How To Beat Anyone At Chess: The Best Chess Tips, Moves, and Tactics to Checkmate

by Ethan Moore

Learn to take the king like a pro with this essential, easy-to-understand guidebook for chess players everywhere no matter what your skill level!

Whether you’ve played a few matches or are completely new to the game, How to Beat Anyone at Chess helps you master leading strategies for one of the hardest games out there. Each page guides you through important moves with easy-to-understand explanations and tips for staying ahead of your opponent. From utilizing the queen's power to slaying your rival’s king, you'll learn all about the traps, squeezes, and sacrifices that give players an extra edge and how you can use these techniques to beat the competition.

The ultimate guide to conquering the classic game, How to Beat Anyone at Chess will show you how to become a grandmaster in no time!

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 2015

Reviews

[Chan Fry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this would be a swell book for someone just starting out in chess, who maybe has never played before and doesn’t know the rules (or doesn’t know them very well). It could probably do a better job reaching that audience if it had a more accurate title. Instead, it’s going to reach people like me, who are a bit ahead of that stage and looking for the next level of chess instruction, and we’re all going to be disappointed.

This book does not teach anything that will help you beat anyone in chess, unless that person is a novice or beginner. However, it looks to be very good at teaching a brand new player how to play. Also, it is well-designed.

(I published a longer review on my website.)

[Morgan Nicolds]

For someone who knows little about chess, I found this to be a great tool in stepping into the chess world.

[Mary Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun lively and informative. A great little read for anyone who wants to kick butt at chess.

[Alex Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent enough beginner’s guide to chess.

With no real focus on any one aspect of the game, the book starts by introducing newcomers to the rules of the game before moving onto its middle act.

In the second part of the book, novices will be introduced to the concepts of basic opening principles, development, tactics, and endgame principles.

Finally, the third part of the book goes into some detail about finding other resources and ways to play the game. It also devotes a small section to highlighting various professional players throughout the years.

A perfectly cromulent book for someone looking to get into chess for the first time or returning to the game after a long (and I do mean *long*) time away from it.

3/5. There are plenty of better books out there on the topic, but if you just want to get your feet wet, you can’t go wrong with this one.

[Beau · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book for newcomers to the game as evidenced by the fact that it takes the first 80 pages to explain the rules and chess notation. Then the book covers a lot of ground quickly with very few examples and sparse explanation. The information is largely accurate (you can tell the author is an experienced player), but it's a pedagogical nightmare. If you've never played chess before and you read this book cover-to-cover, you'll probably not be able to beat anyone but other newcomers (despite the title). I suppose the book could make an adequate reference you could consult as your game grew, but there are far superior books out there. By the way, despite the fact that "Learn to take the king like a pro!" is predominantly displayed on the back cover, one does not take the king in chess. In fact, the king is the only piece you cannot take (as the author does admit inside the book).

[Slow3635 · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book for newcomers to the game as evidenced by the fact that it takes the first 80 pages to explain the rules and chess notation. Then the book covers a lot of ground quickly with very few examples and sparse explanation. The information is largely accurate (you can tell the author is an experienced player), but it's a pedagogical nightmare. If you've never played chess before and you read this book cover-to-cover, you'll probably not be able to beat anyone but other newcomers (despite the title). I suppose the book could make an adequate reference you could consult as your game grew, but there are far superior books out there. By the way, despite the fact that "Learn to take the king like a pro!" is predominantly displayed on the back cover, one does not take the king in chess. In fact, the king is the only piece you cannot take (as the author does admit inside the book).

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy the chess history aspect of the book. However this book by itself won’t enable me to defeat people like Magnus Carlson, Levy Rozman, or any of the elites at the game of chess. Every chess elite can be considered part of the group “anyone” so the book doesn’t hold up to it’s title. The author admits this isn’t the only resource that’s needed to improve at chess, which is kinda the expectation when buying a book with this specific title. Luckily the author does list some resources. There is a technical mistake on one of the pages, once I have the book in front of me, I’ll make sure to list it.

[Anthony Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this book to beat a specific friend that I just couldn’t figure out. Geoff Colvin’s How to Beat Anyone at Chess is a quick, approachable guide that strips the game down to simple patterns and practical strategies. It’s not about memorizing endless openings or becoming a grandmaster — it’s about giving casual players a few sharp tools to win more often, fast. The tone is straightforward and confidence-boosting, though experienced players may find it too basic. For beginners and weekend warriors, it’s an easy win; for seasoned chess nerds, it’s more of a refresher than a revelation. Needless to say, I still haven’t beaten that friend.

[Manish Mattawar · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a good book if you have never played chess before. If you know how to play even, you can still read it to learn more about terminology of chess etc but no strategies or tactics are involved in this book.

[McKenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

the name is a bit misleading. It should be Chess for beginners: chess tips, moves, and tactics to checkmate.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A introduction book. Hard to visualize the different plays if you don't have a chess set. Skimpy on the end games. A few good leads for further study.

[Joseph Coulter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for anyone looking to get introduced to the basics of chess. However, the title is misleading as I still lose often.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

An introductory book. Good for absolute beginners but that's about it.

[Dylan Horsch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for learning the basics, too bad I still suck lmao

[Girard Bowe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I don't think I can beat *anyone* at chess, but I have a few more strategies to try out on the computer. Decent explanations of some common strategies. I will keep this as a good reference.

[Andrew Epperson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was informative and helpful. It’s intended for a newer chess audience, and I consider myself near the backend of that classification, but it’s keeping me in the chess mood!

[Robert Bonde · Rating 3 out of 5]

chess👍

[Christopher Bristow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Time will tell if this book has helped! Good read, helps clarify some of the basics and some of the approaches to take

[Indi HL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for those who are brand new to the world of chess. It breaks down everything you need to know and gives you a few resources to go from where the book finishes off.

[Brendan Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The name of the book is sort of misleading. At least the “Beat Anyone at Chess” part, “Beat Any Beginner at Chess” is a better fit. Reason being, this book was written for complete beginners. This is made obvious in the beginning when the author goes over the name of each piece and how they can move across the board.

I’m not saying it is a bad book, so far I enjoy it. However, I was expecting something a bit less novice.