No comments about The "Daily Telegraph" Big Book of Brain Sharpener Cryptic Crosswords (Crossword Daily Telegraph).

1 comments about The New York Times Large-Print Crosswords to Boost Your Brainpower: 75 Large-Print Crosswords to Sharpen Your Mind, Improve Your Crossword Skills, and Increase Your Vocabulary.

1. I bought a BUNCH of these large print New York Times Crossword books for my Mom including this one. She was ardent about solving them and felt they helped her in maintaining her mental powers. I would have to agree on that. The large print really IS large and seemed too big to me at first but they were easier for her to savor and work on at her own pace. They also have puzzles you can subscribe to and receive through the mail. I was surprized and delighted during a visit to see that she and a friend worked on them together. They're a terrific resource for an aging parent and well worth the price for the stimulation !!

2 comments about How To Play The Ruy Lopez.

1. The Ruy Lopez or Spanish, 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 is one of the oldest openings, one of the most heavily analyzed, and one of the best weapons for the White player. How can an older book be of use to someone looking to play this sharp opening? Well, Taulbut's approach focused on the basic (fixed)principles of each line and allowed the reader to choose the specific variation that suited him. So, where other books are heavy on variations and thin on ideas, Taulbut stresses thematic plans that should be adopted by both sides, as well as examining how typical pawn structures and their significance for endgame play. In 15 chapters, the author covers variations such as The Closed Morphy Defence, The Marshall Attack And The Anti-Marshall, Open Variations, Slow Systems, Steinitz System, Exchange Systems, Berlin And Bird Defences, and so on. Only 124 pages, the book is an excellent (and non-intimidating) overview of a complicated opening. You may need (for you Master wannabees) a current book for "state-of-the-art" variations, but for plans? This is the place.



2. First published in 1987. The Ruy Lopez is the most enduring and popular of openings. It was a favourite with Steinitz, Lasker, Capablanca, Alekhine, Tal, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov. The Lopez is the ultimate Grandmaster opening. It is also one of the most difficult to learn how to play well. In this treatise International Master Shaun Taulbut guides readers through the right paths and shows how to make this formidable opening a regular point-scorer in their own games.
   
   Shaun Taulbut won team gold in the World Students' Championship, was European junior champion and holds the title of International Master awarded by the World Chess Federation.

3 comments about Crossword Proper Name Finder.

1. A huge amount of clues in puzzles today are made from proper names. The problem for most solvers is how to find them. Unless you are blessed with total recall, you need this book. The name may suggest that this book contains only the names of celebrities. In fact, this book contains the proper names of awards, books, movies -- even rivers! Each carefully categorized to make it easy to use. For puzzles constructors, this book offers you an alternative to the usual dictionaries and thesaurus' that are so often used in construction. You'll quickly and easily find new and interesting clues that will keep your fans coming back for more. This a must-have book for anyone who loves crosswords and other pencil puzzles.



2. I've used this book heavily since I've bought it, and it has come through with the correct answer 95% of the time. If you do crosswords, this book is a MUST BUY. It is already one of the top reference books in my collection for doing crosswords. Fred Jackson



3. Somewhere I read a review that said this was the crossword book one was most likely to use. I scoffed at that, as I have some robust crossword answer books, but do you know, that review may have been right? (Bit of info--I've solved all the NY Times daily crosswords for the past 15 years or so.) BTW--This also has an add-on section listing rivers and what river flows into what other rivers, as well as persons and info re them (Ringo Starr was in a Caveman movie, had a hit song, and his birth name), as well as "products", which are movies, songs, etc., with the person they are associated with. Note--the stuff after the "BTW" is just extra to the name listing, as the name listing is the key to this, but the extras are nice too. I hope someone is updating this, since it's about 6 years old and thus knows nothing about "Lindsay Lohan", etc.

2 comments about The New York Times Crossword Puzzles 2007 Calendar: Large Cube.

1. This page-a-day desk calendar features 313 consecutive New York Times daily crossword puzzles originally printed from April 7, 2003 to April 5, 2004. This series aligns with the normal Monday to Saturday progression of difficulty; for example, the calendar's Monday January 1st, 2007 puzzle is the original New York Times Monday puzzle from April 7, 2003. Saturdays and Sundays share a calendar page and feature a Saturday puzzle.
   The puzzle grids measure about 3" x 3" on the page, while each full page measures about 6" x 5". The lower right corner even features a few square inches of blank space for use as an actual desk calendar. I was very happy to receive this as a gift.



2. I was very happy with my 2006 calendar and disappointed to discover that the 2007 calendar uses the same puzzles (April 2003 to April 2004)! So this is only a great gift/purchase if you didn't have the 2006 calendar or if you have a short memory.

No comments about The New York Times Expand Your Mind Crosswords: 75 Brain-Boosting Puzzles.

No comments about Official's Variety Puzzles July 2008.

No comments about Bid Whist: The Making of a Great American Pastime.

No comments about Crosswordoku.

No comments about Crosswords: Sink Back And Solve Away! (Armchair Puzzlers).