How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess) by Murray Chandler
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Book Reviews of How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess)
Book Review: One of the best chess books you can buy
Summary: 5 Stars
This book teaches mating tactics in so many ways!* 50 patterns, 2 pages each
* For each pattern, a brief description of the elements which must be present. (This is similar to more advanced checkmate books, but at a very simple level.)
* Then, a couple of diagrams with arrows, showing the motion of the key pieces, with the moves written below. Very good for improving visualization, so you might spot the pattern later.
* Then another similar pattern, with 2 diagrams.
* Then a couple of positions for you to work out yourself, with solutions directly underneath.
* And finally, near the back of the book, a set of a few dozen positions. They include theme numbers for you to use as hints if necessary. Solutions are separate. This reinforces the learning.
These are all attacks on the castled king, not How To Take Advantage of Opening Blunders, or How To Solve Unlikely Chess Positions. These positions can actually occur in your games, even Fischerandom. The attacks are simple, but not obvious. Some are even by the Black pieces!
Nice hardcover for a thin book. Large diagrams. Feels great in your hands. Very well-designed.
Excellent book for someone rated between 1200 and 1500. I keep it in the bathroom. (I use different chess books in different ways. I take tactics puzzles to the gym. I always keep a chessboard handy for endgame books. I use a miniature set for studying openings. And I follow along with game anthologies by using a computer database and watching the computer analysis. And I am improving rapidly.)
Do one theme (two pages) per day. In two months you'll have actually finished an entire chessbook, and you'll miss it! You will find yourself improving your own defenses because you'll know what to look out for. One of the few chess books you'll actually read cover to cover, and it's cheap for a hardcover.
Book Review: Top book on checkmate patterns
Summary: 5 Stars
OK here is the scoop from an experienced chess coach. There is no better book on checkmate patterns than this one, and the thing is, it's not just for kids! Each of the 50 checkmate lessons shows an important concept and it is amazing how clear and easy the positions are to follow.
If you are a chess teacher or taking a class of kids you will love this book as training material. Either use it to set up positions, or as a text-book kids can take home - a totally enjoyable way to learn.
This book has helped the scholastic students I work with in several ways.
a) Improved combinational ability. They can now find combinations quickly by recognizing the familiar patterns around the enemy king.
b) Inspiration. A wonderful feature of this book is how the puzzles are graduated in difficulty in each section. The simple puzzles anyone can follow, and the tough ones inspire the students by challenging them.
c) Knowing when to analyze. The puzzles teach the students when it is likely there is a combination to be found, even without them being aware of it!
d) Motivation. Because the material is presented in such a fun format, even including the test puzzles at the end, the students find it easy to read.
This book, together with the author's companion volume CHESS TACTICS FOR KIDS, provides enough material to keep a class going forward for several months.
Since this book first came out a number of other authors have tried to copy the idea, but no-one has come close. HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD is pitched at just the right level, and is the most original chess training book that has been published for years. It teaches tactical pattern recognition in a fun and challenging way.
No wonder it is said to be the best-selling chess book in the United States.
Book Review: Well-organized and useful to players of any ability
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very well-organized and highly readable book on various types of checkmates. Since this is the whole purpose of the game, it is an obvious area of emphasis from both offensive and defensive perspectives. In other words, if you want to be a winner you need to always be looking for checkmate whether you are on the "giving" or "receiving" side! I think the author is correct to be emphasising this early and teaching people to recognize patterns than come up that lead to checkmate. This will both prevent you from being checkmated by surprise and to see checkmate opportunities in real game situations that you might otherwise miss.
The other reviewers are correct in their observations that this book is suitable for players of any age. In fact, I would say it is even a bit misleading to position it as a book for kids. It seems to me that one would need to be at least 12 years old to fully appreciate and benefit from the contents. It might be a difficult read for younger kids, but one they can grow into over time. I wouldn't buy it for someone is 6 years old, but it certainly is a possiblity for a bright 9 year old.
I don't really have anything critical to say about the book. It gets to the point quickly and focuses on principles and patterns that come up again and again in chess. If you are serious about chess, but haven't really studied it, this would be a great place to start. The contents are not overwhelming and the book covers a lot of ground without becoming boring.
Finally, if you are a beginning chess player and you really want to beat your dad, this book will help enormously. The other books by this author are also very good. In addition, I would recommend getting a good chess program. This is one of the best ways to improve your play.
Book Review: Absolute best book on pattern recognition
Summary: 5 Stars
OK here is the scoop from an experienced chess coach. There is no better book on checkmate patterns than this one, and the thing is, it's not just for kids! Each of the 50 checkmate lessons shows an important concept and it is amazing how clear and easy the positions are to follow. If you are a chess teacher or taking a class of kids you will love this book as training material. Either use it to set up positions, or as a text-book kids can take home - a totally enjoyable way to learn.
This book has helped the scholastic students I work with in several ways.
a) Improved combinational ability. They can now find combinations quickly by recognizing the familiar patterns around the enemy king.
b) Inspiration. A wonderful feature of this book is how the puzzles are graduated in difficulty in each section. The simple puzzles anyone can follow, and the tough ones inspire the students by challenging them.
c) Knowing when to analyze. The puzzles teach the students when it is likely there is a combination to be found, even without them being aware of it!
d) Motivation. Because the material is presented in such a fun format, even including the test puzzles at the end, the students find it easy to read.
This book, together with the author's companion volume CHESS TACTICS FOR KIDS, provides enough material to keep a class going forward for several months.
Since this book first came out a number of other authors have tried to copy the idea, but no-one has come close. HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD is pitched at just the right level, and is the most original chess training book that has been published for years. It teaches tactical pattern recognition in a fun and challenging way. No wonder it is said to be the best-selling chess book in the United States.
Book Review: Absolute best book on pattern recognition
Summary: 5 Stars
OK here is the scoop from an experienced chess coach. There is no better book on checkmate patterns than this one, and the thing is, it's not just for kids! Each of the 50 checkmate lessons shows an important concept and it is amazing how clear and easy the positions are to follow. If you are a chess teacher or taking a class of kids you will love this book as training material. Either use it to set up positions, or as a text-book kids can take home - a totally enjoyable way to learn.
This book has helped the scholastic students I work with in several ways.
a) Improved combinational ability. They can now find combinations quickly by recognizing the familiar patterns around the enemy king.
b) Inspiration. A wonderful feature of this book is how the puzzles are graduated in difficulty in each section. The simple puzzles anyone can follow, and the tough ones inspire the students by challenging them.
c) Knowing when to analyze. The puzzles teach the students when it is likely there is a combination to be found, even without them being aware of it!
d) Motivation. Because the material is presented in such a fun format, even including the test puzzles at the end, the students find it easy to read.
This book, together with the author's companion volume CHESS TACTICS FOR KIDS, provides enough material to keep a class going forward for several months.
Since this book first came out a number of other authors have tried to copy the idea, but no-one has come close. HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD is pitched at just the right level, and is the most original chess training book that has been published for years. It teaches tactical pattern recognition in a fun and challenging way. No wonder it is said to be the best-selling chess book in the United States.