David vs Goliath

What is it that separates chess masters from amateur players? That is a question that many people have asked. A simplistic answer is that the master is simply better at all parts of the game; openings, middlegame, endgame, calculation, tactics - you name it! On the other hand, this question has a quite complex answer. Former world champion, Max Euwe (together with Walter Meiden), has written a book that aims to illustrate the differences in how masters and amateurs approach the game. I have been curious about this book for a long time, and I have finally had the opportunity to read it and share my thougths on it with 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?

Chess master vs chess amateur is a book that for some reason does not get as much attention as other books. After reading it, I cannot see why. This is a book that has a lot to offer. It is full of practical tips for how to approach the game, and it is very well-written.

Before we get into the details of the book, let's begin with a description of its structure. And what better way to do that than through the authors' own words:

This book consists of a series of twenty-five games played between master and amateur. The early games of the book were played against beginners; later games, against coffeehouse players of various types; the last games against amateur book players.
Each game has been chosen to study certain aspects of chess.The introduction of the game lists the important points illustrated in the course of the game and discusses in detail one or two aspects of chess which are exemplified in the game.
As far as possible, the games are presented in order of their degree of amateurishness, but this order has occasionally been varied so as to present openings as a group or in some advantegous sequence. (p. xxix)

As indicated by the quote above, the games that are presented in order of "difficulty", beginning with quite elementary tactical mistakes and loss of tempo in the opening, progressing through more subtle positional details and the exploitation of weaknesses.

It is hard to imagine that this book is written by a world champion. Unlike many other books written by prominent grandmasters, this book has no examples whatsoever of "of-course-isms" (e.g. "Bh4 is of course bad in this position"). Rather, the reader is guided carefully through each example and each move.

The 25 games that are featured in the book seem to have been selected carefully in order to illustrate important principles and maximize the educational value. Here are some examples of principles and themes in the book:

The importance of time in the opening
Bringing the queen out too early
Central control - directly and indirectly
Passive play
Positional exchange sacrifice
Preventing castling
Using open files
Initiative
When to trade queens
Isolated pawns
Double pawns
The "Greek gift" sacrifice (Bxh7)
Focusing on a weak square

There are, of course, many other principles that are highlighted in the book, and all of them are explained through illustrative examples from complete games. There is even a little bit of opening theory for common openings, such as the queen's gambit and the Spanish/Ruy Lopez.

The book has a lot to offer in all parts of the game, but for the most part it highlights typical mistakes and misconceptions in the middlegame, which is why I have chosen to put it in the middlegame category as well as chess improvement.

The annotations are quite detailed and the main points are thoroughly explained. Overall, the content is presented in a very accessible and pedagogical way, which makes it very easy to follow the logic and extract the essence from each game.

Who should read this book?

One of the main chess book stores in Sweden describes this as a perfect continuation for players that have just passed the beginner stage and want to continue. I think this perfectly captures the spirit of the book. In my opinion, the book is very much readable for players who have come a bit further in their development. As stated above, it is very well-written and nicely presented, which makes it a delight to read. I would recommend it for all players up to about 1800 strength. Chess master vs chess amateur is a wonderful book in all aspects. So if you haven't already read it, I suggest you put it on your reading list. It will be well worth your time.

About this book

Author:	Max Euwe & Walter Meiden
Title:	Chess master vs chess amateur
Type of book:	Chess improvement, Middlegame
Level:	Beginner, Intermediate

Comments

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,...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

Patzer's review

Search This Blog