Play Winning Chess - Learn Chess Strategies & Improve Your Game | Perfect for Beginners & Advanced Players | Home, School & Tournament Use

I've had a copy of this book since shortly after getting into chess in high school a few years ago, and it's still my favorite by a landslide. This is a book that'll have you walking away with a very strong foundation in chess. The book starts off with the basics: the movement of the pieces, algebraic notation (i.e. how chess moves are written in text), and some of the history of the game. You'll learn the basics of various tactics and strategies as the book jumps right into explaining force (how strong pieces are, eg their value - seasoned players know this as 'material'), time (covering the pace of play, 'tempo', etc.), space (breaking down the chess board, control of positions, etc.), and pawn structure (fairly self explanatory). There are also several quiz questions along the way to practice what you're reading, and each chapter has a number of test questions to re-emphasize and practice what you've learned.The most astounding thing about this book is that, after reading and studying it, not only will you have a solid foundation in chess, you'll be able to actually analyze a chess board. When I first got *really* into chess in high school, I played well, but a lot of it was based on gut feelings. I could usually get a feeling that I was in a better/worse position than my opponent, but I couldn't ever explain *why*. After this book, you'll know enough principles to actually outright analyze a chess board, even if it's only at a basic/beginner's level, e.g.: "Well, white is down two points of material, but his opponent is pinned against the wall and running out of room as white's pieces are better developed." For an experienced player, this sounds very basic, but (in my experience) it's something a lot of beginner books tend to gloss over.Also, Seirawan has an absolutely wonderful way of writing, with a smattering of (admittedly somewhat cheesy) humor that makes the book an absolute pleasure to read, rather than the dry writing of many other chess books! Here's an example, from pages 6-7:"...If you don't own a clock but want to time your games, you can use a tape recorder to sound a beep every 10 seconds. When you hear the beep, you must make your move or suffer some dire consequence--forfeiture of the game is the usual penalty, but you can be creative: loss of all your worldly possessions, exile to a remote island where nobody plays chess, and so forth."All in all, it's a *fantastic* book that I simply cannot recommend enough! Though this book alone won't magically take you right to mastery (nor can any single book), it absolutely provides an excellent foundation to begin learning to play chess well. I had a lot of success with it, and a friend of mine I purchased it for as a gift last year had a similar experience. Definitely recommended for the aspiring chess player.P.S. There is a glaring typo in one of the first few pages. 'rank' = row and 'file' = column, which is explained correctly in the glossary, but they're listed backwards early on in the book. The book is pretty much error-free, but there is that (not insignificant) one a few pages in. D'oh!