This is an incredible book. I love to read and play through annotated game collections (which my coach and the esteemed Dan Heisman both rate as extremely important!), but I often did not understand what was meant by bad bishop/good bishop, weak squares, outposts etc. etc. Now I do, thanks to Michael Stean's superbly instructive book Simple Chess.

Can I make instant use of these concepts in my games? Of course not! That comes with practice, practice and more practice. What I can do now is: a) Understand these concepts when playing through and studying master games, which will increase the benefits I get from each game I study. b) Begin to use these concepts in my own games and learn from them!

Stean's explanatory prose is very insightful and easy to follow. I can't really say enough about this book.

Awesome book! Highly recommended.

Very well written...I've already learned things that will change the way I play chess forever! Really helps you understand the precursors to attacks & to see how seemingly insignificant things can matter.

A small book ( only 160 pages ) but what a book !!! I can see why all the reviews have been either 4- or 5-stars. It is particularly suited for the intermediate players who want to tighten their game by a few notches. There aren't many books that can cut to the chase quickly and reveal the kernel of chessic wisdom - Simple Chess does. If one has vague ideas of some chess concepts, by the end of the book, they will not remain vague. But to be even handed, one definitely must have some idea of chess concepts ( however vague !) PRIOR to reading this book.

If you see this in a bookstore look at his analysis of the first game in the introduction (Botvinnik-Szilagyi). If that doesn't sell you then nothing will.

This is the most instructive chess book I own (sadly, I own many). I have all the "standards" - Silman, Chernev etc - but this is simply the best. I won't dwell on its quality, because other reviewers have covered that. I will say that you will never look at the board the same way again after reading it.

The book does assume some previous reading on positional concepts, but it doesn't assume any competence (trust me). Everyone's read some inappropriate positional tome early in their career, so this shouldn't be a problem for most people.

Another reviewer has said something to the effect that every sentence has some instructive value, and I couldn't agree more. When I first read it I glossed over some things as I was caught up in the prose and the "main point", but on subsequent readings I realized that there is a whole second layer - a kind of indirect, subconscious instruction - in the writing when he sets context or alludes to alternatives. Take a relaxed read first up, by all means, but I urge you to give it a real serious word by word analysis subsequently. The prose is very deliberate. There are no throw away lines. It is a gold mine.

I remember reading that a publishing house was trying to do a new edition of the original (descriptive notation) edition in the late 90s but that Stean was uninterested. I am so glad he changed his mind. It is a pity that such a talent has remained silent for so long. I wish he would write again. Anything.

Study tactics, and read this. Maybe chess is simple after all.

Simply the best! Important elements of Chess Strategy explained lucidly. A truly great book that introduces chess strategy to the masses. A must have book for the intermediate player.