Customer Reviews

Official Rules of Chess: Fourth Edition

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You will find a very good index and table of contents making everything you are looking for easy to find. This book is a must for very serious tournament player, chess coach and required for tournament directors who run tournaments under the United States Chess Federation.
I agree that the book is so huge it is hard to pinpoint what rules are more important than others to focus on for a chess player. Most scholastic tournamnets use a "sudden death" time control but with digital clocks having time delay it is complicated to understand for a beginner to chess tournaments. There are a couple of books that do explain "chess tournaments" in a more simplified way already published. But no book can replace owning a copy of the "United States Chess Federation's Official Rules". My suggestion is for them to do a future edition with a chapter for the beginner to point out which sections are most important, especially for the scholastic player.

Whereas, "THE USCF OFFICIAL RULES OF CHESS" is written for tournament directors and experienced tournament players to understand, a book for the newcomer to chess is needed that covers:

1. Helping the newcomer focus on what is important for practical use in tournament play. The USCF rulebook has so much material it is impossible to know what is important and what is not so important for a tournament player to learn. Help is needed in the massive maze of material!
2. Some more detail to explain the meanings of some of the rules in more simple language for the newcomer.
3. Are there certain rules that often create problems? What are these rules and how can a player protect his or herself.

For a newcomer to chess this book gets 2 stars. For a tournament director or experienced tournament player this book gets 4 stars. Therefore, I figure 3 starts is a fair balance.

I got this book just before going into my first rated chess tournament. It was hard for me to make heads or tails from what was important to learn and what wasn't. I also found some of the explanations to be long and difficult to understand. This book is not very beginner friendly. Is there another book out there that makes things more clear for a newcomer?

It appears that it isn't understood that the "United States Chess Federations'Official Rules of Chess" is NOT a book for a newcomer to be learning the rules from. It is a technical book suited for tournament directors and experienced chess players. Overlooked, is another book in it's first edition by the same publisher (Random House), "Winning Chess Tournaments for Juniors" look looks at the rules on a more basic and practical level for the non tournament director. I have read it will also be availlable in a new second edition. The rules are many, and the wording is important, just like the wording of laws, or the directions to putting together complex machinery. Do not expect an advanced guide, which it is intended it to be, and does a great job, to be easily understood by a beginner. I hope this review has taken a little confusion out of what this book is all about.

This book will put anyone in their place that doesn't know the official rules of chess. One interesting note: The United States is the only country in the world that has their own rule book - every other country uses FIDE rules.
The book is a very dry read but a good reference book! Don't get it as your first chess book if you want to learn strategy too - it is simply the rules which is it's intended audience.

The Official Rules of Chess is a carefully written book. While the actual rules of chess have changed very little over time, this is a COMPREHENSIVE book, and has all of the rules in existence mentioned and covered clearly. I have often used this book as a Tournament Director in the Santa-Monica-Bay-Chess-Club for two years, and NEVER found it to be unclear. While I might not have liked some of the rules, every TD has his own pet interpretation of the rules. The object is to make a decision that satisfies both players as often as possible, and this book helps the reader to do just that.

If you are a tournament player you MUST own a copy of this book. It simply covers ALL of the most important rules you must know. Knowing the rules is a must!
I would suggest that the author(s)do a little better on making some of their explanations more clear.

I rate this book not because the book is "so wonderful", but because it is a must have for the tournament player. Every chess player in general should know the rules to chess. But the tournament player must know the rules and procedures of a tournament. Such rules as "touch move" are all explained in detail in this book.

The book contains the explaination of the use of chess notation, the correct chess equipment, player's rights and responsibilities, explaination of the USCF rating system, and a section called "Ten tips to Winning chess".

If you are a tournament director, then this book is also a must have.

The writers of the fifth edition, due out in three years or so, will have their hands full matching the quality of this fourth edition. It is twice as large as its predecessor, and includes details every tournament director has always wanted, but no previous author has dared include. For example, if a player promotes a pawn to an upside-down rook, it is considered a queen. There is an entire chapter on the well-run tournament, which even includes advice to use duct-tape to silence those noisy door latches in hotel tournament rooms. Please, future writers, follow this example! A new edition is necessary, largely because of some new technology in the area of digital chess clocks with a 5-second delay. Let's hope this topic can be treated as comprehensively in the next edition as everything else has been in the current one. It'll be a few years for the 5th edition, so go ahead and acquire this 4th edition if you are a tournament chess player or aspiring tournament director.

from my point of view it's a book for referees - not for players or even beginners

a bit outdated but well structured
but if you want the newest rules you need to check out the uscf website (that's why only 3 stars)