Simple Checkmates: More Than 400 Exercises for Novices of All Ages!

As a long-time casual chess player who recently decided to take his chess to the next level and begin to learn more about this wonderful game, I found this book simply outstanding.The layout of the book is uncluttered, with two problems per page and the answers to these problems listed at the bottom of the page. This feature adds greatly to the "user-friendly" nature of the book and avoids repeated excursions to the back of the book, which in a book of this nature (with over 400 problems to solve) would be a major headache.There is instructional content in this book, but it is clear, concise and doesn't detract from the purpose of the book: to impart an understanding of basic mating concepts in chess and a recognition of these patterns in gameplay.I would still consider myself a beginner to intermediate level player but it has helped me immensely in my understanding of this aspect of chess.

This is one of the first books to use to learn chess. After you or your child know how the pieces move, the object is to look at the diagram and find a checkmate. Most books of this type have problems that are over the heads of beginners. This book is on target. Part of learning how to do checkmate in two moves is to know checkmate when you see it, and to be able to later back up a step and find that same mate again one and then two moves away. In this light the book starts with checkmates. It shows you positions that are checkmate. You will see some patterns you haven't used yet. Even if you are an adult player, do not underestimate this. If you keep the book somewhere that you will have a moment or two to stare at it, ( like by your phone, ) you will discover that over time you get familiar with many patterns. Then you find the checkmates in one and the ones later in two come a lot easier. Another advantage to this book is because it is light material, it is suitable for times when you just want something really light, such as right before sleep. If you dont own the book, get the book. It is very inexpensive. I own 2 copies. I also like the fact that the answers are at the bottom of the page which keeps a student from having to flip through the book to check their answer. BR>yes real girls play chess

This book does a great job of helping the reader develop a really strong feeling for the strategies of chess. All of the exercises are in the form of mate-in-one or mate-in-two puzzles, but they are carefully crafted to illustrate the power of different pieces, and how different pieces may work together. This new insight improves one's games tremendously.You don't have to be a rank novice to benefit from this book. It can be of help even to people who have played the game, but who just want to broaden their understanding.Also, since the material is presented in the form of puzzles, it doesn't contain wordy discussion of strategies. This is good in two ways: 1) it helps develop your ability to see the strategies directly on the board during a game, and 2) it makes this a perfect book for kids (I've used it with kids as young as 8, with a lot of success).

I own 20-25 chess books and this is the one I pick up most often. It sharpens my game quicker than any other book I own. After I breeze through the majority of this book (30 min.) my mind is constantly looking for two move tactics on the board. I usually play quick timed games (1 & 2 min games) so the tactics pay off big for me. After tuning my game w/ this book I am a different player. --- Seriously. SW