remainder of the book consists of puzzles.

As indicated above, the book contains 300 problems to solve. These are distributed across 150 pages, with 4 positions on one side, and solutions on the opposite side. Unlike traditional workbooks (tactics, middlegame or endgame workbooks), this one is not organized by theme in any way. The point is to mimic the situation in a real game, meaning that you should not get any hint about what to aim for. In some cases you are playing for a draw, in some cases you have a mate in 4, and in some cases you can win material. There is no way of knowing before you dig into the problems.

I had this book as a travel companion for some time while commuting to and from work. The collection of 4 positions per page is perfect for a short training session, and the solution to each problem is a mini-lecture. If you want a longer training session, you can simply turn the page and do another collection.

Who should read this book?

As indicated by the quote above, this book can be useful for ’everyone’. I write this in quotation marks, as I do not think the book is for everyone. If you are just learning the basics, you will probably find this book way too difficult. And if you already are a strong player (rated 2000+), you will probably find many of the problems quite trivial. I would say that this book will sit best with readers with a rating between approximately 1400 and 1800. In other words, a good book for the average patzer.

About this book

Author:Lev Alburt
Title:Chess training pocket book
Type of book:Tactics/Middlegame/Endgame
Level:Intermediate
Labels:

Comments

  1. OscarNovember 12, 2021 at 4:11 AM

    It is unfortunate that the solutions are in the opposite page. It would be better if you had to turn the page to read the solution. Instead, you can't help seeing the solution as you look at the diagrams. I have to put a piece of paper covering the opposite page. Other than that, the cover is epic, way to go GM Alburt!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular reviews

Lessons with a Grandmaster

If you had actual lessons with a grandmaster, would you be brave enough to publish the transcripts? Well, someone did. And that someone wrote about it in book form — three books, to be precise. In this review, I present my thoughts on the first book in the book series Lessons with a Grandmaster . If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron!   What can you expect from this book? Lessons with a GM  is written in collaboration between Boris Gulko and Joel Sneed. Gulko is a grandmaster who emigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1980s. According to Wikipedia, he is the only player to win the Soviet as well as US Chess championships. Sneed is a professor of psychology at Queens College in New York as well as an amateur player.  In essence, this book is a game collection. There are 25 games in the book, all played by Gulko. There are some real heavyweights among his opponents, such as Kasparov, Karpov,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Master of strategy

During the past two years, I’ve been working on improving my strategic/positional play. In this process, I have read a number of books, and two books that have long been on my reading list are the strategy books by Johan Hellsten. So when the Swedish chess federation requested reviewers for two of these books, I didn’t hesitate. I am happy that I was given the opportunity to review these books, and hope this review can be of help to you as a reader. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from these books? Johan Hellsten has created a name for himself as one of the leading experts of chess strategy in modern times. His series of strategy books ( Mastering Opening Strategy , Mastering Chess Strategy and Mastering Endgame Strategy ) have received glowing reviews from many parts of the chess world. So it feels good to finally dig into these nuggets. His endgame book is still in my boo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Think like a Super-GM

In my previous review I mentioned how I would like to see an improved version of The Improving Chess Thinker , and that a book had recently come out that seemed to be perfectly in line with my ideas. A few months later, I have bought the book, worked through the exercises and read the prose. And finally, I am ready to give my complete review of the new book Think like a Super-GM . And I can tell you, I was not disappointed by this book. Read on to find out why you should probably get the book too. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from this book? As the title indicates, Think like a Super-GM is a book about thinking in chess. At its core, it is a puzzle book. But it is more than that. In the chapters surrounding the puzzles, the book digs into the challenges of thinking in chess and how the thinking process differs between players of different levels. The first chapter ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chaos on the board

Have you ever felt tired of chess? Maybe you’ve been uninspired or perhaps you think it’s too much work. To paraphrase a famous movie: All work and no play makes you a dull person. If that is the case, I may have a cure. You need a fun chess book. Something that will rekindle your joy for the game and inspire you to play creatively. I give you Tiger’s Chaos Theory ! This book found me at a time when I needed it the most. My inspiration and motivation to study chess was way down. And like a bolt from the blue, the Swedish Chess Federation approached me and wanted me to review this book. And the kind people at Quality Chess agreed to send me a review copy. An offer I couldn't refuse. So after this happy turn of events, I have a new review for you. If you like these reviews, please consider supporting my work. Visit my patreon page for details. Become a Patron! What can you expect from this book? Grandmaster Tiger Hillarp Persson, a multi-time Swedish chess champion, has al...
Post a Comment
Read more

My system should be your system?

One of the greates classics of chess literature. That's at least what it says on the cover. But let's not judge a book by the cover. Instead, we could listen to what others have said about this book. In his review of My system , John Watson writes: "We no longer consider many classics to be essential to a chess education, not since the Internet; but if there’s an exception, Nimzowitch’s work is it". These are big words from a big man. Watson is an authority of chess theory, so his evaluation should not be taken too lightly. Although My system has frequently been mentioned among the greatest books of all time, and has been recommended by many players , it has also been the subject of controversy. Of course, when the book was first published (almost 100 years ago), many ideas in the book challenged many of the established principles of chess theory at the time, and other authorities dismissed the ideas. But also to this day, many people are unimpressed with the b...
Post a Comment
Read more