Overview

The way a beginner develops into a strong chess player closely resembles the progress of the game of chess itself. This popular idea is the reason why many renowned chess instructors such as former World Champions Garry Kasparov and Max Euwe, emphasize the importance of studying the history of chess. Willy Hendriks agrees that there is much to be learned from the pioneers of our game. He challenges, however, the conventional view on what the stages in the advancement of chess actually have been. Among the various articles of faith that Hendriks questions is Wilhelm Steinitz's reputation as the discoverer of the laws of positional chess. In The Origin of Good Moves Hendriks undertakes a groundbreaking investigative journey into the history of chess. He explains what actually happened, creates fresh perspectives, finds new heroes, and reveals the real driving force behind improvement in chess: evolution. This thought-provoking book is full of beautiful and instructive 'new' material from the old days. With plenty of exercises, the reader is invited to put themselves in the shoes of the old masters. Never before has the study of the history of chess been so entertaining and rewarding.

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9789056918798

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Reviews

"""An extremely interesting book. It's a real page-turner because Willy Hendricks has a pleasantly light touch and a cool sense of humor. You can't help but learn a lot from this book.""--Bab Wilders ""Nederlands Dagblad"" ""Club players, stronger players and chess historians will surely devour it and everyone can benefit from a fresh perspective on chess history. I am a fairly strong club player, and fellow players with the desire to learn will find huge value in owning this book. I cannot even think of a book that I can compare it to, so take it for what it is. A stand-alone examination fo the origin of moves - and therefore chess in general. Finally, we get a critical examination of some of the chess played by the early greats. I wish I had read this 30 years ago.""--Carl Portman, Author ""Chess Behind Bars"" ""Goes right in somewhere very near the top of my favorite chess books of all time. I found it well researched, endlessly fascinating, always thought-provoking, often digressive, sometimes provocative and sometimes extremely funny. If you have any interest at all in the development of chess ideas this will be an essential purchase. If you want to improve your rating you'll find a lot of inspiring suggestions. It's certainly a book I'll return to over and over again.""--Richard James, Nationwide Building Society, Accenture ""British Chess News"" ""It was again an absolute joy to read. Hendriks has written another masterpiece.""--Helmut Froeyman ""Schaken-Brabo"" ""It's a little surprise that evolution is the driving force behind improvement in chess, but along the way, as well as pulling a few punches, Hendriks presents a large amount of often beautiful and still very instructive material.""-- ""CHESS Magazine"" ""Lots of interesting ideas and positions are put into a different light, leading to new discoveries. Hendriks' tendency to look at established opinion from a new perspective is refreshing and delightful.""--Remco Heite ""Dagblad van het Noorden"" ""Move First Think Later I would give four and a half stars (..) and [On the Origin of Good Moves] I would give five stars because it had all the great things and even more chess history.""--Ben Johnson ""There are some quite interesting challenges to widely held viewpoints. The subject matter is fascinating and IM Hendriks' continued insistence on turning standard logic on its ear makes for compelling reading.""--Chris Wainscott ""On the Road to Chess Master"" ""Willy Hendriks lectures on the history of chess and shatters a fair amount of dogma's. Because of his humorous style and acerbic wit, the book fascinates until the last page. Both ambitious players and those who love stories from the old days are in for a treat.""--Mark Haast, IM ""Schaaksite"" ""Willy Hendriks book is terrific. It totally changed my view on the history of chess.""--Erwin I'Ami, GM"

Club players, stronger players and chess historians will surely devour it and everyone can benefit from a fresh perspective on chess history. I am a fairly strong club player, and fellow players with the desire to learn will find huge value in owning this book. I cannot even think of a book that I can compare it to, so take it for what it is. A stand-alone examination fo the origin of moves - and therefore chess in general. Finally, we get a critical examination of some of the chess played by the early greats. I wish I had read this 30 years ago. --Carl Portman, Author Chess Behind Bars It was again an absolute joy to read. Hendriks has written another masterpiece. --Helmut Froeyman Schaken-Brabo It's a little surprise that evolution is the driving force behind improvement in chess, but along the way, as well as pulling a few punches, Hendriks presents a large amount of often beautiful and still very instructive material. --CHESS Magazine Move First Think Later I would give four and a half stars (..) and [On the Origin of Good Moves] I would give five stars because it had all the great things and even more chess history. --Ben Johnson, The Perpetual Chess Podcast Willy Hendriks book is terrific. It totally changed my view on the history of chess. --Erwin I'Ami, GM Willy Hendriks lectures on the history of chess and shatters a fair amount of dogma's. Because of his humorous style and acerbic wit, the book fascinates until the last page. Both ambitious players and those who love stories from the old days are in for a treat. --Mark Haast, IM Schaaksite An extremely interesting book. It's a real page-turner because Willy Hendricks has a pleasantly light touch and a cool sense of humor. You can't help but learn a lot from this book. --Bab Wilders Nederlands Dagblad Goes right in somewhere very near the top of my favorite chess books of all time. I found it well researched, endlessly fascinating, always thought-provoking, often digressive, sometimes provocative and sometimes extremely funny. If you have any interest at all in the development of chess ideas this will be an essential purchase. If you want to improve your rating you'll find a lot of inspiring suggestions. It's certainly a book I'll return to over and over again. --Richard James British Chess News Lots of interesting ideas and positions are put into a different light, leading to new discoveries. Hendriks' tendency to look at established opinion from a new perspective is refreshing and delightful. --Remco Heite Dagblad van het Noorden There are some quite interesting challenges to widely held viewpoints. The subject matter is fascinating and IM Hendriks' continued insistence on turning standard logic on its ear makes for compelling reading. --Chris Wainscott On the Road to Chess Master

Author Information

Willy Hendriks (1966) is an International Master who has been working as a chess trainer for over 25 years. His acclaimed bestseller 'Move First, Think Later' won the English Chess Federation Book of the Year Award.

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