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50 Poison Pieces: Solve 50 Puzzles Where the Unprotected Piece Is Toxic
Paperback
ISBN13: 9780692872437
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc
Published: Apr 27 2017
Pages: 232
Weight: 0.73
Height: 0.49 Width: 6.14 Depth: 9.21
Language: English
Written by San Francisco Bay Area chess coach Lauren Goodkind, 50 Poison Pieces is a fun puzzle book designed to help novice players avoid capturing unprotected pieces that look safe-but are actually poison! She created all 50 puzzles in the book!
Taking a poison piece hands your opponent the chance to execute devastating tactics like forks and skewers, leading to lost pieces or even a lost game.
How the Puzzles WorkSpot the Trap: Figure out why capturing the unprotected piece is a mistake.
Learn Why: Turn the page to uncover the secret behind the poison piece.
Choose Your Move: Pick between two alternative moves-one leads to a loss, while the other puts you on track to a win!
By learning to avoid poison pieces, you will master the most important chess strategy of all: always thinking ahead! Ideal for players rated under 1000 looking to sharpen their tactical vision.
Here's what notable members of the chess community are saying about Lauren's powerful book:
For those just learning the game of chess, I can enthusiastically recommend Lauren Goodkind's unique new book on safe captures. This is an essential concept often dismissed with a few examples of captures of undefended pieces. What she does is to load each capture with a tricky reply such as a skewer, pin or fork, forcing the student to look more than superficially deep. A splendid volume which will be invaluable to both students and teachers alike.
FM Eric Schiller Author of More than 100 Chess Books, International Arbiter and Chess Coach
During my 29 years of running a very successful chess program, I have looked for ways to aid young children in analyzing the consequences of their moves. Most puzzle books and programs deal with checkmates in one or more moves or ask for the best first move in a complex middle or endgame. I like Ms. Goodkind's poison piece approach, not only because of the uncluttered problem solving, but also because her explanations for the moves provide guidance to the student to aid their critical thinking about why a pawn or piece was poison. I tested it with a few young players and I saw their eyes light up when they began to understand the need to use their thought processes and not just their fingers. I will be recommending 50 Poison Pieces to my students and to my instructors to use with their students who can be classified as intermediate or advanced beginners.
Alan M. Kirshner, Ph.D.Director of Weibel Elementary School Chess & Winner of numerous State Championships, Two Open Nationals and Six All-Girls Nationals.
This book should be in every student's and teacher's repertoire. Berkeley Chess School will certainly include it in theirs. With this book, Lauren has produced an easy to read system for understanding the poisoned piece, a subject that is rarely addressed elsewhere.
Elizabeth Shaughnessy President and Founder, Berkeley Chess School
Lauren Goodkind and I first became acquainted, ten years ago, as fellow participants in the Sojourner Truth Tournament for Women. Over the past decade, our friendship has blossomed, and we have enjoyed many good games and memorable tournament experiences, as a result. When I heard she was writing a book, I was very excited for her, and feel that Lauren is a worthy opponent, a capable chess instructor, and a positive role-model for her many students. I am, therefore, pleased to endorse the collection of puzzles contained in 50 Poison Pieces, as a valuable resource for beginning players to use to improve, as they, undoubtedly, begin their journey on the road to chess mastery. This book is informative and fun.
Jessica Lauser U.S. Blind Competitor and Blitz Expert
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