Monthly Book Review

The Sourceror's Apprentice is an excellent book comprised of several sections. The first section contains a list of advice has has for players of all levels. Although it's obvious that he sometimes is a bit overdramatic, his points are all very good advice. This section really only takes less than 15 minutes to read, so read it next time you are in the bookstore.

The following section has a set of games with an explanation of the key combination. In essence, he is giving you the key move which lead to the victory. But thats not all!! He also explains how the combination developed and how the defending side could have played better.

The next section is filled with annotated games mostly played by the author. I have to stop here to say that the author's ability to teach and relay the essence of the struggle is fantastic. He seems to stop and explain when the reader , meaning me, needs not only variations, but also some insight conceptually. His combination of positional solidness and dynamic play has been very inspiring for me. I would strongly recommend going through this section in detail.

The next section contains games with diagrams for critical points in the game. This is very valuable for those of us who should be increasing our visual skills. The diagrams are places frequently, but not too frequently as to deprive the reader from visual practice. The only bad point is that there is none of his golden annotation to accompany the games.

The last section is a collection of games with no diagrams or annotations. For a Bronstein fan, it is a valuable must!! I think that the author probably thought by that time the reader needed some practice annotating and working through variations himself.

As a whole, the book will be a classic and is valuable to players of all skill levels (at least up to master). I have to give this book a 9.5 out of 10 and would recommend it highly. The list price of the book is 19.95 and worth evey cent (althought I paid 17.95).