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The Complete Book of Chess Strategy

The Complete Book of Chess Strategy

1998 • 388 pages

Ratings1

Average rating3

15

I recommend this for beginners after they have a couple of hundred games under their belt. I don't see club players and above learning a great deal from this book but a complete beginner would be lost.

The section that deals with the openings is far too sparse. It offers very little as to the ideas behind each open, instead it offers two or three routes that games usually go, only going about five moves deep. A beginner shouldn't be memorising lines until they know the ideas behind the opening so that they can carry on when they are out of book.

The rest of the book is much better 1400+ players will have to dig to get to bits that can teach them something.

Not as good as Silman's other chess books.