Reviews on Amazon.com
Frisco Del Rosario reviewed Chess Visualization for innocent Souls
5 stars
Picture in your head a great bargain in chess visualization training - congratulations, it manifested itself for you right here! March 27, 2016
At the time this was written, grandmaster Gareev was chasing Koltanowski's 50-year-old records for simultaneous blindfold play,
which has created interest in the SF Bay Area chess community about the skills required for such feats.
I'll be glad to recommend Pardi's little book to my students who are interested in blindfold play or improving their chess visualization.
The exercises therein are evergreen - I remember doing one of the knight touring exercises in the '70s, after an expert friend was pleased to
have discovered a training secret of the Soviet School. .
The simplest exercise possible for visualization - name a square, name its color as fast as you can - was recommended by the
unparalleled teacher Purdy in the '40s..
Pardi teaches for the right reasons - he just wants people to improve at chess - and the only reason the Kindle edition costs 99 cents
is because Amazon wouldn't let him give this wonderful teaching away for free..
The charming cat art is worth the price of purchase all by itself. Most highly recommended.
CheesLover reviewed SCP, a Bunch of strategic Chess Patterns
Five Stars January 20, 2016
Great material...easy to study...concrete...and good balance between moves and explanations
Amazon Customer reviewed ECP 2. Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns part 2: Tactics
Five Stars January 16, 2016
Excellent combination of two previous excellent books by the same author
Mark Smallwood reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Good chess pattern recognition primer December 21, 2015
This is a fun and interesting way to practice your pattern recognition skills.
Amazon Customer reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Excellent!! November 30, 2015
Excellent! This ebook is three previous books by the same author (the cover page "says" that) combined, plus other material and features
The combination improves an already excellent product
Highly recommended!
Eric Taylor Middleton reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
This book changed my game . October 20, 2015
Detailed explanations, positions, and writing. This book has it all. Not to mention at a fraction of the cost of most books. Thanks for making this available to all!!!!
JIM reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Four Stars September 29, 2015
Enjoy the book worth the cost..
Amazon Customer reviewed Building your own Chess Repertoire: an approach
A practical guide to creating a repertoire for a mid-level player. August 24, 2015
This is a wonderfully practical book, with a pre-built repertoire for a mid-level player. It is unlike most books on chess
openings, which teach you how to play like a grandmaster for the first 5-10 moves, and then leave you lost in the mid-game.
By comparison, this book teaches you good-enough moves that create positions that are fun, but not so complex
as to be mystifying.
Amazon Customer reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Beautifully-distilled chess tactics July 22, 2015
Even though English is clearly not the author's first language, he does a fantastic job of distilling a large volume of chess
theory into something that can easily be learned.
Amazon Customer reviewed Opposition & Critical Squares: The most important Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 4
Great book June 25, 2015
You might think that you know everything about opposition and critical squares
Then, at the next tournament, disaster strikes
Great book, to be re-read every now and then as a reminder.
Amazon Customer reviewed SCP, a Bunch of strategic Chess Patterns
Recommended June 25, 2015
Great book, dealing with strategies in chess.
While books on tactics and openings abound, the ones on chess strategies are somewhat lacking.
This is one of the best!
Well conceived and....can't beat the price!
Amazon Customer reviewed Building your own Chess Repertoire: an approach
Excellent book . Recommended June 25, 2015
It is one of the many excellent books by Dr. Pardi.
It delas with a rarely studied issue. The literature available is scarce!
The whole subject is reporetd in a logica, straightforward way.
So, why only four stars?
For a tournament player it is a five-star book!
It studies unusual openings and gambits that will create problems for your opponent. Hopefully!
An internet player has the option to access data bases and so will have the tools for dealing with the surprise.
With this partial limitation, it is an excellent book.
Amazon Customer reviewed Lined up Pieces, Pins, Skewers and the like: Basic Chess Patterns
A best buy June 10, 2015
Intended for the mid-level player, this book is full of very good advice, sometimes not to be found elsewhere.
Strongly recommended.
The down-to-earth style of the writer and the low , low price are additional pluses.
CheesLover reviewed ECP 2. Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns part 2: Tactics
Four Stars June 9, 2015
Simple but good and useful
John Frazier reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Good chess! June 9, 2015
This is an excellent concept well executed. The author even includes a few amusing stories to read while one is
integrating this valuable information. Definitely a must read for beginners and worth a look for more accomplished players.
Good Book reviewed ECP 2. Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns part 2: Tactics
The only chess book that you might need. May 8, 2015
Its impossible to learn everything about chess let all master it. Well, there is hope now.
This book covers all the essentials that every player from beginner to grand master must know in an easy to
understand format.
Good Book reviewed Chess Visualization for innocent Souls
Refreshing little book. May 8, 2015
This is not your average chess book. Its unique because there are few chess books that I know of that teach visualization in chess.
Notatroll reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Nice Chess Primer.... March 15, 2015
If you want to learn some basics about your game and try a little extra study ...this is a nice little reader that you can study for getting approaches for the basic patters.....
Angela Passaro reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Improving at chess is a continuous process March 8, 2015
This book alerted me to how one square can be under attack by several pieces.
Notatroll reviewed Opposition & Critical Squares: The most important Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 4)
Nice chess primer for kids and teens.... February 21, 2015
Nice simple demonstrations of strategies for the beginner or novice.....I hadn't played in years and this helped me get my groove back.
Amazon Customer reviewed Chess Visualization for innocent Souls
Useful, mostly for aspirant Masters December 28, 2014
Mental exercises intended for players below expert level.
Written on the basis that visualization improves knowledge and skill.
Interesting. Why only four stars? Because can have appeal only for a sub-set of the amateur players.
However, at this price it is worth buying, in order to see if you like it.
Amazon Customer reviewed Gocce di saggezza scacchistica (manuale di scacchi Vol. 7) (Italian Edition)
Great little book November 9, 2014
Excellent compendium of common sense in chess!
The flow chart that explains how to select the right move is unique!
Great value for your money.
However, some knowledge of Italian is necessary
Amazon Customer reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Very good. Clear simple patterns November 3, 2014
Very good. Clear simple patterns, and by learning to recognize them in a game has been the best way I have found to improve my game fast
Amazon Customer reviewed Defensive Chess Patterns, playing from an inferior Position: one Piece down, so what?
Very useful October 21, 2014
Very useful.
Chess books, generally, tell us how to win.
This is the first book I know that tells you what to do when you are behind.
How to get a draw from a lost position, may be.
Worth buying
Murrel reviewed Chess Visualization for innocent Souls
An excellent introduction to chess visualization that any player rated under .. . September 19, 2014
An excellent introduction to chess visualization that any player rated under 2000 should use. Explanations, examples and tests are plentiful in the book. It covers familiarizations with squares, lines of attack and even Knight paths. There is also a section on learning to play blindfold chess. Visualization isn't easy to master in any circumstance, but this book offers important steps you can take to improve your abilities. Highly recommended as a learning tool.
Daniel reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Great book at a great price. Very well conceived. September 17, 2014
This is an excellent book for beginners at chess. Mr. Rodolfo should be praised for his effort, since the book is original and very well conceived. It is flooded with high quality diagrams, accompained by concise, but very objective explanatory text. I highly recommend it to anyone who seeks to learn the basic chess patterns.
Amazon Customer reviewed Fork, a common Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 6)
Forks! August 26, 2014
Fork is a common double attack chess tactic that crops up in almost every intermediate or beginner game.
The book does a masterful job at evidencing the more general patterns of its appearance.
It introduces patterns you might not be aware of. This knowledge is very useful for both the attacker and the defender.
Highly recommended!
Amazon Customer reviewed Case critiche e opposizione, il pattern di scacchi più importante (Italian Edition)
Critical houses?? August 25, 2014
Intended for beginners, it is a useful reminder for intermediate players as well.
Knowledge of these basic principles avoids losing or drawing games that you should have won.
The drawback is that you need to know Italian to fully appreciate this book!
Amazon Customer reviewed A dreadful Chess Trap: Blackburne Shilling
A fantastic small book August 25, 2014
A fantastic small book! All you need to know about this little-known trap.
If your opponent takes the bait (capture of an undefended pawn) checkmate is almost assured in seven or eight moves!
The Blackburne schilling made me win several games already.
Knowing it is a must, in order to use it or to avoid it.
C. E. Torres reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Mister Pardi KNOWS July 17, 2014
Everything he writes will strenghten your game, guaranteed!
R. Hancock reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Very good introduction for beginners June 9, 2014
For someone relatively new to chess (played as a kid, but never studied), I found the patterns in this book helpful in stimulating more thoughtful play. While the English translation is not impeccable, the explanations are, nevertheless, easily understood. Most, if not all, the patterns also include links to animated games illustrating the pattern. If you wish, you can back the game up to the beginning and watch is unfold from the start. For the price, it is well worth it.
H. Erich Hunt reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
A necessity for all beginners. May 10, 2014
This is a necessity for all beginners and some intermediates who wish to go over certain material (mating patterns) that should be second nature to experts. This is much like a practice book to be used alongside Vulkovic's excellent book on Attacking Chess. All beginners need to practice and make these patterns instinctively recognizable in order to move forward in the playing or learning of chess.
David Paden reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
For beginners and experienced chess players March 19, 2014
I use this as a guide to helping my elementary chess team. It is clear, concise, and has good examples. It also is improving my game.
Dan reviewed Fork, a common Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 6)
A truly incredible book! February 24, 2014
It has many important tactical patterns involving forks. Well worth the $.99 price. Buy it -- you'll be glad you did. Fun & easy to read and learn. If you win even one extra game you will thank yourself.Highly recommended!
Dan reviewed A Selection of additional Chess Patterns
another wonderful book with essential chess patterns February 23, 2014
Well worth $.99 -- if you win only one additional game because of a pattern you learned here, you will be glad you did it. Quick and easy to read! Just buy it -- you'll be glad you did.
Dan reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
wonderful! I learned several new patterns from this low-cost book -- highly recommended!!! February 22, 2014
This wonderful book teaches you 50 very common patterns. It then lets you play them through on a website by clicking on a link at the end of each chapter. It is well worth the $.99 -- highly recommended!
CascadeMike reviewed Fork, a common Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 6)
Another excellent book in this series February 9, 2014
Worthwhile exercises and problems for the improving player. This book is a bargain at this price. I bought it based on the high quality of the other Kindle books from Mr. Pardi, and I think it is the best yet.
Good Book reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Fundamemtal Chess Patterns February 8, 2014
Essential knowledge for all players from beginner to master. Outstanding basic technique is mastery. You cam never study the basics enough. Going through this book will reinforce the basic patterns in your memory. It will make your fiundation stronger and stronger. Highly recommended.
srights reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Great book to improve your understanding and rating! January 24, 2014
I got back into chess as I've exposed my children to the game. I suffered from not having any dedicated study. Since the game has been around for over a thousand years there is no way someone can advance without a little study. With limited time, I wanted the most bang for my buck. I enjoyed "First Chess Openings" to a least get me through the opening, but that leaves the middle game and endgame. This book is essential since I am unable to read a book studying hundreds of games with hundreds of defenses. There is no way I would recall and remember such guidance in the moment I need the information. This book will help you look at patterns in the hope that you will recognize what is developing even if you don't know the exact way you got there! As I play I can now see pieces lining up for battle and I know generally what is going on. This is an important reference for any library. The author is not a native English speaker, so some patience is needed with the translation, but I am very grateful that he took the time to help those of us who don't speak Italian!
Cindy L. Salsbury reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Helpful learning tool. January 20, 2014
Helpful tool to improve your chess game.
patterns were clear, challenging, and varied.
explanations were provided that were very helpful
DocTimOne reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Great book for rapidly improving January 5, 2014
After years of not having a chess partner I went to [...] to play. Found out the computer was an excellent winning opponent. This handbook has every pattern the computer made that caused me to be the loser. Wow! How fun is that!!!
David J. Couture reviewed Encyclopedia of Chess Patterns, part 1: 101 PATTERNS
Don't Buy This Book Unless You Want to Improve Your Rating! December 20, 2013
I gave this book 5-stars for multiple reasons:.
1) The book itself is excellent. It shows and explains patterns that you see frequently and need to recognize immediately without calculating variations. The explanations go beyond just showing you the moves. For example, in his explanation of mating with just a rook and bishop against a safely castled king, he points out what the key move in the sequence is, which was an a-ha moment for me and permanently burned the pattern into my brain..
2) The book is a great value. It is a combination of his ebooks "FCP: a Handbook of Fundamental Chess Patterns", "The most important Chess Pattern: Opposition & Critical Squares", and "A Selection of additional Chess Patterns", along with a number of very useful appendices, one of which is made up of the games from which the various patterns and positions were taken. That's a lot of book for $1.99! You can't go wrong at that price and I can almost guarantee that if you are below expert (under 2000 USCF) you will find much that will be new to you..
Conclusion: Just buy it! It's a cliche, but true in this case, that it "would be a bargain at twice the price".
James Utterback, MBA reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
this book deserves repeated consumption October 3, 2013
I will be reviewing the content in this book over and over again. As the author notes, memory is fleeting, but repeated exposure improves memory...I have seen many of these patterns in my own games and have not known how to defend against them. I still have a long way to go, but this volume has given me some insight to getting started...
Warren reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Very clear, very helpful . September 21, 2013
Highly recommended. And hey, it's only a dollar. The cat pictures alone are worth more! Great introduction to a complex subject.
J. A. McCarron reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Great idea plus cats! September 10, 2013
I have been looking at chess books for years and this book seems a unique find. The book focuses the reader on certain basic patterns that occur in chess. Some readers might not think these happen in allot of games. However they are positions to aim for. So when you know them you try to create or avoid these positions.
Back rank mate is a common example but these other positions and the ideas behind them are also useful.
Beyond that the book was fun to read. If your tired of wracking your brain on puzzles, take a break. Pick this up for a more relaxed and enjoyable chess learning experience.
Michael Haag reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Great things . August 20, 2013
Many of these patterns are unknown to me. Maybe if I become more familiar with them I might win more games.
CascadeMike reviewed Opposition & Critical Squares: The most important Chess Pattern (Chess patterns Book 4)
King against King and pawn May 30, 2013
Yes. Just as the description says, this book is about only one position. If you are 100% comfortable with what to do when only those three pieces are on the board; If you understand "opposition" so well that you don't need to think about it then maybe you don't need this book. Buy it anyway to encourage the authors to translate and publish the rest of the series. At. $00.99 it's a great bargin.
CascadeMike reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Fundamentals for the novice May 30, 2013
Excellent for a novice who has advanced beyond the beginner stage and wants to move toward becoming an intermediate player in rated tournaments. This book will not make you into a 1600 rated player by itself, but it would be a good place to start for many, or a good review or summary if you are part way down the road.
Aragon reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Wow, a hidden treasure . May 30, 2013
I'm amazed that such a great book does not sell for more. I was quite impressed that despite 2000 + hours of studying chess, I did not know some of these very important patterns. Of course, do not expect to become a master just by reading this book. But, I'm confident that you can learn or reinforce several important patterns. It certainly taught me several things that I did not know. For example the pawn breakthrough techniques. I would recommend this book for anyone under 1700 USCF.
Michael P. Owen reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Many fundamental patterns May 23, 2013
You can't know too many patterns. This addresses several important ones. The more patterns you can recognize, the better your tactical awareness will be.
Woodpusher reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Very well done May 13, 2013
A very good treatment of a basic topic. Those who have not yet learned the concepts presented here would be hard pressed to find a book that explains them better. I enjoyed this book very much.
Dhiman Bhattacharya reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
Simple but needs additional training May 4, 2013
It would be a great book for a student being tutored by an instructor. It's like a class room summary. All elements are present, but examples and reinforcement is needed. Overall, a great book.
Keshav Prasad reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
The patterns presented as gems! March 19, 2013
The patterns presented in this book are real gems that a chess player wanting to improve must know. .
I think if these patterns are clearly imbibed in one's mind, it will lead to victory in often lost (but actually won mid/end games).
For example: I did not know when/how a king vs king+pawn can lead to draw/win..
The concept of critical squares is very interesting and of utmost importance in those king vs king-pawn end-games. .
These patterns are encountered by every player out there..
Even though the language is sometimes grammatically incorrect, it can be easily understood reading it twice.
A really nice book for such a low cost!
Tim Brennan reviewed FCP: Fundamental Chess Patterns 1-50, a handbook
23 of 24 people found the following helpful
Fun chess book packed with useful patterns January 29, 2013
One of the keys to getting better at chess is to fill your brain with as many useful patterns or "chunks" as you can. When you do this, you can offload a lot of the processing and computation that is needed in a position, and just see the pattern..
This book contains 50 such patterns that every chess player should know. If you have been playing for a while, you will probably know some or all of them, but as Tony Robbins says "Repetition is the mother of skill"..
The English in the book is quite fine (the author warns that it might not be in the intro), and I had no problems following it at all. There are other Kindle chess ebooks where the English is 10 times worse..
I liked how the author had figurine notation, and cute original pictures, which makes the book fun. The price is super low, so this is a no risk purchase. I would recommend using a standardized format for the diagrams. Some seem to be made with chessbase, and some with chesscube, and a consistent look and feel would be nice, but certainly doesn't prevent someone from understanding..
For new chess players the book is a good intro to the fundamentals, and to a more experienced player an easy refresher course.
Amazon Customer reviewed Chess Patterns, una scelta di schemi fondamentali di scacchi (Manuali di scacchi Vol. 1)...
Chess patterns September 23, 2012
Written for the amateur player (knowing italian is, of course, a plus)this book shows elementary patterns to memorize, in order to recognize immediately dangers and opportunities. A book unique of its kind, as far as I know.
Tim Boldt reviewed Fundamental Chess Patterns, enhanced version, on Goodreads
Jul 22, 15
Beautifully-distilled chess tactics
Even though English is clearly not the author's first language, he does a fantastic job of distilling a
large volume of chess theory into something that can easily be learned.
lilli Inusuale. Chess Patterns, una scelta di schemi fondamentali di scacchi
3 marzo 2013
Contrariamente a tutte le raccolte di patterns che si trovano su internet, che sono solo di matto,
qui si trovano anche cose inusuali, come il dove spostare il Re dopo uno scacco di Cavallo nel finale.
In un paio d'ore si scorre tutto, si parla tra l'altro di case critiche, esche, dominazione, fortezza, mulinello,
patta teorica, e poi conviene ripassare con calma quello dove si hanno ancora dubbi.
Cliente Amazon Sul comodino di ogni principiante
30 ottobre 2012
Una miniera di fondamentali per il principiante. Adatto sia come supporto alla didattica sia all'autodidatta
principiante che intende partire dai più elementari pattern per studiare la tattica degli scacchi.
Il giocatore intermedio/avanzato potrebbe farne a meno, ma il condizionale è d'obbligo.
emilio schemi necessari
6 dicembre 2013
Contiene alcuni schemi che non puoi non conoscere per migliorare a scacchi. Libro piacevole da leggere.
Consigliato a tutti i principianti ed a chi vuole ripassare alcuni errori da evitare nelle combinazioni.
paolo travers Imparare ad avere colpo d'occhio
6 luglio 2015
Per i giocatori scarsetti come me sfogliare queste pagine è un buon modo per imparare a riconoscere situazioni
tipiche che possono portare ad avere successo nelle partite.
Maurizio Gori Semplice e chiaro
11 ottobre 2015
Illuminante per ottenere il meglio da un finale di pedoni. Espone in maniera chiara la giusta tecnica per
raggungere il massimo in posizioni apparentemente semplici