The Mammoth Book of Chess

I've been playing chess since 1967 and have owned several chess books over the years. I like this one the best. It has something for everyone. Very pleased with this book as an addition to my library. I consider it the only chess book I need or want at this point of my life.... a complete and useful reference.

For the price this is an excellent introduction to Chess. Its not for absolute beginners, you should have read at least one other book on beginners Chess (Chess for Dummies is a good one) but its not for "intermediate" players or advanced players only either. If you know enough of the basics (basic endgames, algebraic notation, etc), you will get a lot out of this book. I love the puzzles, they really make you think and it feels great to get a particularly hard one right. This book will make you a better chess player, if your just starting out (with the caveat above) or have been playing awhile. I would recommend this book for beginners and intermediate players. Advanced players might like this in their library, if only to loan out to friends that are trying to get up to speed. Buy it, at this price you won't be disappointed!

Wow! A really cool book. (Bad books do NOT become BCF's "Book of the Year.") !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Let's see. What do you get? A section on: beginning chess, Openings, Middlegames, Endgames, Tactics, Attack and Defence. You get a section on the chess clock, on-line chess (somewhat dated), Correspondance chess, etc. Call it potpourri unlimited. (A little of something for everybody!) In fact, there is a something of almost everything about chess in here. (500+ pages!) [Maybe a little slanted towards the British side of everything.] Two minor criticisms: Organization could have been a little bit better. And the paper is somewhat yellowish and see-through. The book has NOT fallen apart, but the cover and binding of my book is showing wear and tear. (But its been through a lot. I used to take it to school EVERY DAY when I taught at a local school last year!! The kids just loved thumbing through it.) Many pluses, one being some of the most comphrehensive indexes I've ever seen in a chess book! However, all this is nit-picking. Everyone I know who has bought this book has LOVED it. And the bonus? It costs about 1/3 [or less], of what the average chess book sells for!! Buy it. If you don't like it, a friend will surely take it off your hands!!

This is truly a chess book that all levels can enjoy. It teaches the basics. It has chess lore, some mate in two puzzles, some devilishly hard combination puzzles.It also has information about chess on the Internet (updated since the last edition of this book), and information about chess openings, endings, and middlegames (the latter dispersed among several chapters).It even has a chapter on chess puzzles, which is an art form by itself.The information on how to use chess databases and how to use chess programs is surprisingly helpful; I have never seen it in print before.

_One_ great book about chess. There are two parts in this book: the first about playing and the second about other aspects of chess.There are a lot of tactical and strategic examples throughout the first part of the book. The combination section is fun. The opening section, though not exhaustive, conveys the ideas of many openings. The attack and defense section exemplifies many common themes such as the Nd5 sacrifice and the h-pawn hack. The endgame section, like the opening section, shows many examples rather than being exhaustive.The second part of the book talks about how famous players started to learn chess, tournaments, clock, computer chess, Internet and chess, and chess & media. Those are very interesting reading mostly because they are written in a tone that engages the reader. The appendixes have basic chess rules, explanations of chess notation (the book talks about the history of it!), basic mates, and glossary.Overall, this book talks about many different faces of chess yet manages to be of very good quality in them.

If you've never done much chess reading before and you don't want to spend tons of $$$ on chess books or you only have time to read one chess book this is the one. No other low cost paperback I've seen is as comprehensive. Openings, tatics, mates, endgame, clocks, online play, biographies, computer chess, great games, chess terminology, et cetera. If there was a class, Chess 101, this would be the text.