How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

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Geoff Chandler
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How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sun Nov 30, 2025 2:05 pm

I do not go in for these OAP flu or covid jabs reasoning I'm 74 years old, my immune system has got me this far, best not to tamper with it.
So once in a while I get a severe bout of flu. The last one was 6 years ago and I came out of that pretty healthy. 5 days in bed without a cigarette, I gave up and have not smoked since.

Recently I had another flu battle, four days in bed with a hot bottle, green tea and honey, victim C tablet dissolved in glass of Lucozade. (I took Night Nurse for the first time - wow! the dreams.)
Anyway, now up and about and I hit my favourite 2nd hand shop to see what has come in in the past few days and found for £2.00. It was £20.00 new.

Image

I've been waiting for this to appear in charity shops and looked forward to going though it and passing it onto one of the kids in the coaching pool.
I Like Rozman, I can see a lot of me in him from 50 years ago. Chess is great, let's have some fun, etc, He has carved out for himself a wonderful niche, filled a gap, best of luck to him. Gotham Chess is crazy and the kids love it. (but will he still be like that at 74? I've not changed since my teens - I hate grown ups, they are boring.)

The Book.
It's very pretty and robust, it does a job (and here come the reviewers 'but') but these QR codes keep popping up.
In some topics the book takes you so far and then you have put the book down and fanny about with a mobile to get a QR link. Apparently you use that to land on some distant website for a more detailed explanation and further examples of whatever it is you were just a moment ago happily reading about.
(btw my phone, an IMO, is a basic no frills mobile that cannot read QR codes so I cannot review whatever happens next. Also what does the reader do if 'and when' the link gets broken?)

The openings he recommends for White are the Vienna and the London System.
For Black (v 1.e4) the Caro Khan and the Scandinavian. (just follow the QR codes)
So the avid reader will end up drawing all their games as White and suffering as Black though they will have a smattering of fun if they play the Scandinavian.
BTW that is just a personal view, you get that for free without having to follow a QR code.

Yes I'll pass it on. As I said it does a job and is chat friendly. I just do not like the QR codes. Once the book is put down getting the reader off the net will be a trial. The book is closed...forever - then dumped into a charity shop. (six-seven out of ten )

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Nov 30, 2025 3:54 pm

I think QR codes are mainly a way to get those reading the print edition to follow links. No-one types out URLs. For those using an e-book edition, it should in theory be easy to click or copy-paste a URL. No idea if e-book editions are more popular than print ones theses days.

If you still have the book, do you have a favourite combination/tactic from its pages?

Geoff Chandler
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Re: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Geoff Chandler » Sun Nov 30, 2025 5:21 pm

Hi Chris,

I understood the idea but would have felt a tad robbed if I paid out the full £20.00.
Here are a few pages on the Vienna, now go online (give me a hit) and see more. The punters can and do that anyway.

A favourite tactic/combination? Good question. I'm not sure I have one. I've always like promotion based combo's because they are different. (and under promotions can figure)
I suppose all Mating combo's are my top choice because after you see the mate you need not calculate any further and I'm lazy.

Smothered mates. Levy a has section on these adding as a 'Fun Fact' he has solved 76% of smothered mate puzzles on chess.com and he needs to practice more.
Last edited by Geoff Chandler on Mon Dec 01, 2025 9:14 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Nov 30, 2025 7:17 pm

What I find most difficult (when going back over casual blitz games on Lichess to see where I could have done better) is judging when to look for and find a crushing combination with a hail of sacrifices to win, versus a series of quiet moves that leave the opponent helpless (sometimes even with level material). The latter is hard to see and harder to play when you feel there is a combination there!

Roger de Coverly
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Re: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sun Nov 30, 2025 8:21 pm

Christopher Kreuzer wrote: ↑
Sun Nov 30, 2025 7:17 pm
What I find most difficult (when going back over casual blitz games on Lichess to see where I could have done better
I've discovered that you can get equivalent feedback from lichess for OTB games. What you have to do is paste a pgn score into lichess and then get the Stockfish to analyse it.

https://lichess.org/i9VMpIT6

I haven't discovered how to tell lichess it wasn't correspondence - suggestions?

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Christopher Kreuzer
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Re: How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman

Post by Christopher Kreuzer » Sun Nov 30, 2025 8:50 pm

Lichess will keep your games forever, you know? Even if you do this anonymously. Other sites too. But maybe that is a good thing.

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