The Chess Player's Battle Manual: Equip Yourself for Competitive Play

Rating:
Summary: Good advice
Review: Grandmaster Davies is one of Britain's better Chess players and teachers and it shows in his writing. It's eminently readable, simple and clear. The advice given is filled with common sense and the reader should be able to utilise them without too much trouble. A slight drawback is the fact that there isn't that much new or original material (hence the four instead of five starts).

Rating:
Summary: Terrific Guide for A to C Players
Review: Nigel Davies is a Grandmaster who has a keen understanding of the needs and limitations of club players. In working with club players, he has analyzed thousands of club level games. This, coupled with his Grandmaster status, gives him a unique view of the club player's needs and desires. His book The Chess Player's Battle Manual: Equip Yourself for Competitive Play is perfect for club players looking to improve.

Davies offers tactical improvement advice in his first chapter ("The Vision Thing"). Tactics are the basis of victories for most club players. The biggest problem seems to occur in creating a tactically friendly environment. Most club players take one of three approaches: The first approach is to try to memorize the mountains of opening theory in the hope of getting to a good middlegame position, the second approach is to view the memorization of opening theory as too daunting, and therefore not worth the energy. This group just "wings it." Lastly, some club players try to find lines with little theory to memorize. These can be quirky off-beat lines or solid openings that rely on the understanding of certain themes. I personally moved from the first approach after getting my brains beat in while trying to play the Sicilian Defense (Dragon Variation) to the third option, playing the KIA as white, and the Caro Kann and Kings Indian Defense as black. I have since moved from the KID to the Dutch as I could not keep up with the mountains of theory in the KID.

The Chess Player's Battle Manual addresses the need for understanding where the opening leads the player. Chapter two (A Game Plan) addresses this issue. Though Davies does not use the quote,"Any fool can know, the point is to understand" by Albert Einstein, that is the gist of his second chapter. Davies tells the reader that "memorization alone is not enough". He also explains why players continue to rely on memorization without understanding. He tells the reader to study positions that arise in the openings they play. Davies understands the time limitations club players have, and stresses that understanding of the positions will benefit the club player at least as much as rote memoization of opening lines.

In chapter three (Building an Opening Reportoire), Davies addresses a problematic area connected to chapter two that all club players face, "What openings should I play?" We have all been there. We learn the Ruy Lopez early and are told that this is probably the best opening for white. Then we discover the huge memorization task in front of us. We try the Sicilian Defense because it offers black the best chance to win. We play the Kings Indian Defense because it can be played against all other lines, or we play QGD defenses, because they seem natural. Before we know it we are buried in theory. These are all great openings, but require a great deal of time to learn. Many players, like myself, get shocked into more passive positional type games, that we may or may not be suited for. I switched to the Kings Indian Attack with a decent level of success, but always felt that I should be able to really punish weaker players. I always had the desire to play a more attacking style. Davies speaks to this subject saying that in his "experience the majority of players at club level and beyond like to hold the initiative and attack." To that end he recommends 1. e4. But he does not leave it there, he goes further saying, "If your time is limited I suggest you use a more practical approach." He goes on to suggest that the aggressive club player play opening lines of lesser known attacking grandmasters like Victor Kupreichik. It is Davies' belief that these lines may startle your opponents. He gives ideas for gambiteers and ideas for repertoire lines against the many varied defenses the club player will face. The section of this chapter I found most interesting (as I had been toying with the Colle System and the Stonewall Attack) was 1.d4 repertiore suggestions. He suggests studying the games of GM Ranier Knaak an attacking d4 player. He also mentions what he calls "The d4 charge" which he covers in the next chapter. Against 1.e4 he recommends the Sicilian Accelerated Dragon which yields sharp Dragon formations with a much more limited amount of theory (and without the dangers of the Yugoslav Attack). Against 1.d4, he lauds the KID, but suggests the Dutch as an aggressive but much less studied alternative.

Chapters 4,5, and 6 deal with handling three faddish openings at the club level. Davies does a nice job of giving good advice on the handling of these dangerous openings (The d4 Charge - Colle, Stonewall type attacks, the Trompowsky and the Grand Prix Attack in the Sicilian. I was so intrued by The d4 Charge chapter that I have begun to play it as white (with good success). These three chapters are not just fill, as they are helpful to club players.

Chapter 7 deal with the often neglected , but very important "Endgame." Davies correctly advises players with limited spare that "study of the endgames is the single most effective means of improving results." I won my first tournament game as an unrated player verses a 1710 player by outplaying him in the endgame. This is a vital and oft neglected area.

Chapter 8 deals with playing against and using computers, while chapter 9 offers advice good advice on practical play.

Chapters 10 and 11 are small tactical puzzle sections.

If you are going to play me in the future, please don't buy this book, however if you want to improve your chess playing ability, and you are an A to C and possibly D player, this is one of the books you want.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book is exactly what I've needed. I'm at the point where I want to play some tournament chess (despite my mediocre ability) and I fortunately came across this book. Nigel Davies offers some sound and practical advice, and does so in a highly readable and down-to-earth manner. In particular I found his advice on building an opening repertoir useful; common sense when you think of it, but for many budding chess players, the whole notion of learning all of the openings has them frantically trying to memorize every conceivable line. Unrealistic and unnecessary, to say the least. Anyway, before I launch into a total summary of the book, I'll just close by recommending this book to any novice who wants to start playing in tournaments.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent book
Review: This book is exactly what I've needed. I'm at the point where I want to play some tournament chess (despite my mediocre ability) and I fortunately came across this book. Nigel Davies offers some sound and practical advice, and does so in a highly readable and down-to-earth manner. In particular I found his advice on building an opening repertoir useful; common sense when you think of it, but for many budding chess players, the whole notion of learning all of the openings has them frantically trying to memorize every conceivable line. Unrealistic and unnecessary, to say the least. Anyway, before I launch into a total summary of the book, I'll just close by recommending this book to any novice who wants to start playing in tournaments.

Rating:
Summary: Ahhh, so nice
Review: This book is one of the few general works of chess instruction aimed at the club player. (Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, and the great works of Silman come to mind as well). This book is a breath of fresh air. It is full of experience and wisdom regarding the problems, both mental annd over-the-board, that we club players face. This book is like having coaching lessons. It has improved my chess, and rekindled my enthusiasm for it.