{"id":4090,"date":"2024-12-31T18:43:32","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T18:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=4090"},"modified":"2024-12-31T18:44:49","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T18:44:49","slug":"book-review-simple-chess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/book-review-simple-chess\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Simple Chess"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Review: Simple Chess<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStrategy requires thought, tactics require observation.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Former World Champion Max Euwe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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English Grandmaster Michael Stean was a top 50 player in his prime, although he retired at the quite young age of 29 in 1982. These days, he is perhaps best known for acting as a second to Victor Korchnoi for his World Championship matches against Anatoly Karpov in 1978 and 1981, and for this book, Simple Chess<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Simple Chess
by Michael Stean<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dover Publications<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

View Book Sample<\/a> | BUY<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The original version of the book was published in 1978 in English Descriptive Notation. It was a small and slim book at just 116 pages. The book was reissued by Dover Publications in 2003. This edition was converted to Algebraic Notation and contained some minor corrections and editorial comments by American chess writer Fred Wilson. This revised edition is now available on Forward Chess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As the Table of Contents above shows, the book is essentially an introduction to chess strategy. Of course, chess strategy is a big subject, and such a small book cannot possibly provide an encyclopaedic coverage. However, this is not the aim of the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the goals of the book, Stean writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t be deceived by the title\u2014chess is not a simple game\u2014such a claim would be misleading to say the least\u2014but that does not mean that we must bear the full brunt of its difficulty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then discusses how beginners start by knowing little about the game and making many blunders. After the players go through this initial stage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTime passes and each player becomes sufficiently competent not to shed material without reason. Now they begin to realize the importance of developing quickly and harmoniously and of castling the king into safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what next? Where are their new objectives? How can the problem be further reduced? If each player is capable of quick development, castling and of not blundering any pieces away, what is there to separate the two sides? This is the starting-point of Simple Chess<\/em>\u2026 Essentially, Simple Chess<\/em> aims to give you some of the basic ideas for forming a long-term campaign. It also shows you how to recognize and accumulate small, sometimes almost insignificant-looking advantages which may well have little or no short-term effect, but are permanent<\/em> features of the position.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the above quote shows, the book is mostly aimed at post-beginners, but the book is useful for more advanced and club-level players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strength of the book is that the author has illustrated the strategic concepts with some very well-chosen examples, and more importantly, he has provided some excellent commentary to explain the games. While strategy is emphasised, tactics are not neglected, as they often underpin the strategic decisions. However, this is not a book that emphasises tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An example of the commentary is Stean\u2019s discussion on the old main line of the Ruy Lopez (Spanish Opening) in Chapter 7 on Space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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