Think Like a Super-GM

Think Like a Super-GM is a unique collaboration combining the chess insights of an elite grandmaster with a scientific investigation into thinking at the chess board. 40 chess puzzles were shown to a panel of players ranging from occasional club players up to Super-GM and co-author Michael Adams. Researcher Philip Hurtado recorded not only the moves chosen, but also the detailed thought processes of every player in order to shed light on the mystery as to what exactly defines superior chess strength. This book offers a unique opportunity for readers to not only solve the puzzles, but also compare their thinking to that of club players, strong amateurs, IMs, GMs and Michael Adams himself. With an additional Bonus Puzzle section and a fascinating Eyetracker experiment showing where different players focused their attention on the board, this is a chess improvement book like no other.

About the Author :
GM Michael Adams is a World Championship finalist and long-time British number one, with a peak ranking of 4th in the world. Philip Hurtado is an engineer, physicist, statistician and passionate amateur chess player.

Review :
"This book does have a number of original features that make the solving experience much more interesting than just glancing at the solution, feeling happy or irritated and moving on to the next one. Foremost among these is the possibility to compare your thoughts with that of similar-strength players… The other key factor is the quality of Mickey's explanations of the puzzles, which is outstanding – simply a pleasure to read! I thoroughly recommend this book. Working through the examples seriously in a concentrated manner will benefit players of any strength, and once you've completed the puzzles there's still a wealth of learning to be drawn from Mickey's comments, and by reflecting on the solving processes captured by Hurtado. Great stuff! 5 stars!" - GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess "A very worthy Book of the Year. The information required to think like a Super GM can be found in this book – all that remains is to become one!" -- Ray Edwards, Jovanka Houska, Sean Marsh, ECF Book of the Year judges, "Whatever the reader's current playing strength, a careful study of this book will provide a multitude of ideas on how to progress to the next level. Just imagine sitting down with Michael Adams and listening to him explaining which moves he thinks are best and, more importantly, the decision-making process behind them. This is a fine book and one which should be genuinely useful to anyone wanting to improve their chess skills. It is especially good to have new material from Michael Adams and hopefully he will be inspired to return to the keyboard in the near future. After so many years at the top, there has got to be plenty more of his wisdom he can share." -- Sean Marsh, CHESS magazine "Think Like a Super-GM will […] help the reader understand how all too often we come to conclusions that are rushed or not fully thought through when in fact we all have the potential to do better. This is an inspiring and helpful guide that may or may not take us all the way to Super-GM, but is likely to give a lot of pleasure, and the genuine possibility of improving our play". -- Ben Graff, Chess Moves "I love this book and will use the puzzles to get back into over the board tournament chess and to hone the calculation skills of my students. It is fascinating to compare your thoughts with players of different strengths." -- Han Schut