The Chess Course’ has completed a journey of 22 years of wonderful and exhilarating journey since the first edition was rolled out in the year 1999!
Any book has its own shelf life and a limited run at the stands. Not so with ‘The Chess Course’! The run-time has crossed well over 2-decades and there is no sign of its popularity receding anywhere. The book certainly has the blessings of Goddess Caissa! I now take immense pleasure in announcing the launch of the revised and enlarged version of ‘The Chess Course’.
What is the need to re-invent a wheel? One may definitely ask! Well, I am first and foremost a chess trainer with an unbridled passion for teaching. In light of the experience gained of clocking more than 25,000+ hours of teaching thousands of kids, I was convinced that the book can still be a better starter than the one now so as to fulfil their aspirations.
The legendary author Khushwant Singh had summed up a universal truth of the experience of writers – the characters created by them (writers) began to evolve into independent personalities of their own and start dictating their actions and speeches! I too have experienced this – For the last 2 years, THE CHESS COURSE was tugging at my heart and mind to make a valid point that the flagship product too deserved an enlarged edition with updates! I admitted the need to take corrective action and so started the work of upgrading THE CHESS COURSE in December 2020 – it has taken me over 6 months to rework this!
The creation of this new avatar demanded my peak attention over an indefinite stretch of time – almost an eternity! But all this is worth it if the end result satisfies the author and I admit that nothing has given me more satisfaction than this – THE CHESS COURSE now has six-pack abs, is more matured and wiser than ever! You can find the gist of changes in the new edition as compared to the old:
Testimonial by GM Pravin Thipsay:
While the previous edition did not have a testimonial, I took courage to have one by sending the draft copy to the legendary Indian GM Pravin Thipsay with a request to go through the book and let me have a testimonial if the book really deserves it. To my pleasant surprise, which I will cherish for a lifetime, I received not only a testimonial but also a review of the book!
Review by GM Pravin Thipsay:
“Being a master at chess is something that has been eluding a very large section of chess players over centuries. There was a time when it was believed that chess skills were directly related to intelligence and it wasn’t possible to improve at chess. “Blonde plays well & Brunette doesn’t, and that is not going to change” was the famous saying. However, the efforts of the chess masters over 200 years and the chess literature by them has proven that it’s possible to improve chess playing skills with scientific approach, information, passion and hard work. “The Chess Course” by FIDE Trainer Praful Zaveri can be viewed as a notable contribution to the chess literature of 2021. With a simple language and hundreds of illustrative examples, the author has made a genuine effort to help the readers improve their chess playing skills. Taking into account the complex nature of the sport and its rules, the author has divided “The Chess Course” in six sections, starting from the introduction to the game and gradually increasing the standards to a successful club player. By including hundreds of illustrative examples from master play, the author has given an opportunity to the readers to understand the thinking process of the champions, the most significant factor. Players with casual approach, beware! This is not for you! But change your attitude and the way to success is opening doors to you! Recommended to all players, trainers and parents”.