Logical Chess : Move By Move: Every Move Explained

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The problem with giving up the center and castling, a diagonal iron curtain is formed by whoever is strong in the center, behind which pieces can be manoevered towards the vulnerable g,h pawns. It's not perfect. Describing every move is a great idea in principle, but it does get a little wearisome having to read about 1.e4 for the umpteenth time. The games themselves are as old as the hills. That's not too much of a problem when it comes to the tactics, because tactics never go out of fashion. But you'll sniff at some of the openings which feel like wind-up gramophones in an I-pad age. It also has to be said that some of Chernev's advice is a tad suspect.

Game 27: After 25: Count up moves that white can make (by each piece) and find it is 42 to B’s 17, 250% more efficient, a critical advantage of mobility despite no advantage in material. This is that book. As the subtitle says, the explanation really is move by move, meaning each move is followed by a solid paragraph of explanation and thought. Chernev writes with wit and clarity and I feel like I benefitted in all the right ways. Game 28 - leave the pawns and knights at home. Let’s do this in the old manner, your best fighter against mine, and again. Mentioned: Dan Heisman, IM Eric Rosen, Jose Rauol Capablanca, Harry Pillsbury, GM Sam Shankland, Siegbert Tarrasch Also Mentioned: Episode 221 with Chris Callhan, Lichess Study Featuring Logical Chess Move by Move: https://lichess.org/study/Wn7aMkPy, Jen Shahade, Mike Klein, Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings, The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever PlayedI have to reveal a secret tonight. As a kid, I loved pretending to be the general of the army of toys I used to lay on my bed. In my mind, I would simulate a war, making toy pieces fight with each other. My army would always win the war. Growing up I realized (especially after learning how to play chess) that in real life it's not possible to win every battle, but we must be prepared. This book is the first step towards your preparation. When I used to follow the games from this book, I used to feel the same adrenaline rush that I would feel like a kid general with his toy army. The rook at D1 acts as a deterrent against the carnage of central pawns, because any clearance of the open file makes the rook that much more dangerous unmoved pawns and knight at f3 a strong bulwark, but the knight gets too easily pulled away because of its degrees of freedom

How fianchettoing kingside actually makes the king safer, despite requiring the g-pawn to be pushed. This actually wasn't a major theme of the book, but the author mentioned off-hand at one point that the foanchettoed bishop helps protect the king. After that, I started noticing how many standard mating patterns don't work with the bishop there.

This is a classic chess book explaining every move in easy to understand words. Just by repeating the basic principles one already memorizes and adapts them easily and I caught myself looking at a position on the chess board in a different way. The book is clearly for Beginners and suffers a little bit from using old example games (and I really mean old!) and allowing no exceptions to the rules. Modern chess is a little bit different and to understand why GMs break the rules could be interesting. Play the moves necessary (out-of-strategy) to secure maximum mobility, space, while weakening the enemy, cramping his movements

Mentioned: GM Ben Finegold, Caruana-Vachier-Lagrave 2021, World’s Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman, IM Cyrus Lakdawala It has its own share of problems though. First, you can only truly understand what's written if you are actually recreating every move on a chessboard in front of your eyes. (If you are a superhuman by any chance who has a super eidetic memory and can follow every move in your mind's eye, this comment is not for you).When describing a move similar to one previously described, most books do not repeat the analysis previously given. This book purposely repeats the analysis and rationale over and over (phrased slightly differently each time) to drill the concept into the reader’s mind. I found this helpful. The rare game collection that also succeeds as a textbook. The games are extremely well chosen, and if the repetitive first move analysis becomes tiresome the rest if perfectly on target. Wish I had a hard copy. As its reputation suggests, a fine book with which to start a collection.