I am a beginning coin collector and I've really enjoyed going through this book with the coins I have in my collection. The book describes many aspects of coin collecting such as how they are valued, what certain marks mean, how coins are made, and many other interesting details about collecting US coins. The value tables are not up to date though. So I have also been using the book THE INSIDERS GUIDE TO US COIN VALUES 2000. This book also has good (but not as thorough) information for beginners. With the current coin values it helped round out my search for coin collecting information.

Edgard Colle was perhaps the best chess player from Belgium before his death in 1932. He perfected and advocated a form of the Queen's Pawn Game that became known as the Colle System. This opening is known for its relative ease-of-understanding by beginning players and its solid attacking chances. This collection of Colle's games was written and annotated by Fred Reinfeld BEFORE Reinfeld became known as something of a hack chess publishing institution, cranking out works like "Chess Mastery Overnight" and "How to Win in Two Moves" and many others that bore significant resemblance to works he'd already written. "Colle's Chess Masterpieces" contains detailed analysis of 51 of Colle's games against opponents like Grunfeld, Reti, Euwe, and Rubinstein. It provides some insight into the relatively grinding work of a "tournament circuit" player in the days before FIDE and guaranteed prize money. I only wish that Reinfeld could have included a bit more information on Colle himself, but unfortunately very little is (was) known about him.

"Great Brilliancy Prize Games of The Chess Masters." By Fred Reinfeld. Dover reprint. (1995) ISBN: # 0-486-28614-2

I used to have an original hardback version of this book - autographed by F. Reinfeld himself! I had to purchase another copy ... my last copy fell apart. (It was extremely old and the victim of overuse and abuse.)

First a note about the publisher. (Dover.) They specialize in reprinting older books, and have a very good reputation amongst chess players. Nice 'flex' cover, and a very sturdy binding. The fonts are clear and bold, and the diagrams are also very good; I had no problems visualizing the combinations working from the diagrams alone. The pages are not as opaque as I would like to have them, however.

This is one of the best books ever written. Who wouldn't want to study the very best games of the best tournaments ... played by some of the greatest players of all time? (Lasker, Alekhine, etc.)

The very first game - Schiffers vs. Harmonist, from Franfort, 1887 - is an eye opener in itself. 16.Re8!! is an absolute stunner of a move ... all the more shocking because at first glance it appears to be a blunder.

The student will learn much from this book, an extremely detailed study of this book would greatly help improve your tactics. There are tactics and ideas for combinations in here that I bet you have NEVER seen before!! It is difficult to believe that any average player - who studied this book in a thoughtful and thorough manner - would not improve. Every lover of beautiful chess will want this book as well; the games are the cream of the crop.

Some people will rag on this book and complain about it. "The opening lines are somewhat dated," they will say, and this is true. "Some of these players in here are guys you may have never heard of." "So what?," I would respond. The ONLY real criterion in a book like this should be the games themselves - and nothing else! These have been carefully and lovingly scrutinized by Reinfeld. They are also annotated pretty thoroughly ... the author has anticipated many of the more common questions that would be asked by the average chess player.

In the end, I would rate this book perfect, but not for the following flaws: # 1.) The pages have a little "bleed-through," especially in very strong light; # 2.) Too few diagrams; # 3.) The lack of player or opening indexes in the back of the book; # 4.) THIS BOOK IS IN THE OLD ENGLISH STANDARD DESCRIPTIVE NOTATION!!! If you have severe problems with this notation, than I recommend that you avoid this book.

But if the above drawbacks don't faze you, and you are looking for a VERY good deal, (inexpensive); on a chess book ... then maybe you should try this book out!

i can keep this short; this book is very very basic. each tactic is explained in a couple of sentences and two examples. then there follow a dozen or so puzzles that range from extremely easy to... easy. i think its sort of a childrens tactics book. im really a beginner at chess - beginner beginner but these puzzles i mostly solved within a minute while watching a movie. assuming that youve read some introduction-to-chess book this book will give you very few new information or concepts, but a couple of easy puzzles.

I have been studying tactics now for months on end, constantly, almost nothing but, to the point where I think I have had my eyes bleed. I went through this book in less than 2 hours, cover to cover. I found nothing new, but I really cannot complain loudly, as it did serve a purpose as tactical situations where I was able to apply what I hed read in other books. Most situations I solved in under a minute, and I am not a highly rated player by any stretch of the imagination. Let's put it this way, I think I can get a 4 digit USCF rating in 6 months of so if I keep putting effort in it. While for me it wasn't a very bad book, it just had nothing new in it for me. I had read everything in it before in a few other texts, but like I said, I was able to apply what I had learned in other books going through the puzzles.

I teach chess at an elementary school and I think this book does a great job of presenting the basic tactical patterns. The author does this in a very easy to understand format and the problems are simple and understandable. I would reccommend this to anyone that has a student learning chess.

An outstanding book for beginners as well as advanced chess players. The book takes the player from beginner to the advanced stages of chess with outstanding advice on openings,middlegame and endings, all illustrated by master games. There are chapters on how to play the white and black pieces and a host of clear diagrams and easily understood explanations. All of this in a big book of over 600 pages. This book is a classic, without question. Although Reinfeld is criticized for making his books simple I dont find this to be a fault, but a virtue. This book is an excellent example of clear and easy to understand writing. Practice not knowledge makes the master. A GREAT book!

This is the most comprehensive book on chess I've ever read. Eight books in 1 volume include approx.1,000 diagrams with clear-cut advice on how to win, as played by the Masters. "The Complete Chess Course" is the key to succesful chess like Reinfeld's other 'Classics': "How To Be A Winner at Chess" and "Chess How To Win in 20 Moves Or Less" etc. are also required reading. "The Complete Chess Course" is yet another Reinfeld Winner in a 5-STAR CHESS Match.

This book has been very informative and focuses clearly on the fundamentals of sound play. It's very readable, and is written with wit and humor. I've enjoyed every page! That it's not in algebraic notation shouldn't be any sort of a concern at all. Especially useful are the sections on "How to Win when you're Ahead" and The section titled "The Nine Bad Moves". I'd recomend this well-organized book to anyone who's revisiting chess, especially! Reinfeld was probably the most prolific chess author of his time.

Not that it is a bad book. I am at a beginning level, so pretty much anything I read which has correct information is a help, however, this book just doesn't seem to be much of a help. Many other books I read are enjoyable and informative. This one is a bit of a pain to read. Unfortunately, this is also written in discriptive notation, which is now non-standard, and doesn't help when the author seems to be getting in to the problem a bit too much. While chess players need to be able to read both notations, along with at least 2 to 3 others, most books, especially those for beginners, have been "translated" into algebraic notation. While the walk-throughs on each problem are quite good at explaining the sequence of events that can happen after they key move, one thing I felt was lacking was an explaination of why some common NON-KEY moves would not be shown why they fail. If this is a beginner's book, it might follow that some common mistakes would want to be pointed out any why they are mistakes rather than showing how each and every possible move after a key event does work. When a move is forced or good moves are few, then it becomes self-evident after a few examples of why the key move is the key move.

Although the title says "... for beginners" sometimes some problems can be real hard, even for the most experienced chess
players.
If you want to start in this particular area of chess, I recomend, studying first: How to Solve Chess Problems by Kenneth
Howard, in this book, Howard teaches step by step how to solve chess problems by theme.

This book is for people who know the rules very well and are looking to practice tactics.

It's more for beginning tournament players rather than beginning chess players.

The book, however, is easy compared with 1001 checkmates, and even harder than that book is 1001 sacrifices and combinations.

Those books are must haves for any serious chess players.

Get the 1001 books after you finish this one.

- One of the true classics.

- A great book for beginners or lower-rated players.

- An incredible value if you buy it used.

This was one of the first chess books I read as a beginner many years ago. Its main strength lies in its endgame examples as the openings, though updated by Fred Reinfeld, are totally obsolete by modern standards, this book having been written a hundred years ago! Very little is explained and you must simply work through the examples yourself. Also this book is written in old notation (non-algebraic) but is certainly considered a "classic". James Mason was an old English master who wouldnt crack the top 1000 player list today (Dr. John Nunn would laugh his xxx off.), but was considered a very respectable player at that time. The middle game examples are also obviously obsolete but not completely worthless, its just that the art of defence has become so sophisticated that it is doubtful if those old fashioned king side attacks would stand up to modern defensive techniques. I also wonder how many middle game examples would be exposed as erroneous by a strong chess program. Still, this is a classic Dover book.

This is an old collection of games. The first games are from the MacDonnell - La Bourdanaisse match of 1834. The last games are from 1951. The book is in old descriptive notion. Coles is the author and Reinfeld simply checked the annotations. Coles was looking for hard fought games and not necessarily the most briliantly played games which makes this an interesting collection. There is almost a minimal amount of annotations and diagrams. Chernov's Most Instructive Games of Chess is from about the same period and certainly a better buy than this.

I played through all the games in this book. Well, every game is indeed a battle. But a lot of them are not in a high level from a viewpoint of strategy. Don't expect to learn much useful from this book, it's only for entertaining.

Fred Reinfeld wrote A LOT of chess books. For this he was roundly condemned in many quarters. I have not held to that view: have found his writing to be articulate and, at times, quite sparkling. In this book however he drops the ball. He really does not understand Nimzowitsch, and relies on rehashes of familiar games. You cannot do better than Nimzo's own books - Blockade, My System and Chess Praxis. The only modern author who got to the real core of Nimzo was R D Keene in Nimzowitsch:A Reappraisal.

I give this book a 4 star for anyone who wants to be introduced to Nimzovich. What I like best about the book is that Reinfeld introduces Nimzovich not simply as a grandmaster, but also as an artist. What kind of artist was he? The majestic flowing, classical beauty ala Rubinstein wasn't his. Dramatic is the keyword. His temperment was stormier and more impulsive, more Beethovenian, if you will. He loves to "build", to gather the stormy clouds. That is why his games are seldom short.
Yet Reinfeld wrote in the introduction he wanted "short, sharp, witty encounters which make their point in an unforgettably drastic manner." He mainly avoids the games in My System and when he doesn't he seeks to vary the notes and viewpoint.

What kind of chess player was Nimzovich? A cross between Steinitz and Chigorin. The former because of he prefered cramped positions and difficult defensive games. The latter because of his boldness, imagination and love of knights. Nimvozich subtle handling of knights is enchanting. Other expertise goes with it. His mastery of blockage, subtle details of pawn formations, weak color complexes and evolving powerful attacks from cramped positions. Another favorite quality of Nimzovich, to quote Reinfeld, is" his uncanny ability to infuse tension, uncertainty and ambiguity into postions which were inherently colorless." Not a bad compliment from a big Alekhine fan!

This, of course, is not chess suited for everyone. That is why I recommend this book to the average player who wants to know Nimzovich and learn something from him but knows they aren't going to play like him. It is not [pricey] and he is a figure which no serious student ignores. As a personal note, for those who, like myself, like knights at least as much as bishop, this book is for you!