THE GIANT CHESS PUZZLE BOOK (Zenon Franco)
288 pages
(248 mm by 172 mm).
£16.99/$26.95/€22,95
1001 chess puzzles with solutions
Tactical skills are paramount in chess. More than anything
else, a player's ability to find tactical solutions determines how successful
he is over-the-board. No endgame scheme, opening idea or strategic plan,
however brilliant a concept it may be, is of any value unless it is accurately
calculated and implemented.
The best way to develop tactical skills is to practise them
by tackling new and challenging positions. This book provides a wealth of chess
puzzles to test just about every facet of your tactical ability. It is very
unlikely that even those who have read many other chess puzzle books will
recognize more than a handful of these positions. Franco has searched recent
events and used powerful computers to seek out previously unpublished puzzles,
and has also drawn extensively upon Latin American sources that he has been
scouring for brilliant examples over the last three decades.
Following the pattern of Gambit's hugely successful Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book (by John Emms), the
book begins with 100 relatively easy positions suitable for novices, and ends
with 100 extremely tough puzzles, which provide a mind-bending challenge even
for grandmasters. There are 1001 puzzles in all, including themed sections and
graded tests, all with detailed computer-verified solutions and verbal
explanations of the main instructive points.
Zenon Franco is a grandmaster from Paraguay who now
lives in Spain. He is an experienced chess trainer, his most notable former
pupil being Paco Vallejo, now one of the world's top grandmasters.
Gambit books by Franco: The Art
of Attacking Chess, Chess Explained: the
English Opening, Chess Explained: the Modern
Benoni, Chess Self-Improvement,
The Giant Chess Puzzle Book, Grandmaster Secrets: Counter-Attack!, Winning Chess Explained
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
"Most of the positions will not have been seen before in
other publications and you will not fail to improve your game - certainly your
tactical awareness - if you have the discipline to work through this lovely
book. Chess problems are like life. We are given a question and we don't always
know the answer. Is it right to turn away and not try to find that answer?
Maybe we should just roll up our sleeves and meet that challenge head on; after
all the answers are all there, waiting to be found. Enjoy the journey and
absorb yourself in just some of the delightful mysteries of the 64 squares." -
Carl Portman, Defence Focus
"Franco's book is good for beginners and casual
players...many positions aren't too difficult. The writer is from South
America, and has sourced many combinations from little-known master games
played in that continent. Gambit chess books often have the advantage that
their writers take care to select original or very recent examples..." -
Antti Parkkinen, Suomen Shakki
"Puzzle books must be one of the most popular genres of all
chess books. They are great fun to read and arguably very beneficial for your
chess. The Paraguayan grandmaster and trainer (Vallejo Pons was one of his
pupils) has put together a collection of 1,001 puzzles, ranging from the
easiest to the downright diabolic, to delight and infuriate. He has not
resorted to 'old chestnuts' and many are very recent. Enjoyable." - John
Saunders, British Chess
Magazine
"...anyone looking for new tactical material will find it
here" - Frank Große, schachtraining.blog.de
"Solving chess puzzles from a CD or DVD has certain
advantages to a book, but one area where the latter is still superior is the
depth and explanation of the solutions. This doesn't necessarily have to be the
case but this reviewer can think of no software presently on the market that
offers the in depth explanations similar to what Franco provides." - IM John
Donaldson
"Fresh puzzles with detailed solutions and explanations and
a lot of text as well." - Martin Rieger, Rochade Europa
"Tactics remain the cherry on the cake for all lovers of
chess...this is pure enjoyment. There are 1001 diagram positions, with the
first 100 relatively easy, while towards the end even grandmasters will have to
utilise their brain-power. And with the various tests everyone can bring their
tactics up to scratch..." - Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad
"Puzzle books are great fun specially with the unique
material from Zenon Franco,where the most of these exercises have never seen in
print before! Conclusion: Highly enjoyable!" - John Elburg,
chessbooks.nl
"You may wonder how an author can produce yet another 1001
positions that will be unfamiliar to the reader. The answer lies in the
nationality of the author, who originates from Paraguay, for he has drawn a
large proportion of the positions from games that were played in Latin-America,
and which rarely reach European eyes except as bare entries on a database.
...Overall I think that this is one of the most challenging puzzle books that I
have ever attempted. But, as has often been said, 'no gain without pain'." -
Alan Sutton, En Passant
"There's a great deal of fun to be had from this puzzle
book, which should suit players who like to test and improve their tactical
prowess. Anyone who tackles even just a reasonable percentage of the puzzles
should be able improve their own vision and awareness." - Sean Marsh,
marshtowers.blogspot.com
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