Build Up Your Chess 1 (Yusupov's Chess School)

BUILD UP YOUR CHESS THE FUNDAMENTALS is one volume of a NINE volume comprehensive "training program" or "chess course" which aims to bring you from the level of the club player to the level of the master in three levels and to identify the knowledge needed for each level revealing any gaps you may have in the process. It is basically a guide for self-assessment that allows you to know where you are in your chess knowledge and is best used supplementing other more detailed instructional sources. This training program is based on the original online lessons from the CHESS TIGERS UNIVERSITY. For me, this is an EXTREMELY valuable thing to know: what knowledge exactly should I have for the level I am aiming for and what is missing in my knowledge base that is essential for this level. I feel very lucky to have discovered this. The other reviews seem to assume three volumes at most; it has expanded and is now nine volumes which are divided into three series. The three series are BUILD UP YOUR CHESS (which was the first of the three series), BOOST YOUR CHESS and CHESS EVOLUTION and each of these has its own Volume 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS (the level of the club player - orange cover in all 3 series), Volume 2 BEYOND THE BASICS (a transitional level - blue cover in all 3 series) and Volume 3 MASTERY (the level of the master - green cover in all 3 series). That's right, the levels are color-coded. When the BUILD UP YOUR CHESS series came out in 2008, it was greeted with very high regard: in 2009, Artur Jussupow (or Yusupov, as is easier for most of us to pronounce) was announced the winner of the "Boleslavsky Medal" for best chess book of 2008 by FIDE. The medal, named for Ukrainian Grandmaster Isaac Boleslavsky, is FIDE's way of recognizing this series as a chess-related "best book with remarkable, instructional values." It is possible that the resultant close scrutiny led to its expansion into a second and third series ... that is my guess but I have not yet come across the answer to the question "What did Yusupov know and when??". Not all nine volumes have already been published as of December, 2010. What this book is not?? This book is not primarily explanatory text and is not a primer; it does not present sufficient detail to be an introduction to, or the only source for, the information included and is not intended to be used in this way. If you are reading this review because you are a beginner looking for a comprehensive primer, try any of the following: there are large books like THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO CHESS by Patrick Wolff or ALPHA TEACH YOURSELF CHESS by Zsuzsa Polgar et al or COMPREHENSIVE CHESS COURSE VOLUMES 1 & 2 by Roman Pelts and Lev Alburt and smaller books like PORTABLE CHESS COACH by Judee Shipman or CONCISE CHESS by John Emms; each has some wonderful aspect and so it depends on what you are looking for; read their reviews and judge for yourself; also, do not overlook amazon's "Listmania" as a great source of information. What this book is?? This book is an OUTLINE of what you should know as a club player. Its primary purpose seems to be to serve as an excellent guide for self-assessment. It has 24 chapters structured as follows: each chapter starts with a VERY BRIEFLY defined concept such as "Centralizing the pieces" followed by several (mostly short) game excerpts each with diagram which demonstrates the concept and is color coded so you can see at a glance the color of the player of the next move, exercises to test the reader with solutions at the end of each chapter and a suggested method of scoring. It is one of the three volumes each subtitled the same: Volume 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS. Together, these three volumes represent the first level and starting point, the knowledge base that every club player should begin with before going to the next level of this comprehensive chess course which is the three Volumes 2 BEYOND THE BASICS. This was the part about which, initially, I was unclear: there are really only three levels; this first level consists of Volume 1 of EACH of the three series; all Volumes 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS represent this same first level. This can be confusing as Yusupov seems to have written them by series not by level but they are meant to be read by level so that the order in which they are intended to be read is to begin with all the Volumes 1, then all the Volumes 2 and end with all the Volumes 3. I have confirmed this order with the publisher. I want to start with just one level, THE FUNDAMENTALS (all orange covers). I have purchased Volume 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS of both the BUILD UP YOUR CHESS series and the BOOST YOUR CHESS series but Volume 1 THE FUNDAMENTALS is not yet available for the CHESS EVOLUTION series and, as of Sept. 12, 2011, is not expected to come out until later in 2011; nine is expected to be the final total number for this course/program ... but who knows. It took me a while to figure this all out as it is spelled out some places but not everywhere and I had to do some homework and did not immediately notice that the levels are color-coded. Perhaps, the total concept evolved as the author went along. In any case, being clear on this may help your purchase decisions if, like me, you did not immediately understand. By the way, those interested in this book might, also, like CHESS EXAM AND TRAINING GUIDE by Igor Khmelnitsky which targets all levels from beginner to master; it is, also, highly regarded having won, for best book of 2005, the Cramer Award given by CJA (Chess Journalists of America).

The only negative things I have to say about this book are: 1) the organization is bizarre as heck; and 2) I don’t think Yusupov has a very good sense of what is and what is not difficult. The first point is more of an oddity than it is a serious detractor. Each lesson is internally complete, so it is just weird that one finds the collection of topics in this book that one does. As far as content, this is probably the most important content one needs at the high intermediate level to improve. On the second point, Yusupov gives many reasonable problems, but I don’t think the exercises are always given the correct number of difficulty stars. Some of the 3-star problems deserved 4, and some of the 2-star problems deserved 3. There were also a number of 4- and 3-star problems that I thought should have been a star (or 2) less in rating. The book is all around exceptional. The most important thing to know when considering this text is that it is difficult, and that I’m not sure that the intended audience is really the audience that should seek this book out. I’m not sure what my USCF strength is (officially, my rating peaked at 1608, but I am very likely much stronger), but among myself and two friends --one rated 1660, the other 1780--, both of them had difficulty solving the average problem, while I was occasionally stumped. If this book is intended to move players from 1500-1800, then it has a bizarre quality of being extremely difficult for players that are just about there and who are on the way. The topics, themselves, are not out of the ordinary of what you’d expect for 1500-1800. However, the degree of difficult makes me believe that the end goal of this first series of “1800” might be FIDE, not USCF; or maybe the end goal of this series is really 1850 FIDE, i.e., approx. 1950 USCF. These are certainly not complaints, but clarifications for potential buyers and readers. Let me be clear: this is the best system I have come across, and it is the most information dense. I only wish to provide a caveat lector and caveat emptor, because I’ve spoken with players in the 1400’s and 1500’s (USCF) who said this book was horribly difficult, and they scored 3pts out of 22 on the sections with exercises (e.g., the book rates results as: 12 pts is “pass,” 16 pts “good,” 19pts is “excellent,” and these vary among chapters). The book includes content, as I said, that seems basic in name, but Yusupov makes it quite complex, rich, and sophisticated. These areas included are tactical motifs, opening principles, Steintz’ strategic principles, and endgame concepts. I really can’t believe I got so much out of this book, looking at some of the lesson titles, but I did. I think that’s a testament to this book’s quality in developing sound fundamentals, even in advanced players. About the only complaint I have on the content is that Yusupov claims that forced moves are the same as combinations. While this is true for a professional player, I think the distinction has pedagogical value, and so it is legitimately a downside of this book. That aside, this book is endlessly informative, and very deserving of the Bolaslavski Book Award –and it should be noted that Yusupov beat out some of the biggest names in chess teaching for the award, e.g. Dvoretsky. All in all, I have to recommend this to anyone around USCF 1500. Despite the fact that much of it is easy for me, I see rapid improvement in my game, and I can only conclude that this system is shoring up my holes.

I ordered all three of the level 1 books: Build Up, Boost and Evolution, in their paperback version. They arrived today. The quality of the paper, the printing, the diagrams are all high quality, and the font size is excellent (for my old eyes). Each book has twenty-four chapters, and each chapter contains approximately 10 to 15 diagrams. At the end of every chapter is a test containing 12 diagrammed positions. (You can see sample chapters and table of contents at www.qualitychess.co.uk). The opening of each chapter has some explanatory text of a paragraph or two. It is without fluff, straight and to the point. For me this is a plus. I am not at the level of wanting only variations (Chess Informant style), but I also don't like excessive wordiness. How to use this book? Yusupov has some ideas. Yusupov recommends spending one to two hours each chapter, and one to two hours on each test. At that rate you can go through one book in approximately twenty-five to fifty hours. Yusupov says that some might need more time. That's fine. There is no time limit. Yusupov recommends that each diagrammed position be setup on the chessboard and thoroughly investigated, say for ten minutes. (All these diagrammed positions run on the outside column of the page, so it is easy to cover up the text and variations which run on the inside.) Then the notes should be read and all the variations should be played through. As Yusupov says, "It is important to have a good understanding of the subject." After the chapter comes the chapter test. Each diagrammed position is to be setup and analyzed without moving the pieces. You must write down all your variations so that they can be compared with the answers. You should strive to get the main line and all the important sub variations. If you cannot solve it after ten minutes or so, then try again, but this time you may move the pieces. Oh, and by the way, "On absolutely no account may you get any help from the computer!" If all this sounds like a lot of work, I agree. But I also play in chess tournaments, and I want better results. So, I'm willing to do the work. Yusupov however, explicitly says, "I must emphasize that just working with this book does not guarantee a rise in your rating." But then he says, "It simply give you a sold basis for a leap forward in chess ability," and that's good enough for me. I'm rated 1650 USCF. The content of the first volume, "Build Up Your Chess" is already familiar. I haven't looked at every page yet, but I suspect that there will be very little that I have not seen or been exposed to at some level. However, I am glad to have this material for review, and to fill in any gaps that I may have. Also, it gives me the opportunity to apply what I know by following Yusupov's method of setting up the positions and working through variations. I think many players as low as 1300 could use and benefit from this material, particularly if adults. (For children, say 14 or under, I'd recommend the Step 1,2,3 method, particularly the computer version.) These books would also be good for teachers who want to use it as the basis of lectures. As far as the quality and content, I'm very pleased with these books. Highly Recommended.

This is the first in a series of nine books designed to help take you from about 1500 ELO (maybe 1500-1600 USCF roughly) to master strength. Key is that the material in these books is only a help. The areas covered in the series include tactics, positional play, strategy, calculating variations, openings and endgames. For example, some of the 24 chapters in this volume are on Discovered Attack, Centralization of the pieces, Pawn Endgames, The value of the pieces, Double Attack, Open files and Outposts, and Weak Points. Yusupov is very honest about things, and emphasizes that in addition to going through his material you must play in many tournaments, analyze your games thoroughly and read supplemental texts, including playing through well annotated master games. The ideal, however, is to have a chess coach, so this series is basically for those who for whatever reason don't or can't use a coach. Unlike another very prominent Russian GM chess author, there are no extravagant claims in this series of the 'Master x number of positions and you will be a strong tournament player' type. Yusupov is for the player who is willing to work hard at improving, and realizes that there are no short cuts to mastery of the game. The format of these books, as other reviewers have pointed out, is a hybrid of an instructional manual and a book of exercises. It is probably closer to the latter, as the instructional material is so concise. But when Yusupov does speak, it is worthwhile paying close attention, as you are getting very distilled and important chess wisdom. The format is very well done, with a brief instructional section with several examples. There follows then the test section, usually with 12 positions to analyze. Yusupov insists that you write down all your answers in detail and then play over every single variation on a board. No computer help is allowed. The choice of material has been guided by Yusupov's great chess knowledge and experience as a chess trainer and has been refined through student feedback, so I have to believe that the positions chosen to study are about as well chosen as you are going to find. Is the material 'dry', as famous American chess coach and author Jeremy Silman has stated? I would have to say yes, but dry does not mean boring, nor does it in anyway comment on the quality of the material, which is very high. If you are looking to fill in the holes in your own chess knowledge, even if you are rated higher than the intended audience, this series is a great place to do so.

I will comment on our experience using the book. I worked with a child who was too young to study chess books on their own. This is a good book, one of the few that we managed to complete from cover-to-cover. Several features helped keep their interest: each chapter is short, chapters do not become progressively more difficult, and exercises after each chapter were motivating. We spent between 1 hour and several days per chapter, for a total of about 2 months to complete the book. When we started the book, my child was already on a 50-point decline from their peak USCF rating. The first thing we noticed when using the book was that it forced readers to calculate the entire line without moving the pieces. This differed from other training, e.g., computerized tactic training. Chesstempo, for example, would only give points if all moves are correct; however, you do make the moves one at a time and see the opponent's response along the way. The Yusupov book requires you to calculate all the moves through without moving the pieces and without knowing for sure what the opponent's responses would be. This improved my child's deep calculation, at an immediate cost - dropped 100 more rating points in the first month using the book because all of a sudden they started calculating 6 or 7 moves deep and that exhausted their time and energy quickly. We stopped the book for a couple of weeks during this time to adjust. By the end of the book, my child re-gained all the lost rating points and returned to the former peak. Some statistics may be helpful. My child is a class B player (1600-1800 USCF), has a chesstempo standard rating of ~1950, and spends between 30min-1.5 hours a day on chess. The overall accuracy on the Yusupov Book 1 exercises is 87%, failed one chapter, had pass or good scores on three chapters (all of these were positional/strategy ones) and was excellent on the other 20. No chapter was easy. They all required serious effort. It was a big achievement to complete this one book.

This is the first book I purchased from the famed Yusupov 9-book training course, with the intention of purchasing potentially the entire course over the long term. The plan is to spend about 3 months per each book, as I am a working adult and don't have the time to spend more than a few hours each week studying chess. I have gone over a quarter of the book and while this is a solid training book, there are a few caveats to consider, as per below: 1. Firstly, as the title of my review states - this is 100% not a beginner's book, unless you are supremely talented or a genius when it comes to chess. This isn't even really for most intermediate players, who fool around on chess.com or other websites playing casual games. Material in this book would be tough for most intermediates, and some of it would even challenge the more advanced players (my blitz rating on chess.com is top 10%, bullet rating top 20% and my puzzle training rating 2400+). And remember, this is the first orange book, which is the easiest level in the 9 book course (Orange --> Blue --> Green). 2. Yusupov's books are known for their brevity, concision and precision. Don't expect long, or even of moderate length, verbal explanations. Definitely look elsewhere for that. There are 24 chapter and each chapter focuses on some particular theme (e.g. checkmates in 3, value of pieces, pawn structure, etc.). The chapter is introduced with several examples from actual games (as opposed to artificial composed & unrealistic studies), very brief verbal explanation is provided as to the goals of the exercises, and then a solution is given, along with relevant variations. The first example or two in any given chapter are fairly easy and straight forward, but increase in difficulty very rapidly. At the end of each chapter, there are 12 exercises, ranging from 1-3 stars - corresponding to the difficulty level of the puzzle. You are to consider each example, and your answer must consist of a series of moves (usually 1-3, but sometimes more), including considering the various alternative moves from the opponent. Ideally, you have to figure everything out in your head using a real chessboard or a computer screen, but without moving pieces to aid you (that's how I approach it). And you score 1-3 points on any given puzzle. For example, if the puzzle is denoted by 2 stars, you can receive up to 2 points on it, depending on whether you get all your own moves correct. 3. Finally, and this is the only critical comment upon the book, some exercises don't seem to correspond very well to the theme of the chapter studied. For example, one chapter was about the value of the pieces, i.e. in some positions the relative strength of the rook may be less than that a of a knight or bishop. However, when provided exercise examples, it really was all about tactical vision and calculation, rather than conceptual understanding. One would think that when discussing the value of the pieces, the focus would be geared toward explaining how to secure long term strategic and positional advantages, rather than how to enact a 3-4 move tactical combo that ends in a blow to the opponent. Considering that I have reviewed only 6/24 chapters, maybe I am wrong about the rest of the book. If so, I will update my review and increase my rating to 5 stars. Finally, you should take 1-2 hours studying each chapter (inclusive of doing the exercises) to really obtain some useful knowledge from the book. If you just skim it, and don't consider variations, then it will be fruitless and a waste of time. Highly recommended.

I first read about this series of three books in the FIDE site since it had won an award as the best book for 2009 from FIDE. I was planning to buy the second and third volumes of this series only and I was advised by a really good chess player to buy all three books including this book "the fundermentals". I am very happy that I purchased this book. Normally chess books are written on some specific area of chess like openings endgames, strategy, positional play, calculation of variations, tatctics or there are books that have most of these topics but a lot of text to read and advice to take. In this book Yusupov has 24 chapters that covers the different areas given above. There are two chapters on openings and about 11 chapters on tactics and one or two chaptors on the rest of the topics. The topics are mixed together so that you do not get an overdose of one area. this makes the book interesting. The fun part is each chapter has about half of half page to read followed by about 10 examples that explains basic ideas. In each chapter the contents are summerized and given to know your learning objectives. This is followed by a test of 12 positions. You can mark your self in the test and based on your results you can either re do the chapter or move to the next chapter. Each chapter takes 1-2 hours to complete. The books ends with a final test of 24 positions. Some of the chapters are tough. There are also nine book recommendations for further reading (non of them are Yusupovs own books) so I feel he gives a very balanced and unbiased advice. I believe this is a book worth reading and re reading.

Let me first tell you how I study chess: I study a LOT of opening and then a get check mate in one move I did not see. Then I study a LOT of combinaciones and problems but I do not know what to do in a simple position. Then i decide that I have to study endgames. I Get bored and begin studying opening again. I do not have the money or the time to get personal trainer and I have no one to ask for an advice. BUT I began to read this book and everything changed. This book shows me BASIC tactics, basic combinations, openings tips and it even gives you the chance to evaluate yourself. I already ordered the whole serie of nine books. This is the book for people that do not have a trainer, the people that what to improve and dont know how. Believe me! Stop asking endesly what can I doto improve. Just buy this book a read it cover to cover. I was 1721 ELO and raised to 1850ELO FIDE. You can check the last list. To resume everything I would say... Buy just this first one and WORK thru all the examples and you will Get better.

Livro caiu como uma luva para o meu nível. Devo comprar o restante da série

Build Up Your Chess、Boost Your Chess、Chess Evolutionと続く最初のコースの第１巻。IntroductionでElo 1500以下、Elo 1800以下、Elo 2100以下のコースを開講したことからこのシリーズが出来上がったとあるから、上記のコースはこのレイティングに対応しているのだと思う。 ２４のレッスンがあり、各レッスンの最後に試験がある。合格点に達しないともう一度勉強しなさいということになる。全体の最後にまた試験がある。試験の部分は手番が示されるだけでノーヒント。 レッスンはページの外側（綴じていない方）に盤面があり、綴じ目の方に説明がある。本を小さく開いて、まず考えることができるように工夫されている。 私の棋力では、難しすぎず、易しすぎず、ちょうど良いレベルだと思う。楽しみながら力がつきそうである。

Me habían hablado bien de ésta serie y las reseñas en internet eran buenas, pero tenía mis dudas. Sin embargo el material es muy bueno; me siento muy satisfecho con el libro y creo, aunque solo estoy comenzando, que será para trabajar la serie!!!

I ordered this book after playing a few hundred online games and felt that I was hitting a wall in terms of strategy at the ~1000 mark. This book covers a nice range of topics that are each illustrated by diagrams and the line played for half a dozen examples, with the instruction then to turn your attention to a dozen exercises to pull off the chapter's strategy. You will need to sit down, set out the position in the exercise, and then stare at the board trying to find the best sequence. If this sounds intimidating -- this book might not be for you! But if you are at the position where you are playing online or club games where you can evaluate 3, 4 or 5 move lines in your head, this book will be perfect, as most of the exercises require only that many moves for a solution. Yusupov doesn't add much in evaluation or explanation of the tactical themes -- this book is presented plainly as a "Get on with it!" style of instruction after a quick summary of the topic. However, the example games and exercises are all taken from high-level games from chess throughout the 20th century -- no tired retreading of 19th century classics here. Even better, the exercises often have multiple solutions, some better than others. I'd highly recommend this book if you're serious enough about chess to want to invest the time and effort to work through the exercises with a board.

Ok