Soft cover. Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. xxx+215 pages with diagrams, photographs and index. Octavo (9" x 6") bound in original publisher's pictorial wrappers. First edition. Writing this book I came to realize something about chess books - by and large most of them are simply boring! This led me to wonder what it is that makes a chess book interesting and I came up with three key elements: 1) They should use complete games from start to finish. Not only is this more instructive (as the formations of plans and attacks are seen from beginning to end � not just at the critical moment), but it is infinitely more interesting for the reader since games actually read like a story where there is a beginning, a middle and an end. 2) The text should be laid out in a pleasing, easy to follow, format. Looking back through my chess library I came to realize that I have many books which are actually quite informative, but the layout is so bad it muddles the brain after just a few minutes of reading. 3) The text, in itself, should be interesting! While I think it goes without saying that books packed with reams of variations alone top the boredom meter, I have also noticed that accompanying text within many books is also boring. They often read like college text books, forcing your nose to the grindstone and force-feeding you deep explanations. I feel that this method does have its place, but too much is counter-productive. I have always found originality, humor, even sarcasm, interesting and entertaining. For instance, Yasser Seirawan, who is one of the best at this method, might make the comparison between an outside passed pawn and a "Wide Receiver" in a football game; or a Queen making a ".billiard like bank-shot to the queens side" by playing Qh5-d1-a4, etc. Such light-hearted comments tend to soften the mood and often add visual clarity to ideas. Condition: Near fine. Seller Inventory # BSC0438

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