"... Sure, fast games are fine for practicing openings (not the most important part of the game for most players) and possibly developing decent board vision and tactical 'shots', but the kind of thinking it takes to plan, evaluate, play long endgames, and find deep combinations is just not possible in quick chess. ... for serious improvement ... consistently play many slow games to practice good thinking habits. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2002)
web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf"... Review each of your games, identifying opening (and other) mistakes with the goal of not repeatedly making the same mistake. ... It is especially critical not to continually fall into opening traps – or even lines that result in difficult positions ... Read many annotated game collections ... By looking at entire games, the aspiring player learns about openings, middlegames, and endgames all at one fell swoop. Playing through annotated games spurs improvement as the reader learns how good players consistently handle common positions and problems. ..." - NM Dan Heisman (2007)
web.archive.org/web/20140627062646/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman81.pdf"... Logical Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev)] ... a collection of 33 games ... is definitely for beginners and players who are just starting to learn about development, weak squares, the centre, standard attacking ideas, and the like. In many ways, it would [be] a wonderful 'first' book (or first 'serious' book, after the ones which teach the rules and elementary mates, for example), and a nice gift for a young player just taking up chess. ..." - IM John Watson (1999)
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/assorted-recent-bookswww.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1004861"... Certainly for players who do not fully grasp the meaning of terms such as skewer, pin, fork, discovered attack, and the like, Winning Chess [(Batsford edition by Chernev and Reinfeld)] is a wonderful resource to bring the budding player to a much greater appreciation of the game. But also for intermediate players who all too often fall victim to these tactical maneuvers, or who realize in postmortems the many attacking threats they overlooked, this should be a book to consider. ..."
web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf"... Silman’s Complete Endgame Course ... I'm convinced that Silman's book will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. ... He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take. ..." - IM John Watson (2007)
theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all"... For beginning players, [the book, Discovering Chess Openings by GM Emms,] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
