Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.1
EAN: 9780385004640
ISBN: 0385004648
Label: Doubleday
Manufacturer: Doubleday
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 704
Publication Date: 1959-11-05
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: 1959-10-05
Studio: Doubleday

Combining eight volumes into one, the mostacomprehensive book on chess ever published. Fromaopening gambit to endgame, this home-study chess courseais the classic in theafield.

Illustrated throughout

Customer Rating:
Summary: Reinfeld Classic
Comment: This is a summation of Reinfeld's works on chess. I grew up on Reinfeld and Horowitz chess books. I am now a USCF rated class B player rated 1752. This group of books will take you to Class C USCF. This book is definitely adequate for anyone who just wants to play casual chess in parks and amongst friends. Enjoy!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Bought it over a quarter century ago...Such a great book...
Comment: Way back in 1981 I bought this book. I don't think I have ever made such a tremendous jump in my playing ability since then with just one book.
Sure, I have gone on and reached new levels of play since then, but once somebody has read a beginner book such as Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess this should be your next book.
There are many great players with various courses out in the Chess world, but few have the ability to explain things so vividly and memorable as Reinfeld does.
Some works are timeless and this is one of them.
You can continue upward in your climb of knowledge but if you are just starting out in your quest for Chess knowledge this book will propel you forward and you will forever fondly remember all the things you learned from reading it.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: THIS REINFELD BOOK IS STILL GOOD
Comment: Reinfeld did not write this book for Bobby Fisher, or for the club expert for that matter. Those guys could write their own books. But he did write it for almost everyone else, which is about 99% of all chess players. I believe anyone from weak beginner up to USCF 1700 or 1800 could benefit from this book, or books, as it is really eight separate volumes Fred wrote way back in the 1950's. The first section is The basic Rules of Chess and the last two sections are Reinfeld's Winning Chess openings book, which, contrary to what some of the other reviewers think ,are still pretty good for most players. Sure some of these opening lines have changed, or been improved over the years - as this could also be true of newer books written just a few years ago. Chess openings contantly change, and sometimes the older lines comeback into style. Their is a very good endgame section, endgames dont change by the way,in other sections of the book their are some beautiful games showing how to take advantage of mistakes that are probably made by up to 99% of all chess players from time to time. All in all a very uncomplicated but COMPLETE chess corurse. I also like Reinfelds two tactics books 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate and 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices And combinations, these three books alone could make you a strong player and save you some money. Ok Ive given you enough information now, I may have to face you in a tournament someday.

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: I FOUND THIS ONE QUITE HELPFUL
Comment: For the money, this is probably one of the better picks I have made. The language and terminology is quite usable in this large volume. The diagrams are very helpful. I can truely say that this work helped my game. Having played this wonderful game for over 52 years now, I am still what I consider a rank beginner. Having played this game competitively for a number of years, I learned first hand just how far I had to go and how far I had come (which apparently is not very far). For me, this was a good book. I found it quite helpful to stay centered. By the looks of some of the other reviewers here, I see we have some "real" experts who apparently gleaned little from this work. I feel great for them and certainly hope after another fifty or so years I will be able to reach their heights. In the meantime, I will enjoy this great game, have fun doing it, and still return to this work, if for nothing else, then a brush-up or tune-up. Sometimes the simplist things are overlooked. This work reminds you of those things. Recommend you add this one to your collection. For those beginners...you will find, after playing competitively, that there are many, many egos which sort of run amok in the world of chess, which can, if you let them, sort of ruin a very nice time. Ignore them and play on!

---

Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for beginners
Comment: I stumbled across this book as a child when I ambled down the wrong aisle at the library - thus began a lifelong attachment to chess! I was astounded that so much could be written about a mere game. Reinfeld does several things which are guaranteed to get the beginner involved right off the mark:

1) No hero worship - The names of the masters who play the example games and positions are almost entirely omitted. Thus the beginning student is presented, not with unapproachable paragons of skill, rather, cold hard chess as it happens at the board.

2) Games chosen from the "golden" age - The games in the book are mostly from the 19th century, and highlight the basic themes beginners should understand in stark clarity. Many of the games are by Steinitz. You won't see the fantastically deep strategies of Alekhine, which are incomprehensible to a beginner. The book concludes with the great Pillsbury-Tarrasch game from Hastings 1895.

3) Explicit instructions on basic checkmates - Surprising how hard to find this simple material can be.

4) General tone of great enthusiasm for the game - Yes, the double exclamation points and so on are a little "homerish" now and then, but infectious for the beginning player.

5) Just enough about openings to allow the beginner to master the main lines - It would be foolish to overwhelm the beginning player with page after page of detailed opening theory. I'm convinced that only advanced players should study the openings it great detail.

6) A "break it down" approach - There may be 8 or 10 "bad moves" instead of 9 - nevertheless Reinfeld gives the beginner a "hook" to focus on and I entirely approve of this approach. In my case it made an instant and drastic improvement of my game. This part of the book might well have been titled "The Discoveries of Paul Morphy".

I could go on but I'll just say, this is a wonderful book for beginners and I wholeheartedly endorse it!

-drl

---