In the wake of IM Jeremy Silman’s recent passing, Chess Books Recaptured returns to review one of his classic books, The Amateur’s Mind. The Amateur’s Mind sold over 90,000 copies, and IM Jeremy Silman said that he thought it was his best instructional book. What made this book, and Silman’s writing so unique? We dive into that topic, share many memorable (and amusing) quotes from the book, and briefly discuss some of the other works from IM Jeremy Silman’s illustrious canon. Joining me for this discussion, is David Hamm. As a 1000 (ish) rated, relatively recent chess devotee, who is also an attorney with 3 kids, David is just the type of reader that Silman likely had in mind when writing this book. While The Amateur’s Mind might not be my #1 recommendation if your goal is to improve your game, it was a ton of fun to read it and to discuss it, and reflecting on IM Jeremy Silman's legacy has left me more impressed with his work than ever. Timestamps of topics discussed and links of articles referred to are below.
IM Jeremy Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess is now on Chessable, and The Amateur’s Mind will be coming in 2024! Use this link to sign up for Chessable Pro, and and/or make a Chessable purchase, and it will help support Perpetual Chess.
https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro
0:00- Thanks to Fred Wilson of Fred Wilson Books for allowing me to share Fred’s old interviews with IM Jeremy Silman. They will be posted soon to the Perpetual Chess YouTube Channel, so make sure you are subbed.
0:03- David Hamm joins me to discuss the book. We begin by discussing how David got into chess, and to IM Jeremy Silman.
0:07- We briefly go over IM Jeremy SIlman’s bio, and discuss some of Silman’s works.
Mentioned: NY Times obit by Dylan Loeb McLain, Chess.com obit by Tarjei Svensen
John Donaldson’s obit for US Chess
12:30- What makes SIlman’s writing stand out?
Mentioned: How to Reassess Your Chess, Nick Visel’s Review of Amateur’s Mind
19:00- If chess improvement is your primary focus, what books could one consider as alternatives to Amateur’s Mind?
Mentioned: Simple Chess, Winning Chess Strategies, Mastering Chess Strategies, Techniques of Positional Play
22:00- We read the first few paragraphs and discuss Silman’s meticulous approach to writing.
Mentioned: Dojo Talks Episode 92: Remembering IM Jeremy Silman, Zen in the Art of Archery
29:00- We read our favorite quotes from the book!
Mentioned: Alekhine-Maroczy 1923 , IM Willy Hendriks, Silman response to Hendriks ADD LINK
52:00- Closing thoughts and our favorite Silman’s books ranked!
Mentioned: Autobiography of a Goat, Make it Stick, How to Reassess Your Chess, Silman's Complete Endgame Course, Silman's Chess Odyssey
Form: Volunteer to co-host a book Review
Thanks to David for doing a great job co-hosting! Here is how you can reach him:
LiChess Chessdad1979
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hamm-1a3a325?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name
If you would like to help support Perpetual Chess, you can do so here;
https://www.patreon.com/perpetualchess
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EP 294- GM Fabiano Caruana on Engines, The Evolution of Chess, the Candidates Tournament, and the World Championship Cycle.
EP 293- Olympiad Trip reports with Lula Roberts aka "LulaRobs" and Team USA captain, IM John Donaldson
EP 292- Adult Improver Karen Boyd on What She Learned from a Busy Summer of Tournament Chess, and Why she Always "Plays Up" Against Tougher Competition
Bonus Pod- How to Chess Podcast- How to Approach Studying the Endgame with GM Sahaj Grover
EP 291- GM Alex Fishbein on Maintaining a Passion for Chess into One's 50s, (Plus great Korchnoi and Tal stories.)
Bonus Pod - Dispatches from the Chennai Olympiad with GM Axel Bachmann and Mr. Dodgy of Chessable
EP 290- Dutch Trainer and Author IM Jeroen Bosch on How to Build an Opening Repertoire
Book Recap #28- Chess Tactics from Scratch by FM Martin Weteschnik- A Great Intermediate Level Tactics Guide
EP 289- Tony Ballard- A Convicted Felon on How Chess has Changed His Life
Bonus Pod- GM Andrii Baryshpolets on Why He is Running For FIDE President
Breaking News Bonus Pod- Chess24 Reporter Tarjei Svensen on Magnus' Decision not to Defend his Title
EP 288- GM Peter Heine Nielsen Takes us Behind the Scenes of the 2012 World Championship Match between Anand and Gelfand
EP 287- GM David Howell joins for a FIDE Candidates Wrap Up plus World Championship Match Scuttlebutt, and his 2022 OTB and Commentating Plans
Book Recap #27 - GM Yasser Seirawan's Play Winning Chess
EP 286- Adult Improver Dr. Nicholas Vasquez on How and Why he Finally Got Serious about Chess Improvement
FIDE Candidates Round 12 Update- IM Christof Sielecki on Nepo's Dominance, Alireza's Struggles and the Tight Battle For 2nd Place
EP 285- IM Irina Bulmaga on her New Chess Training Regimen, the best Open Tournaments in Europe, and her Current Chess Goals
FIDE Candidates Round 6 Update- GM Jonathan Tisdall on the tournament so far
EP 284- GM Eugene Perelshteyn and FM Nate Solon on How to Improve Your Chess Evaluation Skills plus the lessons we can learn from Magnus' blitz games
EP 283- Top Trainer GM R.B. Ramesh on How to Improve Your Chess Calculation, and the keys to GM Praggnanandhaa’'s success
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