When I received Chess Assassin's Business Manual, I didn't have any expectations.  I had never read a business book before, let alone one about chess and business, nor could I remember reading a book written by a publisher.   Having reviewed mainly opening or improvement books, this was going to be a big step outside the box, not like taking on something as mundane as a book on Queen endings or some such.  Also, I couldn't fathom a book combining chess and business.

An example would be the title of the book.  I was puzzled before receiving the book about a "Chess Assassins" use for a "Business Manual"; those two terms seemed incongruous to me.  After reading Mr. Long's thinking on "Perception" I realized that the title was aimed to pique a possible reader's interest.  Although I was aware of title use as a direct marketing device from other Thinkers' Press books, I found it refreshing to have it laid out in a plain form.   This seems to be the aim of the book.

Mr. Long indicates that he was to leave the reader with a solid idea of what to look for or anticipate with regard to the matter of reality and perception.  This starts out with a quick idea of what GM's say about their play as opposed to what they think of their play, a number of unconnected freeform anecdotes, a set of eight stories lettered A-H, the last of which digressed into a tale of how a look-alike was used for the art on a book cover, and then back again to the original topic of anecdote H, and finally a brief synopsis of what to expect when filling out a job application online, summing up that 1% of folks who take this route get a job.

I muddled  through it and was able to maintain the idea that the subject is "what you think is happening" as opposed to "what is happening," but I had to keep going back to make sure I was on the right topic.  There was nothing that connected the disjointed bits to the main topic so that the reader was able to reflect on what the author was trying to present in these stories.  I actually found a lot of the storytelling quite interesting, but it wasn't easy to keep the topic of the book in mind.

Another place where I was stymied was a subject labeled "The Milner-Barry" in the chess section:

I've used the French Defense in a number of examples in this book because it is really an opening which allows an author to exemplify.  Surprisingly, this happens even in tactical lessons.

My encounters with the Milner-Barry are worth discussing but I want to hold off with that until another time.  That's one of the problems of writing a book - there is always something else to add and the book never gets finished.  It's the perfect stall if you really weren't that keen on writing in the first place.

What is being shared here?

My second issue is the manner in which the author's opinions are expressed.  Whether it is someone blowing smoke at him during a game, a buyer asking questions incessantly, or a player who feels compelled to adjust the pieces as a ploy, Mr. Long has made the point that he disapproves of such behavior.  Then he makes the point a few more times.

There were only a couple of instances where someone (other than Mr. Long's employees) had an action received positively; I feel gratified that two of them were from people I know.

Also, Mr. Long will condemn a differing opinion to advance his own, without substantiating his opinion.  On page 55 Mr. Long questions "chaos theory" and the butterfly effect.  Chaos theory is now a branch of mathematics that is quite respected and encompasses much more than the "butterfly effect."  My feeling is that the use of such strong opinions does a disservice to the book and the reader.

My final issue is with the proofreading of the book.  On page 37 there is a sentence missing a word; on page 53 a numbered list is started and on page 55 it ends with number 7 following number 5.  I ran across a number of missed commas (usually involving the word "but").  With the number of syntax/grammar checkers available today, these mechanical mistakes should have been easily caught.

Reflecting again on my thoughts about the title, I realized a couple of things.  The book has quite a bit of valuable information about being in business.  Mr. Long is correct when he intimates that having an MBA or being a business school grad does not prepare someone to be a business owner.  Also, there is a great deal of practical advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.  Mr. Long talks about a "niche" that he has found and that is what he is portraying here, a niche that hasn't been revealed before.

The book is 295 pages with a foreword, preface and four sections.  Sections of the book are titled "Business," "Business and Chess," "Chess" and "Bonus Material."  Each section is divided into subjects.  Everything is clear and I like the print used.  As with many Thinkers' Press books, there are inserts or notes in columns that can be a little distracting, but they are often just little "extras."  The cover is very interesting and the binding is good.

A small sampling of titles from Thinkers' Press Inc.

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