John Nunn's Chess Course Paperback – May 13, 2014

I am not a particularly big fan of Nunn's. I only own two or three of his works. Most of his books that I've come across contain to much analysis for my taste. That being said I like this work very much. There is a lot of explanatory prose on top of the more constrained lines of analysis that I do not like to much of. As most other reviewers have noted, and I agree, that this is a very fine work of Mr. Nunn's. My reservations and the reason that I am giving it four rather than five stars is that it is an advanced "chess course." The subtitle says "a complete education..." That to me as well as the main title seem to imply that this is an introductory text/course. Which it is not. I am currently a 1800+ rated USCF chess player. And to me this text seems aimed at 1800-2100 ratings group that of class "A" (1800-1999) and "Expert" (2000-2199). Those serious tournament players who have their eyes set on achieving master. For those below that rating estimate of mine and those who are just casual players there are many works out there that are more specifically aimed at and assimilated more readily than this work of John Nunn. Some of those authors are Jeremy Silman, Fred Reinfeld, Bruce Pandolfini, Yasser Seirawan, Irving Chernev, Cecil J. Purdy, Lev Alburt and Dan Heisman. Also this book, even though I'm old fashioned would probably be more easily worked thru by purchasing the E-book which is available from/thru the publisher. I wish you all well on your chess journey.

I will not describe the book, since that is done already by the publisher. What I will describe is my impression, and why I give 3 stars to Nunn's books.Nunn shows over and over in all his books, that the truth in chess exists. He doesn't explain "how" to reach it (e.g did he use different engines plus his GM Level evaluation? Or he just analyses everything by himself, and then ask to someone else to check the analysis with an engine? or...? And "how" would the reader reach the same "truth" if he is not at Nunn's level?), but he shows the faulty analyses of previous commentators, and also many authors who just copied and paste. In his book is shown how some publishers don't have editors to correct mistakes like when the author of another book writes "Black" and means "White." Of course shame on those authors, but evidently the chess field is full of snake-oil salesmen. Now, also when Nunn just tries to give a comment, without going into deep analyses, well feel ready to open your computer, and use your database program, because Nunn will go deep to prove the point. Example. I bought the book on Alekhine's game, written by Alekhine, and with effort I could follow Alekhine's comments and lines without moving the pieces on the board. With Nunn I cannot do so. The lines he gives are too long to be visualized, and there are many under-lines which need to be checked. (This has been synthesized well, by another reader of the book saying that if one wants analyses 40 plies long, it is just enough to click the engine button)The real problem with Nunn is that he writes and check his analyses like a scholar, a professor of the field, while most other authors are amateurs trying to make some bucks out of their books. I don't know if the average player, the one who plays blitz all day long online, and whose favorite authors have IM titles gained long time ago (maybe out of luck) deserve such precise and difficult books.While I praise Nunn for writing this book, I honestly don't like it, and I feel cheated by the publisher which writes: "explanation focus on general ideas rather than detailed analysis" This phrase is only partly true. The analysis are detailed like the one of Kasparov in his great predecessor series, and if I had known that, I wouldn't have bought it.Still, Nunn's job is monumental, but as a reader, I don't really think I will improve, because he made all the analysis, and in the end I can only agree with them, without using much of my brain (also because his analysis are good, and correct, not like the authors mentioned above who just make a copy and paste of other writers before).The humor is that Nunn choose Lasker, because his games should be easier for the reader to understand.For example, I'd like to take the first position given in the book. Houdini after 7 minutes, using 4 cpus, goes back from Qxe4 (chosen after 10-15 seconds) to Pc4, to Qxe4, all with numerical evaluations which are ridiculous, like + or - 0.13 or 0.20. Now honestly as reader how would I understand which move is better and why? Not from Nunn who doesn't explain how he came to choose one over the other. After 12 minutes thinking Houdini at 27 moves deep (54 plies) agrees with the moves played in the game from move 24 to 26, changing move 27. But as a reader, I didn't learn anything from Houdini, or from Nunn's analysis, also if they are correct, and once again praise to GM Nunn for such an amazing job. If the publisher after reading this review, wants to give me back the money, I will gladly send the book back! (just add 3.99 for the S&H thanks! something like 20$ total, or just send me another book, so I can sell it and get the money back, because I already know, I will not be able to read this book)

I am using the Kindle edition, in which the size of diagrams and the page formatting are just about perfect -- enough so that even an amateur can study most of the main lines without a board.In a rather daring move, Nunn has based his general chess course on the games of Emanuel Lasker. His reasons for doing so are listed at the outset of the book, and make perfect sense. My reasons for agreeing are these:-- Lasker's games, being played against a wider range of openings and wider range of playing strengths than, say, the games of Anand, prove to be a rich source for training material suitable to the club player. We, too, tend to play outside the current main lines and see strategic as well as tactical errors, just as Lasker did before the information explosion and diffusion of chess knowledge.-- These games do not turn on opening analysis or knowing how to win the 2 pawns v 1 pawn on adjacent file ending. The games are "out of book" by move 7 or 8, and are chosen to illustrate how to play chess, not how to play openings. Likewise, the endings are complex, with a couple minor pieces and rook and several pawns, and are chosen to illustrate good endgame play.-- Lasker was not a perfectionist; he was a competitor. While he did not, as some have alleged, play inferior moves in order to mesmerize and deceive his opponents, he did play moves that were not objectively the best, because they gave him complex positions in which he trusted himself to find the right path better than his opponent. Modern equivalents of this approach are Korchnoi and (as Nunn points out) Carlsen.-- The games themselves are just plain fun.Nunn groups the games into chapters devoted to a single theme, such as attacking play. Within this, he presents a broad selection of games that illustrate how a strong player approaches this theme. I am impressed with the diversity of position types that appear in these games, and how nicely each illustrates various nuances within its chosen theme. It turns out that the games of Lasker alone are a pretty stable base on which to write such a book.And finally, Lasker gets somewhat ignored these days. His approach to chess is something that most players will benefit from studying.The book is suitable for novices up to about expert level, although stronger players are likely to benefit both from the enjoyment of the games, and Nunn's thorough if brief review of important ideas in the middlegame and beyond.

For years Lasker has been an overlooked World Champion. John Nunn tackles this head on. Imagine watching Lasker play and have a grandmaster by your side, explaining the moves. You now have this with, John Nunn's book

100 games of the great, and longest standing World Chess Champion, Emanuel Lasker are used to great effect by John Nunn to elucidate all aspects of playing chess. The games are arranged thematically - piece activity, pawn structure, endgame, manoeuvring, and so on - and analysed with admirable clarity and sufficient depth. The book’s subtitle promises “a complete chess education” and John Nunn delivers of this promise in one of his best books.

A first class book by a distinguished author who derives much helpful guidance to the good club player from the games of Emmanuel Lasker. A novel approach which works very well, helped by the frequency of diagrams. My only gripe is that my boyhood hero, Capablanca, is only represented by two games both won by Lasker - notwithstanding the fact that Capa had a lifetime plus score against him. The book is a pleasure to read.

Good book, as John Nunn is a good writer. I am a rookie player and perhaps the book requires good chess understanding.

Dr/GM Nunn uses about one hundred games from former world champion Emanuel Lasker's games to explain, in increasing order of complexity, the most practical concepts of middle game (and some endgame) play. The book concludes with about twenty - five exercises to solve. In this book the reader is treated to lessons from the games of the man who defeated Steinitz -- one of the most profound thinkers in chess.

Der hervorragenden Rezension von Kreuzer Klaus braucht man eigentlich nichts hinzuzufügen; John Nunn gehört mit Sicherheit zu den besten Schachbuchautoren (ich besitze ein gutes halbes Dutzend seiner Werke).Dennoch möchte ich zwei weitere positive Aspekte aufführen:1.) Für ein Schachbuch ist es günstig.2.) Es ist auch auf Deutsch erhältlich (John Nunns Schachkurs).Wie spielte Lasker? Warum war er 30(!) Jahre lang - von 1894 bis 1924 - der erfolgreichste Schachspieler der Welt?- Er legte nicht viel Wert auf Eröffnungsfinessen, sondern strebte gesunde und solide Stellungen an, ohne das Spiel zu sehr zu vereinfachen.- Dank seines universellen Stils glänzte er im Mittelspiel: ob taktisch oder strategisch, ob dynamisch oder statisch, Lasker konnte alle Stellungen gut behandeln.- Auch im Endspiel überragte er.- Ausgeprägter Siegeswille ohne zu viel Risiko einzugehen.- Die Fähigkeit, den Gegner immer wieder vor Probleme zu stellen, d.h. ihn konstant unter Druck zu setzen und zu Fehlern zu verleiten.- Er behielt einen kühlen Kopf: Auch wenn er nach einem schlechten Zug seinen Vorteil eingebüβt hatte oder in Schwierigkeiten geraten war, brach er nicht ein, sondern schaffte es immer wieder, das Maximum aus seiner Stellung herauszuholen.Genauso kann man das Spiel des heutigen Weltmeisters Magnus Carlsen beschreiben, den man in meinen Augen als den "Lasker des 21. Jahrhunderts" bezeichnen könnte. Laskers Spielweise ist immer noch aktuell und wird es auch bleiben.Wie John Nunn betont, ist dieses Buch keine Partiensammlung (in der Art "Lasker's Best Games"), aber der universelle Stil des Protagonisten erlaubt es dem Autoren, die verschiedensten schachlichen Themen klar und verständlich zu vermitteln. Allerdings sind die bekanntesten Partien Laskers enthalten.Eine weitere Stärke des Buches besteht darin, dass John Nunn nicht nur wichtige, allgemeine Themen vermittelt (z.B. Angriff und Verteidigung, Figurenaktivität, Bauernstruktur), sondern auch sehr praxisbezogene, welche ich in dieser Art in keinem anderen Lehrbuch vorgefunden habe und die bei richtiger Anwendung die Spielstärke und die Ergebnisse enorm verbessern:- Schlechtere Stellungen (erfolgreich) verteidigen- Manövrieren- Endspiele: Aus Nichts Etwas machen, d.h. Gegner in ausgeglichenen Stellungen überspielen- Auf Gewinn spielen- Kurzfristige, vergängliche Chancen, die man nicht verpassen sollte- Der kritische Moment- Typische FehlerSelbst Lasker unterliefen gelegentlich Fehler, doch bei seiner Spielstärke glänzte er insgesamt auch auf diesen Gebieten, was ihm eine Unzahl an Punkten einbrachte.Die Übungsaufgaben aus Laskers Praxis, mit denen das Buch endet, sind ein weiterer Pluspunkt."John Nunn's Chess Course" ist das beste Schachlehrbuch, das ich kenne, und ich kann es nur uneingeschränkt empfehlen; alle Schachspieler, egal welcher Spielstärke, können von diesem Meisterwerk nur profitieren.