Weapons of Chess: An Omnibus of Chess Strategies (Fireside Chess Library)

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Customer Reviews:

GREAT FOR WOODPUSHERS!!!!!!! [Posted on 2006-09-09]
In my opinion weapons of Chess is Pandolfini's best book he has written on chess. If you are new to chess and you know how the pieces move and the rules, but you dont know what to do next after your opponent moves. This book is for you. Pandolfini mainly focuses on pawn structure such as backward pawns, isolated pawns, pawn centers, pawn chains and mostly the isolated d pawn. The isolated queen pawn is a subject you wont want to pass by. Since sometime in the future you may encounter this position wether it be defending against or playing with an isolated d pawn. Weapons of Chess of chess also touches on other strategic principles such as the bad bishop, bishops of opposite colors, fianchetto, doubled rooks, and the two bishops are a few examples. Pandolfini organizes the book in alpabetical order so if you want to go back to a subject it will be easily found. Each section is in essay format, very well explained, and there are alot of clear diagrams so you wont get confused. The only problem with the book is the more advanced reader will be annoyed by the fact that there is no notation. Wich tends to make the book a little wordy example (instead of saying Re5 the author will say the rook at e2 moves to e5. For this reason I gave the book a four star rating instead of five. Negativeity aside Weapons of Chess is a great steping stone to more complex chess books on strategy. After reading this copy I purchased The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernov. I was able to understand some of the motives behind the moves and the notes Chernov wrote with ease. To the begginer I recomend a simple book on tactics to go along with the book. Overall a great book.

Important General Strategic Ideas [Posted on 2006-11-25]
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!

Pandolfini's best book [Posted on 2008-03-30]
truth be told this was the first chess book I ever had. I didn't understand it at all and thought it was boring. Once I started playing club chess I reread it and thought it was excellent.

Particularly Bruce is eager to teach us the ideas of pawn structure and WHY it is important. His work on the isolated pawn is essential and I will be refreshing on soon.

If you are under 1600 or you just want a solid stragety book than buy this book!

The Beginnings of Pawn Warfare [Posted on 2008-05-27]
Weapons of Chess: An Omnibus of Chess Strategies (Fireside Chess Library)was an excellent positional instructional book. Most of the book dealt with pawn development and strategy. It is a book that deals with the finer elements of the game. It teaches lessons on strongholds, pawn chains, isolating the Queen pawn, and how to push a minority pawn structure forward. The book is easy to read with little detailed instruction of multiple moves. It is not for the highly developed player, but for the casual player, it will certainly improve his or her game. This was a good book for a 1200 to a 1400 player. So far, I am maintaining a strong 1500 ranking on Yahoo, with a 1610 max. It was a great book.

My Favorite Chess Coach [Posted on 2008-06-27]
Weapons of Chess: An Omnibus of Chess Strategies (Fireside Chess Library)

I'm sure I've read and studied enough superb, 5 star, last word, entire truth, highly recommended chess dissertations to rival anyone. I should be a Grandmaster with a 6000 rating. But I'm not; I'm just a little pawn.
I play to enjoy the game and I study to further understand the depth, nuance and subtlety in the game.

Pandolfini coached Josh Waitzkin, as we all know, and the accomplishments of the kid!; the Movie, Fred's book, ChessmasterXI tutorials, etc., had me revisit Pandolfini's writings (a few years ago, as an aged adult, when I really got serious about chess, I had tried several of Bruce's books, but of course I considered them baby introductory pamphlets and couldn't wait to get my hands on the well-known, best selling authors with whom we are all so familiar. The prominent writers know their stuff and they do a great job of imparting their insights. The problem for me, though, and I'm guessing others may share in this defect, is the span between early fundamentals and advanced technique. I think I tried to get into the party without a tie, without properly finishing my homework on very fundamental principles, the "Oh, I know all that stuff" assumption).

Weapons of Chess, and others that Pandolfini has written, provide a clear, concise and accurate basic foundation. I especially like his explanations of pawn behavior, even though I was fully aware of their properties. Exchanging is very good and Weakness is very helpful. I will spare you adjectives for the other topics; as you can guess, all positive. He opens the lid of insight a little more. He is not arrogant and he never speaks over my head.

This book will not change you into a Grandmaster, it is not like kissing a frog. It will provide you with simple ideas that can guide you to play a little better, one game at a time. I recommend this book as a starting stone, easy reach of endgames and simple tactic studies, by which play improves with practice.

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