Opening

With an opening book, normally I have to spend quite a bit of time with it before forming an opinion as to its worth and necessity. Having spent a lot of time with this book, I know it is a true gem. It is brilliantly constructed, with the reader in mind. For instance, each time a major sub-variation is begun, all of the moves to that point are presented, so that you don't have to flip back to re-start the game. Plus, this encourages you to play back through the moves to that point, forcing you to better absorb the meaning of the variation in question. The index of variations at the back is crystal clear, so that you can tell quickly the location of each variation. The point is, it appears that a great deal of thought and care went into the layout of this book. It deals with all major variations, presenting major games in a line in the notes. There is something special about this book. Not only do we all really need a book about the queen's gambit declined, but "Polu" put great care into his books, and he decried the quick cranking out of books by other authors. Plus, he was one of the best players in the world for many years, and this gives great authority to his recommendations. I find myself more willing to trust him than I do Matthew Sadler, who, although a GM, does not have Polu's pedigree. I like Sadler's book "QGD" also, and I am working through that in tandem with this book. I have noticed some conflicts between the books that are quite significant. For instance, when anontating the Fischer-Spassky game in the Tartakower variation (Polu. 161, Sadler 67) Sadler claims that Spassky went wrong with 14... a6?! He states that "after Spassky's inaccuracy, the game loses its theoretical significance." But Polu states that 14... a6 is the normal continuation in this line, and he indicates that after Spassky's 16... Ra7, white stands better. Polu's 16th move for black, Qa7, seems much more natural and logical. Playing through Polu's main line makes much more sense than following the line in the Sadler book, when Geller's 14...Qb7 is said to be satisfactory. But this line results in greater complications than the 14...a6 line suggested by Polu. I am left feeling that a6, followed by 16...Qa7, is totally solid and best in that situation. So we have Spassky and Polugayevsky recommending a move, and Sadler denouncing it. I am much more inclined to follow the two more experienced GMs. Again, I like the Sadler book, but the Polu. book comes off as more a authoritative source, based on 150 years of chess history. It is of more lasting value in my opinion. In short, it is a great book that should be sought and bought.

"Heal the Earth" is a common call today.Devereaux points out that it is humans who have to be healed, because it is humans who are doing the damage to the Earth.He advocates that we get in touch with the power and energy of nature to balance ourselves and be in tume with our natural environment.Some methods he suggests are: visiting sacred sites and wilderness areas, exploring the local geography, lucid dreaming, tape recording a waterfall, studying clouds,rocks and bark for suggestive shapes and patterns, and many other activities.A strength of this book is the practical advice it gives on relating to various Earth mysteries and energies.

This is one of the better opening books that I have. It has 56 games annotated in tremendous depth, which set out reams of textual explanation and technical analysis of all major lines in the Samisch. The index at the back is excellent. The production of the book is great too. In fact, everything about this book is great. Add this to the fact that you will be able to use this stuff a lot. As you all know, lots of people play the King's Indian Defence, and you will be playing the Samisch in a good percentage of all your games. Highly recommended

This is a staggering work by the greatest player to ever play the Scheveningen variation, and this is a dense stream of verbal explanation along with plentiful variations. This was published when Kasparov was world #2 in 1983, and he had something to prove. To read his analysis of the variation that he virtually owns is a major treasure for chess fans (it is as if Fischer had written a treatise on the Najdorf). It is surprising how verbal the book is, with constant textual evaluations and analysis of positions and ideas. This one knocked me off my feet, and made me a devotee of the Scheveningen. It must be tracked down and purchased.

Very good work of theory its best for the hard study chess player you will learn a lot from this a nice old man gave me this book sence i played chess with him and it done me wonders.

Where was this book my first year of college? Choosing a major and making other good choices in my life would have been much easier. However, the idea of "career volunteering" was the one thing that set me on the right path.

My daughter gave Soulwork to me three years ago. Almost four years ago my husband committed suicide in the garage at our home, and I found him. Needless to say, my life (and that of my children) changed in a single heartbeat. Suddenly, at the age of 47, I was truly on my own for the very first time in my life. My two grown daughters live 250 miles from me, I have no other family nearby, my only sibling lives in California and both of our parents are dead. I had no one to really talk to about my innermost fears. I learned so much about myself from this book. The most important thing I learned is that my fears, my insecurities, and my dreams are not unique to me alone. Knowing that other women feel what I feel gave me the determination to accept the hand that I had been dealt, and go on. I have worked very hard at not letting myself become a "victim." One only has to pick up a newspaper or turn on the nightly news to know that many people in this world suffer much greater than I have. I have read the book many times, and particularly when I feel down I pick it up. Just last night I read a few chapters. I keep in on my headboard of my bed. Ms. Moffatt has the gift of putting into written word what I feel.

Accessibly written by chess grandmaster and trainer Nigel Davies, Taming The Sicilian is a highly detailed chess manual showcasing techniques and strategies that players of the White side in a game of chess can utilize against one of the most popular opening moves for the Black side. Numerous technical diagrams and instructions cover variations including the Najdorf, Classical, Scheveningen, Pelikan-Sveshnikov, and more. An excellent guide for advanced chess players looking to sharpen their skills further, Taming The Sicilian is a highly recommended addition to any dedicated chess player's reference shelf.

As a devotee of Paul Hughes-Barlow's "Supertarot" website, I was greatly
pleased with my recent purchase of his book Tarot and the Magus". Quite
simply, ALL the material with which I had become familiar (the Elemental
Dignities, Card Pairing and Counting) is present here, but in improved book
format. This, together with significant new material, in a single stylish
volume, attractively illustrated with (monochrome) images of the
Crowley-Thoth deck, makes this book a wonderful addition to any Tarot or
Magickal library.

For those (like me) in the process of honing personal systems of divinatory
"meaning" for the cards, the methods described here allow significant progress
towards producing useful readings in the interim. Separation of the more
"mechanistic" part of reading (forming an underlying Tarot "story") from the
subjective or intuitive process, allows additional meaning to be added as an
thin layer, according to the experience and the progress of the reader. As a
bonus the book could even be used with other popular decks based on the Thoth
structure but e.g. with more pictorial minor arcana scenes.

The book is structured around the traditional Eleven Chapters of Magickal
texts of history. A cursory glance at the text reveals too a significant
departure from the usual format of introduction and end material, surrounding
a lengthy list of card meanings! Each chapter here, begins with illustrated
pairs of Major Arcana cards, but selected according to a new, intriguing take
on an ancient Qabalistic (Atabash) sequence. Lest anyone be put off by the
notion, suffice it to say that this provides an interesting and logical take
on the Major orderings! Aces and the Minor (including Court) cards then take
their place in chapters, according to more familiar "Tree of Life" positions.

Rather than the usual commentaries on card meaning, the text here concentrates
on more useful, personal observations made by the author and includes notable
commentary on Crowley's original texts. In this sense, perhaps the book
becomes more appropriate for someone with some basic notion of Tarot? Despite
that, it remains an eminently approachable text and above all, appropriate to
someone with the serious desire to learn (a whole lot!) more.

The novel card ordering is also used to advantage, using Gematria values of
card combinations to generate new meaning and even suggest hitherto occult
(sic!) significance in the original Tarot card ordering! The specific topics
(cited above) form the remainder of each chapter. This had an effect of
curbing this reader's inate tendancy to "skip about" and miss out on other
important information!

Half way through the book, we are lead, albeit fairly seamlessly, into more
Magickal areas promised by the Title? Again, no very specialist knowledge,
experience or initiatory status is needed, but a basic understanding of some
terminology might be an advantage? This could e.g. already be within the grasp
of the many readers, particularly those familiar with or using the Thoth deck.

Some of them may also be familiar with the attribution of various "spirits" to
the Tarot cards. Previously, decks such as Lon MIlo Duquette's popular "Tarot
of Ceremonial Magic", gave correspondences for Enochian Angels, Goetic
Deamons, Shemhamphorash Angels and the lesser known Spirits of Crowley's
Liber 231! Despite this, the neophyte could perhaps be forgiven for being a
little confused as to exactly HOW these entities could indeed be useful?

Methods for evoking the Goetia are perhaps common enough, even in beginner
texts on High Magick! But these often seem to depend on a process of cajoling
reluctant entities, followed by extreme effort to restrain the powers thereby
released! Not for the fainthearted? But here, it is the authors view (and
indeed experience), that all these (especially Liber 231) spirits appear as a
direct and painless consequence of the presence of certain "unaspected" (qv)
cards revealed during the practice of reading techniques described in earlier
chapters. At very minimum this must represents a significant contribution to
the working and understanding of the relatively unfamiliar Liber 231 spirits.

Despite this reviewer's own Magickal experience being limited to "theory" in
these areas (and a background in professional science, laced with skepticism)
I found the topics discussed in this book to be totally captivating. True
knowledge of this material (and ones own Holy Guardian Angel) is perhaps
indeed something to which one might aspire? Overall Tarot and the Magus
represent a unique insight into the workings of a modern-time and practicing
Magus and Tarot Reader.

I found it to be an excellent approach to studying and appying Joseki, taking the whole board into consideration.

This volume covers 3-4 point low kakari.

It is not a book for beginners. You must be at least a single-digit Kyu player to begin understanding the lessons.