Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Damn You, Chess Books!

I am weak... I just can't stop myself from buying chess books. So the new additions to the family are Silman's Complete Endgame Course (I fully blame BDK for this purchase, not myself, no sir!), Blokh's Combinative Motifs (the book that CT-Art is based on. I figured I'd get this for the many times I find myself on planes), and then these two:

The Grandmaster's Mind by Amatzia Avni and Inside The Chess Mind by good old Jacob Aagaard (his books seem to polarize people).



I bought these last two books because I am thoroughly enjoying the book I'm currently reading, Chess for Zebras. While one Amazon reviewer thought it was a bunch of "pop psychology", I find it to be a very enjoyable read on chess improvement with some refreshing perspectives. So I figured I'd give the above books a try since they have somewhat related subject matter.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have the Silman book but have yet to read it (there are several books before it in the chess book queue).

I'd be interested in hearing what you think of the other two.

SamuraiPawn said...

Í've started to live in a sort of strange semi-organic symbiosis with Combinational Motifs. It's with me everywhere and I plan to destroy this most evil thing when I'm done with the circles. Any favorite methods to suggest?

Liquid Egg Product said...

I think that if Aagaard stopped flaunting how many vowels are in his last name, he'd get a little more respect.

Chessaholic said...

peteydaddy: the Silman book looks pretty awesome, I love the way it's structured. I'll let you know what I think of the other books once I've spent some quality time with them.

samurai: LOL... sounds like true love :) I can't wait to see if I will become equally possessed by the book from hell... since it sounds like the book is sort of alive, may I suggest hiring an Exorcist?

lep: I know, all those pesky a's... I mean come on, he's only got four of them in his last name. chessaholic can boast four vowels as well, and liquid egg product beats us all with a total of six! yet you don't see lep strutting his stuff...

drunknknite said...

I used to buy a lot of books, I still buy books at tournaments when I see something I'm interested in but I have calmed down. I think you will get control of yourself soon.

That Avni book seems really interesting, that's one that I might buy on sight too.

Liquid Egg Product said...

Imprecise verbiage strikes once again. Of course, I should have said the proportion of vowels, not the amount. But you probably understood my meaning.