Strategy

There are several excellent opening books from the early '90s published as part of the "Maxwell Macmillan Chess" series, and they are all excellent books. The format these books followed was so sensible and instructive that one wonders why other publishers have not followed it. More on that later. The overriding theme of the book is that white does not play c4 on move two; rather, he plays Nf3 and sends the queen's bishop out to g5 or f4; then, he may play c3 to secure d4, and he aims for e4. This approach is similar to the Colle against 1... d5, so Colle players definitely will want to have this book, especially since Koltanowski and others recommend a king's indian response as best against the Colle. The book has three parts: Part I examines the "Torre-Petrosian Attack," which consists of 1. d4 Nf6, 2. Nf3 e6, 3. Bg5. It is heartening to hear Varnusz explain that the young Tigran Petrosian was frustrated when facing the Nimzo- and Queen's Indian, and that he turned to the Torre Attack as a simpler, direct response thereto. If a world champ used this line, then it is good enough for me. Part II explores white's approach to a king's indian response with ...g6. Varnusz does not promise a distinct advantage with this line, just as Burgess, in his book on the Torre Attack, contends that Bg5 is not the critical response to the king's indian set-up. However, this does not mean that it is not a practically effective system. Nor does it mean that black has an edge! Again, Petrosian played this system, as have other grandmasters, including Ribli, Trifunovic, and Kasparov (vs. Martinovic, Baku, 1980). What I especially like about the chapters in Part II is that Varnusz offers you several alternate systems to the king's indian response. These include what Burgess calls "The London System" in his book, "Beating the Anti-King's Indians," as well as a finachetto approach with g3. Part III of the book recommends lines against Benoni and Benko gambit approaches. Again, the same ideas are applied, with white refraining from c4 in favor of Nf3 and Bg5. If you combine this book with Summerscales's excellent work, "A Killer Chess Opening Repertoire," you have an excellent practical approach with the white pieces. Personally, I like the London System more than the Barry Attack, as in the latter you play Nc3, blocking the c-pawn, which always feels awkward. With the London System, you have not violated any principles. With these systems, you are not playing the absolute best lines as white, as master practice has long established that 2. c4 is the best move for white. However, if you know these systems well, you will have an advantage over most of your opponents, in that you are playing on your turf instead of his. Many black players are waiting to trot out the king's indian, the Benko, the Nimzo, etc., and you are denying them the chance to use their favorite line. They should still be able to find their way, but, again, you will have dictated the course of the game, and this is an invaluable advantage at the "club" level. Do not disparage the club level. For years, I fumbled around with 2. c4 because it was supposed to be best. Invariably, though, I found myself playing against someone's pet line. Since I turned to the systems espoused by Varnusz (and Summerscale against 1... d5), my results have improved, and I have enjoyed my chess more too. Back to this book and its format. In each of the three parts, there are chapters of theory, each of which ends with several lightly annotated illustrative games. There are a total of 116 illustrative games in the book. This format is the best of both worlds for an opening book. That is, you have your dense theory, and your complete games, but without the drawback that the complete game format used by Everyman and others elimiates exploration of many sidelines. This little-known book has been a great asset to me.

Varnusz is a relatively unknown but excellent writer. His book on the Caro-Kann is also great, if a little dated. This one is my favorite, though. It has a great deal of explanatory text and enthusiasm for the Torre Attack, as well as offering a white repertoire for other responses. The book is realistic (none of "Winning With..." hyperbole, but it conveys the Torre in a fascinating manner, such that you can't help but want to play it. I have bought and sold hundreds of chess books, and constantly change around the contents of my bulging shelves, but this book is always there. It is really good and a keeper. p.s. you can buy Burgess' book on the Torre too, but this one is better. The Burgess book is more up to date, so it too is essential for Torre players. But Burgess downplays the Torre against the King's Indian formation (which Varnusz does too), but Burgess doesn't really offer an alternative. Varnusz does.

Gligoric has produced a master piece on the subject of the Nimzo-Indian Defence! This is one of the most complete referenced on the subject of the Nimzo-Indian Defence. The Book is sectioned into three parts, covering "27" variations!!! Each variation is represented by an incredible amount of Grandmaster games ranging from the 1930's to the 1980's! With deep annotations for each game and variations of play from the main line. The author has given the reader a large selection of high quality games covering wins for Black and White, with deep detail of information for both sides. The book is in algebraic notation so it is easy to follow and each variation is presented with some history on the player and the variation. If you are looking for the most complete reference to the Nimzo-Indian Defence then look no further, this is as good as it gets!

If you're looking for a book on the Nimzo-Indian defense, Svetozar Gligoric has written *the* book. Gligoric traces the development of the defense, using the games of top-level GM's throughout the book. Every variation of the defense is touched upon.

I'm Matthew Low, better known on both Pojo.com as the person who techs decks and stuff like that. I wrote one of the articles in this neat book; the Videl deck, dedicated to my sister.
This is one of the best things you can get if you want some tips starting out. Of course all card game books get outdated from time to time, but this one is all you need to catch up to right before Buu Saga. People like the almighty IQ and accomplished veterans like Zeller, Williams, and Fashbinder give their ideas. Most of the people included in this book (not all) are of the greatest there are in the game; take their advice.
It helps the person wanting to start out with a bunch of nothing, like the Cheap decks, to the tournament level ones like Richie's outdated Cell Namekian. More or less the decks are still good for the most part; make sure you swing by dbzcardgame.com and find any changes that have sprung up in the last few months.
If anything, read the articles. They are by far the most useful things you can read to help you in this game. The decks will get you started. After all, this is a beginner's book. If you are ready to go to the advanced/expert level, feel free to email me (go find my address in my article ^_^) for a deck tech or some tips.
So... I say get this book, especially if you need some help in the game of DBZCCG. It has a wealth of information you won't find ANYWHERE else. Get this. I said so.

It's about time someone created a book about the DBZ Card Game. This game has been around for years, and there's not too many places to get information.

This book is perfect for newbies, and people that are trying to get better. I think you World Champion type guys will enjoy it too, as you finally can read about your sport. ;-)

This book has History, Killer Decks, Top 10 Lists and more. My favorite part is the Top 20 Most Collectible Cards, as I like to collect the rare ones.

There's 96 pages ... and all of them are fun to read! Pick in up!

I'm getting the game Pokemon Colosseum and the Bonus Disk. As usual I get lost early in the game and Ta-Da!!! I reach for my Prima Strategy Guide and next thing you know I am playing the end of game extras. This is one Prima Strategy Guide not to be missed.

This Book Is A Very Great Book! I Suggest You Buy It. Well It Is The Official Guide Book Isn't It?! It Has All The Infomation You Need Like Walkthroughs For The RPG And A Pokedex In The Back.

This a truely great work on the politcal behind the scenes aspects of how the Confederate command structure worked under Davis and the military and political opposition groups that festered within. Davis has incredulous feuds with Johnson and particularly Beauraguard to the point of destruction while maintaining an unbending loyalty to Braxton Bragg even when he loses the support of all the generals in the Army of the Tennesee. What developes is a political block of generals that maintain a loose alliance such as Johnson, Beauraguard, Longstreet and Senator Wigfall from Texas. Certianly astonishing about the effect personal dislikes and favoritism had on militarty assignments and strategy. It is interesting that Johnson had significant support from many fields except Davis. One of the great failings of the Confederacy is that they did not have a competent Secretary of the War that was strong enough to work with Davis until Breckenridge took the job too late.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Civil War is the way in which strategy was determined not so much by military necessity as by the interplay of politics and personalities. While this is true of the Union, it seems to be more so of the South. In this slim volume, the authors take the reader through a study of the prevailing strategic thought (Napoleonic/Jominian) and then discuss how this thinking was applied by the major Southern Commanders. Their conclusions: Lee contributed little to the overall strategic thinking of the South; the commanders in the Western theater (Bragg, A.S. Johnston, Joseph Johnston, Beauregard, et al.) may have had a greater conception of the South's stategic requirements; and, Jefferson Davis was caught between the two. The result? Neither Virginia nor the Western theaters got the military treatment that was required for successful war.

Naturally, it is easy to oversimplify these conditions. Yet, the authors demonstrate that Lee, concentrating on the Virginia front, seemed unaware of the Western theater, resisted efforts to strengthen the West through transfers from the Army of Northern Virginia, and continually requested that the Western theater support his operations with either movements of their own or transfers of troops to Virginia. This criticism of Lee is always a touchy issue (see, Joseph Harsh, Confederate Tide Rising for a contrary position).To his credit, Davis resisted all of these requests and, on one occasion, overruled Lee to have Longstreet's corps sent to the West prior to the late 1863 battle of Chicamauga.

Davis, a Westerner himself (Mississippi) faced a formidible group in what the authors call the Western Concentration Bloc, a group united by family or geographical ties and a mutual hatred of Bragg. Among them, Connelly and Jones seem to think of P.G.T. Beauregard as the best of the strategic thinkers. Davis himself added to his own problems with the departmental system, a possibly unnecessary complication added to already complicated command problems.

The authors, having emphasized strategic thought in Chapter 1, do not demonstrate how those strategic theories were applied by the Southerners. Perhaps this is because these theories, in the purest sense, were never applied, except in the desire to concentrate forces, which may in fact have been a function more of theater jealousy rather than application of Jominian doctrine. The student of strategy, academic or armchair, might find a better discussion of this topic in Jones' Civil War Command and Strategy (1992). Even so, this is a well-written study with valuable insights, and certianly rates 5 stars.

Strategic planning was once the sole responsibility of senior management. In today's business climate of shortened product cycles, ruthless price competition and global access to markets, the burden has spread to include middle managers. This new Portable MBA volume is the eighth in the series. It offers insights from 16 leading business school professors at Harvard, Boston University, Maryland, Northwestern, Dartmouth, Michigan, Stanford, Wharton and the Cranfield School of Management in England and five prominent consultants. Each contributor is not only an expert, but experienced putting into practice the principles and methodologies discussed in the chapter.

Whether tackling business, corporate or global strategy issues or analyzing industrial, technological, organizational and political factors, The Portable MBA in Strategy defines the planner's current vocabulary. It also offers practical solutions to implement plans in any business environment.

The book reduces a successful strategy to its four component parts -- the marketplace for the strategy; the inputs required for a successful plan, the opportunities for corporate transformation and the steps required to transfigure the plan into reality. Each chapter starts with an engaging case study to illustrate its theme. The result is a practical, readable, and comprehensive look at business strategy; appropriate whether the reader is the owner of small business or the manager of a vast global enterprise.

The title is misleading. The careful reader will develop a more thorough grounding in business strategy than any MBA course can provide. Especially useful for non-MBAs who want to understand the concepts that get tossed around during strategic planning.

I think this is a very good book for all managers, especially for IT industry.

I think this is a good book for all managers, especially in IT industry.

This book by Buckley is the reason I own 400 chess books--I keep looking for gems like this, and sometimes you just hvae to go through many chess books to find one that really shines for you (kind of like finding a wife). Well, this is such a chess book. It instructs you in a practical method of how to analyze positions. It is full of incredibly good advice, and with each suggestion, it forces you through difficult examples; not difficult because of a difficults situation on the board, but just in terms of analysing several moves ahead. Buckley doesn't let you off easy (and he shouldn't, because there is no way around the fact that calculation in chess is a difficult intellectual exercise), but his methods keep you interested, and implcitly he knows that we all can do it. The book warrants a long review, and I am not prepared to do that, but I will say that this is the first book on calculation that I have really stuck with and worked through, and that is because the author has written such a brilliant book. FOr instance, I can not seem to get throuhg Think Like a Grandmaster by Kotov, The Inner Game of Chess by Soltis, Improve Your Chess Now by Tisdall, or any of the major works by Dvoretsky. I honestly feel that now I have a chance to approach those books with the straightforward teaching and method that I have received here. This book is truly amazing, and beautifully produced too.

After my first ever tournament, I submitted my games to a grandmaster for advise on how I can improve my games. One thing he told me is that I am wanting in calculation skill. ...

The author is not a grandmaster but why would I care. He is a master and much much stronger than me. There are a lot of grandmaster authors out there but none of them, as far as I know, revealed the method of calculation as much as this author. No, not even in Soltis's "The Inner Game of Chess" and Kotov's "Think Like a Grandmaster". These grandmasters will always tell you to improve your calculation skills (Soltis also suggested playing games in the books without the chess set). But how many among them tells exactly how to improve this skill.

For example, do these grandmaster authors tell you that the very first thing to do is to memorize the chessboard? how to do this? that you should memorize the name of each square like c5 is a dark square and then you know that it is in c-file and 5th rank?

At last after a long search, I found it!

This book will not waste time on hundreds upon hundreds of tedious Rook and Pawn positions and variations. It will, however, give you the ideas on how to play these types of endings. Ideas are easier to memorize than variations - with the right idea, the correct variation will not be so hard to find. It even teaches how to play the "inferior" side of a rook ending. This book helped me improve not only my endgame play but also enhanced my game overall. Best buy for the buck. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

This book helped me to understand rook & pawn endgames like no other before it. I had previously read Pandolfini's Endgame Course, Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals, Tarrasch's Game of Chess, and Reassess Your Chess (which has a few pages on the subject). These are all good books. But I never fully comprehended rook endings until I read this book. I finally understand the Lucena & Philidor positions and Why They Are So Important. And much more... This book is cheap, short (only 70 pages), and chock full of extremely useful information. I am a strong B player and just beat my first expert due to this book!

Most medical textbooks are organized by diagnosis. In real life, one is confronted with signs and symptoms and has to arrive at a diagnosis based on the synthesis and analysis of history, exam, labs, and imaging. That's why this excellent book is so practical--it's organized the way one really does pediatrics. Don't get me wrong--Nelson and such are valuable references, but this book is more helpful in coming up with a diagnosis when presented with a symptom.

Good medical books featuring a symptom rather than a disease based approach are rare. Those books using this approach covering pediatrics even more so. Practical Strategies in Pediatric Diagnosis and Therapy does a good job in helping the pediatric registrar (or house officer) circle in on a diagnosis based on symptoms such as shortness of breath, anaemia or fever of unknown origin. I enjoy this book a lot. I don't quite understand why the publisher makes it so hard to find copies of it.