The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played Paperback – October 7, 2014

This book is very well written and thoroughly instructive. I'm about half way through this book and I've already noticed that my over the board play in tournaments has improved. I'm more strategically aware in my play and it doesn't feel like I've done work to accomplish that. It's from reading this book, which is just fun. The games and commentary are superb.

Great gift for chess enthusiast.

This book has 62 chess masterpieces. The games are not only the most instructive as Chernev puts it, but the most beautiful games of chess ever played. Written by one of the great chess author of all time. Chernev has put a lot of effort in this book, it is on par with his other great classic, Logical chess move by move. It is in the Algebraic notation and each games has six or more chess diagrams to show the position of the game. Beautifully written and it shows you the art positional play. Games from the greatest names in chess history, it includes nine world champions from Steintz to Fiischer. A classic in itself a must buy.

This book is advertised as having a revised Edition in algebraic notation. It is not. This addition is in descriptive notation. Big difference.

This is an algebraic notation update of one of the classics of the chess literature. Go back a couple of generations, and it was one of a relatively small number of worthwhile games collections suitable for post-beginner and intermediate players. And while a zillion instructive games collections have been written since then, this is still one to consider. Why? Well, honestly, not all games collections are created equal, and some come off as sloppily done ( one British writer, in his 1.d4 d5 section, starts with a game where ...d5 isn't played for many moves, eg. Weird!), while Chernev's book is a true 'labor of love'. Chernev wasn't an extremely strong player, maybe not even of master strength, but his amazing passion for the game, his knack for finding fascinating and instructive games, is put to great use here. This book is more advanced than his all-time classic 'Logical Chess Move By Move', so start with that one if you are a beginner. Then this one would be a fine second collection to go through. You will get a fine selection, with some absolute classics, and also some more hidden gems found in Chernev's apparent quest to study practically every game of merit he could find. Chernev's analysis will be found to be lacking in many lines, especially with a computer's help, but his general instructional comments are quite worthwhile for newer players, and the selection of games is both generous and well chosen. After these two books, consider Giddins' two wonderfull collections, and work your way up eventually to Nunn's far more advanced collection 'Understanding Chess Move By Move'. Highly recommended.

This has become my favorite chess book. The games are not only instructive, each one is fascinating. Irving Chernev's style is superb and supremely entertaining. I highly recommend this book.P.S. The most recent edition (2014) is worth finding. It has been updated to algebraic notation.

There are two versions of this book available. I believe the one pictured uses outdated notation (P-B4) etc. The other version, with a purple and grey cover, uses modern geometrical notation. That one is extremely instructive and enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

I first got this in book form, oh gosh, some 45 years ago. I poured over it and over it. It was the first chess book I treated like that. I don't know if it's still in descriptive notation, but if it is, and you can get past that, you will have a wonderful book great at explaining the basics to you: rook to the seventh, the passed pawn, knight in the center, etc. If you're just starting out, you will find Chernev's annotations just right for you. Of course, his discussions of the openings will be out of date, but the strategic ideas will never be out of date.You just can't go too wrong buying this book.

Thank you.

Livre neuf. Livre très intéressant pour mieux connaitre le Noble Jeu dans toutes ses phases et apprécier la beauté des Echecs. CHERNEV était est un très grand auteur et un excellent pédagogue. Les parties sont passionnantes. Hautement recommandable!

Excellent book!

I've written a review on the older, descriptive version of this great book. Everything I said still holds true.If you're thinking of buying this book to replace an older one, there aren't many differences between them. The principal change is that it is now available in algebraic and should therefore reach a larger audience from today's players.There has been no computer-checking of moves. There isn't even an introduction to this new version. The layout seems quite similar, down to the the 2 rooks that bracket the game number. On thing I noticed is that they didn't reproduce the player photos from earlier versions. So, no great need to get it if you have an older book.Nevertheless, this is a great book and a tremendous games collection for players to tackle before they take on more advanced works.

It a fine book for beginners. I read it while learning the fundamentals of the game. An entertaining and instructive way of learning the first principles of chess.