Chess Strategy

Chess for Zebras: Thinking Differently about Black and White by GM Jonathan Rowson

Zebra Clan is the name of the unofficial “Chess For Zebras” fan club, consisting of my friends whom I have persuaded to buy this book. After seeing the reviews, some will be quoted bellow, I decided to “see what’s this all about”. While still in the reading, my friend GM-elect Mihajlo Stojanovic visited me for training session and we discussed the book. Mihajlo actually played Jonathan Rowson few months earlier at Verona Open (and won), and I was happy to hear some first-hand impressions about my already-favorite author. We have agreed in the conclusion that Jonathan offers new and refreshing (I added “shocking” too, but Mihajlo is already too strong to feel that way) ideas for average player’s improvement.

For me, this is not just a chess book; it is a literature that I enjoy reading, repeatedly going back through the pages and giving a lot of thought on what I have seen. I don’t know how to write an review, so I will quote smarter people bellow.

My favorite is a very honest review by Geoff Chandler, who seems to know Jonathan personally and who was very critical towards his previous book The Seven Deadly Chess Sins:

“Chess for Zebras is writing of the highest quality. Jonathan has the ability to identify his reader, grab him by the neck, pull him into the book and slap him around a bit until he has got the point. The book is full of instructive tips and, for want of a better word, essays. Each essay has a mouth watering and thought provoking title. ‘Planning in Pencil and Playing in Pen’, ‘Learning and Unlearning’, ‘The Importance of Not Having a Clue’, ‘What’s so special about the Sicilian?’, ‘Gumption Revisited’. Usually each essay has a relevant game attached, complete with Jonathan’s excellent notes. Jonathan knows how to annotate a game of chess - most top chess players do not.

If you are a chess player then you will need this book. Players will be quoting from it for years to come and if you do not own it then you will be left out in the cold, clutching some worthless opening book and watching your grade slide.”

Michael Goeller’s post was actually the one that intrigued me about the Zebras:
“For me, it is a masterpiece of the first order that relates to practically everything I think about intellectually, including the teaching of writing. But I also recognize that not all other chessplayers share those interests and may be put off by the heft of its ideas concerning a topic (chess) that they might take rather lightly.”

He is also quoting one of Rowson’s crucial remarks: “If you want to get better at chess you need to place much less emphasis on ’study’ whereby you increase your knowledge of positions, and place more emphasis on ‘training,’ whereby you try to solve problems.” This, combined with another advice from the book, I have used in my own study and suggested to Chess Strategy readers in Exercise I and Exercise II.

Here are few pointers by IM Jeremy Silman:
1) Rowson tends to tackle chess thought in a scholarly, fresh way.
2) Every Rowson book thus far has been simply fantastic.
3) Rowson is, in my view, the best chess writer out there for those introspective/intellectual fans of the game that seriously wish to improve while also longing to embrace original ideas.

Another colleague had words of praise:
“Rowson’s examination of chess psychology seems almost guaranteed to improve a practical player’s results.” - GM Ian Rogers, Canberra Times

Michael Jeffreys in his closing paragraph at ChessVille review hits the mark:
“Rowson is simply one of the greatest “chess thinkers” alive today, and if you have been frustrated because you have been stuck at your current rating level for far too long, this could be the book to get you over the hump. Rowson doesn’t just give you more data, he forces you to take a hard look at “how” you are processing that data. Furthermore, he gets you to work on improving your chess skills rather than simply increasing your chess knowledge.”

But be careful, some of the readers might find his writing too difficult:
“Another thing I liked in the book was when Rowson talked about other GMs and his students and what was said about certain moves or said at certain times. This, combined with the first part of the book, made it seem almost as much a nonfiction book as a chess book. Which I liked, even though the first part was a little “academic.”

To sum up: Don’t buy it if you’re not above 1800, but if you have a moment in the book store or library you should pick it up and browse through it. I got something out of it, although probably not 30 bucks worth of something.”

Download a PDF sample from the book.