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Avatar of XoJIo4eLI_N_Bo4Ka
XoJIo4eLI_N_Bo4Ka
May 14, 2017
0
#21

If you can find it:

Your First Move - Chess For Beginners by Alexei Sokolsky

A Russian book translated into English. It takes you from absolute beginner and then right into the meat of chess. By itself it is a small but complete book. Very methodical in its approach. It should take you from beginner to a Class player (1400s).

It has the following sections:

  1. Rules of the game
  2. The Simplest Endings
  3. Some Basic Concepts
  4. How To Start A Game
  5. The Opening (for illustrative purposes, not an exhaustive theoretical treatise)
  6. Short Games and Traps
  7. Middle Game
  8. Endgame
  9. Chess Composition
  10. Chess: Past and Present (with a few complete games)
  11. Solutions to Exercises.

 

Avatar of dannyhume
dannyhume
May 15, 2017
0
#22
Online/software are better, but specifically for paper version, here are some book suggestions depending on which topic(s) you'd like to concentrate on ...

General introduction and multiple topics:
-Comprehensive Chess Course I & II by Alburt and Pelts
-A World Champion's Guide to Chess by S. Polgar
-Chess for Dummies by Eade
-Idiot's Guide to Chess by Wolffe
-Chess Steps workbooks I-VI and Chess Tutor levels I-III by Brunia and van Wijgerden (appropriate levels: level 1 is up to USCF rating 800; level 2 to 1400; level 3 to 1600; level 4 to 1750; level 5 to 1900; level
6 to 2100).
-Guide to Chess Improvement: Best of Novice Nook by Heisman

Endgames:
-Pandolfini's Endgame Course
-Endgame Workshop by Pandolfini
-Silman's Complete Endgame Course (chapters divided by rating)

Tactics:
-Chess Tactics for Champions by S. Polgar
-Power Chess for Kids vol I-II by Hertan

Strategy:
-Weapons of Chess by Pandolfini
-Complete Book of Chess Strategy by Silman

Openings:
-Basic Chess Openings for Kids by Hertan
-How to Play Good Opening Moves by Mednis
-Discovering Chess Openings by Emms

Annotated Games:
-Logical Chess Move by Move by Chernev
-Chess: The Art of Logical Thinking by McDonald
-World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book by Heisman
-Russian Chess by Pandolfini
-A First Book of Morphy by del Rosario

Avatar of zm55
zm55
May 15, 2017
0
#23
RussBell wrote:
zm55 wrote:

Is "Simple Chess" by Michael Stean different than "Simple Chess" by John Emms? Sorry but I have the one by Emms and thought it was pretty challenging as a novice.

Yes.  They are different books.  Same title, similar subject matter (chess instruction from the perspective of positional concepts), but different books.  Read Michael Stean's book before reading Emms.  Emms' books (in 2 volumes) are also worthwhile.  In fact any chess book by John Emms is generally worthwhile - he is one of the better chess authors.  And of course, Michael Stean's book is an instructional classic.  Finally, I believe that "Weapons of Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini is a must-read for any chess novice aspiring to improve their game - for an introduction to positional concepts, read it first, before any of the others, as it is accessible to the chess beginner-novice and beyond...

"Weapons of Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini....read this one first..then follow up with Michael Stean's "Simple Chess"...

https://www.amazon.com/Weapons-Chess-Omnibus-Strategies-Fireside/dp/0671659723/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494747105&sr=1-1&keywords=weapons+of+chess+an+omnibus+of+chess+strategies

"Simple Chess" by Michael Stean...read this after absorbing the material in "Weapons of Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini...

https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Chess-New-Algebraic-Dover/dp/0486424200/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1494747023&sr=1-1&keywords=michael+stean+simple+chess

"Simple Chess" and "More Simple Chess" by John Emms...read these only after studying Pandolfini's "Weapons of Chess" and Michael Stean's "Simple Chess" first...

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=john+emms+simple+chess

 

Thank you, RussBell.

I actually realize after reading your post that I have the"Weapons of Chess" book on my Kindle and am now fervently reading it - I totally agree - it is definitely a much easier welcome to this type of learning than the "Simple Chess" by Emms. I am learning all about the Isolated Queens Pawn, etc. Thanks so much.

Avatar of RussBell
RussBell
May 15, 2017
0
#24

@zm55 - Very good...glad to hear that you are enjoying "Weapons of Chess"!  It's an excellent introduction to the basic elements and techniques of positional chess!  After completing "Weapons...", Michael Stean's "Simple Chess" will be much easier to absorb.

Avatar of jambyvedar
jambyvedar
May 15, 2017
0
#25

For a beginner, a book like Play Winning Chess  by Seirawan is also a good first chess book.