If you use Chessbase software, this is an excellent nuts-and-bolts guide that should add value to your study time, and while other software users will find some helpful suggestions and ideas, they may not be enough to recommend its purchase.

The authors are serious tournament competitors (two international masters and a grandmaster), authors, and coaches/trainers. They adopt a no-nonsense approach that concentrates on practical use of chess software for those serious about improving their play. As compared to the recent Gambit book, HOW TO USE COMPUTERS TO IMPROVE YOUR CHESS, the content doesn't cover the history and development of computer chess play. Instead, this is a here-and-now examination of the various aspects of the Chessbase database and engines and how to use them in your own chess training.

While listed as an author on the cover, it appears that Byron Jacobs' primary contribution is in a three-page introduction. Here Jacobs argues that the recent decline in age of the youngest-ever grandmaster (a record now held by the Ukranian Sergey Karjakin who achieved the title at the age of 12) can be at least partly attributed to the recent technological revolution in chess. Jacobs suggests this is due to three main developments - the rise of chess playing software programs, the nearly instantaneous availability of chess games and information over the Internet, and the development of chess databases.  Without a doubt, these developments have changed the way chess is studied (and sometimes played).

Grandmaster Emms handles the first three chapters, and these cover the fundamentals of developing, maintaining and utilizing a chess database. There is a lot of useful advice here that may save a player time in the future. For Example, Emms explains the pluses and minuses of maintaining a single largest game database as opposed to breaking it into several smaller sub-sets. He also discusses the advantages for a player creating a database of their own games (and analyzing them). I agree that this is one of the better methods for understanding one's play and learning from it.

Emms also covers, in chapter two, how to learn a new opening via database. Chessbase has a feature that allows a player to create an "opening book" that discusses all the moves that have been played from a specific position, as well as historic trends, percentage scores, and performance ratings from the choices for both sides. Emms explains how to create and use these books to learn an opening. As before, the emphasis is very practical and useful for those who are not familiar with these features. Emms also explains opening reports, which allow a player to learn about popular moves and plans and the players that play them from a specific position. This is, in my opinion, one of the more useful features of the Chessbase program for opening study.

Emms' last chapter deals with conducting a statistical survey of your own games and doing specific preparation for opponents. It is good to do a statistical study of your own games (although these were done long before the development of databases), and it is great when you can use a database to prepare for an opponent. However, this sort of preparation is most beneficial to a small minority of software users, as most players are not regularly contesting games with players with games in the normal databases. Of course, it is possible to develop your own database of games of local or regional players; I'm not sure this is the best use of chess time for the average player, however.

Aagaard's chapters are more advanced and deal with ways that a player can use these tools to expand their general chess knowledge. In particular, these involve using specialized searches to find similar sorts of positions that a player wishes to study. This is a powerful tool, and the author's explanation and illustration should help players apply it to their own study.

Aagard also discusses some opening features, such as creating a printout of one's opening repertoire and using chess playing engines to prepare. He closes with short chapters on using chess engines for training and on other chess software programs (such as CDs on specific aspects of the game). 

There is plenty of useful stuff here, and the authors obviously have used the software and can guide the reader around some of the common pitfalls. At the same time, this is not the ultimate guide to this subject. First, the only examples and discussion relate to Chessbase software. While they are the primary choice in chess software, Chess Assistant is a viable alternative, and those who have made this choice will feel like a Mac user reading a Windows guide. Second, at 128 pages, with many of the pages consisting of screen shots of either the Chessbase database or Fritz chess playing engine, the book could have used additional content. There are plenty of additional Chessbase features or methods that could have been discussed with an additional 50 pages.

In conclusion, CHESS SOFTWARE USERS GUIDE is a good first look at how a player can use databases, chess engines, and the Internet to assist in their chess development.  While it contains many practical tips and methods, it is most useful for those who use Chessbase software; other players may find the overall content not worth the price.