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 264- Elizabeth Shaughnessy (founder of the Berkeley Chess School)
Book Recap #23- Discussing Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy with Dr. Kevin Scull
EP 263- Author Oliver Roeder on the Enduring Appeal of Chess and Other Games
EP 262- IM Kostya Kavutskiy returns
EP 261- "Master to IM" Adult Improver Special with FM Doug Eckert, NM Evan Rosenberg and FM Dalton Perrine
Book Recap #22- Discussing Isaac Lipnitsky's Questions of Modern Chess Theory, with Martin Justesen
EP 260 - IM Christof Sielecki is back!
EP 259- Ben Johnson
EP 258- GM Matthew Sadler
EP 257- GM Erwin L'Ami with a World Championship Wrap Up (and more!)
World Championship Bonus Pod #5- GM Vasyl Ivanchuk on His Career, Twitch Streaming and his Thoughts on the Match
Book Recap #21- Discussing A First Book of Morphy with Mads Jønsson
World Championship Bonus Pod #4- GM Jacob Aagaard on the match, plus Shaun McCoy with a report from Dubai
EP 256- Alex Crompton (Adult Improver Series)
World Championship Bonus Pod #3- GM Jan Timman on the match so far, NM John MacArthur with a Dubai trip report.
World Championship Bonus Pod #2- FM Mike Klein joins from Dubai to recap 5 tense, deadlocked rounds.
EP 255- WGM Tatev Abrahamyan returns
World Championship Bonus Pod #1- The match so far + interviews from Dubai with Geert van der Velde and Jonathan Corbblah
EP 254- World Chess Championship Preview Part 2 with Tai Pruce Zimmerman
EP 253- GM Daniel King Previews the World Championship, plus more!
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