How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess) [Hardcover]

Murray Chandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1998 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up | Series: Gambit Chess

This is not just a book for kids - for 'Dad' read any opponent who beats you regularly! This book teaches the 50 Deadly Checkmates - basic attacking patterns that occur repeatedly in games between players of all standards.

Each mating motif is carefully and simply explained, and several illustrative examples are given. A final test enables the reader to grade his pattern recognition abilities, and the last chapter explains what to do if your Dad is Garry Kasparov.

Fun, instructive - and guaranteed to improve your game.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Gambit Publications specialises in chess and has an unrivalled reputation for originality and editorial excellence. The company is owned and staffed entirely by leading chess masters and grandmasters.

About the Author

Murray Chandler is a chess Grandmaster, and a former editor of the British Chess Magazine. He was a key member of the England team that won the silver medals in Chess Olympiads three times during the 1980s, and went on to captain the team in 1994. He remains to this day one of the few players in the world with a 100% score against Kasparov.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 127 pages
• Publisher: Gambit Publications (August 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1901983056
• ISBN-13: 978-1901983050
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Chess
  • #35 in Books > Children's Books > Sports & Games > Games

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

339 of 352 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars They don't aways work but some good stuff anyway, September 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess) (Hardcover)

I got this book. My dad didn't fall for all but one of these checkmates. But then I was happy. I tried them all, but he would get me down too much to use any of them so I think just the beginners book for juniors worked better anyway. I did get him in the backrank one because he was upset by my little sister tossing stuff when she didn't get her way and he was not paying attention. I got a beginners book for juniors and and a traps book and both worked better. I now beat my dad more than half the time.

106 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LEARN MATING PATTERNS - an excellent book on learning how to mate quickly and efficiently, December 26, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess) (Hardcover)

Do you know how to mate? You can now get actual experience in the most important basic positions. This book will test you and teach you new positions you probably didn't know about before.

Without knowing these patterns you will miss many important opportunities in your game. HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS has 50 of the most important patterns. By looking at the title and cover it may at first appear to be just a book for kids, but it is for all ages (though not for a beginner).

[...]The cover may look silly, and the title may not really tell you what the book is all about, but it is well organized and should be a fine addition to additional books on other parts of tactics.

I highly recommend this as an important and excellent book for those who are intermediate skilled chess players.

76 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fifty Deadly Checkmates..., July 31, 2004

By 

G. Soos "emanigol" (Dublin, GA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit Chess) (Hardcover)

There are only two weaknesses one could find in this book. The first is the cover: a work like this should not have the cover of a fifth grade drawing project. The second is the title: it should have been "Fifty Deadly Checkmates You Could Beat Your Dad With". Based on the principle of pattern recognition the author introduces you to fifty checkmate patterns and emphasizes the elements necessary to attain them. From "Anastasia's Mate" to "The Fischer Trap" it does an excellent job depicting the deadly patterns that would lead to mates. But there are no discussions of openings or middle game antics, not to mention the tedious end game struggles. Certainly, pattern recognition plays an important role in chess, but so does elemental principles of positional and tactical plays, of which this book shows only few examples. Taken together, these checkmates reinforce principles such as the value of the defensive f-pawn and the beauty of seemingly senseless decoy sacrifices. But students of elemental principles of sound chess may find this book somewhat disappointing.