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rj_readsbooks's review
4.0
I don't know how to give a star rating to a chess book, but this was good! A very weird format (you only read the right hand page, then flip the book upside down and only read the right hand pages again) but it makes sense once you're doing the little puzzles. I think this taught me a lot about back rank checkmates, mostly, but definitely had some good stuff for a mostly-beginner player like myself. Now I just need a book like this for openings!
Edit: I've decided to give this four stars. Why not.
Edit: I've decided to give this four stars. Why not.
weyensl's review
5.0
As a chess beginner, this book is great. It teaches tons of checkmate patterns, you can use to improve your chess game. Some were hard to spot. I'm excited to try these out in a real match and check how much I've learned and contribute to improve my chess game.
jiscoo's review
fast-paced
there's nothing in this book that can't be learned from a puzzle binge on lichess, but it's still nice as a tool for catching careless mistakes and tactical weaknesses. it's all checkmates, mostly back rank, but I wish he had noted when certain positions were unsuccessful as mates but should still be pursued for the material or positional advantage after the combination.
kawaiiblackbear's review
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The book is good for learning penetration attack patterns and how to stop it, It's for intermediate level chess players.
lapingveno's review against another edition
3.0
Great resource for practicing advanced mating patterns. Not really beginner friendly.
Fischer doesn't really explain how to get to these mating positions; all he does is have you find the combination. This is less a "teaching book" and more a book of structured puzzles.
Not bad, but for more in-depth chess instruction, I'd advise the series by Yasser Seirawan.
Fischer doesn't really explain how to get to these mating positions; all he does is have you find the combination. This is less a "teaching book" and more a book of structured puzzles.
Not bad, but for more in-depth chess instruction, I'd advise the series by Yasser Seirawan.
pitythechild's review
useful! i thought this was a good way to learn some of the more basic techniques :)