bookrackrh from SC, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $11.23 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

---superbookdeals from IN, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $11.24 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

smokymtnbooks from TN, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $11.28 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

a1books from NJ, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $11.67 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

Amazon.com offers this stuff with condition New, new for:

Price : $12.21 Usually ships in 24 hours

--caiman-- from FL, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $12.39 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

bigrock_media from NV, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $12.39 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

bigrock_media from NV, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $12.47 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

the_book_depository_ from DE, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $13.55 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

brandnewgoodsus from NJ, United States offers this stuff for:

Price : $14.09 Usually ships in 1-2 business days

What our customer's say!

"Truly Useful",
The 1st word in the title is key, this book is _very_ practical. I suppose there aren't many chess books that will weaken your game, but I haven't come across any that should really significantly help an intermediate player to the degree this one does. It's based on a novel, but seemingly obvious, concept that the answer to problem presented shouldn't be "telegraphed" in any way beforehand. Also, the problems are not simply of the white/black "to play and win" variety - you may just be trying get a draw when behind. You aren't told whether there's a mate hiding in there or simply a positional improvement. In other words, it's very much like the real life positions players find themselves in on a regular basis.

There are a few minor points I could complain about. I think the arrangement of the illustrations s/h/b somewhat different and it seems like the difficulty levels shown are occasionally a little off. But these are really insignificant issues compared to the power of the concept and the excellent choice of problems.

In short, a great book for intermediate-to-advanced chess players. (It's extremely handy when you want something very portable to keep you entertained for an indeterminate amount of time - like waiting at an airport.) I'll be sad when I've finished this. I hope Mr. Cheng comes up with a volume 2!

I'll just add that, for what it's worth, I was recently playing blitz against an A-level friend (who beats me much more often than not) and I came up with a winning move in a complex position that stunned both of us. I don't think I would've seen it if I hadn't been exercising my brain with this book - and I'm not even halfway through!

For a combination of originality, usefulness and just plain fun, this book definitely deserves 5 stars.

"not a problem/puzzle book", First of all, I'd like to say that this is not a problem or puzzle book. As Cheng points out, if you rely on problem books, your mind channels into that mind set and you are constantly looking for mates in four or queen sacs which rarely occur. This book presents positions from amateur games (with a few master's games sprinkled in). They are typical positions which present simple tactics or strategic decisions or defensive moves, in other words you are not given anything to look for beforehand (as in your own games) so you have to think for yourself and scan the board for the best move in this particular situation. He doesn't even rate the difficulty until after you have made your choice. I had previously worked on CT-Arts problem series software and realized after finding five queen sacs leading to mate, that this wasn't real chess. Mr. Cheng's book is as close to real chess as I have seen. I was thinking he should create something on cd or dvd software based on this book or even more examples. But the book, as it is, is logically arranged. No more flipping to the back for the solution to the position. It's on the facing page and all you have to do is cover it up. Minor comments: slightly larger diagrams would help. Numbering left to right, as someone mentioned. Also, putting the color to move at the bottom of the diagram, rather than have all whites at bottom. I'm not sure if this would be a typographical issue, but there you are. I have only gone through about ten percent of problems, but have already learned a lot and have been kicking myself for stupid decisions, just as i do in real games. Congratulations to Mr. Cheng for this book, and perhaps he will expand into the software field in the future.

"an extremely practical offering", This is definitely a 5 star item. I agree with all the above positive comments, so I won't repeat them here. Basically you see a board position from real life games and you have to figure out the best move, which may be just a positional move, such as putting your rook behind a passed pawn, or you may have to avoid a trap or a mate three moves ahead. There are absolutely no hints on what may be the issue. I photocopy a few pages of problems, not the solutions, and carry them in my pocket to evaluate when I am somewhere where I have time to spare. The ability to have folded sheet(s) of paper in my pocket, rather than a full book, makes this an extremely practical offering.

"great book", This is a great book. I think every chess player should get as much information as possible on chess. Thats what I think. I've been playing for a long time. But slacked off a bit. So I recently got back into it. I play every day on my computer. And lose the majority of the time. Out of about 2,3oo games I won a little over 500. So I got a little tired of that and said to myself that you shoul get a couple of books. Thats why I purchased this book. I'm still reading it but It's helping me out.

"Good Problems", Good book as chess coach. Good instruction material as well as useful lessons for myself.

Read this reviews before You buy...

"Innovative Book", In all my years of studying chess, I've never come across such a novel and simple concept for a chess book. Actually, Hort's The Best Move, comes close to this, however that's out of print. This book mirrors it, but with more exercises.

"This is a must have chess exercises book", I have been away from chess for quite some time, in fact, I haven't played it seriously since the 5th and 6th grade. Now that I'm in graduate school, and I need something to "sharpen my mind" after lots of reading and writing, I have turned to chess to hopefully exercise the "other part" of my brain (whether the "chess" part of the brain is the same as the reading and writing part of it, I don't know, this is why I'm in history not science).

This is the first book that I have ever bought concerning chess puzzles, and I must say I am very impressed. Cheng mixes in puzzles of different difficulty levels and simply asks you to make the best move. He doesn't tell you if there is a two move checkmate, or if you are looking for a winning fork, you simply have to study the board and make the best choice. This choice can be anything from creating a space advantage, to an outpost for your Knight, to a fork, to a consolidation of your position, to preventing your opponent from mating you, etc. All you know is that you are either black or white and you must make the best move. I sincerely hope that Cheng comes out with another such book very soon. I am only 80 puzzles into it, and I would definitely consider buying another such book with this format. No hints, no themes, no # of moves to checkmate, simply make the best move. It's brilliant!

"Good enough", This book is a good for every level of player. I have picked up a few moves from it and it has lead me to think a lot more when playing. A must have in my opinion.

"A chess puzzle book - for the thought process ", I think the other reviews describe this excellent chess puzzle book quite well. There is nothing like this book, maybe Khmelnitsky "Chess Exam And Training Guide" come close to this book.

So when you have no idea what to do or expect, you are so close a real game situation. That makes this book an extraordinary training materiel for the thought process.

Together with "Winning chess exercises for kids" this is the best chess puzzle book for players rated 1200-1650.

Is this an award-winning book 2007?

"Best tactics and/or strategy book I've used", If you're looking for a book to improve your rating and chess strategical knowledge this book is the best I've seen.

Excellent book!