Book of the year contest

[Rudel]

Hi everyone, chesscafe is having a "Book of the year" contest.

Details are here.

Voting for the first round ends Jan. 25th. I was only aware of this because Terese Hatch [co-author of Dogs of War] had voted for Zuke 'Em as book of the year.

[abcott]

Wasn't Zuke 'Em first published in 2008? Does this matter? There isn't much in the way of rules at chesscafe.

Bxh7+ gets my vote if it's year of publication that counts.

[Rudel]

The new edition of Zuke 'Em is considered a different book since it has an ISBN.

[abcott]

http://www.chesscafe.com/Reviews/botyr2.htm

:-)

[rj1000101]

Congratulations David on Zuke 'Em being 1 of the 3 finalists for book of the year!

http://www.chesscafe.com/Reviews/botyr2.htm

[Rudel]

Thanks!

Now I'm going to have to go invite everyone again to vote since round 2 is probably a separate contest. I assume they start over with a clean slate and any votes from round 1 are ignored. Thanks everyone who voted [and thanks in advance to people for voting in round 2]

[Rudel]

Welp, it looks like Zuke 'Em did not come anywhere close to winning once the field was narrowed down to just three...but such is life. It's extremely rare for an opening manual to win this kind of a contest in any event.

[abcott]

:-(

but congrats on making the top 3!
and how about this review from one voter;
Zuke 'Em - What I find exceptional about Rudel's book is the clarity and detail of the material presented. This is a much different opening book than any I've examined - Rudel provides explanations and insights about the opening variations that show his love for the Colle-Zukertort. The practice positions and accompanying solutions and explanations provide a ready-made way to learn the opening. I've read criticism of Rudel's work, usually that he does not have a FIDE title, but I've not yet read any valid critique of the material in his book from such a titled player.

This book breathes new life into one of the most reliable and easy-to-learn opening systems; its conversational text and lucid annotations, as well as Rudel's creative approach to chess book writing and material presentation, makes this title a sure contender for Book of the Year. This book has great appeal for the average club and tournament player and is likely capturing the imagination of a whole new generation of chess players.

Not the kind of opening book we see everyday. A great work of love about the Colle!

One of the best books written for the club player. It speaks our language.

I have only ever found one other opening book as accessible, easy to read and to understand, the other being Tiger's Modern - I consider this to be high praise!

I hope it wins because it's the best chess book ever written for club level players. The language is conversational rather than chess-ese that you get from grandmasters. And, it's extremely thorough in the lines explained, especially the non-book moves. Club players don't know openings well enough to play the book moves, so what you need is the typical non-book moves that club players make and how to respond to them. That is what is most helpful and no other book teaches this.

It is a path-breaking opening-repertoire book.

I purchased all three finalists and they all are very good. But only one book is for me above all the others: Zuke 'Em.




Any idea of the number of votes, David?

[Rudel]

I think that is collection of comments by different people.

[abcott]

:-)

i think you are right!