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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I suppose it was a good idea for Bruce Pandolfini to write 'Weapons Of Chess', as there is no other chess book (that I know of) which attempts to do what it does. All novices have heard Philidor's famous phrase, 'Pawns are the very soul of the game,' bandied about, but don't know what it means in practical terms. Pandolfini attempts to answer this question for the novice. There are other books on pawn-play, but they are aimed at players at a much higher level, and are thus completely unsuitable for lower level players. The book's title should be 'Pawn Play For Novices', not 'Weapons Of Chess'. I don't know what Pandolfini was thinking in that regard, as the title is totally misleading.
On to the content. The book starts really well. At the beginning it gets straight to the point; and I learned something new within the first few pages. It has other good points, too. The diagrams are large & clear, with a simple, verbal explanation of what is going on, and (thank heavens) no horizontal algebraic notation (the bane of every novice chess player). Why couldn't more chess writers realize that this is what novice players want, when it's so obvious? You are taught doubled pawns, backward pawns, isolated pawns, pawn chains, pawn majorities, fixed pawns, the fianchetto, open files, the two bishops, and other things, too.
Maybe I'm nit-picking, but I have a few minor criticisms, the main one being that the book has no tests or exercises for you to gauge how well you've understood what Pandolfini is teaching. It's all demonstration. An interactive element might have made the book a minor classic. Also, there are some elementary mistakes in analysis, by Pandolfini. Finally, some of the explanation is on one page, with the diagram on the next - a minor quibble - and the topics sometimes seem sequenced inappropriately. For example, you will get a series of chapters on pawns, with one on bad bishops placed in between two of them, for no apparent reason. Again, this is nit-picking.
This book isn't the Holy Grail; but if you're a novice who's contemplating Nimzo's 'My System' (& maybe some other strategy books by famous modern chess pundits), I would recommend this book first. You won't find 'My System' user-friendly, even if you understand it, whereas this book can be bought for a few pence, plus p&p, and you will get a grounding in the absolute basics, which can serve as a foundation for more detailed books on strategy to build upon. Don't, however, think that strategy will be a blinding revelation - it isn't. Nothing's ever that easy in chess, as I'm sure you know as well as I do.
I'd almost give this book 5 stars, but not quite.
P.S. Since I wrote this review, I found there is
another novice-level book which gives pawns an in
depth treatment. 'Chess Made Simple', by Milton
Hanauer, has an excellent chapter on pawns, from
a different angle. It's a very good book, in lots
of ways.
On to the content. The book starts really well. At the beginning it gets straight to the point; and I learned something new within the first few pages. It has other good points, too. The diagrams are large & clear, with a simple, verbal explanation of what is going on, and (thank heavens) no horizontal algebraic notation (the bane of every novice chess player). Why couldn't more chess writers realize that this is what novice players want, when it's so obvious? You are taught doubled pawns, backward pawns, isolated pawns, pawn chains, pawn majorities, fixed pawns, the fianchetto, open files, the two bishops, and other things, too.
Maybe I'm nit-picking, but I have a few minor criticisms, the main one being that the book has no tests or exercises for you to gauge how well you've understood what Pandolfini is teaching. It's all demonstration. An interactive element might have made the book a minor classic. Also, there are some elementary mistakes in analysis, by Pandolfini. Finally, some of the explanation is on one page, with the diagram on the next - a minor quibble - and the topics sometimes seem sequenced inappropriately. For example, you will get a series of chapters on pawns, with one on bad bishops placed in between two of them, for no apparent reason. Again, this is nit-picking.
This book isn't the Holy Grail; but if you're a novice who's contemplating Nimzo's 'My System' (& maybe some other strategy books by famous modern chess pundits), I would recommend this book first. You won't find 'My System' user-friendly, even if you understand it, whereas this book can be bought for a few pence, plus p&p, and you will get a grounding in the absolute basics, which can serve as a foundation for more detailed books on strategy to build upon. Don't, however, think that strategy will be a blinding revelation - it isn't. Nothing's ever that easy in chess, as I'm sure you know as well as I do.
I'd almost give this book 5 stars, but not quite.
P.S. Since I wrote this review, I found there is
another novice-level book which gives pawns an in
depth treatment. 'Chess Made Simple', by Milton
Hanauer, has an excellent chapter on pawns, from
a different angle. It's a very good book, in lots
of ways.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the only chess book that I've read through from beginning to end. There is no need to have a board set up as each development is amply illustrated with clear diagrams and is carefully explained without being patronising. I learned a lot about strategy which, hopefully, I'll be able to apply. A book that novice and more experienced players will benefit from.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
37 reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Important General Strategic Ideas
25 Nov 2006
Format:Paperback
Wow! This book came as a surprize from Pandolfini - it is the best book he has written and it is good! If you are rated in the 900 to 1400 range then you will be in tune with "Weapons of Chess".
The book contains a nice touch on the "use of Pawns", isolated "d" Pawns, and Pawn structures and use. Then, the use of Bishops such as the bad Bishop, Bishop pair, Bishops of opposite colors, fianchetto, etc... The use of Rooks such as doubled rook effectivelness. After this book you might consider getting "How to Reassess your Chess" by Silman as the next step, and along with this book at this level getting "Unbeatable Chess Lessons for Juniors" for nice games with important strategic concepts.
Bravo for Pandolfini on this one!
The book contains a nice touch on the "use of Pawns", isolated "d" Pawns, and Pawn structures and use. Then, the use of Bishops such as the bad Bishop, Bishop pair, Bishops of opposite colors, fianchetto, etc... The use of Rooks such as doubled rook effectivelness. After this book you might consider getting "How to Reassess your Chess" by Silman as the next step, and along with this book at this level getting "Unbeatable Chess Lessons for Juniors" for nice games with important strategic concepts.
Bravo for Pandolfini on this one!
26 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Discussion of pawn structures excellent.
17 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
I got this book as part of a bundle of books I purchased. I didn't think much of it. However, I would read it every once in a while when I didn't have a board handy or wanted some "light" reading. Many of the concepts were not new to me (USCF Rating ~1700). However, I found his discussion of different elements of pawn structure to be very informative. Particularly, his detailed discussion of isolated d-pawns, backwards pawns, doubled pawns, and pawn majorities were pretty good I think.
I play many openings which garner the isolated d-pawn (both with and against it) and my study of this topic in this book really helped my play in these positions. He breaks down the isolated d-pawn into strengths, weaknesses, and what to do when you have it and when you are playing against it. These sections I think are the best in the book.
The strength of this book is its simplicity. I think it is important to know the ideas (which you can gain from this book) and to see many concrete examples from master play (which you should find in other books). If you have many books on pawn structure, you may not want this book.
I found the other sections to be not as helpful, because other books I had did a sufficient job in teaching me these concepts. However, I think this is a good book for general positional ideas, particularly in the realm of pawn structures, which is an important one in chess.
I recommend this book for players under 1500. Players over 1500 may have much of this knowledge and I would recommend Silman's The Amateur's Mind to those.
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
The first book all chess players should get.
9 Sep 2000
Format:Paperback
Please don't be mislead by all the bad reviews. There is a simple reason why many of the readers give this book a bad review: they probably already know the material.
If you are already a 1500 player, this book will probably not help you much. If you are 1000 it will be divine inspiration. The truth is that Bruce Pandolfini _regularly_ churns out positively horrid books. This is one exception that should be read by any weak player....if you already know the material in this, you shouldn't be reading Pandolfini level books anyway.
By the way, this is one of the three books I recommend for players, the other two (in order of playing strength) are: Reassess your chess (Silman) Play/Think Like a grandmaster (Kotov).
This book is for the smart beginner after he has played a bit.
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