The chess book market has been flooded, largely as a result of the “war” between the three chess publishing superpowers: Gambit, Everyman, and Batsford. Most of those books are about openings, but tomes about the middlegame and endgame, once fairly rare, are now pouring out in waves too. As usual, though most new offerings have a “been there, done that” feel, a few original projects manage (by some miracle!) to find their way to the bookstores.

In general, the bigger companies crank out common fare, while smaller, more idiosyncratic houses like McFarland, Thinker's Press, Siles Press, Moravian Chess Publishing, New In Chess, etc. take chances. However, of the big three chess companies, there is no doubt that Gambit is the one that occasionally will suck it up by publishing a book due to its merit and not its probability of mass market appeal. Their latest example of doing something because it deserves to be done is the original and extremely interesting THE GRANDMASTER'S MIND.

The author, an Israeli psychologist and FIDE Master isn't trying to teach you anything or sell you a system or even entertain you. Instead, he is sharing his research as to what the differences between amateurs and professionals might be. From the introduction:

“The gap between experts and novices is an intriguing topic for investigation in various fields. Finding an answer as to what differentiates one group from the other is not only of great interest, but contains clear practical implications.

“Two fundamental questions arise: why are some people more skilled than others; and how does this difference express itself.”

He goes about answering these questions by giving twelve sections (in Part One) with (mostly) famous players (like Psakhis, Greenfeld, Kosashvili, Gelfand, Smirin, etc.). Though Avni calls these “interviews,” I don't really consider them in this way. Instead of talking about random things, Avni presents games from their own practice and asks what they were thinking about when trying to solve a specific position. Then he gives them a game or position that they are not familiar with and has them solve its secrets verbally so we can share in the process. The result is always interesting, often very entertaining, and in my mind, very instructive.

Part Two of the book discusses the data he's gained from the material gleaned in Part One. The chapter names will give you a taste of what's in store: The Thinking of GMs; A System for Problem-Solving; The Grand-Plan Approach; The Dilemma of an Impasse; The Attraction of Beautiful Ideas; Serendipity; Pros and Cons of Expertise; Yes, They are Different; Critical Success Factors.

Here too Avni makes liberal use of grandmaster quotes and ideas, but this time (unlike Part One, where he was more deferential towards the “interviewed” players) the author often takes the reigns and presents his own views, theories, and conclusions.

This book is highly recommended for anyone 1800 and above, though I suspect that players in the “C” class (1400) would also have a very enjoyable experience. THE GRANDMASTER'S MIND is lots of fun, but it's also an important and most welcome addition to chess literature.