The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess by Patrick Wolff

A Truly Excellent Introduction to the Gameby Anonymous

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June 06, 2009: Some people are complaining that this book doesn't address every possible facet of the game, but really how much can one reasonably expect to be covered in a one volume introduction to something as complex and multifaceted as the game of chess? Obviously an 11 volume set, if you can afford to buy such a thing and have the time to read it, is better, but what about those of us who work for a living and can't spend 24-7 doing nothing but reading and studying about chess?

If someone is a flat out beginner who has never played the game before, an 11 volume introduction isn't going to work, all it is going to do is intimidate the hell out of him and prevent him from learning.

This book introduces the basic and fundamental rules of chess, introduces some of the fundamental strategies and tactics, and includes literally dozens of excellent exercises in difficulty ranging from very easy to very difficult.

I am inclined to think that some of the complaints about this book stems from the fact that it is simply too accessible for the beginning and intermediate players. There is a popular myth that in order to play chess well one has to be 'really, really smart', I think that maybe some people resent books that make the game too accessible because it shatters the myth that you have to be 'super smart' to play chess, better to direct people to an 11 volume set that will intimidate the hell out of them, the better to maintain the fiction that only the intellectual elite can learn to play this game well.

I can tell you from my own experience that this book IS indeed a great help in improving your game. I first learned how to play chess in the 3rd grade, in the last 25 years I have played chess against both human and computer opponents and my game never seemed to improve, I was losing against 10 year old's and was being checkmated within 10 moves against computer programs set on the lowest difficulty setting, I was making poor decisions that led me to lose my queen in the first 5 moves of the game, I was an awful player. I thought it was hopeless that I could never improve my game and that I just wasn't 'smart enough' to be good at chess.

But since I read this book, and started solving the exercises, the quality of my play has improved exponentially. After losing more than 30 consecutive games on 'Chessmaster' for my Nintendo DS, on the lowest difficulty setting, I finally started winning. Now, I tend to win more often than I lose. My record for my last 5 games is 3-1-1, the one draw game came when I was against a lone king and accidentally stalemated rather than checkmated him, so that 3-1-1 is really just one bad move away from a 4-0-1.

If this book can help a pinhead like me improve his game, it can help anybody, I still have a long way to go, but I am getting better literally every day, and this book was an immense help.

Good overall introduction to chessby Anonymous

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September 26, 2008: Want to learn how to play chess or know just enought to get you into trouble!? Well, then it is time you learn how to play a decent game of chess! 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess' is one of two books I would recommend for the beginner ('Chess for Everyone' being the other). It has a lot of material, is for the adult level reader (though older teens shouldn't have a problem with it) and has a reasonably well organized progression.