Customer Reviews

Comprehensive Chess Course, Vol. 1: Learn Chess in 12 Lessons

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I have known the rules for about 20 years, and started tournament playing in Feb 2001. I thought I knew the basics and didn't need this. I read the introduction, and could not answer some very basic questions. While it took only a few weeks to run through the book, instead of the months recommened in the book, I definately learned what I was missing for the level I am at, which at the time is an 886 USCF rating.
The lessons are just that, lessons. They have objectives, they have homework, they have themes in each lesson, and you review the the beginning of each lesson. While this sounds so very simple, why is the the only book I have seen laid out like this? Imagine, a book to teach chess that lays out a course in a manner that you would use to teach anything from math to history in a school. That is what sets this book above anything else.
The oldest person to ever achieve a master rating was 53, I believe. That does give me hope. While this book is very basic, it relaid a very firm foundation for me: reinforcing basics, and showing the holes in my knowledge, then filling those holes.
Highly recommended, even if you have read other beginner's books. Then move on to Volume 2.

I have been playing chess for 30 years. I wish I had this book 30 years ago. This is a simple, clear introduction to the game of chess.

The authors have based this series of books on the teachings of the Soviet school of chess. There are twelve lesssons in this book, teaching about a different piece or concept. The beauty of this book is that it breaks down chess into small, manageable parts, and covers all the basics of the game.

The lessons progress from the easiest piece (the pawn) to the king, checkmate, stalemate, en passant, and castling. The idea that you learn to play a game with just pawns first, then pawns, bishops and rooks, not only lets students learn the simpler pieces first, but also shows that chess can be played without moving the queen all the time, a good lesson for beginners. Also, there are several simple drills to help players visualize the chessboard, a key skill in becoming a good player.

I am using this text for teaching students new to the game, and so far the results are encouraging. This book is worth every penny I paid for it.

Volume 2 picks up where volume 1 left off. Having already gained an understanding of the rules of chess and piece movement, volume 2 will now show you how to do things effectively. It explains in detail about blocking, pinning, skewering, the importance of early development, mating patterns, basic pawn structure and more. Even those who may consider themselves to be somewhat better than the average beginner will definitely find something in this book that will improve their game.

It would be good to use this book in combination with another book of Alburt's, "Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters Vol. 1 - Fundamentals of the Game". The first two volumes of the Comprehensive Chess Course are workbook format and have a lot of fill-in-the-blank and analysis type questions. These two books will get a beginning chess player off to a good start.

Excellent for chess novices. Does not waste time on unnecessary information.

This book is much more basic than Chess Course 2. Whereas Chess Course 2 gives challenging problems to go along with the chess rules reviewed in chapter 1, Chess Course 1 spends the entire book going over how the pieces move, and does not have anything I'd consider a puzzle. He does have problems in the book, but nothing remotely interesting for someone rated over 1000. As an example, there will be a black queen, white pawn, and white knight on the board, and you are asked where to move the queen in one move so that it attacks both the knight and the pawn. I had to think about it a few seconds, but there were only two problems like that. Most were much easier.

I'm rated 1440, worked through a lot of Chess Course 2, and found enough new stuff in there that I wanted to see if Chess Course 1 would also have new stuff. It did not. It is still a good beginner book with some ideas for drills I can have for myself. I'll hang on to the book and give it to some absolute beginners.

I did see maybe 12 problems in this book which would be interesting for a class E player. Other than those, I think this book is too basic even for my roommates, who I typically checkmate in under 15 moves. The only value I see in this book for them is that it gives the good advice that people should start with simple games such as Russian Pawns or a rook vs 4 pawns, and work on those until proficient, before playing an actual game of chess. Even I am not too proficient at those, so I'll make up some problems on my own. There were a few such problems in here I thought were interesting but very easy for me to solve. So I'll definitely have to make up my own problems to get anything from them.

Comprehensive Chess Course, Vol. 1: Learn Chess in 12 Lessons I used this course guide to teach beginning Chess to 5th and 6th grade students at a local school. It provides a plan that gets youngsters involved (hooked) early and gain knowledge of the complexities of the game as they are having fun. I had previously taught Chess to high school students and needed to find a more engaging process for younger students. This course provided a step-by-step introduction to the game with graduated complexity acceptable for the younger players.

This is one of many books, but I got what I was looking for, a good introduction to chess for beginners. I teach chess in the early grades, and look for books which provide enjoyable chess drills. This book is a meat-and-potatoes volume written in understandable style. Lev Alburt teaches good chess.

The book explains the rules of chess from the ground up. It is not meant to be a text on chess tactics. However, it does throw in a nugget or two of information that might give a novice pointers on how to use tactics to win a game.