Chinese Chess for Beginners | List Price: $18.95
Discount Price: $17.95
|
Binding: Paperback
Release Date: 2006-03-31
great starter for beginners [Posted on 1998-10-26]
This little book is a great starter for beginners, even for people who never played a single game of chess (as we know it). It takes you right up to a level where you will be able to beat a moderatly experienced player of Chinese Chess. Sam Sloan's book is both exciting and funny. Also, the author Sam Sloan is an intriguing personality.
Even better the second time through [Posted on 2004-10-25]
This book was not only an excellent introduction to the game, but after playing a number of games (and even winning some!) I found that I learned almost as much the second time through. The chief value of the book is the annotated games, but there are also some basic mating exercises that are helpful as well. It is also helpful if you have played Int'l Chess before as Mr. Sloan addresses some of the issues those players might have making the transition (e.g. the relative weight of material superiority). Even if you splurge for David Li's "Syllabi" down the road, this is still a worthwhile investment for the absolute beginner.
???????????????? [Posted on 2007-08-09]
The author assumes that the reader has a knowledge of the symbols used in Chinese Chess. Not impressed.
Decent introduction to an interesting game [Posted on 2008-04-14]
Chinese Chess or Xiangqi is an interesting, fast-paced variant of Chess: similar enough to be fairly easy to learn, yet different enough to be interesting even to those thoroughly bored by Western Chess. It's clearly a game worth exploring, but books on the game are rather rare and hard to come by. Sloan's book is from 1980s and slightly dated, but the game hasn't changed, of course, so the lessons contained are still valid.
To be honest, the book could certainly be better. It does cover everything necessary: it introduces the pieces, explains the rules, explains strategy, has sample games... All good and well, yet the presentation could be clearer, the text a tad more captivating and I would really prefer if the sample games were included in their entirety. Still, it works, and to those who prefer reading books to reading web pages, this is still worth considering.
Click here for more details and discount information...
|
){kind=link}