How to Reassess Your Chess: Chess Mastery Through Imbalances

About 30 years ago I reached the heady heights of around 1950, but haven’t played since. My ten year old son started playing competitively just over a year ago and is now playing at around 1450. I am only playing against him so it is difficult to gauge my current level, but I believe I may only be around 1550. Definitely not good enough to teach my son without any aids. After reading reviews, I bought this book a couple of months ago. I believe this book is pitched at the right level for both of us. We both find it difficult. And very thought provoking. I feel that my son could not go through this book by himself, primarily because it is too long and the language used is definitely not pitched at a 10 year old (even though he has a great vocabulary and general knowledge for his age). I find the writing interesting but feel I need to skip over some of it when I am going through this with my son. So far, we are only on about page 65, but I can see that this has definitely changed the way we are thinking about positional imbalances, knights and bishops (being all we have covered so far). I certainly wish I had this knowledge/way of thinking 30 years ago and it is now hard to imagine how I could have been a 1950 without knowing what I have learnt from this book over the last couple of months. This is certainly going to be a long slog and I doubt we will get through it in much under a year, but if we do get through it I feel it will have totally changed our game. It will also be a springboard for later books. I find it difficult to give this five stars as we have only just started it, but so far it has been great so have reluctantly done so. Looking forwards to the rest of the book.

I bought the paperback of this beauty. An absolute must own. I started playing again when I was 35 when I randomly began playing a friend on a vessel I worked on. I knew about pins and forks and general rules of thumb but this grounded key concepts that I keep coming back to time and time again. What it means by timing, tempo, iniative. How a chess board can change dynamically over the course of the game and it teaches you what to look for when assessing a current situation and it does this by teaching you about what Mr Silman calls "imbalances" on the board. The book answers the question of "What should my next move be?" and more important than that. It tells you "why". I don't think I have enough time on my hands to ever be a grandmaster but it doesn't stop my love of the game and with minimal time of study (reading on the toilet even! and going through some games at a desk) my ranking went up from 1200 to 1500. That was thanks to Mr Silman. This is an absolute must buy and the paperback version is better for the "flickability" factor. If you're a person who just stated playing and you've ever been stuck in the middle of a game wondering what you should do next then get this book. Incredibly readable and packed with key underlying concepts. It will take you to the next stage of your chess adventure. It's a great game to play and this is a great book.

I am no chess expert. I love the game but have struggled to get a lot better. I have only really started reading this book and it may take a lifetime to really fully absorb all that's in it but so far it is giving me a much more rounded view of the game than merely sharp tactics. The concept of a "plan" scared me because I really didn't know what it meant in a chess context but Silman does give you the means of seeing a "plan" (although he doesn't like the word) by assessing imbalances across the board. It is an obvious concept really but explained well and humorously and I must say a very enjoyable read.

When I read Silman's book: "The armatures mind" I was disappointed, in fact I did not think much of this book; this naturally put me off ordering the book: "How to reassess your chess." I took the gamble, and it paid off. This is a first class book and good value for your money, for the amount of information contained in this book. Jeremy Silman has a good sense of humour through out his writing. I do agree with one of the pervious comments that some sample games did leave me a bit cold, also I found a lot of deviations in the book, you are working your way through a game and there is the same game which can have a different out-come. Having said that; the information is there should you require it. There are plenty of test; too many in my opinion. As I worked my way through the book, I ended up only doing some of the test; they are too time consuming, but they do ram the point home; if that is what you want, that's a bonus? One warning I must give: this book takes a long time to work your way through, so don't expect just a few weeks read, it has taken me months, it's hard work, but the results are worth it; definitely a chess book to keep on the shelf for future reference.

This book is pitched perfectly for my level - I’m at the bottom end of the rating recommendation for the book and I can feel it does stretch me but it’s not overwhelming. I can see my thinking improving in games already - I’m only a few chapters in. A great book if you want to tackle more advanced yet core principles of chess.

Silman is without a doubt my favorite chess writer and he does not dissapoint. Read from cover to cover this book will strengthen your game and give you great tools (and a new way of thinking?)the next time you sit down at the chessboard. Alone or together with the reasses your chess workbook I feel it is impossible not to substansially improve if you work on this material. Probably suitable for 1300 and way way up.

Quick delivery, arrived in perfect condition. The book itself is fantastic and full of humour. Get your board and set up some of the exercises and you’ll learn more about positional chess in no time

What a fantastic chess strategy book. Highly recommend.

Jeremy Silmans Buch ist ein ebenso gelungener wie umfangreicher Versuch dem typischen Vereinsspieler wichtige Aspekte des Mittelspiels anhand des Konzepts der 'Imbalances' nahe zu bringen. 'Imbalances' sind für Silman all das, was die Position des einen Spielers von der des anderen unterscheidet. Das kann ein Kampf zwischen guten und schlechtem Läufer oder zwischen Läufer und Springer sein, ebenso wie der Gegensatz von Bauernschwächen auf der einen Seite zu dynamischem Potential auf der anderen Seite. Nach einer kurzen Übersicht über die verschiedenen Typen von 'Imbalances' widmet er den wichtigsten dann eigene Kapitel, wo er sie detailliert und mit vielen Partiebeispielen erläutert. Das Spektrum an Partien reicht hier vom Anfänger-Internetblitz bis zum Turnierkampf zwischen Magnus Carlsen und Wladimir Kramnik. Zudem gibt es ein Kapitel namens 'Psychological Meanderings', das illustriert, wie uns oft unsere Psyche daran hindert, gutes Schach zu spielen, obwohl wir es eigentlich könnten, und wie man diese Hindernisse überwinden kann. Alle Kapitel sind mit Übungen versehen, zu denen es ausführliche Lösungen gibt. Silman benutzt einen sehr informellen Stil und schreckt selbst in Analysen nicht vor Slang-Ausdrücken zurück. Ob man's mag, ist natürlich Geschmackssache, und durch einen prägnanteren Stil wäre das Buch vielleicht auch etwas kürzer geworden. Andererseits gewinnt das Buch dadurch an Unterhaltungswert und vor allem spricht es den Menschen an, der Schach spielt, und spricht nicht nur über Schach im luftleeren Raum. Man merkt Silman bei jeder Seite, die er schreibt, seine langjährige Praxis als Trainer an. Ohne viele andere Schachbücher dieser Ausrichtung zu kennen, will ich insgesamt dem Buch von Silman eine klare Empfehlung aussprechen. Schachspielern ab 2000 DZW mag vieles etwas zu elementar sein, aber jeder (jetzt noch) schwächere Spieler wird hier Vieles lernen können.

Discipline and Concentration and Perseverance.

É um livro praticamente completo! Um monolito pesado de 600 páginas que certamente tem muito o que ensinar e explica de uma forma onde passa a informação de forma séria e concreta mas também entretendo para te manter lendo até o fim. E página após página, o que você aprendeu vai sendo cada vez sendo usado, então se prestar atenção e anotar bem os conceitos, é praticamente um curso em um livro. O papel das folhas não é exatamente adequado para passar marca texto, e se deixar muito tempo aberto pode deixar a página "viciada" (já que é capa comum de papel), mas se não tiver problema com tipo de papel, é excelente. Ainda vou dedicar uns meses estudando e ao terminar relatarei as mudanças que tive.

Silman est très pédagogue (idem dans son manuel des finales) et enseigne des concepts stratégiques qui permettent au joueur de club de progresser dans bien des domaines.

First a little about me: I'm in the 1400 to 1600 range. I haven't read the original HTRYC, so I can't make any comparisons. I've spent over 100 hours going over this book from cover to cover. Second a little about the book: The book is on positional chess (aka the middle game). It's not about tactics or checkmates. It's about how to recognize key differences in your position versus your opponent's position and how to develop a strategy to make your position dominate your opponents. The book is divided into sections of positional principles (example: recognizing targets and fixing them as permanent a weakness). For each principle, several games are given as an example that highlights the particular topic. Silman's commentary is excellent. Often he analyzes a position by talking only about ideas without even mentioning particular moves. This was the most helpful part of the book for me. He also gives a lot of variations many of which I quickly glossed over. As a reader, you will have to study the book based on your level. At my level, the ideas are the most important, and I shouldn't get sidetracked with variations. At the end of each chapter/positional idea, there are test questions. At first, I thought the problems were really hard, and I couldn't solve many of them. But going over the answers which are explained very well both with ideas and variations was really helpful. Towards the end of the book, I was able to at least partially solve almost every problem even the ones that were rated 2000+. I didn't always find the correct moves, or the correct move orders, but I was able to evaluate the position and understand the ideas behind the position (what should be white's strategy and what should be black's strategy and what moves make sense for both sides). Sometimes I picked the 2nd best move, etc but I was still picking good moves that addressed the positional battle! Style: The writing and style are excellent. Silman uses conversational English and a coaching tone that is pleasant. It's obvious that he's passionate about positional chess and really enjoys teaching it. The book is fun to read. The book itself is large with a nice amount of white space that makes it easy to study. Is it for you? Silman recommends this book for 1400 to 2100 range. I can't speak for the upper range, but the book was definitely challenging and beneficial for me. I'm going to completely re-read it in about six months and go over each lesson much more slowly and carefully (100hrs is sprinting through this book). If aren't already very comfortable with the basics, tactics, and checkmate patterns, pick up a few books on tactics and solve 1000 tactical problems first and then get this book. Like me, you won't get everything the first time through, but you will learn to properly think about chess and develop a strategy. Could it be better? I would have benefited from more analysis in English (instead of an explanation in algebriac notation) and discussion of ideas, and fewer variations, but realize this is coming from my level. Higher level readers will need the variations. Ideas must be tactically sound and if you are analyzing master games, you must demonstrate that the idea is tactically sound. As it stands, this book is a masterpiece which I will re-read many times.