I am a begining collector of pin ups and I would recomend this book to people who are just starting out. It gives good basic background information on Elvgren as well as some of his best work. If you like drawn pin ups of the 30's, 40's and 50's. This book is for you.

An excellent presentation of the greatest pinup artist of all time

Although there are "only" 303 problems, they are well chosen and representative of their respective themes. Skewers, pins, forks, and the usual suspects are all there in progressively more difficult examples. The diagrams are not tiny, cramped drawings like you might find in those 1000+ monster collections and the solutions are easy to look up without seeing accidentally seeing the solutions to other problems. Combined with the slender size of the book, the diagrams and easy-to-find solutions make this a very convenient book to carry around. I am a rated USCF player with an OTB rating that ranges from 1750-1850 and found most of the problems rather simple but NOT trivial - these are problems and combinations that are far more likely to be encountered in my games (and yours?) than some of those amazing 5-8 move stunners. I like the quick, practical review this book gives me and would recommend it. There are tons of great tactic books out there but keep in mind this one.

For beginning and intermediate players, this book is a great help. The diagrams are large, and within each section they progress from relatively easy to somewhat difficult.

The weakness of this book is that the tactics are all divided into categories. I would prefer to not have the artificial advantage of knowing that I'm looking for a pin, or a fork, etc.

This is a remake of the 303 tricky chess tactics (TCT). The puzzles are different a little (I think),but the format has mostly addressed the criticisms and problems with TCT. The puzzles are grouped by difficulty rather than theme, making it easier to study them cold. Mistakes are fewer . . . (computer checked this time? (except for the typo in #8's answer)). All in all a solid tactical training tool for 13-1400 (but I'm 1600 and enjoy it watching TV) A nice effort a la reinfeld, lein, hays, etc. I have them all, and this is no worse. In the tactical puzzle market, it's just about quantity, and a acceptable level of quality, and this delivers. Really a 3 star effort, but one extra star for improving on their really lame first attempt at a similar training tool. Little filler chapters in the style of Lev Alburt's fluff help round out the slicker work this time.

This is book gives you 303 "tricky" checkmates. These mates range from queen sacrafices to pawn promotion checkmates. Most of the problems are so hopeless for the opponet(when you play white black has losing chances). at a glance I could figure out sevral ways to destroy the oppenent without checkmating him. This made solving the problems seem pointless. Don't buy this book if you haven't read 1001 brillian checkmates and 1001 combinations. You get more instructive problems for less. An okay book all-around but much better puzzle books are out there.

The first hundred checkmate positions are fairly simple for intermediate players. The checkmates start to get somewhat "tricky" after that. I am glad that the authors did not just lump the positions together thematically, such as "Queen Sacrifice," like the Reinfeld "1001 Checkmates." Outstanding diagrams are clear and easy to study. While many of the solutions are simple, they are still beautiful. Great book if you love two and three move checkmate puzzles.

This book presents fun chess puzzles in an easy to understand, progressively difficult format. While it may be true that these puzzles are carefully constructed rather than the result of actual play, they teach the dynamics of checkmate in a simple, yet challenging way. The puzzles are designed and arranged to show how the various pieces work together in diverse circumstances and how slight changes influence the checkmate. This book teaches how to find that all-important first move in the series of moves that lead to checkmate and is good for young players just getting started and for more advanced players who want to stay sharp.

Fred Reinfeld's "1001 Checkmates" gives hundreds of positions which are apparently drawn from actual game situations, and the student who applies himself to the book can take away practical knowledge that will help in actual play. The positions in "202 Surprising Checkmates" could never be mistaken for actual game situations, and the mating patterns are not normally seen in actual play. Although the book appears to have little practical value, the problems were both challenging and entertaining.

If you like this volume, you might want to "check" out "303 Tricky Checkmates" by the same authors.

Syracuse, a great city and my hometown, has an interesting history, but unfortunately this books decides to spend a few pages on it. This book seems like it's intended for people who are looking to visit the city, so it has the depth of a AAA travel guide. It does get rather in depth to what the people of Syracuse look like, which is pretty stupid, since people from Syracuse look pretty much the same as people in other cities. It does show some landmarks of the city, but does little to explain their reason for being. To top it off, most of the photos in this book will be dated in 5 years - the list of companies in the end already is. It got 2 stars because it's worth flipping through at a bookstore or library, but not worth purchasing.