How to Reassess Your Chess: Chess Mastery Through Imbalances Paperback – 15 Oct. 2010

About 30 years ago I reached the heady heights of around 1950, but haven’t played since. My ten year old son started playing competitively just over a year ago and is now playing at around 1450. I am only playing against him so it is difficult to gauge my current level, but I believe I may only be around 1550. Definitely not good enough to teach my son without any aids.After reading reviews, I bought this book a couple of months ago. I believe this book is pitched at the right level for both of us. We both find it difficult. And very thought provoking.I feel that my son could not go through this book by himself, primarily because it is too long and the language used is definitely not pitched at a 10 year old (even though he has a great vocabulary and general knowledge for his age). I find the writing interesting but feel I need to skip over some of it when I am going through this with my son.So far, we are only on about page 65, but I can see that this has definitely changed the way we are thinking about positional imbalances, knights and bishops (being all we have covered so far). I certainly wish I had this knowledge/way of thinking 30 years ago and it is now hard to imagine how I could have been a 1950 without knowing what I have learnt from this book over the last couple of months.This is certainly going to be a long slog and I doubt we will get through it in much under a year, but if we do get through it I feel it will have totally changed our game. It will also be a springboard for later books.I find it difficult to give this five stars as we have only just started it, but so far it has been great so have reluctantly done so.Looking forwards to the rest of the book.

I bought the paperback of this beauty. An absolute must own. I started playing again when I was 35 when I randomly began playing a friend on a vessel I worked on. I knew about pins and forks and general rules of thumb but this grounded key concepts that I keep coming back to time and time again. What it means by timing, tempo, iniative. How a chess board can change dynamically over the course of the game and it teaches you what to look for when assessing a current situation and it does this by teaching you about what Mr Silman calls "imbalances" on the board. The book answers the question of "What should my next move be?" and more important than that. It tells you "why". I don't think I have enough time on my hands to ever be a grandmaster but it doesn't stop my love of the game and with minimal time of study (reading on the toilet even! and going through some games at a desk) my ranking went up from 1200 to 1500. That was thanks to Mr Silman. This is an absolute must buy and the paperback version is better for the "flickability" factor. If you're a person who just stated playing and you've ever been stuck in the middle of a game wondering what you should do next then get this book. Incredibly readable and packed with key underlying concepts. It will take you to the next stage of your chess adventure. It's a great game to play and this is a great book.

This book is pitched perfectly for my level - I’m at the bottom end of the rating recommendation for the book and I can feel it does stretch me but it’s not overwhelming. I can see my thinking improving in games already - I’m only a few chapters in. A great book if you want to tackle more advanced yet core principles of chess.

When I read Silman's book: "The armatures mind" I was disappointed, in fact I did not think much of this book; this naturally put me off ordering the book: "How to reassess your chess."I took the gamble, and it paid off. This is a first class book and good value for your money, for the amount of information contained in this book.Jeremy Silman has a good sense of humour through out his writing.I do agree with one of the pervious comments that some sample games did leave me a bit cold, also I found a lot of deviations in the book, you are working your way through a game and there is the same game which can have a different out-come.Having said that; the information is there should you require it.There are plenty of test; too many in my opinion. As I worked my way through the book, I ended up only doing some of the test; they are too time consuming, but they do ram the point home; if that is what you want, that's a bonus?One warning I must give: this book takes a long time to work your way through, so don't expect just a few weeks read, it has taken me months, it's hard work, but the results are worth it; definitely a chess book to keep on the shelf for future reference.

I am no chess expert. I love the game but have struggled to get a lot better. I have only really started reading this book and it may take a lifetime to really fully absorb all that's in it but so far it is giving me a much more rounded view of the game than merely sharp tactics. The concept of a "plan" scared me because I really didn't know what it meant in a chess context but Silman does give you the means of seeing a "plan" (although he doesn't like the word) by assessing imbalances across the board. It is an obvious concept really but explained well and humorously and I must say a very enjoyable read.

Silman is without a doubt my favorite chess writer and he does not dissapoint. Read from cover to cover this book will strengthen your game and give you great tools (and a new way of thinking?)the next time you sit down at the chessboard. Alone or together with the reasses your chess workbook I feel it is impossible not to substansially improve if you work on this material. Probably suitable for 1300 and way way up.

Quick delivery, arrived in perfect condition. The book itself is fantastic and full of humour. Get your board and set up some of the exercises and you’ll learn more about positional chess in no time

this is the one book I love reading it teaches you so much about chess and how to look at any position.and look for the right move.this book is not for the beginner at chess. more 1400plus.