Episode 240- "Pawn Book Championship" Special Episode with Neal Bruce

Which “pawn book” should you read?

Which “pawn book” should you read?

This week’s Perpetual Chess is the much anticipated “Pawn Book Championship” with popular adult improver Neal Bruce. Neal learned chess from scratch after the age of 40, and has been consistently studying and using flashcards to improve his skills in the last handful of years. In the past year, Neal has turned his attention to better understanding pawn play and positional chess, and he has read 6 (!) different books in order to facilitate better chess understanding. We Perpetual Chess listeners are very fortunate that Neal has offered to do a podcast crowning the “champion” of the pawn books, and has also agreed to give his honest assessment of the other books. When not working on his chess game, Neal is the Chief Product Officer of a software startup and a father of 3, so we greatly appreciate his taking the time for this large project. Please read on for more details and relevant links. 

Click here to download the episode





0:00- 

  1. The transcript of episode 237 with GM Vladimir Kramnik is here

  2. If you would like to subscribe to the Perpetual Chess Patreon page, you can do so here.


4:00- Other podcasts to hear Neal Bruce:

Book Recap 6- Woodpecker Method and Rapid Chess Improvement  

Book Recap 11- Winning Chess Strategies 

How to Chess with Neal Bruce 

Dojo Talks #24 with Neal Bruce 


5:00- 

Which books are entrants in Neal’s “Pawn Book Championship,” and how and why did he choose them? 

Small Steps to Giant Improvement by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1700-2400 FIDE)

Small Steps 2 Success by GM Sam Shankland (Most appropriate for those 1800-2400 FIDE)

Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andy Soltis (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE)

Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios (Most appropriate for those 1500-2200 FIDE)

The Power of Pawns by GM Jorg Hickl’s (Most appropriate for those 1200-2000)

Pawn Power by IM Hans Kmoch (Not recommended for any rating range)



22:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessable.com! Check out their latest offerings here. 

New Chess Courses Online - For All Levels in all - Chessable.com

Also be sure to subscribe to the How to Chess podcast, more info here:

https://howtochess.com/


23:00- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Chessmood.com 

They offer a huge library of instructive videos. You can hear GM Avetik Grigoryan on Episode 192 of Perpetual Chess. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube channel here


24:00- Hans Kmoch Pawn Power 


30:30- GM Andy Soltis’s Pawn Structure Chess 


34:00-GM Sam Shankland’s Small Steps 2 Success 

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/345/small_steps_2_success_by_sam_shankland/

Mentioned: New in Chess Magazine 


38:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. 


39:00- Small Steps to Giant Improvement

Free sample from Quality Chess here:

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/316/small_steps_to_giant_improvement_by_sam_shankland/


43:00- The Power of Pawns by Jorg Hickl. 

Link with free sample from New in Chess Books here:

https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/the-power-of-pawns


47:00- Chess Structures

Free sample from Quality Chess here:

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/235/chess_structures_-_a_grandmaster_guide_by_mauricio_flores_rios/


51:00- In what order would Neal recommend that you read these books? 

Mentioned: 

Interview with Magnus Carlsen on Wolfgang Wee Uncut-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHa52f_bC8&t=4725s


58:30- What lessons did Neal learn from these readings? What books are next for him? 

Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy, Mastering Positional Sacrifices, Silman’s Reassess Your Chess WorkbookPractical Chess Exercises, Zurich 1953, New York 1924, Judit Polgar’s How I Beat Fischer’s Record, Book Recap #7 with Jen Shahade 


1:04:00- Thanks so much to Neal for undertaking this massive project and sharing his findings with the chess community! You can keep up with Neal on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/NealBruceBC


38:30- Perpetual Chess is brought to you in part by Aimchess.com. Check out their site, and if you decide to subscribe use the code Perpetual30 to save 30%. 




39:00- We discuss Small Steps to Giant Improvement

Free sample from Quality Chess here:

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/316/small_steps_to_giant_improvement_by_sam_shankland/




43:00- We discuss The Power of Pawns by Jorg Hickl. 

Link with free sample from New in Chess Books here:

https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/the-power-of-pawns




47:00- We discuss Chess Structures

Free sample from Quality Chess here:

https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/products/2/235/chess_structures_-_a_grandmaster_guide_by_mauricio_flores_rios/




51:00- In what order would Neal recommend that you read these books? 

Mentioned: 

Interview with Magnus Carlsen on Wolfgang Wee Uncut-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElHa52f_bC8&t=4725s




58:30- What lessons did Neal learn from these readings? What books are next for him? 

Mentioned: Mastering Chess Strategy, Mastering Positional Sacrifices, Silman’s Reassess Your Chess WorkbookPractical Chess Exercises, Zurich 1953, New York 1924, Judit Polgar’s How I Beat Fischer’s Record, Book Recap #7 with Jen Shahade 




1:04:00- Thanks so much to Neal for undertaking this massive project and sharing his findings with the chess community! You can keep up with Neal on Twitter here:

https://twitter.com/NealBruceBC