Book Recap #34- IM Jeremy Silman's The Amateurs Mind (with David Hamm)

In the wake of IM Jeremy Silman’s recent passing, Chess Books Recaptured returns to review one of his classic books, The Amateur’s Mind. The Amateur’s Mind sold over 90,000 copies, and IM Jeremy Silman said that he thought it was his best instructional book. What made this book, and Silman’s writing so unique? We dive into that topic, share many memorable (and amusing) quotes from the book, and briefly discuss some of the other works from IM Jeremy Silman’s illustrious canon. Joining me for this discussion, is David Hamm. As a 1000 (ish) rated, relatively recent chess devotee, who is also an attorney with 3 kids, David is just the type of reader that Silman likely had in mind when writing this book. While The Amateur’s Mind might not be my #1 recommendation if your goal is to improve your game, it was a ton of fun to read it and to discuss it, and reflecting on IM Jeremy Silman's legacy has left me more impressed with his work than ever. Timestamps of topics discussed and links of articles referred to are below. 

IM Jeremy Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess is now on Chessable, and The Amateur’s Mind will be coming in 2024! Use this link to sign up for Chessable Pro, and and/or make a Chessable purchase, and it will help support Perpetual Chess. 

https://www.chessable.com/pro/?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=benjohnson&utm_campaign=pro

0:00- Thanks to Fred Wilson of Fred Wilson Books for allowing me to share Fred’s old interviews with IM Jeremy Silman. They will be posted soon to the Perpetual Chess YouTube Channel, so make sure you are subbed. 

Interview #1-

https://youtu.be/FVDGwFIUjkA

Interview #2 coming soon.

0:03- David Hamm joins me to discuss the book. We begin by discussing how David got into chess, and to IM Jeremy Silman. 

0:07- We briefly go over IM Jeremy SIlman’s bio, and discuss some of Silman’s works.

Mentioned: NY Times obit by Dylan Loeb McLain, Chess.com obit by Tarjei Svensen

John Donaldson’s obit for US Chess

12:30- What makes SIlman’s writing stand out?

Mentioned: How to Reassess Your Chess, Nick Visel’s Review of Amateur’s Mind 

19:00- If chess improvement is your primary focus, what books could one consider as alternatives to Amateur’s Mind? 

Mentioned: Simple Chess, Winning Chess Strategies, Mastering Chess Strategies, Techniques of Positional Play 

22:00- We read the first few paragraphs and discuss Silman’s meticulous approach to writing. 

Mentioned: Dojo Talks Episode 92: Remembering IM Jeremy Silman, Zen in the Art of Archery 

29:00- We read our favorite quotes from the book! 

Mentioned: Alekhine-Maroczy 1923 , IM Willy Hendriks, Silman response to Hendriks ADD LINK 

52:00- Closing thoughts and our favorite Silman’s books ranked! 

Mentioned: Autobiography of a Goat, Make it Stick, How to Reassess Your Chess, Silman's Complete Endgame Course, Silman's Chess Odyssey 

Volunteer to co-host a book review podcast via the following form:

https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/co-host

Thanks to David for doing a great job co-hosting! Here is how you can reach him:

LiChess Chessdad1979

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-hamm-1a3a325?trk=public_post_feed-actor-name

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