Patzer's review

In recent years, there has been a growing movement to promote greater gender equality in chess. One of the most influential chess profiles in this regard is Jennifer Shahade. A few months ago, I heard an interview with her on Daniel Lona's podcast, where Shahade talked about her latest book and some compelling stories about the most prominent female chess players throughout history. After hearing this interview, I felt that I was painfully uninformed about female chess players. Curious to find out more, I read her book Chess Queens . 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? Jen Shahade is an American chess player, writer, and commentator. She is a WGM and two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion. In addition to her work in chess, Shahade has also been involved in advocacy for women in chess and other fields, and has served as an ambassador for the game. Chess Queens...

I recently read and reviewed a book about the Fischer-Spassky match. While reading that book, I came across several references to another book on the match. So in order to properly commemorate the match, I decided to read one more. It is also considered to be one of the best books on the match, so I thought it should be worth it. 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? If you are looking for a book on the Fischer-Spassky match, look no further. That is, unless you're looking for a book on the chess itself. Because this book has hardly any chess in it whatsoever. This means that the book does not require  any  knowledge about chess. Bobby Fischer goes to war  is a pure biography on the world championship match of 1972. The book covers the events before, during and after the match.  Unlike The Match of All Time , this book does not give a history of c...

Pawns are the soul of chess. Who said that? I can't remember, but it was probably someone famous. Regardless of who said it first, many people agree that this is true. But few people seem to be capable of explaining why this is the case. Enter the niche category of pawn structure chess books. These books are really not a category of its own, but rather a specific type of strategy book. I first heard about the book when Neal Bruce presented his Pawn book championship  about a year ago. Since Neal named this book the best of the bunch, I just had to buy it. It has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time, and finally I've taken the time to read it. What did I think? Well, it's got a little golden star, so that's a hint it's a good book. Read my review to see why I decided to give it my stamp of approval. 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? I a...

Fifty years have passed since the famous match that made Bobby Fischer the World Champion. Many books have been written about Firscher in general, and this match in particular. And recently, a new book was published in which one of the match organizers tells the inside story of the match and what happened behind the scenes, before, during and after the match. I was very excited to read this book, and I am ready to share my impressions 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? As mentioned above, The Match of All Time  is a book about the World championship between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky in 1972. The match was played in Reykjavik, Iceland between July 11 and August 31. So this week, 50 years ago, Bobby Fischer became the 11th world chess champion. The Match of All Time  is written by Gudmundur Thorarinsson, who was the chairman of the Icelan...

Every chess player will sooner or later get into a grappling match with a tactics book. But which book is the best? While there is no clear and objective answer to this question, there are a few books that have a very good reputation. One of those books is 1001 Winning chess sacrifices and combinations by Fred Reinfeld. So the question is whether this book deserves a place among the "best" tactics books ever. In this review, I give my personal opinion on the matter. 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? 1001 Winning chess sacrifices and combinations  - or simply "Sacs n Combos" - is one of the many chess books written by Fred Reinfeld. As mentioned in a previous review of Reinfeld's  Attack and Counterattack in Chess  (in case you didn't already know), Fred Reinfeld was an incredibly prolific writer during the 50s and 60s. Sacs n Combos...

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 ...

How should you think during a chess game? This is a critical question. Chess is a thinking game, and therefore, improving your game means improving your thinking. That should be a fairly uncontroversial statement. So if you want to improve your game through better thinking, a book on the subject should be exactly what you're looking for. I wish I could say that this book is the answer to all your questions, but unfortunately, that is not the case. In this review, I will tell you what I like and what I don't like about The Improving Chess Thinker  by Dan Heisman. 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? The Improving Chess Thinker  is a book that aspires to teach you how to think about chess. The basic idea of the book is to record players at various levels as they "think out loud" about the position they are analyzing. In the first chapter of the bo...