cathexis wrote on 06/28/20 at 18:21:25:


I've removed the links but kept the rest of the post for the time being as it was made in good faith. I think the thread serves a useful reminder to people that not everything available for free on the internet is there with the permission of the real authors/owners.

While Ian may have given his permission, i suspect he probably hasnt.

Then I hope the friends of this author will contact him so he can direct his attorneys to proceed against them. I appreciate your sharing this so others can make the best decision for themselves.

OH! And one afterthought; If you feel it would be better for me to take down the post I only ask that a Moderator say so online or by PM and I'll be happy to do so!

cathexis wrote on 06/28/20 at 13:52:22:

No, not in the public domain.

cathexis wrote on 06/28/20 at 13:52:22:

Just because something is available for download on the internet doesn't mean it's okay to do it. It's up to the copyright holder to decide if it's okay. Most of the time, it's not okay.

To be fair, I have no information about whether this author cares about these two documents. I just wanted to correct what I saw to be a serious misunderstanding.

FWIW,

I just downloaded the .pdf (324pgs.)for free from here:

[Link removed by Mod]

The publication info page specifically states copyright 2007-2011. So, public domain it seems. Likewise, Book 2 by the same author (565 pgs.!) is also out there for free here:

[Link removed by Mod]

Same copyright info. Also, on my pc with malwarebytes, etc. running there were no site warnings. Further, no sign-up or registration needed to obtain the materials at either site. The publisher, "Gelvert Publishing" appears gone to a basic google. Both books are in English. Both have excellent quality diagrams (highly legible and with proper layout so commentary matches associated diagram (AFAIK)), as well as both having their answer keys at the back.

Hope this helps,

Cathexis

I'm not sure of the usefulness of this exercise compared to blindfold chess. But there's no need for a book:

• open a random game in a database (e.g. ChessBase)
• scan the notation for a sequence with a lot of captures
• click before the captures start
• visualize the moves
• answer the same question
• cluck after the captures end
• compare with your answer

Does anyone know if Volume 2 ever got published and if so, how to get it?  I found Volume 1 helpful.

.
In 2007 Ian Anderson self-published a chess book titled:
Chess Visualization Course, Book 1: General Tactics.

A Book 2 came later.

Ian sold his hardcopy books from his own website:
http://www.chessvisualization.com/.

Dan Heisman is among those who praised Anderson's books. The praised was deserved because:

A. Anderson's Book 1 was packed with 800 "counting" puzzles exercises of good quality.
Each exercise gave you a position diagram and SAN notation telling you which few moves to envision in your mind. The end question was - "What is the material balance after the given moves?".
Most of the exercises involved long sequences of exchanges all on one square.

B. Anderson had obviously put a great deal of effort into his books. And his books truly hit and filled a niche gap in the body of chess literature.

C. The answers are in the back of Anderson's book. In a show of concern for his readers, Anderson repeated a small version of the position diagram with the answer (although the moves were not repeated).

I give Anderson further credit for the lay-flat design of his coil binding. Most comments I found about the binding were negative, but the negativity seemed based on aesthetics rather than on utility. I prefer utility.

Unfortunately yesterday I noticed that Ian's chessvisualization.com website is gone.

The biggest problem with Anderson's book was its price - perhaps $44 or something like that.

I wonder whether Anderson could convince Forward Chess to cooperate in the selling of an ebook version of his books? Marketing is just Forward Press adding the ebook to its list of chess ebooks (in their format) that are available to buy.
It would take a lot of manual labor for Anderson to convert his paper-book file to any ebook format. It is unclear whether Anderson would be willing to put in so much labor.
.