jekyllhydeclub reviewed on + 12 more book reviews
I feel Nimzowitch was not only a great
player and innovator, but also a gifted writer,
able to engage even my limited understanding.
Both of his books, My System and
Chess Praxis have become classics, legitimately. To my mind reading Nimzowitch is more engaging that most chess manuals on strategy because of that intangible personal touch and passion for the subject.
Many of the concepts in this books are still somewhat advanced, not necessary in their formulation which is easy to understand even for a B level like myself but in their application which may start at our level of understanding and increase in sophistication all the way to Master level.
I feel that all players starting with the low C levels and going at least to Expert, should either read this book or at least get somehow acquainted with the concepts expounded if they want to progress.
With all due respect to the most popular authors of our days, including Silman and Watson may understand chess but still cannot explain the deeper truths of strategy quite as clearly. In my amateur opinion, they simply repeat what the better writers like Nimzowitch, Euwe, Capablanca or Tarrash already said, sometimes trying to digest it harder for lesser levels and sometimes making it more complex than their audience could take.
And while repetition itself has some merits, to rephrase the concept in a different language appropriate for a different time, the golden classics that were written so long ago are still just as clear to me and more relevant to my play than what some IMs would want their audience to believe.
I believe that if one wants to understand the mechanisms of chess games they should go to the source of it all and see how such concepts started. Nimzowitch is one of the best to start the investigation with, if slightly more advanced that his other famous contemporaries, and in all honestly, his style doesn't rub me the wrong way because instead of validating his own ego, like Silman or Watson, he elevates the wisdom of chess itself above all.
Of course if one seeks to ease their way into strategy then a few good modern prerequisites to understanding Nimzowitch can be found with Jacob Aagaard, Andy Soltis or Neil McDonalds, all solid positional authors. I cannot sufficiently stress how much pleasure the book gave me and hope that it could benefit other players with its friendly style.
player and innovator, but also a gifted writer,
able to engage even my limited understanding.
Both of his books, My System and
Chess Praxis have become classics, legitimately. To my mind reading Nimzowitch is more engaging that most chess manuals on strategy because of that intangible personal touch and passion for the subject.
Many of the concepts in this books are still somewhat advanced, not necessary in their formulation which is easy to understand even for a B level like myself but in their application which may start at our level of understanding and increase in sophistication all the way to Master level.
I feel that all players starting with the low C levels and going at least to Expert, should either read this book or at least get somehow acquainted with the concepts expounded if they want to progress.
With all due respect to the most popular authors of our days, including Silman and Watson may understand chess but still cannot explain the deeper truths of strategy quite as clearly. In my amateur opinion, they simply repeat what the better writers like Nimzowitch, Euwe, Capablanca or Tarrash already said, sometimes trying to digest it harder for lesser levels and sometimes making it more complex than their audience could take.
And while repetition itself has some merits, to rephrase the concept in a different language appropriate for a different time, the golden classics that were written so long ago are still just as clear to me and more relevant to my play than what some IMs would want their audience to believe.
I believe that if one wants to understand the mechanisms of chess games they should go to the source of it all and see how such concepts started. Nimzowitch is one of the best to start the investigation with, if slightly more advanced that his other famous contemporaries, and in all honestly, his style doesn't rub me the wrong way because instead of validating his own ego, like Silman or Watson, he elevates the wisdom of chess itself above all.
Of course if one seeks to ease their way into strategy then a few good modern prerequisites to understanding Nimzowitch can be found with Jacob Aagaard, Andy Soltis or Neil McDonalds, all solid positional authors. I cannot sufficiently stress how much pleasure the book gave me and hope that it could benefit other players with its friendly style.
