The Reassess Your Chess Workbook

After almost twenty years languishing in the low 2000s (USCF), I finally began to understand positional play, the fight for the center and key squares, from this book. Silman's ideas are not new, but his simple explanations, practical examples, and constant repetition managed to get into my head what the two hundred other chess books on my shelf could not. After working through the examples in this book - yes, all of them, one by one, on a board, just a few each day - I find my understanding of chess at another level altogether. Now I feel ready to tackle my other favorite authors (Watson, Nunn, Dvoretsky), and to absorb the more subtle lessons they offer.If you buy TRYCW and let it sit on your shelf (as I did for two years), it won't help your chess at all. But if you put in the work, your efforts will be well repaid!

I bought this book years ago by itself. Their is no need to buy HTRYC as a companion piece, but feel free to get it if you want. The workbook stand out on its own very well. Most chess books seem to focus on the beginner and the USCF Expert player. Their isn't much in between material for us average club/tournament players that is worth investing money in.Chess is an easy game to learn, but impossible to master. What does that mean? It take A LOT of work and dedication to become proficient at. It requires what many don't want to invest in....EFFORT. But if you invest the time, effort, and dedication into this book? It will definitely pay off for you in the long run.There no no quick fixes, magic pills, tricks, or any other type of "get rich quick" schemes in chess. It is a game of high risk and high reward. Chess is like life. You will get out of it what you put into it.

1) I am a correspondence chess GM, and a USCF master. I have a library of 2500+ high quality chess books.2)My son has become the US National Champion in K1 level last year (in 2011).This book is for him. (He is 7.5 years old with a rating around 1600 USCF(February 2012)3)In my opinion, this book is a gem for intermediate level players who understand tactics, but who do not understand "chess" yet. This books is about plans, strategy, and chess understanding.4) Along with tactics training, this kind of book would improve the chess understanding of an 1000-2000 rated player (My rating is more than 2300 and I am reading this book right now, very interesting, basic, but good!)5) An excellent book overall. This writer is probably the best modern American chess writer for beginner/intermediate level chess players.best regards,Tansel Turgut

I do not believe one can get a true appreciation for Silman's 'Reassess Your Chess' without also working through this Workbook. The games examined provide many opportunities to exercise the knowledge of imbalances acquired in the previous book. As a stand-alone instruction manual, it dispenses copious useful insights into the game of chess, including a VERY enlightening tutorial on endgames involving Bishops of opposite colors. Although also quite time-consuming, it is a good improvement over the long-winded ways of 'Reassess Your Chess' with most of the middlegames studied much more to the point (see my review on 'Reassess Your Chess').Alas, it is not without flaws. Besides minor issues like typos and misspellings, there are a couple of incorrect analyses; most notable is the one in Problem 131 (the very last in the book). Silman insists in the question that White had missed a great opportunity, namely a Bh7+, or "Petrosian check," which would ensure a quick win for White. However, after investigating the position with Chessmaster 10, I do believe Silman is incorrect. In fact, the follow-up position actually gives Black a winning game. These misdiagnoses are annoying, but also can be very confusing to a lower-rated player.Even with its faults, the many in-depth tactical and position dissections should not only heighten a chess player's senses to the issues he needs to look for and be aware of in every phase of the game, but, if nothing else, add to his intuition, a very important weapon in the player's arsenal.

Learning the 'rules' is one thing but applying them properly in the complexity of a game situation is quite another. This book bridges that gap better than any other I have seen. I am relearning a lot of concepts with this book that I have learned over the years in new ways that are applicable over the board in real life games when the clock is ticking. Having been a teacher off and on my whole life I appreciate that information has to be drilled to be useful. This book makes those drills fun so that you will stick with it...

Be advised that this book was originally written as a companion to Silman's "How To Reassess Your Chess, 3rd Edition." That said, it is nonetheless a stand-alone WORKbook that doesn't require the reader to possess HTRYC3 to benefit from its contents. Also know that Silman now offers a completely rewritten (and marginally revised) "How To Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition," which I have also reviewed. It should be noted that acquiring chess acumen at a level beyond mere rules and basic tactics is akin to learning a new language. To learn effectively, a good translator is imperative, someone who can convey the "sentence structure" of chess thought, the pluperfect tense of chess nuance. And chess mastery doth not necessarily translate into great teaching skill. Bruce Pandolfini is a great translator, especially for the novice player who seeks to understand this strange language. Jeremy Silman is a profound translator for those who wish to climb above the mezzanine level in the panoramic theater of chess skill.