Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Historical knowledge and information regarding our great game.
Post Reply
User avatar
John Upham
Posts: 8382
Joined: Wed Apr 04, 2007 10:29 am
Location: Cove, Hampshire, England.
Contact:

Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by John Upham » Sun Nov 28, 2010 5:44 pm

There are a number of chess books that are out of print that shouldn't be :( (and, likewise, many that are in print that shouldn't be! 8) )

Here are a couple of the former :

Bent Larsen's Good Move Guide, Oxford University Press, 1982
The Penguin Book of Chess Positions by C.H.O'D Alexander, Penguin Books, 1973

Any more for any more?
Arbiter, Organiser, Swiss Mangler person, Rating Officer, Teacher, Coach and Photographer
British Chess News : britishchessnews.com
Twitter: @BritishChess
Facebook: facebook.com/groups/britishchess :D

User avatar
JustinHorton
Posts: 10566
Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2008 10:06 am
Location: Somewhere you're not

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by JustinHorton » Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:59 pm

I would love to see somebody reissue Gerald Abrahams' The Chess Mind.
"Do you play chess?"
"Yes, but I prefer a game with a better chance of cheating."

Gordon Cadden
Posts: 490
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:57 pm

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Gordon Cadden » Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:39 pm

A book called "The Soviet Chess Conveyor" by Mikhail Shereshevsky, published in Sofia, Bulgaria, 1994 (english language). Chess book reviewers seem to have overlooked this outstanding book.
Very hard to find a second-hand copy. Shereshevsky is a very talented writer.

User avatar
Gavin Strachan
Posts: 676
Joined: Fri Apr 06, 2007 10:06 am
Contact:

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Gavin Strachan » Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:01 pm

Not sure that it is out of print but I did read a book on the middle game by Bellin and someone else which I found really useful, succinct and too the point and vastly improved my chess.

Jon D'Souza-Eva

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Jon D'Souza-Eva » Fri Jan 14, 2011 2:35 pm

Gavin Strachan wrote:Not sure that it is out of print but I did read a book on the middle game by Bellin and someone else which I found really useful, succinct and too the point and vastly improved my chess.
Perhaps "Test your positional play" by Bellin and Ponzetto?
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Test-Your-Posit ... 0713446269

MSoszynski
Posts: 318
Joined: Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:43 pm

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by MSoszynski » Tue Feb 08, 2011 10:54 am

Gordon Cadden wrote:A book called "The Soviet Chess Conveyor" by Mikhail Shereshevsky, published in Sofia, Bulgaria, 1994 (english language). Chess book reviewers seem to have overlooked this outstanding book.
Very hard to find a second-hand copy. Shereshevsky is a very talented writer.
Shereshevsky may be a very talented writer, but his translator didn't even know English chess terms. The book could do with substantial editing.

Jonathan Bryant
Posts: 3452
Joined: Sun May 11, 2008 3:54 pm

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Jonathan Bryant » Tue Feb 08, 2011 7:06 pm

The Kasparov against the World book is very good. Also, Ray Keene's "Becoming a Grandmaster" is well worth a read.

JonManley
Posts: 52
Joined: Tue Feb 23, 2010 10:47 pm
Location: Oxford
Contact:

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by JonManley » Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:31 pm

Bent Larsen's Good Move Guide, Oxford University Press, 1982
I'd like to obtain a copy of this book. Can anyone help?
http://www.kingpinchess.net 'the gutter press of chess' (Eric Schiller)
@KingpinEd

Mike Truran
Posts: 2427
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2007 3:44 pm
Contact:

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Mike Truran » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:18 am

Not on abebooks as far as I can see, so probably quite hard to track down.

Simon Spivack
Posts: 600
Joined: Wed May 14, 2008 4:06 pm

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by Simon Spivack » Wed Mar 30, 2011 5:54 pm

Jon Manley wrote:
Bent Larsen's Good Move Guide, Oxford University Press, 1982
I'd like to obtain a copy of this book. Can anyone help?
I own a copy of the paperback edition.

It's in good condition, but not for sale, so I'm probably of no use to Jon; however, if there's something specific he wants to ask, I'll try to answer.

For those who've never seen a copy, the book contains test positions, games and helpful commentary. I concur that it is an excellent book of instruction, a cut above Chernev's offerings that the antonym pedlars promote.

John Philpott

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by John Philpott » Tue Apr 05, 2011 7:50 pm

I too have fond memories of Bent Larsen's Good Move Guide. North Chingford Library used to own a copy which I borrowed each year for my annual vacation.

PeterTurland
Posts: 541
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2007 10:03 pm
Location: Leicester
Contact:

Re: Out of print books that shouldn't be...

Post by PeterTurland » Tue Apr 05, 2011 8:56 pm

There is a simple solution, Amazon have a device called a 'Kindle' - an electronic book so to speak, these out of print books are an enormous resource, that unless saved for the good of our species, will be lost. There is page turning technology, video technology, character recognition software and a growing readership, the internet is doing for chess what, television did for football.

So okay we get a fund together and with that fund, buy a computerised book reader, pass the reader around to all members that have out of print chess books, as long as we apply the golden rule - problem solved!

Post Reply