Al Horowitz (1907–1973)
Author of Chess for Beginners
About the Author
Works by Al Horowitz
How to Think Ahead in Chess: The Methods and Techniques of Planning Your Entire Game (Fireside Chess Library) (1952) 183 copies, 2 reviews
Chess Review, vol. 35, no. 2, 1967 2 copies
Chess Review, vol. 24, no. 12, 1956 2 copies
Best in Chess 1 copy
Associated Works
Fischer Spassky: The New York Times Report on the Chess Match of the Century (1972) 138 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Horowitz, Al
- Legal name
- Horowitz, Israel Albert
- Other names
- Horowitz, Israel A.
Horowitz, I. A. - Birthdate
- 1907-11-15
- Date of death
- 1973-01-18
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- USA
Members
Reviews
This was one of the first chess books I owned. I won the brilliancy prize in my first national championship and this was it. I won it for a Scotch Gambit and I suppose this book might have encouraged me along such paths. In practice, however, this did not happen...maybe once I realised that the road to victory was paved with traps, pitfalls and swindles, it moved me towards ways of playing that would avoid that whole short, sharp, painful way to lose.
I'm a coward, what can I say?
Oh, for the show more record, Reinfeld is great. He went through a period of being denigrated for no more than being popular. Maybe he still is??? But he made chess fun. And if you owned, as I once did, a library of his obscure, early, roneoed publications in purple ink, you'd realise just how much he loved the game. show less
I'm a coward, what can I say?
Oh, for the show more record, Reinfeld is great. He went through a period of being denigrated for no more than being popular. Maybe he still is??? But he made chess fun. And if you owned, as I once did, a library of his obscure, early, roneoed publications in purple ink, you'd realise just how much he loved the game. show less
How to Think Ahead in Chess: The Methods and Techniques of Planning Your Entire Game (Fireside Chess Library) by I. A. Horowitz
I am rating this as it strikes me now; I would have rated it higher (3 stars?) back the first time I wrote is some decades ago. Basically, I think it has not stood the test of time. Still, hoping that some day I can move my own chess play out of the novice level, I can see reason to recommend this work to other novices. This book often references specific pages in Winning Chess: How To See Three Moves Ahead, also co-written with Fred Reinfeld, so consider reading that first or at least show more having it on hand especially if you are especially new to chess. (the references are for pins, revealed checks, forks, and other strategic arrangements mentioned without explicit definition.)
Now, why I feel it is dated. First, this is a book celebrating the queen pawn opening and the Stonewall Attack. At the time I first read this I was playing often with newer chess software and computer devices. At the time, it seemed such machines could be easily fooled from such an opening. Now, I think modern ones are onto it. Those older chess computers had been vulnerable to the Stonewall because the positions are usually without clear tactical lines. White simply prepares for an assault by bringing pieces to aggressive posts, without making immediate tactical threats. By the time the computer realizes that its king is under attack, it is often too late. This, however, is not the case with newer chess computers. Even in the early '90s when I began to play others online at a site called Achess, others started to explicitly point out the inherent problems of leading with the queen pawn. The downsides to the Stonewall, specifically, are the hole on e4, and the fact that the dark-squared bishop on c1 is completely blocked by its own pawns. If Black defends correctly against White's attack, these strategic deficiencies can become quite serious. Because of this, the Stonewall Attack is almost never seen in master-level chess any more, let alone my own playing.
Still, study of the techniques here are valuable in advancing strategic thinking. For me, I think this has helped me incorporate a fianchetto generally or even "dragon" bishop in my play, this being a necessary response to the Stonewall walling in its own dark-squared bishop.
Another dating of this text is the use of "English" descriptive notation whereas I think anyone reading more modern texts will expect Algebraic chess notation, being more compact than descriptive chess notation and the most widely used method.
Stil being a product of its time and looking back, master-level games are used throughout a chapter for illustration, including some by Morphy (buried not far from my home) and Alexander Alekhine.
Interestingly, the author here places the work at a time when King pawn openings were being eclipsed by the then crafty Queen pawn ones:
Now, why I feel it is dated. First, this is a book celebrating the queen pawn opening and the Stonewall Attack. At the time I first read this I was playing often with newer chess software and computer devices. At the time, it seemed such machines could be easily fooled from such an opening. Now, I think modern ones are onto it. Those older chess computers had been vulnerable to the Stonewall because the positions are usually without clear tactical lines. White simply prepares for an assault by bringing pieces to aggressive posts, without making immediate tactical threats. By the time the computer realizes that its king is under attack, it is often too late. This, however, is not the case with newer chess computers. Even in the early '90s when I began to play others online at a site called Achess, others started to explicitly point out the inherent problems of leading with the queen pawn. The downsides to the Stonewall, specifically, are the hole on e4, and the fact that the dark-squared bishop on c1 is completely blocked by its own pawns. If Black defends correctly against White's attack, these strategic deficiencies can become quite serious. Because of this, the Stonewall Attack is almost never seen in master-level chess any more, let alone my own playing.
Still, study of the techniques here are valuable in advancing strategic thinking. For me, I think this has helped me incorporate a fianchetto generally or even "dragon" bishop in my play, this being a necessary response to the Stonewall walling in its own dark-squared bishop.
Another dating of this text is the use of "English" descriptive notation whereas I think anyone reading more modern texts will expect Algebraic chess notation, being more compact than descriptive chess notation and the most widely used method.
Stil being a product of its time and looking back, master-level games are used throughout a chapter for illustration, including some by Morphy (buried not far from my home) and Alexander Alekhine.
Interestingly, the author here places the work at a time when King pawn openings were being eclipsed by the then crafty Queen pawn ones:
show less
In 1927, when Frank Marshall was preparing to sail for London to play in an international master tournament, he approached friends with the half-comic, half-plaintive query: "What defense shall I play against 1 P--Q4 ... ?" If one of the greatest players in the history of this game felt this way after thirty years, what are we mortals to say?
The fact is that finding a defense against 1 P--Q4 is no laughing matter! Most of us have been brought up on 1 P--K4, and we find something uncongenial in the lines of play which eveolve from 1 P--Q4.
Of course, no one "wins" in an opening as such, and Horowitz wished in his foreword that marketing considerations would have allowed him to call this book How to Understand the Chess Openings. It is a sound resource for readers just getting their feet wet in chess strategy. He discusses the general principles that inform the openings in modern chess, after which each chapter is devoted to a specific opening or variant. Horowitz uses descriptive notation with ample diagrams, and provides very show more detailed discussion of the motives for each move.
A typical chapter includes a principal game to set forth the clinical logic of the opening, followed by one or more further examples in "movie" format, i.e. richly diagrammed, if more sparsely commented. Horowitz presents two of his own games among the chess movies, referencing himself in the third person, but mostly keeping to "white" and "black" for the players, unlike his usual movie narrative style.
Ten out of thirteen openings/variants treated are King Pawn openings, despite Horowitz's remark that "The unostentatious move 1 P-Q4 is nowadays considered the most effective way of beginning a game of chess. This is evinced by a preponderance of Queen Pawn games in modern master tournaments." (136) A single chapter treats the Queen's Gambit Declined, and the remaining two chapters are concerned with hypermodern openings that yield the center: the Reti (typically begun with N-KB3) and the English (P-QB4). show less
A typical chapter includes a principal game to set forth the clinical logic of the opening, followed by one or more further examples in "movie" format, i.e. richly diagrammed, if more sparsely commented. Horowitz presents two of his own games among the chess movies, referencing himself in the third person, but mostly keeping to "white" and "black" for the players, unlike his usual movie narrative style.
Ten out of thirteen openings/variants treated are King Pawn openings, despite Horowitz's remark that "The unostentatious move 1 P-Q4 is nowadays considered the most effective way of beginning a game of chess. This is evinced by a preponderance of Queen Pawn games in modern master tournaments." (136) A single chapter treats the Queen's Gambit Declined, and the remaining two chapters are concerned with hypermodern openings that yield the center: the Reti (typically begun with N-KB3) and the English (P-QB4). show less
Horowitz's wit shines through all the notation making this a really enjoyable read. It is fairly basic, covering some of the same stuff as my last review, "Chess In a Nutshell", i.e. basic rules, reading notation, et cetera.. "Chess for beginners" goes a bit deeper and may even have a very small learning curve for absolute newbies. Stalemate is looked at in depth, as are Sacrifices, Attacks, Combinations, Traps in the Opening, Pins, Forks, Piece Development--all these Horowitz covers while show more retaining reader interest and purveying an intelligent humor, which adds tremendously to any book.
After covering all of this, some Illustrative Games are provided: Scheve & Teichmann, Berlin 1907; Morphy & Amateur, New Orleans, 1858 (an amazing example of Odds-giving that proves Morphy as a true great); Sackman & Ricard, Albany, 1950; and finally Reinfeld (author of Chess In a Nutshell and others) & Grossman, National Intercollegiate Championship, 1929.
"Chess for beginners" uses descriptive notation and has many diagrams. As with any chess book, I recommend a pocket chess set to play out the notations for yourself.
The last chapter contains an essay by Donald MacMurry (a promising master who died at a tragically early age). It is from the very 1st issue of "Chess Review". It is titled "The Gentle Art of Annoying" and it is an absolute wondrous shining gem that will have you laughing out loud! show less
After covering all of this, some Illustrative Games are provided: Scheve & Teichmann, Berlin 1907; Morphy & Amateur, New Orleans, 1858 (an amazing example of Odds-giving that proves Morphy as a true great); Sackman & Ricard, Albany, 1950; and finally Reinfeld (author of Chess In a Nutshell and others) & Grossman, National Intercollegiate Championship, 1929.
"Chess for beginners" uses descriptive notation and has many diagrams. As with any chess book, I recommend a pocket chess set to play out the notations for yourself.
The last chapter contains an essay by Donald MacMurry (a promising master who died at a tragically early age). It is from the very 1st issue of "Chess Review". It is titled "The Gentle Art of Annoying" and it is an absolute wondrous shining gem that will have you laughing out loud! show less
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