Bughouse Chess Book
(Tandem-Chess / Team-Chess / Exchange-Chess / Siamese-Chess / Hungarian-Chess )
"the book has no competitor, and I cannot see one becoming likely.
It .. looks at all aspects of the game. There is an introductory chapter on strategy for the beginner, followed by more penetrating chapters on the attacker's perspective, the defender's perspective, ways to attack, defensive strategies, mating techniques, and initiative vs material. These amount to some 70+ pages, and I imagine they will be regarded by most readers below expert level as the most valuable parts of the book. There are chapters on advanced opening theory, and others which deal with the transition from reasonably good to genuinely expert. There are three illustrative games which are annotated in depth with a generous provision of diagrams. There is a chapter of puzzles ranging from the relatively easy to the desperately difficult. And for lighter reading, there are entertaining accounts of European meetings .. and an American bughouse tour, and a fascinating interview with the top-board Armenian grandmaster Levon Aronian."
John Beasley, in "Variant Chess", April 2007, page 156. Variant Chess Website
"I wholeheartedly recommend this book to people who are aspiring to be serious bughouse players or just seeking exposure to a new game that is full of rich, fascinating ideas.
The largest section of the book is the compilation of essays on strategy. These 80 pages alone are worth the price of the book! ...
The organization of this section reminds me of the famous book Play Like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov. The elements are introduced with clear, concise examples and are followed by an essay demonstrating how the interelated use of these emelemts determines the course of play. The positions presented are essential to learn if you wish to excel in bughouse.
Richard Francisco, in: Chess Life, August 2007. pages 14-15. Chess Life Website
"An anthology of articles written by the best Bughouse Chess players. .. Especially the analysis is enlightening, because understanding the developments on one board requires the diagrams to show the partner board as well. .. Bughouse Chess is a real team sport .. it expands on the game of chess.
To summarize: An interesting book, which has it on itself to become the definitive guide."
Original German extract from the review: "Eine Anthologie mit Texten aus der Feder der besten Tandemspieler. .. Insbesondere die Analysen sind aufschlussreich, denn die Ereignisse an einem Brett lassen sich nur mit der zeitgleichen Abbildung des Partnerbretts verstehen. .. [Tandemschach] ist ein echter Teamsport, bei dem ein Spieler ohnen seinen Partner machtlos ist. .. durch die Möglichkeit, geschlagene Figuren des Nachbarbrettes im eigenen Spiel einzusetzen, erweitert sich das Schachspiel und erfordert andere Strategien."
"Fazit: Ein interessantes Buch, das das Zeug zum Standardwerk hat."
Harry Schaack, in "Karl - the cultural chess magazine", 2/2007, page 64. Karl Website
Also take a look at the 40+ pages preview (1,3MB, pdf file).
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