How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Chess for Kids)
Product ID: 1641939
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This is a chess book for everyone, from eight to eighty, beginner to master. In a clear, easy-to-follow format it explains how the best way to beat a stronger opponent (be it a friend, clubmate – or Dad!) is by cleverly forcing checkmate. Delightful and instructive positions from real games are used to show the 50 Deadly Checkmates that chess masters use to win their games. For the beginner, simply learning the checkmating ideas and enjoying the examples will help develop the tactical skills needed to carry out attacks, combinations and sacrifices. For the advanced player, many of these checkmating ideas will come as a revelation, having never been categorized before. Experts agree that pattern-recognition is vital to success in chess, and this book provides a wealth of valuable patterns. How to Beat Your Dad at Chess makes improving easy and fun, and is full of helpful explanations and practical advice on how to approach chess games with confidence – and success. Grandmaster Murray Chandler finished second in the World Cadet Championship in 1976, ahead of Garry Kasparov, whom he defeated in their individual game. He remains to this day one of the few players in the world with a 100% score against Kasparov. He was a key member of the England team that won the silver medals in Chess Olympiads three times during the 1980s, and went on to captain the team in 1994. He is a former proprietor and Editor-in-Chief of the British Chess Magazine and the author of several bestselling chess books. Review: Great book to learn chess ! - My 5 year old grandson is learning how to play chess from his Dad. They read about chess moves and then use those moves while playing. He is not only playing chess,but also learning to read. A win win ! Review: Great for adults, too! - I am a US Chess expert who teaches as a volunteer for the Chicago Chess Center, and I often (sheepishly) give a copy of this book to my ADULT students after their first lesson. Why? Illustrations aside, it's a wonderful book for teaching the most common checkmating patterns. Recognizing these patterns is only a small part of the tactical competency that beginners need to acquire in order to become strong amateurs. But it's an essential component, the exercises are beautiful (not boring) and fun. Because checkmate is our goal, we can make forcing moves that would otherwise be ridiculous if they didn't achieve our goal. Hey, checkmate ends the game. Many experienced adult players at the Class D level (competent tournament players) will be able to solve 60% of the exercises on sight. But most of these players can progress to solving 95%+ on sight. That's meaningful progress! This is NOT AT ALL the best book for absolute beginners. Chess for Children (co-authored by Chandler & Helen Milligan) fits that bill, and Coakley's WInning Chess Strategy for Kids is a great second book. (The more absolute beginner books a beginner reads—or works through with a parent or coach—the better!) Most young players probably shouldn't read it until they've been playing for at least six months (your mileage may vary). But it is a great book for those who are ready for it. Tactics is of course much more than mating combinations, but there's a lot to learn about mating combinations themselves. Henkin's 1000 Checkmate Combinations and Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate are both good follow-ups to Chandler.
| Best Sellers Rank | #8,819 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in Children's Board Games Books #4 in Chess (Books) #452 in Children's Activity Books (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,448 Reviews |
D**E
Great book to learn chess !
My 5 year old grandson is learning how to play chess from his Dad. They read about chess moves and then use those moves while playing. He is not only playing chess,but also learning to read. A win win !
B**K
Great for adults, too!
I am a US Chess expert who teaches as a volunteer for the Chicago Chess Center, and I often (sheepishly) give a copy of this book to my ADULT students after their first lesson. Why? Illustrations aside, it's a wonderful book for teaching the most common checkmating patterns. Recognizing these patterns is only a small part of the tactical competency that beginners need to acquire in order to become strong amateurs. But it's an essential component, the exercises are beautiful (not boring) and fun. Because checkmate is our goal, we can make forcing moves that would otherwise be ridiculous if they didn't achieve our goal. Hey, checkmate ends the game. Many experienced adult players at the Class D level (competent tournament players) will be able to solve 60% of the exercises on sight. But most of these players can progress to solving 95%+ on sight. That's meaningful progress! This is NOT AT ALL the best book for absolute beginners. Chess for Children (co-authored by Chandler & Helen Milligan) fits that bill, and Coakley's WInning Chess Strategy for Kids is a great second book. (The more absolute beginner books a beginner reads—or works through with a parent or coach—the better!) Most young players probably shouldn't read it until they've been playing for at least six months (your mileage may vary). But it is a great book for those who are ready for it. Tactics is of course much more than mating combinations, but there's a lot to learn about mating combinations themselves. Henkin's 1000 Checkmate Combinations and Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate are both good follow-ups to Chandler.
R**M
Great book- not for young children
Cool book with great info but not for kids! Maybe for teenagers (who are kids, I understand) but not for young children which I presumed.
S**S
Excellent book to help the beginner or more advanced player be a better chess player.
This is a review for "How to Beat your Dad at Chess" book. My husband and son love playing chess. They are both very competitive too. My husband has been studying and playing chess for over 10 years while our son just recently got into it. To help our son learn and understand the game, we bought this book for him. Our son says it has been really helpful. Prior to giving it to him, I looked through it. There is a lot of information for both the beginner and the more advanced player. This book will help any playe take their game to the next level.
N**R
Great! And not just for kids
This is a good book that also works as a checkmate patterns encyclopedia. A lot of adults have never learned some of the checkmates and sequences inside this book! To be honest, me and my sister have reviewed 1/4 of the book and there’s nothing so far that makes it seem like this book was written for children. Sure, they refer to a “dad” being your opponent, but they could have replaced all the times they said it with any other word: villain, enemy, rival, and suddenly it would have been a “chess book for adults” It’s a great book overall! This book is 100% tactical. Which is exciting for everyone to see, not just for kids. It will not teach you opening moves, or endgames. Which is not a problem since entire books are written for those topics too.
G**A
Good for learning chess
This was a gift and the young man loves it and is learning all kinds of strategies and putting up a good match for any challenger! He would recommend this book, and so do I.
P**A
Average chess book for kids
Bought the from the recommendation of my friend however it turned out to be little difficult to understand for an 8 year old kid. Some of the notations are confusing. The print quality is so so. Not so very kids friendly.
R**Y
Arrived on time. Great buy
This book was bought for my grandchild. He loves it
F**A
As advertised
👍🏼
I**R
Essential guide teaches Chess pattern recognition
The Best chess book, this is clear, and provides exercises and answers so you can really train to recognise a winning tactic. Every beginner should have this book.
B**A
Bought it for my son for my grandchildren
I won't be using it but my son was very happy with it. Soon, my grandchildren will be beating me at chess
M**C
Wonderful short book
A quick read that introduces the most important motifs in chess tactics. Don't let the title deceive you: it can be read by any beginner, not only kids.
S**S
Trying to beat Dad
Perfect book! My son, 11, recently got into chess. He played his dad and was totally discouraged by losing. When I saw the title, it was a perfect fit. The book is full of clear directions and strategy. Along with images to help him understand. A great book for beginners, especially younger readers who appreciate the pictures to help them understand.
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