@fightingbob: Are you are talking about Heisman's book Is Your Move Safe? That book has already been released.
Yes, that's the book, Chicken_Monster. I thought it was to be released in July, but I see it's already available from Amazon. Thanks for calling that to my and others attention.
jlconn wrote:
"... The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book, though otherwise a very fine book, is far from what I meant, because it is Heisman annotating other players' games. ..."
How about: A Fresh Look at Chess by Lev Alburt ("40 instructive games, played and annotated by players like you")?
... Or more volumes, to include players below class E, but I know from experience that there is one major thing that will pull someone out of the area codes, as GM Kraai puts it - simply stop leaving material en prise - so that there is really not so much to learn from annotated games at that level (for public consumption, I mean).
True! Another thing Mr. Heisman points out at this level and even into the lower letter classes is what he calls "counting" (lower rated players should read this article) and making a conscious effort to look for "checks, captures and threats," in that order, when considering a candidate move (lower rated players should also read this article).
I realize both of these seemingly obvious ideas are not so obvious to these players, and I freely admit that making the latter a regular part of my routine until it became second nature -- sometimes I still miss an intermediate check by the opponent in my initial analysis -- cut down on my errors markedly.
I was poking around Amazon and noticed that Andy Soltis has another book coming out in 2017, namely David vs Goliath Chess: How to Beat a Stronger Player. Obviously, an inspirational work where the amateur takes it to the master, sort of the reverse of Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur. Knowing Mr. Soltis' works, it will be both entertaining and instructive.
I was poking around Amazon and noticed that Andy Soltis has another book coming out in 2017, namely David vs Goliath Chess: How to Beat a Stronger Player. Obviously, an inspirational work where the amateur takes it to the master, sort of the reverse of Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur. Knowing Mr. Soltis' works, it will be both entertaining and instructive.
Yay! A new book is coming out!
Maybe The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Dan Heisman would have some similarity to what you want.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092834/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review872.pdf
The Heisman book you want here is the Improving Chess Thinker. It's a book about outloud thought process that ranges from weak class players up to titled players.
I have read all of the books mentioned so far except The Improving Chess Thinker. That one is of course something I am planning to read, but I think it's more along the lines of Silman's Amateur's Mind stuff than what I'd intended.
The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book, though otherwise a very fine book, is far from what I meant, because it is Heisman annotating other players' games.
The Improving Annotator would be close to what I have in mind, except that Heisman's 1400 rating was not the same as that of a player whose rating has bobbed between 1350 and 1650 for years. Heisman was on an upward trajectory from the start, even though the rating system at the time held him back as best it could. For example, game one features an 1800 versus Heisman as a 1400+, and the game was won by Heisman. In a volume such as I am thinking of, this type of result would show up in only one or two of the games (out of at least 50), assuming there were several examples of losses to stronger players.
My suggestion involved capturing the thinking of one or more players at a particular level (for example, class C, or about 1350 to 1650) in their own games (as opposed to stock positions), not following the growth of any player(s) over time. I'd especially like to be able to pull down a single volume of Class E games and annotations, out of a seven volume set from Class E to Master. Or more volumes, to include players below class E, but I know from experience that there is one major thing that will pull someone out of the area codes, as GM Kraai puts it - simply stop leaving material en prise - so that there is really not so much to learn from annotated games at that level (for public consumption, I mean).