The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess, Third Edition

List Price: $16.95 Discount Price: $8.65

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Primer on Chess [Posted on 2007-07-28]
Primers on chess are notoriously poor, since many mediocre players (e.g., Pandolfini) consider themselves qualified to write them, and some cynics (e.g., Schiller) churn out primer after primer on the assumption their victims lack the skill to realize how bad they are. There are, however, exceptions: primers by strong players which respect the reader, such Capablanca's and Purdy's. "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess" is such a book. The writer (a stronger player than Schiller or Pandolfini can ever hope to be) does not repeat others, but gives thought to what beginners REALLY need to know--and it shows.

He deals respectfully with the history of chess, giving important facts without (false) "fun" anecdotes about the "insanity" of champion X. Even his "why play chess at all?" section is fresh, without any waffle about the "beauty of the immortal game of chess": chess is a fair game where opponents on all levels are easy to find, and it is never boring. THAT is what beginners need to know. The same care is seen in the choice and presentation of the technical material. For example, Wolff deals with space and weak squares, crucial to those who want to become decent chess players, but which most primers simply ignore.

It is no insult to Capablanca's or Purdy's classic primers to say that, finally, a better book for beginners had arrived. Like those primers, it is a book by a very strong player who gave much thought to what beginners really need to know. But it also brings the reader up-to-date on issues (computer chess especially, but also more recent chess history) that the earlier books, of course, couldn't deal with.

Highly recommended.

Great introductory guide [Posted on 2007-08-10]

Concisely written that slowly guides players who want to gain a better understanding of how to strategically play (or better yet, at least have a chance vs. more knowledgeable players). Well layed out. One can ease through the text as the information is presented at a liesurely yet practical pace. Refreshing and not overbearing.

Solid Chess Book [Posted on 2007-08-17]
I learned a lot in this and there were a lot of diagrams for visual learners.

A complete guide for beginners [Posted on 2008-06-16]


I bought this book couple of weeks ago and I am done with this book!! It is very interesting book; it is like a mini encyclopedia. This book is big, but for someone who knows basics about chess need not to read the first 120 pages. I finished the first 120 pages in less than 2 hr. This book well explains the principle, strategy and tactics of the game. Worth reading it, it will never make you an idiot as some of the reviewer's told here.

Fantastic book [Posted on 2008-07-07]
Brilliant book. Don't let the title fool you. This is one of the most well-written books about chess I have come across, and the drills are great. It's probably the best beginner book you could read; most beginner books just tell you how all the pieces move and leave it at that. This book actually goes through the various tactics like forks, skewers, uncovered attacks, etc., in a manner that is understandable and fun. Then it moves onto positional considerations. I improved my game by several hundred points by using the techniques I learned in this book, and it made me want to go out and read more books about chess to further develop my skills. HIGHLY recommended!!!!!

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