Irving Chernev: Logical Chess

I'm debating reading Chernev's book that I know is considered a classic by many (Logical Chess). I read through the first couple games and was already suspicious of some of his analysis. He acts like playing h3 to prevent a pin is shattering the kingside. I checked to see how an engine felt about h3 in that particular position and the engine is like "yeah h3 is best." Also at the end of one of the games he states that white had to resign as he had no other options. Suspicious I again checked with an engine and the engine is like "yeah it's about -0.2"

Obviously Chernev didn't have an engine and I'm not trying to sit back as a low rated amateur criticizing his analysis when I'm just lazily plugging the position into stockfish, but having encountered so many errors in just the first few games I'm wondering if the book is really worth taking the time to go through, or if there are better books to look at. I know Chernev wasn't super high rated but I also know the book is recommended by many.

Thanks for the advice!

I played through this many years ago. Some of the analysis may be a little bit dodgy but the games are good and you could certainly just enjoy playing through the games and checking the analysis only where you think there is an error. I remember someone pointing out that the era the games are from makes them easier to umderstand than some more modern games. A more up to date similar book with different games was produced by Neil McDonald which is probably computer checked if you wanted to try that.

It depends on what you are using the book for. If it is your first chess book, it is going to do a better job explaining basic moves than any other book. If you are an experienced player looking for accurate analysis you look elsewhere. 

One can see some discussion of the pros and cons of Chernev's Logical Chess at:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132019/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman118.pdf
http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/logical-chernev
http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2013/01/logical-chess-book-review.html
http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2013/02/chernevs-errors.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708091057/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review465.pdf

 

Here is a review that was, at one time, available online.

 

Logical Chess

Move by Move

Author: Irving Chernev

256 pages

Batsford (2002, reprint)

 

Reviewed by Randy Bauer

Randy's Rating: 9

  In the search for understanding in chess, this book has been a beacon for aspiring players for decades, and Batsford's reprint provides an opportunity for another generation to learn from the author. Perhaps the best testament to its greatness is the fact that Grandmaster John Nunn's outstanding book UNDERSTANDING CHESS MOVE BY MOVE (Click to see Donaldson's and Watson's reviews of Nunn's book.) is recognized as patterned after Chernev's work.

 

For those who didn't grow up in the era of descriptive notation, Irving Chernev wrote books that mostly appealed to the mainstream player. One of the first books I owned, Chernev's THE FIRESIDE BOOK OF CHESS guided me through the many facets of chess during my formative years. Even though he wrote many other good books (for example, every aspiring player should also own THE MOST INSTRUCTIVE GAMES OF CHESS EVER PLAYED), this is widely recognized as his best.

 

In this book, Chernev annotates 33 games and comments on each move for both players.  His goal is to explain what each player was thinking while making his move. In this way, the reader gets an insight into the rationale behind the moves of and the thought processes of a master player. The author splits the games into three chapters, dealing with kingside attacks (16 games), queen's pawn openings (7 games), and other concepts (10 games).  Given the book's original 1957 copyright, it is not surprising that the earliest game is from 1889 and the latest was played in 1952.

 

The author does a great job of connecting with the reader - one feels that they really are inside the head of the players and that Chernev is explaining what they were thinking while deciding upon their moves. As a result, the games are absorbing and the lessons learned (at least in my case) tend to stick with the player.

 

I first came across this book at an early stage in my chess career, and I believe that it helped form my understanding of what chess mastery is all about. In fact, one of the games, Blackburne-Blanchard, probably gained me 100 rating points in my class days. I used the structure and natural kingside attack from that game in many, many of my own encounters.

 

While not a world-class player, Chernev was a prolific writer, and that combination serves the reader well in this book. The author can better relate to the reader and provide them the sort of insight that may be lost on stronger players.

 

While this is a great book, there are some areas where it is showing its age (having first been issued nearly a half century ago). It is notable, for example, that by far the most popular opening represented is the Queen's Gambit Declined; by contrast, today's favorite Sicilian Defense is found in just one game. There is just one Queen's Indian and one Nimzo-Indian included; there are no games featuring the popular King's Indian, Grunfeld, or Benoni Defenses. The players you will encounter are Capablanca, Tarrasch, and Rubinstein rather than Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik.

 

I had a few quibbles not related to the age of the book as well. I found the print in this reprint to be a little light for my taste, and the diagrams a bit too small. Finally, why oh why are the Chapter headers for each game the site where the game was played rather than the players? "Lodz 1908" doesn't really tell me as much as "Rubinstein-Salwe."

 

Regardless of these types of issues, this is a very good book. Perhaps it isn't as timeless as it once appeared to me, but it should prove useful to any aspiring player wanting to better understand how to develop logical plans, moves, and thought processes in chess.

Chernev is very motivating and inspiring. In Logical Chess, he gives the improving player something like a 'Ten Commandments'. It saves the player from playing too badly or perhaps even well. In his kingside attack section, which features some nice games the 'culprit', and eventual loser, often moves his rook's pawn forward a square. This invites a sacrifice. Chernev had a good point, but personally this 'fixation' with not moving pawns in front of castled king held me back for a while. Chess is a games of rules and exceptions, not just rules. Exceptional players find exceptional moves and that's what we all try to do !

 

I still like Logical Chess and 'The Most Instructive Games Of Chess Ever Played' is really worth visiting as well.

 

 

"... converted into algebraic notation ... In many ways, it would a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ... My only warning would be that the impressionable student should be gently reminded by a friend or mentor that most of the rules and principles Chernev so dogmatically states do not actually have any consistent validity in real-world chess, so that the book should be looked at as a way to get started thinking about positions, not as a reliable guideline to what chess is really about. With that proviso, I would recommend it heartily to anyone just starting to explore the game, and therefore, to scholastic chess teachers as well." - IM John Watson (1999)

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-books

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/

I never bought the book. I have similar books written by Max Euwe. I guess Euwe's books have a better quality in the analysis, as Euwe was a very strong player (World Champion). I have the German edition "Amateur Gegen Meister" and "Amateur schlaegt Meister". Of course you will find a lot of inaccuracies when using an engine, but this are instructive in the sense you can check what a very strong player missed in his analysis.

https://chessmusings.wordpress.com/2014/06/09/chess-master-vs-chess-amateur/

I like descriptive notation and I get a big kick out of seeing Chernev write something like, "Kt - QKtB3."  

 

Also, I like a lot of verbal explanations explaining positional ideas with a few variations.   

 

So this is overall a good book.  

I would like to ask the op how does the engines choice of h3 as best help his chess understanding? Probably not a lot.  Infact the best advice that you might receive is to throw away your chess engine, stomp on it, poke it with a big stick and make sure its dead.

As a fan of the book, I recommend it to every beginner, I'd like to point out that the book isn't really about memorising moves. The whole point is to explain the reason behind every move. So, when something doesn't quite add up according to a computer, the principles behind them are definitely helpful. 

That h3 move is an example of how your game could go wrong if you weaken the defence in front of a castled king (Edit: or indeed, how to take advantage of when your opponent does it). Even in intermediate or advanced games, the principle that pawns can't move backwards, that it creates weaknesses, is all still useful because you weigh that up against the benefits of such a move. By having the basic principles driven home in the book, that decision can be correctly analysed.

As others have said as well, it is also a game of rules and exceptions. Indeed, in later games, Chernev says exactly that, and gives examples of moves he previously criticised, with reasons for why it is different, or forced, or whatever.

Overall, sure, it isn't a perfect book in some aspects, but as a tool to teach the basic principles of the game and how to play in general, what the plans are, it's a great book.

Does anyone know if the book is available as a real chess e-book somewhere (something like Forward Chess where a board is built into the book)?

there is a pgn annotated available where you can use chessbase or scid to read the text

A friend gave me a copy of this book. Naturally h3 ( or h6 for black) is not always bad, and is often a book move, but I believe Chernev's goal at that point was to get the beginner to think critically about the kingside defensive structure. He is just arguing against moving pawns in front of the king uncritically/ unless it is necessary. He quotes both Alekheine and Tarrach to support this idea. Chernev is obviously well read, passionate about chess, and an incredible writer. The brilliance here is in his lucidity and not being bogged down by long lines of notation, making the book inviting and enjoyable while rendering real benefits to the intermediate player.