Welcome to the 1st chess book review on chessbookreview.net. I thought that we would start things off, with one of my favorite chess books: Lev Alburt’s Chess Training Pocket Book .The sixth book in Alburt’s Comprehensive Chess Course. Chess Training Pocketbook can be read on its own, so you do not need to own any of the Comprehensive Course books. This book provides you with 310 of the most important positions that you must know, and it is based on the Soviet school of chess. This book probably has the worst cover of any chess book, but as the saying goes “Don’t judge a book by its cover. ”
After a brief overview ofnhow to get the most out of the book, Alburt gets right into the puzzles. Each page has 4 puzzles with the next page containing the answers. This format eliminates having to flip to the back of the book, saving the reader time. The positions are well chosen, and cover opening, tactics and endgame puzzles with a greater emphasis on tactical positions. The answers are detailed and instructional and provide the reader with a good explanation of the concepts and ideas that need to be grasped.
One of the most practical and useful chess books I own. Highly recommended for players over 1300 USCF.