February 6, 2005 - Fantastic accomplishments by Igor and Eagles, but not enough...

I've got 100s of e-mails from the satisfied readers, just like the one below:

but at the end, I was told that my book was 3rd in the voting for the 2004 book of the year in the ChessCafe's contest! Well, being 3d behind Benko's and Kasparov's books is not too bad. They do have FANTASTIC books. They are great experts, they had tons of resources at their disposal and great publishers to back them up and promote. On the other hand, I did it all on my own, with some help from friends at the very end. 

When it all set and done, which book(s) of the 3, do you think will be read cover to cover, worn out, marked all over, and in "very used" condition? Which book(s) will barely show signs of use and be proudly displayed on the bookshelves or coffee-tables? Which book would you rather be an author of? You know my answer!

Here are some quotes from recent e-mails:

"... your book is the only one of the three to be interesting for the average amateur player."

"... I think that the novel statistical approach to helping average players identify weaknesses in their game should make your book a very strong candidate"

" The book really is fantastic. I hope this is the start of a prosperous writing career.."

"... I am slowly going through the book and find it not only very challenging but educational as well."

Superbowl XXXIX - also somewhat of a disappointment!

Yes, and on another somewhat sad note - my Eagles lost in the Superbowl XXXIX. This in spite of  the support of thousands of fans many of whom traveled all the way from Philadelphia, including the one fan you know. I am smiling in the picture because the event was awesome, but... in my heart I am as broken as all other Eagles fans.

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February 6th showdowns -  root for the Underdogs!
Khmelnitsky vs. Kasparov vs. Benko/Silman (2004 Book of The Year)
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots (Superbowl XXXIX)

Search on Amazon for books on chess published in 2004 returned 157 (!) different titles.

I am thrilled to find out that many of the readers of my book “Chess Exam and Training Guide: Rate Yourself and Learn How to Improve” found it to be worthy of the Book of the Year award. In fact, there were so many of you that it made to the top 3 - the "Short List" of candidates, in prestigious ChessCafe nomination stage.

It is an honor to be in the company of Garry Kasparov, Pal Benko and Jeremy Silman. Great players and great authors - their books are fantastic - providing great insight into lives and careers of two chess legends - Bobby Fischer and Pal Benko. If you like to learn about the history, study deeply annotated games and enjoy museum quality production - make sure you buy these two books.

If you like 10,000s others players around the world, who would like to evaluate their skills and learn methods that will help to improve - I have a different suggestion! While an underdog, I am, however, standing my ground firmly and believe my book is a unique product that will not only entertain and enlighten, but  actually WILL HELP TO IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY everyone who reads it. It answers the questions on training and improvement that chessplayers always wanted to ask.

So, if you agree that my book deserves the BOY award, please VOTE now.  Please send e-mail by clicking HERE or visiting THIS PAGE for additional details. Note that if you submitted your nomination in the past two weeks (thank you!), you still need to cast your final vote  before February 6.

It is tough to compete against such a tough field but I feel just like my beloved Philadelphia Eagles. They were able to overcome adversity and finally (4th try) to get to the Superbowl XXXIX, but once you there - why not to win, even as 7 points underdog. The date for the big game is... you guessed it - February 6th!

I hope that on February 6th both my Philadelphia Eagles and my book will defy the odds!

If you haven't seen my book yet, there is still time to get it. Details are below.

Also, I’d love to hear your comments, good and bad, as I always strive for perfection. Contact me HERE

Best of luck!

Igor Khmelnitsky