Rating:  Summary: nice puzzle book Review: 300 Chess puzzles ranging from Mate in 2 to Mate in 7, though most are in 3 or 4. Many of the problems are forced mates, which makes them a bit easier, but they still get to be pretty challenging. I think this book is ideal for players rated 1200-1500 or so.It's not as good a value as Reinfeld's 1001 books, but it's still a good value. The only downsides are the typical Pandolfinian cover hype ("Invaluable for practicing traps and winning opening moves") and occasional errors. But it's still a good book.
Rating:  Summary: Flex those biceps!! Review: I am a Chess Master. I teach chess for a living. I have had literally hundreds of students. All my students who come to me always have the [wrong] idea of what is wrong with their game. And this reminds me of those ads on TV late at night. All these weight and exercise programs ... but very few that actually work. What is the secret of getting better? Studying tactics. (All the great chess teachers pretty much agree on this point.) But it has to be in a way that is proven, 'do-able,' fun, and not too terribly difficult. Otherwise it will be like that expensive exercise machine you bought, used once (!) ... and now it sits somewhere in a forgotten corner gathering dust. Here then, is a study program for you to use. You can start at the front of the book and work your way through. You can jump around. You can do a few here and a few there. But however you do it, you will have fun. My advice? Work you way through this book 3-4 times, like several of my students. See if your game does not improve! If you like this book, (and it works for you) then I recommend the puzzle book by Emms. You should also get "Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves," also by Pandolfini. The Polgar book. And of course the two most proven puzzle books of all time. ("The 1001 ..." problem books by Fred Reinfeld.) Like GM Larry Evans said, "Until you get to the 1800-2000 level, your first name shoud be tactics, your middle name should be tactics, and your last name ..." !!! ..., how can you possibly go wrong???
Rating:  Summary: A great puzzle book Review: I found this puzzle book to be very helpful. The positions are realistic with realistic variety (approximately an equal mix of kingside castled positions and "exposed king hunt" positions with few queenside positions). Unlike the Reinfeld 1001 Checkmates, each puzzle in this book tells you how many moves you need to make to reach checkmate. I found that this forces me to look more deeply at the position because a lot of times you might see what looks (for example) like a simple mate in two but it is actually a mate in three. When this happens you know you're missing an important variation. Even though not knowing the number of moves would be more realistic, this is a very valuable exercise and it has actually led to an improvement in my ability to solve the Reinfeld problems. I deducted a star for a few errors but otherwise this is a great exercise book.
Rating:  Summary: I am no fan of Bruce Review: Personally, I am not much of a fan for Bruce Pandolfini's books, however I must give credit where credit is due. This is one of the best checkmate books out there. To section chapters into checkmates in x number of moves is an excellent way to give players the flexibility to pace themselves and to accomodate their level. Checkmate problems are not only good for checkmates, but also great for improving one's tactical skills.
Rating:  Summary: I am no fan of Bruce Review: Personally, I am not much of a fan for Bruce Pandolfini's books, however I must give credit where credit is due. This is one of the best checkmate books out there. To section chapters into checkmates in x number of moves is an excellent way to give players the flexibility to pace themselves and to accomodate their level. Checkmate problems are not only good for checkmates, but also great for improving one's tactical skills.
Rating:  Summary: Nice book so far Review: This book is good so far even now I have only done one chapter. I enjoyed the first chapter that has mates in two. This book has mates in two three four five six and seven. Of course mates in two are the easiest the lower is easier than mates in five six or seven.
Rating:  Summary: A whole lot of fun! Review: This book is perfect for learning and memorizing mating patterns. Studying the book requires no board so that you can go through it quickly again and again. This helps to build and maintain chess "calculating" skills and to recognize tactical patterns that emerge during actual play. Your ability to select candidate moves will strengthen as you increase your tactical awareness!
Rating:  Summary: A whole lot of fun! Review: This book is perfect for learning and memorizing mating patterns. Studying the book requires no board so that you can go through it quickly again and again. This helps to build and maintain chess "calculating" skills and to recognize tactical patterns that emerge during actual play. Your ability to select candidate moves will strengthen as you increase your tactical awareness!
Rating:  Summary: Weak Outdated Puzzle Book. Review: This book might of been worth something about 20 years ago. Now it is just an outdated relic to say the very least. If you wanna get a bad puzzle book, then this is a good place to start. If you want to get something that actually has this thing called quality. Then Id advice you to get the Ultimate Puzzle Book by John Emms. Not only a real author, but a much better player than Pandolfini ever was. Also more important is that it is newer and many unique puzzles. It is up to you, pay for quality, or be cheap. Buy this book if that is what you wish to do. Be warned this is closer to a 1 star book than a 5 star book.
Rating:  Summary: More Chessercizes: Checkmate! Review: This is a great book for quickly developing a large array of game-winning strategems while working on pattern recognition skills. I now spend some of my time looking for decisive combinations, instead of simple tactical gains, and I am winning more games, much earlier, because of it. As well, this book provides excellent practice for plying deeply into a position. Take Pandolfini's suggestion to time yourself on each solution; this will also increase your general problem solving efficiency. This book is a simple yet effective tool to quickly improve our game, especially for we beginner to mid-level players.
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