Teach Yourself VISUALLY Chess

by Jon Edwards

Chess is a mental game, but you don't have to strain your brain to learn the basics—not with this guide that shows you how to play. Teach Yourself VISUALLY Chess covers how to set up the board, how each piece moves, opening strategies and variations, attacking themes and common sacrifices, and more. Photos of the board let you see strategies in action. For hands-on practice, you can even set up your board and make your moves as you learn. With this book and practice, you'll be saying "Checkmate" in no time.

Genres: Chess, Games

306 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2006

Reviews

[Trent Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was helpful.

[Stuart Woolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Years ago, I took this skills assessment test that determined (A) I am not very observant and (B) I am lacking in foresight. I didn't care so much about the former (the unobservant never do) but the latter concerned me. I was told to take up chess.

Chess books are, in general, very notation-heavy. I am told the notation becomes quite easy to read once you get the hang of it, but I don't love chess, so I chose this book because it used photography instead of notation.

This book is useful in a few key ways: First, it teaches you the basics of chess - and by "basics", I mean beyond the moves of each piece. You learn about developing your pieces, activating the minor pieces before Queens and Rooks, fighting for the center, pawn structure, and basic middle and end game strategies. Second, it provides a scattered, but nonetheless interesting, historical account of the game, including which openings were popular in the 1500's, etc.

I soon played Apple's chess program (set to a moderate difficulty) and was handily defeated - not once, but five or six times. So, to sum up, the book is good at teaching fundamentals, but developing an intuition for the game realistically requires lots (perhaps years) of practice.

[Patricia Hollers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent beginners book on chess. Easy to read and understand.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Riveting. . . Just kidding but if you know absolutely nothing about chess this book will get you playing quickly. You'll still get eaten alive pretty quickly by anyone who knows what they're doing but you'll have a strong grasp of the basics. Edwards clearly and concisely explains the piece, their movements, attack strategies, and values. He moves from this to some strong opening sequences for both attacking and defending. This is followed by middle game strategy and basic checkmates. Each chapter is supplemented with clear, high resolution photos and lists of websites where one can test out their skills (and get beaten badly until you start to really develop your "chess vision"). All in all this is a very solid introduction to the game and you would be hard pressed to find a better one.

[LadyS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Going back to my Geek Purpose. This book will have to be referred to several times in order to apply the concepts. Oh, and it would be helpful if you have an actual chess board.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for those who want to learn or improve their chess playing. Everything is discussed with photos of chess piece positions, which I greatly appreciated in helping my understanding. Would be a great book to own and reread and use as a learning reference. First third of the book is for beginners, the second third introduces the next level of complexity, and the final third presents a deeper level of understanding and examples. Tough to read all at once, but a good book to back to as you improve your chess playing.

[Duffy Laudick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for beginners!