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Chess For Dummies |  | Author: James Eade
Publisher: For Dummies
Category: Book
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $4.73
as of 9/9/2010 06:30 MDT details
You Save: $17.26 (78%)
New (48) Used (41) from $3.82
Seller: thebookguyz
Rating:  60 reviews
Sales Rank: 57237
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0764584049
Dewey Decimal Number: 794.12
EAN: 9780764584046
ASIN: 0764584049
Publication Date: September 2, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780764584046 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
Kings, queens, knights - does chess seem like a royal pain to grasp? This friendly guide helps you make the right moves. From using the correct terms to engaging in the art of attack, you'll get step-by-step explanations that demystify the game. You'll also find updated information on tournaments and top players, as well as computer chess games and playing chess online!
Amazon.com Review
It was inevitable, thank goodness, that the Dummies series would give us an introductory chess book. The light touch is perfect to offset the sober aura of mystery that surrounds the game in many people's minds. And the extras that reach beyond the well-written move explanations, strategies, and pattern-recognition make the book a real winner. It won't take much playing for readers to appreciate the section on chess etiquette, for example, or the one on uncommon moves, subtitled, "The Ones That Start the Fights." Informative tips and amusing bits of trivia add to the fun.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
 Excellent. August 18, 2010
Vumbo Dechang
I used to play quite a bit of chess years ago, but only recreationally. I found that only chess and tennis required the kind of concentration to play well that could take my mind off the unremitting problems of running a small business, something of which politicians and bureaucrats are clueless. Also years ago I got rid of my thirty book or so chess library.
Recently deciding to take the game up again, I got this book and for my purpose it serves admirably well. I especially like the inclusion of enough diagrams making the use of a board while reading it unnecessary. And I like the author's writing style: clear, concise, and focused. All in all an excellent summary and introduction to the game. Of course today the internet offers many more options for learning the game and the author has relevant suggestions.
In fact, I liked the book so much I also purchased Chess Openings by the same author, James Eade.
 This book will make you stupider February 9, 2010
Jason Kirkfield (Rocky Mountain High)
My wife bought this in hopes of sharing my own chess hobby. Instead, it probably kept her from ever wanting to touch a chess piece.
No way does a beginner need an almost 400-page book. Better to buy something more digestible and then get another book if the chess fever sustains. In keeping with the "Dummies" title, this book truly does talk down to its readers; Chapter 9 is titled "Special Moves (The Ones That Start All the Arguments)" when all it contains are the rather unsensational en passant (at which point FM Eade further offends when he suggests your opponent will accuse you of playing by French rules), promotion, and castling. And, as many other reviewers have already (and accurately) pointed out, the progression of the book's actual contents is illogical. Possibly the best example is that "Chess Notation" is not covered until Chapter 17! (several chapters *after* the one on Endgame) That is criminal. And another: the chapter on Strategy ("The Principles of Play") comes two chapters after the one on Mating. Did the chapters get switched prior to publication? Indeed, a cursory examination found at least two instances where the author advises his readers to "jump ahead" to find relevant advice. Why not simply present the information in the right order to begin with?
More problems to come. The diagrams are confusing with arrows galore and not-quite-ghosted-enough icons. There are even TWO Tables of Contents. (Both TOCs evidence pagination errors for Appendix B and the Index.) Actually, this is symptomatic of the macro problem with this book: too many words, too many pages, and ultimately, too much confusion.
Appendix B (International Chess Notation) was interesting, but has no bearing on a novice player in the USA these days, and hardly saves the rest of the book.
If you were to cut out the unnecessary chaff and reorganize the helpful content, there is probably more than one star in this book. But to the extent that it is sold as a book for beginners ("The Fun and Easy Way to Play Chess--and Win!"), it is quite dangerous, as it succeeds only in turning off many would-be chess enthusiasts.
[This review is based on the first edition (1996).]
P.S.
The book my wife should have bought, and the one that virtually all of the dissatisfied purchasers of the Dummies one should look for, is:
Learn Chess by British GM John Nunn.
That assumes the person wanting to learn chess is an adult. For children, I would recommend:
Chess for Children
and/or
How to Play Chess Like an Animal
A Pefect Introduction to the Game February 4, 2010
Broken Luck (San Diego)
Most of the "For Dummies" books that I've come across are hastily edited, without much concern for quality of content. This is an exception. The depth of material is impressive for a book with such humble aspirations; many "advanced" books don't touch on topics with as much meaning. Is it perfect? No, but it's ideal for someone who needs an introduction to the game. I give it five-stars, because I still like the concept of "For Dummies". At least this book lives up to the company's promise.
Chess for Dummies January 8, 2010
Pieter Custers (Brussels, Belgium)
This book is certainly not as good as the competition ("Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess" or "Chess for Everyone; A complete guide for the Beginner) in that the format is difficult to follow. It jumps around to much and just when you are following a segment something out of the blue is tossed in that just doesn't fit in! But then why a decent rating of 3 stars? Well, it has a lot of instructional material and if you can manage to follow the material then there is a lot of information provided.
Great Refresher Course ! October 19, 2009
C. W. Broughton (Coburg, Oregon)
Chess for Dummies is really good for those who either have played the game in the past or who want to know the fundamentals, especially as a "refresher" course.
For Chess neophytes, it might be a little daunting; it could use a little more explanation about the moves of various pieces, especially in "check" and "castling".
Over all, I would highly recommend this book as it covers a lot of ground, the basics, and strategy.
Thank you (Amazon) for your prompt service.
C.W. Broughton
Showing reviews 1-5 of 60
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