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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess »

Authors: Patrick Wolff
ISBN-13: 9781592573165, ISBN-10: 1592573169
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Date Published: May 2005
Edition: (Non-applicable)

Author Biography: Patrick Wolff

Patrick Wolff played in his first chess tournament at the age of nine. A two-time Junior Championship winner, he eventually became an international grandmaster in 1990. Winner of many grandmaster tournaments, including the U.S. Championship in 1992 and 1995, Patrick has written articles that have appeared in chess magazines throughout the world, and is the author of Kasparov versus Anand: The Inside Story of the 1995 World Chess Championship.

Book Synopsis

Don't make a move without it.

Written by a U.S. Chess Champion, International Chess Grandmaster, and longtime instructor, this book includes information for both novice and expert, including over 400 illustrated chessboards and photos; over 20 pages of detailed answer key notes; a completely new chapter on new evidence about chess and its impact on brain power; a guide to the art of chess collectibles; and more.

• Foreword by Larry Evans, former International Grandmaster and author of 20 highly acclaimed chess books and a popular monthly advice column in Chess Life

• Strong sales for previous editions
• For the beginner or the champ, and for young and old
• Author has a high profile in the chess community

Part 1	Let's Play Chess	1
1	Why Play Chess?: The history of chess and its popularity today	3
2	Drawing the Battlelines: An introduction to the board, pieces, and rules of chess; plus how to read and write chess moves	11
3	Rules of Engagement: The rest of the rules, so you can start playing chess	31
4	How to Win with Just One Piece: Checkmating the lone king with just the queen or rook	49
Part 2	Tactics	63
5	It's a Material World: Making sure your army is bigger than your opponent's	65
6	Tricks of the Tactical Trade: The most important tactics for capturing your opponent's pieces	85
7	Dirtier Tricks: Some more important tactics for capturing your opponent's pieces	107
8	Hunting Down the King: Using tactics and material to attack your opponent's king	121
Part 3	Strategy	135
9	In the Beginning: How to play the opening phase of a chess game	137
10	Making the Most of Your Pieces: Strategies for maximizing the power of your pieces	153
11	Pawn Shop: Special strategies for using the pawns	169
12	The Final Frontier: How to control more of the board than your opponent, and what to do if you control less of it	187
13	Weak Squares: Recognizing when certain squares are more important than others, and how to use them to your advantage	203
14	All Good Things Must Come to an End: How to play the endgame phase of a chess game	215
Part 4	Beyond the Basics	233
15	Training Camp: Tips for continuing your chess study beyond this book	235
16	Hall of Fame: The chess superstars: The 13 World Champions throughout history	245
17	Getting Competitive: Everything you need to know to find new opponents, and to play in chess clubs and tournaments	267
18	Chess in Cyberspace: Everything you need to know to find chess on the Internet or to find the right computer chess product for you	277
19	How Computers Play Chess: An explanation of the "thinking process" of the machine	287
20	How to Beat the !?%@&?>! Computer: Tips for using the different ways that humans and computers play chess to your advantage	299
	Appendix A	309
	Appendix B	315
	Appendix C	317
	Glossary	335
	Index	339

Subjects

Game Books

Chess

Chess - General & Miscellaneous
Entertainment