There is no doubt that Alekhine was a genius, way ahead of his time in his style of attacking chess. If you are like me, you will go green with envy if you play through these games and see how he conjured combinations from the simplest looking of positions. I believe that Alekhine was the inspiration for great later players such as Tal and, of modern times, Kasparov and Shirov. If you don't have a collection of Alekhine's games, you could do no better than buy this book.

Have been waiting for this to come out ever since I got the first volume, and it does not disappoint. Timely and topical, for example, devoting a chapter to Kasparov's favored 6. Be3 Ng4 line which was so effective at Linares 1999. This book was primarily authored by Gallagher, and I like his work very much.

(From a high class-B player, USCF) This book, along with its companion volume "The New Classical King's Indian", gives really in-depth coverage of the 6. Be2 lines of the King's Indian Defense. One feature I like about this book is that the author includes at least some prose description of the typical ideas and manuevers in some of the main variations. However, make no mistake about it -- this is a book with lots and lots of variations, and is probably best suited for tournament players or those with a pretty fair amount of experience. Definitely not for beginners, probably most useful to players rated around 1600 and above. If you want to memorize, or just familiarize yourself with the main variations of this opening, this is a good one though.

Even in this age of 2700+ grandmasters, the games of Paul Keres retain their excitement and freshness. John Nunn has done a wonderful job of adding additional analysis to Keres's original comments, as well as giving us the later games Keres had not included in his Chess autobiography. 37 years in the Top 10 of Chess, four-time second-place winner in Candidates' Tournaments (yes, it's heart-rending) - there can be no doubt that Paul Keres was one of the giants of the game. Any chess player from, say, 1500 to GM cannot fail to benefit from this book. Why only 9? I would have liked photos! My only caveat, and a niggling one at that.

This book seems primarily aimed at practical players, with the purpose of introducing such players to the problem-solving world. As my title indicates, I think Nunn succeeds admirably. Here are just some of the book's outstanding features: 1) Great balance between many different areas of problem-solving. Almost everything covered -- retrograde analysis, endgame studies, series-movers, helpmates, selfmates, direct mates etc. etc. (No fairy pieces, however, but I agree with this omission since if you change the pieces you don't really have a "chess problem".)
2) Perfect balance between problems to solve and problems analyzed. Solving problems are what the book's all about. On the other hand, reading through a solution is also enjoyable and often instructive. I very much like Nunn's balance between the two.
3) Unchanged since the original in 1985. Hats off again, since the common practice of making very minor changes, and then asking previous readers to waste their money on a new edition is an unfortunate one. This book admits up front that almost no changes were made.
4) An emphasis on original problems that are not likely to have been seen by many readers. I think Nunn was very wise not to bore us by further discussion of Reti's K and P v K and P study, Saavedra's ending etc. We've seen them too many times already!

You won't regret buying this book!

Wow! A really cool book. (Bad books do NOT become BCF's "Book of the Year.") !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's see. What do you get? A section on: beginning chess, Openings, Middlegames, Endgames, Tactics, Attack and Defence. You get a section on the chess clock, on-line chess (somewhat dated), Correspondance chess, etc. Call it potpourri unlimited. (A little of something for everybody!) In fact, there is a little of almost everything about chess in here. (500+ pages!) [Maybe a little slanted towards the British side of everything.]

Two minor criticisms: Organization could have been a little bit better. And the paper is somewhat yellowish and see-through. The book has NOT fallen apart, but the cover and binding of my book is showing wear and tear. (But its been through a lot. I used to take it to school EVERY DAY when I taught at a local school last year!! The kids just loved thumbing through it.) Many pluses, one being some of the most comphrehensive indexes I've ever seen in a chess book!

However, all this is nit-picking. Everyone I know who has bought this book has LOVED it. And the bonus? It costs about 1/3 [or less], of what the average chess book sells for!! Buy it. If you don't like it you, a friend will surely take it off your hands!!

Whoa. This book is indeed mammoth. It covers a huge range of topics - strategy, general opening guides, tactics, endgames, etc to even stuff like correspondence and online chess. Although probably the content is suited best for the novice to intermediate range, I'm sure other players will find something useful in this. Its tactics and strategy section contains many masterpieces played between former legends, e.g. Mikhail Tal, Botvinnik, etc, as well as basic, simple examples to introduce newcomers to general ideas, e.g., pins, forks, play for centre.

This is good value. And as someone earlier pointed out, the British Chess Federation doesn't give out their Chess Book of the Year award easily -- it has got to be top notch. Want to improve your game in all aspects, from openings to endgames? Try this one out.

Wow! A really cool book. (Bad books do NOT become BCF's "Book of the Year.") !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's see. What do you get? A section on: beginning chess, Openings, Middlegames, Endgames, Tactics, Attack and Defence. You get a section on the chess clock, on-line chess (somewhat dated), Correspondance chess, etc. Call it potpourri unlimited. (A little of something for everybody!) In fact, there is a something of almost everything about chess in here. (500+ pages!) [Maybe a little slanted towards the British side of everything.]

Two minor criticisms: Organization could have been a little bit better. And the paper is somewhat yellowish and see-through. The book has NOT fallen apart, but the cover and binding of my book is showing wear and tear. (But its been through a lot. I used to take it to school EVERY DAY when I taught at a local school last year!! The kids just loved thumbing through it.) Many pluses, one being some of the most comphrehensive indexes I've ever seen in a chess book!

However, all this is nit-picking. Everyone I know who has bought this book has LOVED it. And the bonus? It costs about 1/3 [or less], of what the average chess book sells for!! Buy it. If you don't like it, a friend will surely take it off your hands!!

I'll be honest. I don't own this book. (Yet.) But I did spend about three hours, (at least!!); one afternoon reading this book at the book store. I naturally took my magnetic set along and went over about 20 of the games. [Of course I am intimately familiar with Anand's games. I have a database inside the ChessBase program on my computer that contains hundreds of his games.]

The book is well-written. The stories in there are entertaining, but not exceptionally so.

What sets this book apart is the CHESS. WOW! Anand is truly a universal player. He can play an all-out, sacrificial mating attack one game. The next can be a positional battle where he squeezes you to death. Or a very good endgame the next. I found the games themselves to be truly entertaining and enjoyable.

A slight criticism is is that I had a hard time following some of the lines and I am a Master. I think the average player could struggle with this book. It would have been helpful to have more explanation here and there.

This is a very good book, definitely above average. Maybe one of the better, if not the best, auto-biographical game collections of the last 25 years. While it may not be in the league of Alekhine's collection of games; or even of Fischer's; it certainly is a good chess book. If you are a fan of Anand, or want to see how the Modern GM's win during the 1990's, this book is a MUST-BUY!

There's really not that much to say about this book: either you want a book of well-annotated, accessible games by one of the world's top players, or you don't.

If you're interested in Anand's games, you won't find a better book. His notes are clear, concise, and entertaining. Yes, they take work to get through. (This should surprise no-one.) But they're also not presented as mind-numbing lists of variations. Anand has a good knack for finding the right sentence to explain what's going on, rather than simply rely on variation of chess moves.

Fans of deep analysis of every variation will prefer Shirov's book, but for most players this book will be more entertaining and educational. Prospective readers should bear in mind, however, that while Anand does his best to explain his moves for the average player, this is not a book of instruction or of games annotated for the beginner. While this book is certainly one of the most enjoyable books by any top-level player in recent memory (possibly since Tal's autobiography) it's still a book of chess played at an extremely high level. It will require work to get through and understand, even if it is enjoyable.

One of the best games collection book ever written. This book has 57 games from 1986-2000, all won Anand, the world #3 classical chess, and probably the best rapid chess player. Like Tal's book, Anand has a short introduction before each games (not as extensive). What I like about this books is Anand explain very clearly and easy to understand complex positions without all the long variation (some occassion). His stories are very genuine and humble. With the help of computer (and Nunn), there would not be many analysis error as earlier books. As for comparision, this book and Alekhine collection (1908-1937)is my favorite. Although Anand's games is more current and complex, Alekhine's work is more monumental especially for beginner. ~1400 ELO and up will get most out of Anand's book.
This review is for the 2nd Ed. 2001. Not the one shown here.

This book of games is good, and is an excellent companion to Watson's "Modern Chess Strategy", but I think it could have been more interesting. How? Maybe some very old games where Nunn could demonstrate the more dogmatic approach in the past by masters, and how a Shirov might play an Alekhine game. There's someting unambitious about this book, but it is very good, especially for budding players.

If you've read and loved Chernev's "Logical Chess Move by Move," you'll have a rough idea of Nunn's book. The main differences, I think, are:

1) Chernev's is much more basic, even though Understanding Chess "avoids jargon" and "emphasizes general principles" Nunn still writes more in-depth textually and doesn't avoid long variations.

2) Nunn is less repetitive - he doesn't try to come up with a dozen different reasons for why 1 e4 or 1 d4 "is the best move on the board," he just refers you to game 1, and moves on.

3) Nunn's games reflect current theory and modern openings which are a bit more sophisticated (or at least not as readily comprehensible) and require more explanation than Chernev's.

I enjoyed Understanding Chess (the writing, variations, thematic ideas, summaries) but I think it is a bit too much for younger players or newcomers so if you haven't read Logical Chess or found it too hard (or **shudder** boring) you might do well to wait awhile before trying Understanding Chess. Understanding Chess is like a college textbook while Logical Chess' is a high school workbook.

I have used this book extensively, and I haven't even gone over all of the games. I like it so much that is very worn.

Dr Nunn, is one of the best chess authors writing today. He has done a wonderful job on this book.

Let me tell you what I've gotten out of using this book, and why I like it so much. He explains the strategies behind most of the moves to reveal concepts the I as a C/B player would never consider. He explains the squares and how to look at the light and dark square strengths and weaknesses on both sides of the board. He explains prophylactic (meaning less moves are often prophylactic) moves when they are being made and explains why they are being played, what they defend and how theses same moves can be aggressive as well as defensive.

Since I have most of them in my database, I can play over the moves of the game, then replay the game to make my own notes, then read the analysis given by one of the strongest players in the world. Then I go over them again trying to annotate the games as well as GM Nunn. Afterwards, I go over the game very closely to myself for errors. This book is a great training and teaching tool.

How much have I advanced since I bought this book? All I know is that I see the game differently. I try to see how the game will evolve and how certain squares will lead one side or the other to a victory. This method makes it easier to see candidate moves, too. Since I have a better idea of what needs to be controlled or how I want the game to evolve, I can look at the pieces that will help me attain my goals for the game.

I think this is an excellent book, it is easy to read, it has ample diagrams, and it built to last.

Even though I already own a few "great chess games" books, I feel this is an awesome addition to my library. This is a book that not only entertains but educates. I enjoyed the verbal explanations of plans, move orders, and thematic summaries of "lessons learned." I felt confident that the authors had not simply rewritten previous annotators' analysis' but checked detailed move variations for tactical flaws (with computer assistance not available in the past). For example, the Reti-Alekhine (Baden-Baden, 1925) game is analysed by the Grandmaster authors with the help of computer chess software, not to diminish Alekhine's abilities but to aid in seeing how complicated the game was. I finished the book with a better appreciation of the accomplishments of world-class players and I would recommend this book to advanced beginners and beyond.

This books certainly contains some of the best, most creative games ever played, but it left some other good ones out. For example, Karpov/Kasparov World Championship game 23 from 1986. The game with the famous Nd7!! and then Rb4!! Although they were sealed moves by Kasparov, it is an unbelievable combination...No games by Paul Morphy!! The first star of the game of chess has no games in this book. Also, Fischer/Spassky 1972, game 10. Fischer played, in my opinion, one of the most devestating endgames ever. Finally, Deep Blue/Kasparov 1997, game 2. One of the greatest players ever resigns in a drawn position! The game should have been in here for its historical value. Other than that, it is a good book for a reasonable price.

Naturally any book like this will have a subjective element to it and people will disagree with the content. In this book however the author's have done an admirable job in selecting the best 100 games.
Each of the games are introduced in terms of the players and then the context in which the game was played. At the end of the game there is also a short section with lessons that can be learned from it.
In this book I particularly enjoyed Nigel Short's King march (game 86) and Anatoly Karpov' triple rook sacrifice (game 90)

I found the first two chapters somewhat dull and almost didn't finish the book at all. Once into chapter three, however, I found it quite readable and very informative. Still, I suspect the volume will appeal most to those with at least some background in health care, as it's written by a retired MD.

This book was a really intellegently written and informative book. Wonderful issues, and sides of ancient egyptian medicine explored in great detail. I was very pleased, except I had 1 complaint. -Very little pictures

Otherwise a very detailed and well written book.

When I got this book, I needed a manual that described the effects of embalming techniques. This book is loaded with diagrams to guide the physician along the way. Please don't miss the chapter on the holistic benefits of psycho-pyramidology.