CHESS FOR ZEBRAS (Jonathan Rowson)
256 pages (248 mm by
172 mm).
£17.99/$29.95/€28,05
Jonathan Rowson, author of the highly acclaimed Seven Deadly Chess Sins, investigates three
questions important to all chess-players:
1) Why is it so difficult,
especially for adult players, to improve?
2) What kinds of mental attitudes
are needed to find good moves in different phases of the game?
3) Is
White's alleged first-move advantage a myth, and does it make a difference
whether you are playing Black or White?
In a strikingly original work,
Rowson makes use of his academic background in philosophy and psychology to
answer these questions in an entertaining and instructive way. This book
assists all players in their efforts to improve, and provides fresh insights
into the opening and early middlegame.
Rowson presents many new ideas on how Black should best
combat White's early initiative, and make use of the extra information that he
gains as a result of moving second. For instance, he shows that in some cases a
situation he calls 'Zugzwang Lite' can arise, where White finds himself lacking
any constructive moves. He also takes a close look at the theories of two
players who, in differing styles, have specialized in championing Black's
cause: Mihai Suba and Andras Adorjan. Readers are also equipped with a 'mental
toolkit' that will enable them to handle many typical over-the-board situations
with greater success, and avoid a variety of psychological pitfalls.
Chess for Zebras offers fresh insights into human
idiosyncrasies in all phases of the game. The depth and breadth of this book
will therefore help players to appreciate chess at a more profound level, and
make steps towards sustained and significant improvement.
Jonathan Rowson is an accomplished Grandmaster and
Scotland's strongest ever player. In 2002 he shared first at the World Open, in
2004 he won the Hastings Premier and the British Championship, and in 2005 he
successfully defended his British title. In 2006, he won the British
Championship for an extraordinary third year in succession. He is also a
prolific and successful chess writer and book reviewer for one of the world's
foremost chess magazines, New in Chess. His previous books for Gambit,
Understanding the Grünfeld and
The Seven Deadly Chess Sins, have been
widely praised in the chess press.
Download a pdf file with a
sample from the book.
"He has interesting and perceptive views on chess and
expresses them in a way that can prompt readers to re-evaluate their own
approach to playing the game." - Bob Jones, Western Morning News
"...one of the most impressive chess books I have ever
read." - John Glendinning, The Scotsman
"Rowson's book helped me to reflect on my game and optimise
my quest for victory" - Scottish Champion Jonathan Grant, reported by
Harald Fietz in an article in Schach Magazin 64
"It goes much further than plain instruction, delving
beneath the skin of not only chess, but also the human mind and nature. I
cannot give the writing of the book enough praise. Rowson mixes straightforward
frankness with light-hearted wit, and teaches with an impressive authority and
conviction. Chess For Zebras would be pride of place in anyone's chess
library!" - John Lee Shaw, Chess
Gateway
"Rowson has written an engaging, thought-provoking, and
engrossing work that you'll actually enjoy reading." - Mark Donlan,
Chess Horizons
"Lots of chess books promise to improve your game - this is
one of the very few that actually delivers." - Michael Jeffreys,
www.chessville.com
"Rowson really does have something to say about thinking
differently" - GM Ian Rogers, Canberra Times/Byron Shire Echo
"...an author who almost holds the patent on deep insights
in chess" - Derek Grimmell, www.chesscafe.com
"I have been reading Jonathan Rowson's absolutely
paradigm-shifting book Chess for Zebras, which I heartily recommend..."
- Michael Goeller, The
Kenilworthian
"...this first class book is a great find and will benefit
any chess player's understanding of the royal game, and it's a must for the
adult player." - Michael Stevenson, New Zealand Chess
"...a marvellous new book..." - Phil Hughes, Chess
Post
"...players of all strengths ought to benefit from the
abundance of clearly-explained ideas." - Luke McShane, Sunday Express
"...Rowson's work is a little bit special..." - Jonathan
Levitt, British Chess Magazine
"Jonathan Rowson has done it again, treating us all to a
fascinating book filled with seriously important instructive ideas, his own
brand of mystical/philosophic/practical musings, and sheer page-turning fun." -
Jeremy Silman,
Silman's
website
"I wanted to be first to say this is an excellent and bloody
brilliant chess book. Christmas has been sorted." Geoff Chandler, on
Chess Scotland Noticeboard
"If you are a chess player then you will need this book.
Players will be quoting from it for years to come and if you do not own it then
you will be left out in the cold, clutching some worthless opening book and
watching your grade slide." Geoff Chandler,
http://textualities.net
"It is impossible to do full justice to the book in a short
review such as this. Suffice it to say that for me at any rate this is the best
chess book to appear in print for a long time and it gets my vote as chess book
of the year by a long mile." Alan Sutton, En Passant
"Jonathan Rowson, one of the premier chess thinkers, shows
how to find good moves in different phases of the game, especially for black,
in Chess for Zebras. One of the year's best reads." GM Lubomir
Kavalek, Washington Post
"Excellent! As ever with Rowson the book chapter titles are
unusual but the content is superb. Games are presented with a large amount of
text explaining the positions and ideas arising from them. This book is no
database dump of games from an author out to make a quick profit, here Rowson
has put a lot of energy into a book that can be thoroughly enjoyed by the
reader. Thought provoking, different and entertaining, this book deserves to be
a success. Highly Recommended reading." Michael Blake,
http://www.bfcc-online.org.uk/
"...the rich diversity of ideas is bound by a common theme:
thinking differently." James Vigus, BCM
"Chess for Zebras is Excellent." John Saunders,
BCM
"...the book, as a whole, overflows with sheer common sense,
practical insight and good humour. Rowson annotates many games in great depth
and with unusual objectivity. He is not just a model in this regard, but a
first-class teacher." IM Craig Pritchett, Glasgow Herald
"Rowson's examination of chess psychology seems almost
guaranteed to improve a practical player's results." - GM Ian Rogers,
Canberra Times/Byron Shire Echo
"...wise advise from Rowson: If you want to become a better
player, you need better habits,and you cultivate better habits through
training.The best training is the kind that pushes you up against the edges of
your comfort zone, where you force yourself to take responsibility for
difficult decisions." - John Elburg, chessbooks.nl
"A delight to read. Highly Recommended." - Paul Dunn,
Australian Chess
"I warmly recommend the book, especially to players
frustrated by a long period of stagnation. Most chess books attempt to change
what we think, but Rowson's helps us to change how we think, and in the long
run, that's what will pay the biggest dividends - if we follow through with
what we read." - Denis Monokroussos, Chess Today
"Everyone, who wants to learn more than the normal stuff
about chess, who has an interest in profound reflection (of a chessy,
psychological, or philosophical nature), who wants to improve his practical
results on the strength of a wider horizon, will reach for Rowson's book with
enthusiasm (even if he doesn't agree with all his theses)" - Dr. W.
Schweizer, Rochade
"The good thing about books by GM Jonathan Rowson is that
you always have the feeling that you have found someone with whom you can
really talk about chess, even if it is a somewhat one-sided communication." -
Fernando Offermann, Berliner
Schachverband
"Whoever finds one of the two books, must also get the
other. From time to time the author is too chatty for me, but the reader will
be more than compensated by means of much witty and sometimes humorous
stimulation." - Stefan Bücker, Kaissiber
"Chess for Zebras is the most interesting new
publication of 2005" - Dr. Erik Rausch, Rochade |
