Better thinking, better chess

This Better Thinking, Better Chess is a chess training book by Joel Benjamin that focuses on how to think at the board, not just on memorising openings or tactical patterns. It shows why finding the right move is often less about knowing more and more about choosing better, more practical lines of thought.

What this book is about

Grandmaster Joel Benjamin draws on his experience as a teacher to show that spotting a missed move is only part of the job. Just as important is understanding why the wrong line was considered in the first place. This book is built around that idea: improving the structure of your thinking, your candidate-move selection and your evaluation of positions in real games.

It also takes a practical view of engine analysis. A computer may point to the strongest move, but it does not explain why a player drifted into the wrong line of reasoning. And the top engine choice is not always the move that is easiest or most sensible to play in a tournament game. The result is a book that encourages practical decision-making rather than purely computer-style thinking.

What you will learn

Better Thinking, Better Chess is designed to help ambitious players make better decisions during play. It covers topics such as:

• choosing between two attractive continuations,
• avoiding the wrong line of analysis at the start of your calculation,
• recognising when a position deserves more time and deeper calculation,
• discarding unlikely or misleading moves,
• understanding when a material sacrifice may be justified,
• building a more organised thought process at the board.

It is a useful read for players who want to do more than collect knowledge. The aim is to use what you already know more effectively in practical games and to find stronger moves more consistently under time pressure.

About the author

Joel Benjamin is the author of Better Thinking, Better Chess and Liquidation on the Chess Board, which received the CJA Best Book Award 2015 from the Chess Journalists of America. He is also known for his work with IBM Deep Blue, the computer that made history by defeating Garry Kasparov.

Key details

• Product type: chess book
• Author: Joel Benjamin
• Focus: decision-making and thought process at the chessboard
• Approach: practical thinking rather than computer-style analysis
• Audience: ambitious chess players
• Use: chess study and training for practical play
• Related title: Liquidation on the Chess Board