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Summary: The Bible
Review: In my sense of things the book is to be regarded as "The Bible" because it lays down everything you should know before entering heaven 'as in mastery'. Although myself being a mix between christian and atheist, I still understand the main ideas of the bible and it's common morals. "My System" subjects itself to be the Bible of the chess world by explaining important views such as the 7th and 8th ranks and they must be defended and attacked at all costs. Passed pawn strategies as well as the main ideals of blockading, not only passed pawns of course. Alas, knight outposts that protect and defend the center by covering important strategic points. Although I haven't read the whole book yet, matter of fact I am only half way through. By reading only this far, My online rating has increased 800 fold, from intermediate to expert, in a week since I started reading it. To really get anything out of it you must study each and every example he gives you as well as try to lay down the terminology he uses. I suggest having a chess board right in front of you while reading as well as some caffeine and try to get everything you can possibly can out of it.
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Summary: A Must Read For All New Tournament Players
Review: Easy read book with short chapters, each discussing a single tactical idea. A classic. All new chess players wishing to play in tournaments should read and understand the many tactical possibilities. I began with this book many years ago and still recommend it to all young players. Most books I had read said you had to have a PLAN. How do you make a PLAN? No problem after reading this book.It discusses tactics relating to: forks, pins, scewers, open files, rooks on 7th and 8th ranks, knights strong in games with many pawns, bishops gain strength with fewer pawns, rooks weak in the early stages of the game but very strong in the ending, pawn structure, doubled pawns, isolated pawns, pawns on the rook files, pawn chains, pawn islands, discovered attacks, discovered checks, central play, space, and many more tactical elements. Rod Owen
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Summary: Too many other good chess books to spend time on this one
Review: Nimzowitsch was no doubt a fantastic player, and the chess theory in this book is groundbreaking for it's time. Nevertheless, some of it is outdated--new more effective lines of play have replaced some of the lines Nimzowitsch explains in the book--and it is difficult to read. There are just too many other good chess books to read to spend time on this one.
Rating: 
Summary: How can this not be a classic?
Review: This deserves five stars but I have some reservations about this book: Nimzo's speech comes across as a little arrogant and even old fashioned. Nimzo's choices of diagrams aren't always that keen on showing you what "the best move is" but rather seem like snapshots from the games; taken before or after the key concept is noted. Other than that; this is one of the greatest books on chess ever written. Almost as good as Bronstein's "Zurich International" book; yet written as a tutorial.
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Summary: Puhleez!
Review: I was reading through the reviews for this book, and was rolling on the floor when I read the review from the guy who gave the book three stars. Said he was 1600, but somehow managed to fall for fool's mate (2 move mate), and scholar's mate (usually 4 moves). For those who don't know what fool's mate is, it's 1. g4 e5
2. f3 Qh4++ I'm amazed that a 1600 player would play such obviously horrible moves. Certainly Nimzowitsch was never reputed to have played 1. g4, and he would certainly not advocate such a positional and tactical blunder as f3. Don't blame Nimzo, buddy. Maybe you should study some one-movers first.
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Summary: The Holy Bible of Chess - Understand it, or forget it!
Review: This is the book that has turned me from a beginner (1271) to an expert(2004) in less than a year. I first heard about it when I asked an international master what he reccomended to be a 'good chess book.' He replied, "My System by Nimzowitsch is the Holy Bible of Chess," also adding: "Like the Holy Bible, it's dense stuff. If you understand it, you'll be a chess master. Guaranteed." I decided to try it out. At first, I lightly read and studied it. It didn't help at all. And yes, it was like light-reading the holy-bible (I'm not Christian, but I enjoy the stories!) - I skipped the lines "love thy neighbor," and the genesis chapter. Simply, this wasn't the way to read it. I had to grow up with it, learn from it, and digest it's every line. "My System," is one of those rare books in which a highly-credited Grandmaster reveals every drop of his/her thought process in a coherent and systematic way. Nothing is hidden from us. It's pure thought. Many of the reviews, however, complain that "My System," is too difficult to read, and even charging the big N to have ruined their game. I laugh at this, since it simply means that they didn't put in the effort to understand the material. It took me half an hour a day for 3 months to have actually completed this book. And suffice to say, I still do not "completely" understand it! But I understood it enough to improve big time in short time. The reader will develop a sensitivty of what Nimzo would have 'moved' in a certain position. The book brought me to this kind of road. In a chess tournament game, I think, "Well, Nimzo would have done this. Lasker would have done that. But I think my move is better. Which do I do?" And this kind of sensitivity has led me to be more daring, creative, exuberant, resilient, and stronger! This must be a good thing. Thanks to My System. Get this book....
Rating:
Summary: Good book, but you may not need it.
Review: This is a classic, but not as much for the sake of the book, but more for the ideas behind it. The book is not very accessible (and do we really care about how much he dislikes Tarrasch?) and beginners will struggle with it. It is worth having read this book, as it covers a lot of theory and philosophy that essentially moved the boundaries of chess knowledge. Another commentator complains that Watson has refuted some of his lines: Well, that's easy for Watson to do more than half a century later, doesn't change the milestone value of this work. It is not good as an instructive book, but if you have a good knowledge of chess, and want to look a bit more deeply into the mechanics behind the game, this is simply a book you need to have read first. So, if you are a beginner and want to improve: leave it for a while. Are you an advanced player who is prepared to put in a lot of effort to study chess philosophy, buy it. Are you a GM who hasn't read it yet, don't worry you won't need to.
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Summary: The Phonics of Chess
Review: A beginner's book that will add 100 rating points to a class "B" FIDE/USCF player ... everytime they study it. As important as Rueben Fine's trilogy.
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Summary: A Fantastic Trainer!
Review: Like the vast majority of reviewers, I am a big fan of this book and wanted to add to the chorus of praise for it. It IS a classic. Postional strategy, Pawn Structure, thinking about the End Game during your Opening, I could go on and on in praise of this book. I do differ (slightly) with a few other opinions on the target audience for this book. Beginners and casual players will probably get bogged down. While the GM does toss in some wit, this book is not a 'Fireside' book. It is a highly informative text for the student of the game.
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Summary: This is NOT a tactician's handbook.
Review: In reference to other's comments of this book, I would like make something painfully clear: this is not a book for those wishing to improve their tactical ability. Clearly, the tactics are what make strategic, positional chess possible; if you lack the proper tactics, this book will prove largely meaningless to you. Too often, beginners make moves that make obvious threats, but in studying this book, Nimzowitch asks the reader to suspend his or her need for blatant brutality and commence with real chess sophistication. Falling into Scholar's and Fools Mates are not problems of this book for an obvious reason: they are brutalities and blunders that don't truly conform to the ideas of long-term strategy and conceptualization. Of course, Nimzowich was a master tactician - a calculator second only to Capablanca and Alekhine in his day - but his "Elements" are not tacticians tricks. His "Elements" are the basis for positional play and the "wars of attrition", and this follows logically in the second part of the book. Of necessity, practice your tactics seprately and buy this book, not with the intention of improving your tournament results (though that will happen with time), but with the intention of furthering your understanding of true chess strategy. (I would like to mention a piece of advice for those who purchase this book: with every move that Nimzowitch makes, ask yourself 'What are the strategically important points?' and 'How does this move fit into the larger plan?'. And, when the finishing combination does come, ask yourself 'How did this tactical situation arise from the strategy that preceded it?' i.e. 'How was this logically prefaced by the previous, positional moves?' With this, understanding this books should prove to be somewhat more rewarding and easier to understand on the whole. Remember to take your time.)
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