The Game of Chess

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Summary: FROM NOVICE TO 'CLASS A' (OR EVEN EXPERT) WITH THIS COURSE
Review: 'The Game of Chess' has become one of the game's enduring classics, considered by some critics the finest training book ever written on the game. Dr. Tarrasch's complete chess course starts with a lesson on reading algebraic chess notation followed by the study of basic endgame positions every chess player must know. "Obviously it is easier for the beginner to deal with a few men than the entire thirty-two." -Dr. Tarrasch. It moves on to typical middlegame positions, with numerous positions demonstrating tactics and specific examples on recurring themes, i.e. attacking along a Rook's file, typical attacks against the King on h7 or f7, dangers of castling Queenside, Rooks on the seventh rank, using the two Bishops against the opponent's castled King, forcible exposure of the King. Grandmaster Tarrasch comments on his unortodox approach to the teaching of chess: "I employ quite another method and one analogous to that a mother uses to teach her child to talk. I play with the beginner from the very start in that I put before him simple positions and from them explain the fundamentals of chess. It is the intuitive method of instruction. In this way the pupil learns chess quite easily, of that I am convinced." Tarrash deals last with the openings. He provides a brilliant essay on general principles, follow by comments on various systems. These opening systems were updated by Senior chess Master John Hall for this modern edition. The new algebraic edition is crafted for the modern player, with simplified language and nearly 500 diagrams. It is of immense practical value to the novice, as well as the more skilled player wishing to sharpen the finer points of his game. 'The Game of Chess' has proved itself one of the standard texts for most of the twentieth century. This contemporary edition makes it easier than ever before to reap the benefits of this great classic. Study this book and GET GOOD AT CHESS.

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Summary: great instructional manual
Review: A great book to be studied and restudied. The author has done an outstanding job in breaking chess into first principles, and then using these principles to illustrate how to play chess well. First principles are principles that cannot be refuted without incurring a contradiction. In chess, these first principles are force ie, material advantage, space which is the clearance of ranks and files and time which is the gaining of tempo or a time advantage over your opponents moves. A mastery of these principles is essential to chess mastery. Chess would be impossible without these principles in operation. The author then shows how by repeated practice over the examples given in the book, one can develop "chess vision" which is the ability to see strengths and weaknesses in an opponents position. The book shows how tactical manuevers such as double attack, destruction of the gaurd, etc. is using the principle of force. Similar examples are given to show how time and space are used also. This is a very deep and profound book, that needs to be carefully studied to mine its secrets. One can reach any level of chess mastery by applying and repeating the exercises in the book as the author suggests. Chess masters such as Capablanca, Fisher, Kasparov and others do not know some kind of secret information that gives them such mastery. They have simply become so good by repeated practice at basic principles as expounded in this book. This book tells you outright what this secret is. It is constant practice. A very good book that will take one from novice to the highest levels of mastery and beyond.

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Summary: Classic, but the layout and format could use an improvement.
Review: Although, it may be true that this is a classic (very good intro to the game of chess), in my opinion this book's weakness is in layout and format. You get endless paragraphs that may or may not contain important points and are full of variations that may pertain to different diagrams.

I suggest that you preview pages before buying this book to make sure you are comfortable with this.

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Summary: The best way to get out of the rut of being a beginner!
Review: Even though I've never wanted to become a serious chess player, I enjoy the game and I always wanted to be a decent player.

Over the years, I had bought a number of books - e.g a classic by John Nunn, one about openings, a couple on strategy and theory, another "compilation" of grand master games). I had spent many an hour reading, thinking, and playing through the games in these books.

Somehow I was stuck essentially at being just a "beginner". I knew the "rhetoric" of the game, but somehow I didn't understand things - I couldn't "see" the board!

Whatever is published as "beginner" material is limited to the hopelessly trivial stuff. And, then all of a sudden there is a myriad of overwhelming material on openings, end-games, strategy, etc. It's like trying to read about advanced physics with your high school knowledge!

Finally one fine day last summer I decided to face my frustration! So I embarked on a mission to find a "teacher"! It took some time before I came across Siegbert Tarrasch's book, but I knew I had found the book I was looking for!

He uses an absolutely inspired and uniquely brilliant (and common sense, when you come right down to it!) approach. He starts by what he calls the "elements" of the game - only a few pieces at a time - i.e. the end game!

Next, he teaches the building blocks of the middle game. This is where he carries you over the chasm that lies between a beginner and an intermediate player! Even some intermediate players are likely to learn something. The last part of the book, as he himself points out, is really just to send you off towards the more advanced material on openings and strategy.

Finally, most remarkable of all, his passion for the game of chess and his knack for "teaching" it comes across each and every page!

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Summary: For those who liked "Chess Fundamentals"
Review: I read this book after Chess Fundamentals, and found it was very similar in its layout. The difference is that this book is much longer, because of its smaller type, and it answers many of the questions that Chess Fundamentals left unanswered; for example, from Chess Fundamentals I learned a few openings, the Ruy Lopez, Queen's Gambit, Petroff, French Defence, and a couple others, but The Game of Chess discusses 28 openings. Part 3, on the middle game, covers a few details not found in other books, like illusory protection and the point QB6 as a target for attack. This book was very helpful to me, a player who finished reading Chess Fundamentals and wanted a more thourough lesson.


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Summary: The true Chess Bible!
Review: I'm 41 years old, and I'm a Portuguese lawyer. I became acquainted with the game of chess when I was a child, but I learned how to play it when I was already a law student. By then, my father offered me a copy of the (not very good) French translation of Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch's «The Game of Chess». Before that, I read many, too many books and articles on the subject, without any pleasure or profit. After the careful study I did of this specific book, I ventured to play my first official tournament: it was a good enough one, and I did so well I got immediately over 1600 (portuguese) ELO! In spite of that, I never took Chess very seriously: while I was a student I seldom played official games, and after my graduation I virtually had to stop. Since my personal and professional life stabilized in the meantime, I decided to try it again a couple of years ago. For that purpose, I studied once more «The Game of Chess», never dreaming of what was really going to happen. The weekend before last, I played my very first international «Open»: five sessions with forty players, of which twenty-six with (high) ELO FIDE, two with FM titles and three with IM titles. Having just 1913 (national) ELO and looking at so strong a competition, I estimated the best I'd get would be something around 1,5 points. Surprise! I've finished 8th (3rd «ex aequo»), with 3,5 points (+3=2−1) (1,5 points against three international ranked players, of which one with IM and another with FM titles) and a performance of 2293 (!) (the second best in the tournament) which earned me the right to get my first ever ELO FIDE. The next player like me finished only 22nd, with 2 points. I left behind one player with a FM title and twenty players with ELO FIDE. I was flabbergasted: how could a simple amateur obtain such a good result?! The answer was: Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch's «The Game of Chess»!
Many critics consider this the finest all-round manual on the game: I think they're right. It had an outstanding success when it was first published in Germany in 1931 and in Great-Britain in 1934. Such a success was largely due to the apparently unorthodox but extremely effective teaching method the author used, one «analogous to that a mother uses to teach her child to talk»: «the intuitive method of instruction». After dealing with the elements, the author proceeds not to the opening but to the end-game, «since obviously it is easier for the beginner to deal with a few men than with the entire thirty-two». Dr. Tarrasch doesn't waste any time with «all those eng-games which do not occur in actual play»: he goes right through explaining the fundamental positions of this part of the game, doing it so simply and clearly that one finds himself quite able to understand some longer end-games (four in number) with which he concludes this part of his book. After the end-game comes the part dealing with the middle-game, «the most important part of the game». He not only traces back «to fixed and constantly recurring types the manifold combinations of chess», but also gives the standard positional concepts of the game: through the «study of the typical combinations and attacks», one makes himself familiarized more than enough «with the raw material» for «the conduct of the middle game, as regards both tactics and strategy». Finally, Dr. Tarrasch comes to the opening, «the most difficult part of the game». After presenting a general theory of the opening, he deals «with the important lines of practically all the openings», though not pretending to be «exhaustive». (More than seventy years after the first edition of this book, the section on the various openings is somewhat dated, particularly on the Indian Defenses; but, to my mind, not as dramatically dated as critics say). A few games (seven in the german edition, twelve in the English edition), «very fully annotated», form the concluding part of the manual.
Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch's «The Game of Chess» is «A Systematic Text-book for Beginners and More Experienced Players». To me, it's more than that: it's the true Chess Bible. Besides, it's the culminating point of the literary production of the greatest chess teacher of all times: the «Praeceptor Germaniae seu Mundi», as he is known even today. «Naturally, for further progress the study of master games is most important - but only those games which are accompanied by the most complete and apposite notes.» In my case, I decided to study Fred Reinfeld's «Tarrasch's Best Games of Chess»: there were no other Dr. Tarrasch's books translated to English when I finished reading his manual. Again I made great progresses: in fact, I learned more and more about the game with the same teacher, since Reinfeld in many cases merely follows Dr. Tarrasch's own analyses and comments. Now, at long last, «Three Hundred Chess Games», «Montecarlo 1903» and «St. Petersburg 1914» are available in English (not yet «Die moderne Schachpartie», which is a pity): once read both «The Game of Chess» and «Tarrasch's Best Games of Chess», these are the next books to study, preferably by this order. After this (and, if I may say so, only after this), one may go on to other authors - above all Alekhine. But don't you forget to start with the Chess Bible: Dr. Siegbert Tarrasch's «The Game of Chess»...

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Summary: Preceptor Germanaie
Review: Tarrasch was one of greatest chess teachers who ever lived. He was also one of the better writers. His book is a classic. (It has withstood the test of time better than thousands of other chess books.) Every student should read this book, every collector should own it, and every lover of chess should buy it. It also makes an excellent gift to a chess friend.

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Summary: I have just one thing to say
Review: The book is a text-book of chess.
I have just one thing to say about this book.

If you don't have the book.
BUY IT!

Rating:
Summary: Chess for Success award for Clarity
Review: This book clearly demonstrates all the elements that compose a classical chess game. Sections are devoted to the concepts of space and time and many other important ideas needed to reach master level.

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Summary: Another great book from the Old German Empire.
Review: This book has the style of the "German Handbuch" so it will require patient study to understand well, but that also means
it is packed with great info. Tarrasch subsribes completely to
the Steinitz scientific school and this book may be its greatest
representation. If you could only have only one chess book for your entire life, this might be the one you would want. It covers
everything in broad brush but also includes many interesting details of openings, etc.