Book Review – Logical Decision Making
Fundamental Chess: Logical Decision Making is one of those books which one can read at any point in life. The book is very instructive and explains the best possible way to practice fundamental chess. It is such a book that can make an impact on the audience in an instant. The author GM Ramesh is well known for making a good dialogue with his students. His clarity of thought and his simple words/examples to explain topics makes it a perfect combo for the reader.
Author of the Book – R.B. Ramesh
Publishing Year – 2018
Published By – Metropolitan Chess Publication
What to Expect?
The book’s name is justified by its topics. It is all about the thinking process, applying the knowledge of general principles in one’s game. This book is divided into 3 Parts.
- Logical Reasoning
- Practical Chess Play
- Fundamentals of Chess Training
This book covers a decent amount of concepts. The narration and analysis are well balanced which is a good blend for people who are reluctant to heavily analyzed books.
This book starts with a very instructive game between Current World Champion Magnus Carlsen and strong Armenian GM Levon Aronian. This game is taken to explain to the reader, the topic of initiative and the activity of pieces over the material.
The second part is used to throw light on taking the tough calls on how to control emotions and continue playing practically. A key point of this part is the broad base of topics in this part. One can add a lot of weapons to the arsenal from this topic.
Finally, the third part ensures the reader the psychological aspects which are at times ignored by a lot of coaches. Most of the coaches focus on the game strength of the player, but GM Ramesh provides the angle of thought process before, during, and after the tournament.
What is a Unique thing in this Book?
To explain this, I will share my experience when I attended a camp of R.B.Ramesh sir in 2017, organized by I-Lead Chess Academy which is headed by Hemangi Gupta. When I started to read this book, it was a sheer resemblance to Sir’s words from the camp. I got a feeling of attending a 1-1 lesson with GM Ramesh.
It’s as if GM Ramesh was having a dialogue with me. The examples are so apt, one remembers them even during his own games. What more do you want if you can clearly remember what the author has to say?
For whom will this book suit the best?
According to me, this book is suitable for anyone between 1400-2400 FIDE ELO Rating. Especially the tips given in Part 3 on Fundamentals of Chess Training are useful to everyone. According to my, players struggling to cross 1600 will get a big boost with this book. Players who are around 2000 rating can use this book to recall the topics which they have learned in bits and pieces. The players above 2200 can use this book to include the skill of unlearning the bad habits they developed in their thought processes.
Points which I liked?
The words used are very simple and easy to remember during games. Also, there are a few anecdotes given at regular intervals that made an impact on me. The material in this book is presented in a very systematic way. Overall it’s a high-quality book with a very simple approach as the GM has in his life as well. I will insist all the readers get a hold of this book!
From where can you buy this Book?
The Amazon link for the book is here.
About the Book Author
GM R.B. Ramesh is a well-known chess coach and also was a strong player before switching to coaching. He was an expert commentator for Carlsen – Anand World Chess Championship 2013. He was also the coach of the Indian Team in Chess Olympiad 2018, Batumi, Georgia. GM Ramesh is well known for his student’s achievements. A few of his top students are – Arvind Chidambaram, Pragghanananda Rameshbabu, Vaishali Rameshbabu, Rakshita Ravi, etc.
The Publisher
NM Gupta Ankit is the commissioning editor of Metropolitan Chess Publication. Their intention is to promote and support the game of chess through community outreach and local, national, and international partnerships. They are creating their own DVDs and other chess Content.
