Checkmate!: The young player's complete guide to chess

by John Foley

Chess is the ultimate fun strategy game – and this is the perfect introduction to chess, whether you're a budding master or you've never played before. In simple, fun stages, readers will learn what every piece can do, and how to use them on the board. Clear, original board diagrams make the action easy to understand. Readers will also discover the best tactics to use against their opponent, from how to counter the Queen's Gambit to how to avoid the Fool's Mate. There's plenty to discover about the wider world of chess too – including unusual trivia and unbelievable true chess stories from history. You'll also find a full glossary of chess terms and profiles of some of the world's greatest players inside. Written with clarity and humour, this is the only guide any young chess player will need.

112 pages, Paperback

Published August 29, 2023

About the author

John Foley is a high school teacher in Washington State. He previously worked as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs and Alaska, covering sports, cops, features, and any other beat that didn't require him to attend sanitary sewer meetings. Following a career change to teaching, he worked in Alaskan villages for several years, which led to his memoir Tundra Teacher. Hoops of Steel is based in part on his experiences as a basketball player. Foley was second string on the junior varsity at a Division III school, but prefers to simply say that he "played college ball."

Reviews

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

So you know a young person (or even an adult) who want to start playing chess? This is a great way to get someone started. The book has a history of chess, an explanation for each chess piece, and then sections on openers, strategies, checkmate / check and MORE!

After these basics of playing the game from start to finish, there are sections on rules, the use of a chess clock, and then information about the use of technology with chess.

The backmatter includes a glossary.

This would make a great gift for a young person ages 11 to 17 (or older, really) who wants a guide to help them play chess. Yes, there are online chess games, but those often just throw new chess players into the deep end of a pool and then expect them to "figure it out." Here is a guide that can be a companion to someone playing online against software or against another person (or a guidebook to coach a new player on how to play with a person in the same room on the same board. What a concept!)

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Copy provided by the publisher

I do not like games of any sort, and have only attempted to play chess once. Sadly, it was Star Trek three dimensional chess, so that did not go well. In some ways, this aversion to the game makes me a good person to review this book!

Checkmate! starts with the most basic information about chess. There's a brief history, but then we get right to how to set up the board. The page about how to interpret chess diagrams is essential, because the book is full of them. While the pages on how to follow a chess game and write down notes on what happened short circuited my brain a bit, it is fascinating that because of these annotations, we can see how exactly historical games were played. Players can study these and pick up strategies.

Each piece gets a two page spread on the various qualities assigned to the piece. The name, moves allowed, and various strategies involving each piece are carefully detailed. This is followed by some special moves, and then gets into a lot of different tactics for games. I think of these in the way I think of fictional books about football: if I am confused by the plays, diehard fans will find the book informative!


This finishes with some specialized information about ending games, game clocks, tournaments, and some history about grandmasters and famous games. There's even a bit about chess and technology, which has even been in the news a bit.

In general, this is a great book not only for beginners but also for seasoned players who want more information to improve their games. It would be a great gift for a young enthusiast along with an upgraded chess set. Or, you know, three dimensional chess.

[Serge Ter Braake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Borrowed this book from my son.

Visually very attractive book to introduce children to chess, written by an author who clearly loves the game. The book starts by slowly introducing every piece and the basic principles of chess, including simple training exercises. At some point the difficulty level seems to increase a bit too rapidly, by quickly introducing several opening and defense possibilities without discussing them thoroughly. I miss the discussion of a few actual games from start to end, to show some principles in practice.

[Ramsey Rashelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

Definitely a chess book that you can read and understand. Love the breakdown on tactics and endgames. Highly a good book for beginners.