Better Thinking, Better Chess

En interessant og vel anrettet bok med momenter om ikke noe mindre enn hvordan stormestere bestemmer seg for trekk. Benjamin søker å presentere stoffet for klubbspillere. Boka passer fint for spillere med ratingnivå cirka 1300 - 2200.

Forfatteren ser ut til å lykkes godt med engasjere leseren med bl.a. oppgaver i teksten.

De ti kapitlene heter:

• 1. Openings
• 1. Endgames
• 1. Tactics
• 1. Grandmaster calculation and analysis
• 1. Problems in calculation and cognitive approach
• 1. Material and initiative
• 1. Winning the won game
• 1. Swindling
• 1. Words of wisdom: tips for better chess thinking
• 1. Challenges

Forlagets omtale:

Finding strong moves doesn't simply depend on how much you know about chess. In fact, greater conceptual knowledge makes choosing a move more complex as it increases the number of directions your mind can take. More important is optimizing your thought process.

Grandmaster Joel Benjamin knows that pointing out the moves his students missed is just half the job. They need to understand that they were looking in the wrong direction.

Chess engines offer little help in this because they can’t explain why you went astray. What’s more: an engine may send the wrong message! Many chess players don’t realise that the top computer move frequently isn’t the best move to play during the game.

This book will improve the structure and effectiveness of your decision making process. You will learn to: -- choose between two attractive continuations -- avoid taking the wrong direction at the start of your deliberations -- know when it is necessary to spend more time -- recognize unlikely moves -- understand when you need to sacrifice material -- and much more.

By applying a grandmaster’s train of thought you will more often arrive at strong moves and substantially improve your game.

At thirteen years of age Joel Benjamin broke Bobby Fischer's record as the youngest ever US master. He won the US Championship three times and was the chess consultant for IBM's Deep Blue computer, which made history by beating World Champion Garry Kasparov in an epic encounter. He has been teaching chess for many years. His previous book Liquidation on the Chess Board won the 2015 Best Book Award of the Chess Journalists of America (CJA).