Search This Blog

Showing posts with label Chess Book Face Off. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chess Book Face Off. Show all posts

Chess Book Face Off: Best Lessons of a Chess Coach Vs. Pandolfini's Endgame Course

In my recent efforts to continue to improve at chess, I've read through a couple more books on the subject. As always, I read books in pairs so that I can get multiple perspectives on a topic and learn it more thoroughly. Sometimes the books cover nearly the same material, and other times—like in this case—the books are only loosely related. The first book is Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by Sunil Weeramantry, a FIDE Master and highly successful chess coach. This book is the kind of book that explains a handful of games in intimate detail. The second book is Pandolfini's Endgame Course by Bruce Pandolfini, a USCF National Master and a more famous highly successful chess coach. Being a book about endgames, it does not go through full games, but contains an extensive collection of endgame positions to study. So both books were written by accomplished chess masters and coaches, meaning they have at least that in common.

Best Lessons of a Chess Coach front coverVS.Pandolfini's Endgame Course front cover

Chess Book Face Off: The Development of Chess Style Vs. Chess Endings

I've been getting back into chess lately, after taking a break for a couple years, and to get back up to speed, I've been reading quite a few chess books. I thought it would be fun to review and compare some of them, which is why I explored how to add JavaScript chess boards to the blog in my last article. Now I'll put that new feature to use while discussing a couple of chess books I've read recently: The Development of Chess Style by Max Euwe and John Nunn and Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge by Yuri Averbakh. Both of these books are somewhat older, being written in 1997 and 1993, respectively. That doesn't mean they're obsolete, because plenty of good chess books are also classics. Chess as a game is still progressing and theory changes, but the fundamentals are solid. Besides, one of these books is more about the history of chess, so it's only downside to being older is that it doesn't include more current developments.

The Development of Chess Style front coverVS.Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge front cover