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The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions Into Chess Mastery

The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions Into Chess Mastery

  • Downloads：7921
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-08-23 09:54:23
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jeremy Silman
  • ISBN：1890085022
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

This book takes the student on a journey through his own mind and returns him to the chess board with a wealth of new-found knowledge and the promise of a significant gain in strength。 Most amateurs possess erroneous thinking processes that remain with them throughout their chess lives。 These flaws in their mental armour result in stinging defeats and painful reversals。 Books can be bought and studied， lessons can be taken -- but in the end， these elusive problems always prove to be extremely difficult to eradicate。 Seeking a solution to this dilemma， the author wrote down the thoughts of his students while they played actual games， analysed them， and catalogued the most common misconceptions that arose。 This second edition greatly expands on the information contained in the popular first edition。

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Reviews

Kurniawan ，

good for intermediate chess

Carter ，

There are much better guides from Europe and Russia for learning chess。

Peter Cheng ，

Absolutely brilliant exposition on the concept of imbalances。 Master Silman is a fantastic teacher and writer， who not only imparts the wisdom of chess， but also makes it an enjoyable experience。By showcasing the mindset of amateur players from 800 to 2100 ELO range， he is able to appeal to every level of amateur players and point out the flaws in their thought process by allowing them to relate to his students。 I have read a few books on Grandmaster games， and a lot of the ideas simply flew ove Absolutely brilliant exposition on the concept of imbalances。 Master Silman is a fantastic teacher and writer， who not only imparts the wisdom of chess， but also makes it an enjoyable experience。By showcasing the mindset of amateur players from 800 to 2100 ELO range， he is able to appeal to every level of amateur players and point out the flaws in their thought process by allowing them to relate to his students。 I have read a few books on Grandmaster games， and a lot of the ideas simply flew over my head。 This was definitely not the case。His holistic approach of evaluating imbalances first， before looking for candidate moves （instead of looking for candidate moves immediately and calculating every possible variation） leverages the human mind's creativity， reasoning， and critical thinking abilities to maximize chances of victory。 After all， we are not engines and should not attempt to mechanically crank out every possible move order。I will be sure to take these concepts and apply them to my own games， both online and over the board。 。。。more

Julie ，

I think I am too much of a novice to really benefit from this book。

John M。 ，

A terrific book on positional concepts by Jeremy Silman。 Having his students verbalize their thoughts was a great idea; and I found myself laughing because， as a class player myself， I'm prone to the same mistakes as them。 Whether it's ignoring a minor piece imbalance （guilty） or hilariously going for a kingside attack no matter the situation， piece layout， or pawn structure （definitely guilty）， all class-level players can relate （and probably some expert-level players as well）。 His teaching sty A terrific book on positional concepts by Jeremy Silman。 Having his students verbalize their thoughts was a great idea; and I found myself laughing because， as a class player myself， I'm prone to the same mistakes as them。 Whether it's ignoring a minor piece imbalance （guilty） or hilariously going for a kingside attack no matter the situation， piece layout， or pawn structure （definitely guilty）， all class-level players can relate （and probably some expert-level players as well）。 His teaching style is clear， concise， and often very funny。 I can see Silman now， his fists raised to the sky， cursing the fates and his blood pressure as that bumbling 1700 played h5 and closed a file that needed to be kept open。 All in all， this book should be required reading for class players and aspiring chess coaches。 。。。more

Davies ，

amazing book to each the reader how to play with imbalances， i。e bishop vs knight

Michiel Tummers ，

One of the best books one can read on chess after a player has fully mastered the basics。 This book is for the intermediate player who cant seem to improve。 Given that the player is practising chess tactics on a daily level （lichess。org or chess。com）， knows some openings by heart and has a rudimentary knowledge of end games， the fault in 99% of the time is strategic by nature。mr。 Silman has his own theories and although at times he puts too much faith in his strategic concepts， it is a must read One of the best books one can read on chess after a player has fully mastered the basics。 This book is for the intermediate player who cant seem to improve。 Given that the player is practising chess tactics on a daily level （lichess。org or chess。com）， knows some openings by heart and has a rudimentary knowledge of end games， the fault in 99% of the time is strategic by nature。mr。 Silman has his own theories and although at times he puts too much faith in his strategic concepts， it is a must read for any chess enthousiast to improve （if a player doesnt know where he is blundering or he/she is going wrong， this is probably the book to read）。 In it， Silman shows games from his own repetoire or from Grandmasters and after examining crucial positions， he lets his students （from various ratings） play the same position while writing down their thought processes。This is great imo！A few readers were complaining about the tone at which he berates his students in this book， but again i disagree with tone politics。 If you want to be good， there is no sense in sugar coating。 I want to bet all of these students learned a thing or two and have improved their chess game vastly。 Ofcourse there is a difference at berating and abusing， and although Silman can be come across as a little bit condescending， he is never abusive。 Great book！ 。。。more

Sharad ，

A great introduction to chess strategy。 Before this book I would feel at a loss in many positions with no idea how to come up with a plan。 Silman gives you a framework that helps you break down a position and shows you where to look。 Really liked it and felt it had a positive impact on the way I play。

Quinton Baran ，

This is an excellent， in depth book for the beginning chess player。 I followed through carefully with a chess board， and I know that I can still gain much more by re-reading， which I plan to do sometime in the future。 The basis of Silman's chess philosophy is identifying imbalances （both temporary and permanent） and then making plans to take advantage of the imbalances while denying the opponent the use of their imbalances。 The book goes through chapter by chapter over different imbalances， and This is an excellent， in depth book for the beginning chess player。 I followed through carefully with a chess board， and I know that I can still gain much more by re-reading， which I plan to do sometime in the future。 The basis of Silman's chess philosophy is identifying imbalances （both temporary and permanent） and then making plans to take advantage of the imbalances while denying the opponent the use of their imbalances。 The book goes through chapter by chapter over different imbalances， and then discusses some weakness in amateur chess play （such as mindless King hunters and playing on the right side of the board that one's play has led to）。 Finally， the book ends with 26 chess problems， with in depth analysis of each problem。 Highly recommended for the amateur player to develop and improve their game。 。。。more

Tyler ，

Excellent content， but the format kind of makes Silman seem like a prick。 I get that amateurs make bad chess moves dude， but you're not as funny as you think you are。 Still， a very solid introduction to positional chess。 Excellent content， but the format kind of makes Silman seem like a prick。 I get that amateurs make bad chess moves dude， but you're not as funny as you think you are。 Still， a very solid introduction to positional chess。 。。。more

Eculo ，

A Great Chess Classic Book！

Samuli Koponen ，

Loistava kirja kaikille shakin pelaajille！ Silman opettaa epätasapainoon perustuvaa pelitapaa。

Blaze ，

It improved my chess thinking and my rating hundreds of points when I first started getting back into chess。

Aishwary Singh ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I love this book

FriedrechMortaldo ，

I want To Upgrade My Chess Knowlegde and tactics。

Cathie Maud ，

The first chess book I've read that did not bore my amateur， casual mind to tears。 I really appreciated all the examples， but it is hard to follow if you do not set up a board to follow along， as there are usually only the initial board placements shown in the diagrams。 It can make progressing through the book a bit tedious， but it is well worth it。 I am able to see what lazy mental chess-playing habits I have picked up over the years， and with my new awareness， try and better my play。Highly rec The first chess book I've read that did not bore my amateur， casual mind to tears。 I really appreciated all the examples， but it is hard to follow if you do not set up a board to follow along， as there are usually only the initial board placements shown in the diagrams。 It can make progressing through the book a bit tedious， but it is well worth it。 I am able to see what lazy mental chess-playing habits I have picked up over the years， and with my new awareness， try and better my play。Highly recommend this book！ 。。。more

Randolph ，

It’s coolU

Gard ，

Did not feel entirely like an amateur's book， but I learned a couple of things to help me improve my play。 Did not feel entirely like an amateur's book， but I learned a couple of things to help me improve my play。 。。。more

Jacob Hurley ，

"Literary lashings" "Literary lashings" 。。。more

Tom Ritman-Meer ，

Very good instruction for beginner/intermediate players。

Etienne Pelletier ，

Silman does an excellent job presenting basic strategy concepts and doesn't get bogged down into individual moves or game analysis。 Presents ideas like pawn chains， supporting pieces， centre control， control of open files， etc。 Makes it easy to understand the basics of strategy and how to move beyond just understand how the pieces move。 I highly recommend this book！ Silman does an excellent job presenting basic strategy concepts and doesn't get bogged down into individual moves or game analysis。 Presents ideas like pawn chains， supporting pieces， centre control， control of open files， etc。 Makes it easy to understand the basics of strategy and how to move beyond just understand how the pieces move。 I highly recommend this book！ 。。。more

Asem ，

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Chris MacFadyen ，

Good book for chess players just beginning their chess studies or any player under 1500 rating。Silman does a good job of breaking down important topics like many imbalances on the board， optimizing knights vs。 bishops and what to do with leads in development， initiative and/or space。He uses real game examples of how they should be played （by Silman or another GM） then after highlighting the key attributes of the position that lead to the winning plan Silman has one of his students play the game Good book for chess players just beginning their chess studies or any player under 1500 rating。Silman does a good job of breaking down important topics like many imbalances on the board， optimizing knights vs。 bishops and what to do with leads in development， initiative and/or space。He uses real game examples of how they should be played （by Silman or another GM） then after highlighting the key attributes of the position that lead to the winning plan Silman has one of his students play the game （a player usually around 1100-1200）。 This style of teaching highlights the typical erroneous thinking that differentiates players from 1200 and below from 1800-2000 and above。All in all， I believe this is a really good book to start your chess improvement！ 。。。more

Doug ，

Another great book by a master teacher！ It contains all the great Silman features， humor， great examples and diagrams。 It's interesting how he shares the thinking of his students as he presents different example chess challenges and finishes each section with s list of great tips！ This was my third Silman book this past year and I have already bought his Endgame book！ Highly recommend all his books！ He will improve your play and the overall enjoyment of the game！ Another great book by a master teacher！ It contains all the great Silman features， humor， great examples and diagrams。 It's interesting how he shares the thinking of his students as he presents different example chess challenges and finishes each section with s list of great tips！ This was my third Silman book this past year and I have already bought his Endgame book！ Highly recommend all his books！ He will improve your play and the overall enjoyment of the game！ 。。。more

William Schram ，

I enjoy playing Chess， but I am terrible at it。 So I decided to read this book and see if it could help me out somewhat。 Most of what I gained from this book was the idea of a plan。 It doesn't necessarily have to be Checkmate。 Silman is a fan of looking at imbalances and seeing what the board has to offer and responding accordingly。 So he takes some games from Masters and goes over them， followed by a section where one of his rated students go and try to copy the moves。 Silman also does one bett I enjoy playing Chess， but I am terrible at it。 So I decided to read this book and see if it could help me out somewhat。 Most of what I gained from this book was the idea of a plan。 It doesn't necessarily have to be Checkmate。 Silman is a fan of looking at imbalances and seeing what the board has to offer and responding accordingly。 So he takes some games from Masters and goes over them， followed by a section where one of his rated students go and try to copy the moves。 Silman also does one better by telling the student to say what they are thinking and why they did what they did。 So they annotate their moves and then Silman chimes in with his own input。 It's pretty well done， but as I am terrible at this game， I don't really have much else to say。 。。。more

Alex ，

One of the best books I've ever read。 It gives you an insight into how your mind works， not just with chess， but with life！ One of the best books I've ever read。 It gives you an insight into how your mind works， not just with chess， but with life！ 。。。more

Pedro Areal ，

A experiência como treinador de jogadores desde principiantes absolutos a mestres transparece em cada página e torna o livro um prazer e uma ferramenta de treino excelente。

Charles ，

Silman's methodology is certain to improve your play。 Silman's methodology is certain to improve your play。 。。。more

Todd Bryant ，

WOW THIS BOOK IS ASTONISHINGLY GOOD。 BUY IT RIGHT NOW AND GAIN 400 RATING POINTS LIKE I DID。

Butch Mosier ，

Excellent book for learning how the chess master thinks， against opponents who make the kinds of mistakes normal tournament players are likely to see themselves （as opposed to the mistakes found in typical books about games between grandmasters， in which the errors are so slight its hard to see that one has been made at all until well into the process of exploiting it）。

Reference

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