Rating: 
Summary: Indispensable
Review: Whenever I have sat out from chess for a while and need to refresh my skills, I turn to Logical Chess Move By Move. I could do without all my other books on chess except this one, and Al Horowitz's compendium of chess openings.
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Summary: The world's greatest chess book for developing players
Review: This book was recommended to me many years ago by a chess book store owner when I was just starting to get serious about chess. I tore through the pages as fast as I could read them and my rating went up by 100 points almost immmediately! This book is fantastic - every single move of every game is commented on. The comments are by Irving Chernev. He had a love of the game and its' great masters like few authors I have ever read. He also had a great sense of balance between verbal descriptions of the ideas behind the move, and the possible variations. In other words, his books are heavy on words and a little lighter on variations than many other books. This is the perfect balance for developing players who need more explanation as to what is going on during the game. More advanced players (1700+) will probably not get much instructive value out of the book, but may still enjoy the games. This is definitely a must-have book for players rated 1100 - 1500.
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Summary: One of the true Classics!
Review: My advice? Just read the other reviews ... My two cents? When I was about ten I asked about a dozen of the area's strongest players which book they felt was one of the best. This was the ONLY book mentioned by ALL of the players I talked to. Enough said? I think so! Its also one of the few books you can read without a chess board handy! (Diagrams aplenty.) 03/01/2002 I decided to add something to this brief review. First, more than one good player thinks this is the greatest chess book ever written.
... A student of mine in the local area has gone on a buying spree. He has purchased dozens of chess books in the last few months. (Against my advice, I might add.) One of the books he purchased was this one. I have been to his home several times to give lessons. The last few times we have reviewed 2 or 3 games from Chernev's book. My student is convinced this book is the best chess book ever written. Almost no other author has bothered to place an explanation after every single move. One of the best games is game # 21, we see Chernev himself wipe out a strong player. As I said before, every chess player (below 1800) who is really trying to learn the game - especially if he or she is struggling - should get this book. You will probably learn more from this one book than a dozens of other books you will aquire.
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Summary: This book is AVAILABLE @ amazon.com.uk
Review: I just started this book and it is as good as others have already stated. I just wanted everyone to know that it is available on Amazon's UK site for immediate shipment.
Rating:
Summary: The best elementary chess book there is
Review: I have been an enthusiastic and active chess player for 32 years. There is something (apparently genetic!) about chess players which makes them (us) want to accumulate far more chess books than we can possibly ever read - perhaps in a futile attempt to get as good as Garry Kasparov some day. So I have seen and read literally hundreds of chess books. Whenever someone asks me what is the best book to start with while learning serious chess, I give them the name of this book without hesitation. The book is a series of (mostly master-level) games, in which every single move, from both sides, is commented on. The reader is never left wondering, "Why did he do that?" The explanations are primarily strategical; by that I mean the authors explain each move in terms of its overall long-term purpose rather than giving a string of complicated variations to show what might have happened if the player had chosen a different move. The one drawback to the book is that it is fairly old, and so many of the opening systems used in the games have been superseded by more modern research and practice. But since the book emphasizes concepts rather than concrete variations, this is a minor drawback. This book is the best available first step toward understanding serious chess, and it has never been improved upon.
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Summary: The Most Instructive Chess Book Ever Written
Review: OK, so my title is a take-off on another of Chernev's excellent books, but it was this little gem that turned the lights on in my brain's chess circuitry. Before reading it, I just pushed pieces around without understanding why. After, I was able to focus on the characteristic strategy of each opening, find my way around the middle game, and handle an endgame. It's this last part of the chess puzzle that's most overlooked by beginners, who prefer to concentrate on their favorite openings. I learned endgames well enough that I was able to lose points earlier in the game and still pull out a win in the endgame. I was finally able to beat players I never beat before, and keep beating them! The games are exciting! I never knew so much deep strategy went into each move. This book should be everyone's jumping off point in learning chess.
Rating: 
Summary: Great book - but one minor gripe
Review: All reviewers' superlatives are justified about this great book, which taught me to play chess at a reasonable "club" standard back in the '70s. As a reviewer said, it teaches you that there's a reason for every move, and that in itself helps you play better. (It's also a lesson for dealing with life's problems generally.) Years ago I lent my copy to a friend, who to this day claims I gave it to him! Amazon was the only place I could find it, but I was slightly disappointed that the 1998 edition uses algebraic notation (e.g. e4). For those of us who learned to read chess games using the good old descriptive notation (e.g. P-K4), the algebraic may slow us down a bit. For me it also spoils my expected nostalgic reunion with Chernev's book. But even if I'd known about the notation in advance, I'd still have happily bought the book.
Rating:
Summary: An incredibly effective and powerful teaching tool
Review: I've played chess for fun on and off my entire life, but never taken it seriously enough to study it until recently. I always just picked up what I could from whoever I was playing with, and would think through moves without any real fundamentals of the do's and don't's of chess. However, I recently started playing with a friend of mine who was slightly better, and my competitive spirit kicked in, so I bought this book. Let's just say that after reading through the commentary and study of only three of the games in Logical Chess, I soundly beat my friend. The book walks through dozens of games bteween masters explaining each and every move and why they were made. This means you're learning both by example, by seeing the strategies unfold before you, and also by repetition, as you see the same moves and combinations repeated from game to game. This helps you improve how you think about the game incredibly quickly and without having to ponder about it, it just comes naturally. The explanations are logical and down to earth, and even with my limited chess vocabulary I was able to grasp all the concepts. This is the first chess book I've ever read, and it's done wonders for how I understand the game, and how much I enjoy playing it. If you're at all curious about improving your chess game, I recommend this book wholeheartedly.
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Summary: Revitalize your game with this book!
Review: I found this book to be an excellent provider of a simple set of rules to follow to improve my game. The book is almost entirely Queen's Gambit and King's Pawn openings, which are a little dated, but the rationale for each and every move of every game is explained, and in the process Chernev gives you a set of do's and don'ts that will improve your game if you are in the 1000 to 1600 rating range. It's a very useful book for the intermediate player or someone getting back into the game after a long absence. Get a copy for your chess library!
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Summary: This is my chess bible
Review: It is an excellent book for beginners. I am not a beginner any more, but I enjoy reading some of its games from time to time. The book contains a beautiful collection of classic games. The games are very instructive and each move is explained in a very easy way to understand. If you are a beginner, your chess grading will improve dramatically after reading this book. It is one of the best chess books I have ever bought. I never get tired of reading it.
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