Secrets of Practical Chess (New Enlarged Edition) Paperback – April 30, 2007

I'm on a crusade to root out bad chess books, and I don't think this book is very good.What is frustrating is there that is so much advice he could have given but doesn't. He waffles between extremes of being far too brief and superficial to going way overboard in providing many pages of analysis of specific variations. I see the point he's making in these analyses - but this book could have been far more informative by reducing the scope of such analyses and providing more examples and providing a lot more practical advice.I truly believe that this book is just a lot of loose topics that he’s written about over the years and thrown together. It is not cohesive. Sometimes his text seems to be targeted toward players rates 1600. Sometimes it seems targeted toward candidate masters or masters.I think this is one of the books that can easily stunt your development as a chess player.Here are a few thoughts on specific sections...Chapter 2 | The OpeningI got two pages in, and already I'm surprised. For example, he characterizes 1. ... e6 in response to 1. e4 as leading to "closed positions, strategic." That’s not necessarily true. For example, 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 is quite different from 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 and both of these are quite different from the Advance Variation or the Rubenstein Variation or the Exchange Variation.Forty years ago, I never played 1. ... e5 in response to 1. e4. Too complex! To scary! What if my opponent knows more than me? Lions, tigers, and bears! Oh my! But guess what? Now I play 1. ... e5 almost exclusively. I've learned a lot by doing so and am a stronger player because of it.And 1. e4 c6 leads to a "safe king?" I cannot count the number of times I've sacrificed a knight on e6 in the Caro-Kann. Every opening has its nuances and there are usually many ways to stir the pot. That to me is a far more instructive point than very unhelpful generalizations.There is so many points he could talk about in this chapter but doesn't. So many examples he could give, but doesn't. It's far too brief, and then he says, "Once you have your repertoire mapped out, then you can study each line in detail." As if he just gave you a lot of very concrete advice to do so. He barely provides anything. And at what point do you have your opening repertoire mapped out? Hint: Never. You're never done. It's an ongoing process that evolves over time as your understanding increases and you become more discerning about your move selection. Does he say, that? If he does, it’s buried somewhere in the detailed analysis he provides.Then he goes into an in-depth analysis in the Elephant Gambit. I understand his point, but he goes into such a level of detail that for many chess players this will not be helpful. He should have provided a lot more examples from many openings rather than spending so much time on a few examples.He then goes into in-depth analysis of some lines from the Giuoco Piano. Again, I understand the point. But he could have been far briefer. Many pages of analysis. Here's the reality - chess is dynamic, and you should always raise questions about every line provided by a chess author. It doesn't matter who the author is. You must think on your own. Does he make that point? If he does, it’s not very explicit or it’s buried in the analysis.Chapter 4: The Endgame | King and Pawn EndingsThis is almost useless. Just a few well-known examples and brief discussion about a few concepts. You want to learn K+P vs K+P endgames? Open Fritz and subset on specific types of K+P vs K+P positions and play them against the computer. You'll learn 90% of what you need to know. I'll give him credit for alluding to this idea in the chapter on chess computers, but even there, it’s far too brief. There is so much he could have said but doesn’t!Chapter 5: Using a ComputerVery outdated. But beyond that, as I was reading this, I was thinking about how many things he could have mentioned about chess computers that he didn't. And then he spends too much time on specialized features of ChessBase. And then far too much time giving pages and pages of analysis of the Poisoned Pawn variation.I can go on and on... the more I read, the less "practical" I think this book actually is.

Extremely helpful to one who is trying to improve their chess prowess. I have learned quite a lot in my reading this book.

Ive read this book on kindle & liked it, its very rich with practical advice, yet it was Nunns first book that has small analysis mistakes when computer checked (Maybe! since I`ve never computer checked any other books) like the flaw in Anands game where he played f4! according to the computer its an inaccurate move, of course it proves the correctness of the DAUT theory, but after all it doesnt lead to a win!.Although I do understand that this is no reason whatsoever to consider some positions in the book unpurposed, yet I think publishers should double-check the older "republished" books with the latest available programs before republishing, I mean this is the least they owe us as buyers. anyway overall a good book indeed.

Good recommendations for club players.

As usual, Dr Nunn has produced a first-rate book, with all sorts of practical advice. It's really for fairly strong club players upwards, and I think most players below GM would learn some things. A few examples:DAUT -- don't analyse unnecessary tactics. Especially cogent from an author who's won fierce tactical slugfests with some of the world's best.Be sceptical of books advocating offbeat openings, and learn to decipher their "codes". You'll never have to fear the Latvian Gambit or M?ller attack again! Instead, study proper openings like the R?y L?pez that will serve you for years to come.Calculation tricks -- don't be too worried about Kotov's candidate move theory. But learn about safety nets, i.e. a way to bail out with say perpetual check if it turns out not to be as good as you thought.Avoid time trouble -- you might get a 0.1 pawn advantage more by taking all that extra time, but the piece hung in time trouble will more than make up for this.Some practical endgame lessons. Most people will benefit greatly by knowing how to save R v R+B, and the "second rank defence" is not found in Keres' "Practical Chess Endings". Some very useful tips in Q and R endings too.How to defend bad positions, and let's face it, unless our initials are GK or VK, all of us have to some time (and even those

This book is aimed at the competitive chess player. Over a third of the book is in the section titled "At the Board" and time considerations factor heavily into the presentation.Only a dozen pages are devoted to the opening and they are mostly aimed at evaluating chess books on unusual openings. This section can be skipped entirely without much loss.The middlegame has all of 20 pages dedicated to it, but they do manage to offer some "practical" advice once again. Most of it comes in "blurbs" - little nuggets of advice based on what has worked for a very successful GM.The rest of the book is devoted to the endgame and although it recounts some well-known ending basics such as opposition, triangulation, and R+P vs R ending, it also contains some very good information that is not nearly so well known. Such includes: Black's ideal defensive pawn formation in a 4v3 pawn ending with all pawns on the same side; why the c pawn offers the best winning chances in a Q+P vs Q ending; and some handy rules for R vs N and R vs B pawnless endings.On the whole, the book is quite "practical" and probably worth the price to a fair number of club players of lesser strength.

This book is pretty ok. I found it at my local library. It has the usual themes, middle games, openings, endgames etc. But there are lots of good games deeply annotated by the author. The book also focusses on the psycology of the players on the board. I liked the games, and the section on rook pawn endings, in which Dr. Nunn gives a general ideas to employ in these endings. I found that useful. It is good for anyone but more as a tactical tool for improving calculation. I wouldn't recommend it for purchase.

Several useful examples of what to avoid, and positive methods for thinking. Good for the experienced club player in range ELO 1600-2100

"The Secrets of Practical Play" is a wide ranging discussion of chess which almost seems like a series of articles rather than a book with a unified theme. That by the way is not a criticism but merely an observation. I suppose that you could argue that Nunn who is an excellent author is merely giving you a series of secrets which may be helpful to your play and study of chess. I have never been disappointed by a Nunn book and I was not disappointed by this one either.The book starts with a discussion of Kotov's Tree of Analysis and the possible failures of that method. Much like Tisdall's book "Improve Your Chess Now" which is mentioned in this book as well, Kotov's shadow fell over this book too. It has turned out to be a good thing that I reread "Think Like A Grandmaster" prior to these two books.DAUTThis acronym means, if in doubt, Don't Analyse Unnecessary Tactics. Nunn argues that tactical analysis is an error prone activity where missing one important finesse can completely change the result of the analysis. Nunn argues that if you can decide on a move based on purely positional considerations then you should do so.Tips on Making A Plan1) Make sure your plan is beneficial2) Make sure your plan is realistic3) Make sure your plan is not tactically flawed."Having decided on a plan, you have to strike a balance between consistency and flexibility."Making Your Opponent ThinkNunn gives the example of a position where your position is slightly worse and you evaluate ... h6 where you allow your opponent to make an unclear sacrifice. He suggests that you play ...h6 quickly and let your opponent do the work. There is a little bit of gamesmanship involved here but Nunn suggests that the worst outcome would be for you to analyse ...h6 for half an hour, come to no definite conclusion and then have your opponent play something else almost instantly.LPDOLoose pieces drop off.Oversights and BlundersNunn suggests that the reason for many blunders is oversight of a move which at first glance may look strong leading to self-recriminations and a poor follow-up. He suggests calming down before responding to a move that surprises you.He talks about hard to see moves, time trouble and laziness as contributing to blunders.Nunn seems to agree with most strong players who caution against playing inferior sidelines as opposed to mainline openings.Nunn makes observations on good positions, bad positions, attack and defense in the middlegame. He then looks at several endings and points out how some are quite unique and you have to pay attention to finessesUsing A ComputerOne of the more interesting chapters deals with computers and Nunn goes through the exercise of using chess engine tournaments to help you decide on how to play highly tactical games. He also discusses the limits of computer analysis. He cautions against playing random games against computers as this can lead to discouragement for all but the strongest grandmasters. Instead he suggests using the computer to set up a positon that you want to play and playing against the computer and trying different approaches to help you understand the position.Nunn also goes through examples of studying a quiet line through the use of a database of games and he shows how you should draw conclusions from statistics generated by most of the database programs. Its nothing terribly new but interesting in his presentation of the way to go about it given specific openings that you are trying to learn.The concluding chapter is on chess literature and how to get the most out of it. He concludes with a reading list and reviews of Michael de la Maza's "Rapid Chess Improvement" and Reuben Fine's "Basic Chess Endings."We have discussed some of Nunn's criticisms in Fromper's thread on his Improvement Plan. This review along with my reading of what his program is has certainly put me off of buying that book.Anyway I highly recommend Nunn's book for serious chess students as there are a lot of good pointers and practical advice to anyone hoping to improve their practical results.

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