Play Winning Chess [Paperback]

Yasser Seirawan (Author), Jeremy Silman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Winning Chess | Publication Date: October 1, 1998

We've updated the cover of "Play Winning Chess" so that the Microsoft Press "RM" Winning Chess series has a more cohesive and dynamic look. Play Winning Chess is a sparkling and enthusiastic introduction to chess -- the moves, strategies, and philosophy of the game -- from International Grand Master Yasser Seirawan and International Master Jeremy Silman. The book teaches the Seirawan method: force, time, space, and pawn structure. To this end, the authors provide clear explanations of the game's fundamentals. Dozens of instructive examples, question-and-answer sections, psychological hints, and sample games teach players to strategize and play aggressively while having fun. This book is exuberant and conversational, enlivened by personal anecdotes and engaging historical details.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

International grandmaster Yasser Seirawan has a knack for communicating not only the playing of the game, but also an enthusiasm for it. In this first of a four part series, Seirawan talks to the chess novice. He explains the game's development and basics of play, sharing stories of some of the wild and wonderful characters from chess history and Seirawan's own experiences. The language is simple and nontechnical enough for the greenest newcomer, who will hardly seem green at all after absorbing the lessons of this terrific introduction to chess. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Play Winning Chess is an enthusiastic introduction to chess that will transform you into a veritable gladiator of the chessboard. Seirawan begins by explaining piece movement, chess notation, the rules of play and basic tactics. His examples, question-and-answer sections, psychological hints, and lively sample games help you learn strategies and play aggressively while having fun. Discovering how to engage in clever attacks and subtle defenses will take you beyond the thrill of competition into the realm of creative art. Play Winning Chess is exuberant and conversational, enlivened by personal anecdotes and fascinating historical details.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Press; 2nd edition edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 073560603X
• ISBN-13: 978-0735606036
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,922,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

126 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but steep learning curve, July 10, 2004

By 

David Hood (Wesley Chapel, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Winning Chess (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

This book aims to take the reader from beginner, possibly not knowing how the pieces move, to a player able to think and develop their game without getting wiped off the board quickly.

We start with the obligatory rules of the game. Yasser doesn't waste time, they are taught quickly and then boom, you are thrown into chess playing.

After learning the rules of the game, we are introduced to two basic checkmates, King + Queen vs. King, and King + Rook vs. King. No King + Bishop + Bishop vs. King, or the dreaded King + Bishop + Knight vs. King but that's ok as they are of greater difficulty. A beginner will do well to just learn the methods for these two mates.

All well and good, but nothing any other beginners book hasn't done before. Yasser now throttles up the pace and exposes the reader to 4 ideas, at least one of which isn't typically exposed to beginners. Force(material inequality), Time(piece development), Space(control of the board) and Pawn Structure. These will be tough to move onto for someone who has just picked up the pieces in my opinion but they are the next necessary steps.

Finally we have a collection of several short games where Yasser annotates the typical beginner mistakes that were made and why they are losing. This is probably the best part of the book and it does a good job of tieing together the four chapters on the concepts he taught. A glossary of chess terms, many not used in the book is also included.

As a foundation, this would be a good book for someone who really knows very little or nothing at all, but despite Yasser's easy style it moves fast and will require work from the reader.

111 of 113 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for a fast learner, July 31, 2006

By 

Sara Singer (Phoenix, Arizona) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Play Winning Chess (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

Say you already know just a little bit about chess (like the piece movements and rules) and are a sharp and quick learner. This is a good for you then. It moves along very quickly and gets into basic strategy in no time at all. If you are a kid, know absolutely nothing about chess or want to take it slowly then consider getting Learn Chess by Alexander & Beach or a more basic book for a Beginner. So what I am saying is this book is well designed for certain individuals and the only other book like it is Lasker's Manuel of Chess.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for someone who already knows the basic rules, December 25, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Play Winning Chess (Everyman Chess) (Paperback)

This is NOT to be recommended for someone who is learning from scratch. It moves along way to quickly and gets to running before you have learned walk. Then why does it get a good rating of 4 stars?
This is a "good" book for someone who knows how the pieces move, knows the very basics of strategy and wants nothing more than a brief primer on anything before that, yet wants to get to the next parts of strategy. It doesn't overly focus on one area so it is a rather general book and a little difficult to understand where the author intended to fit this into the rest of his series. If you are more of a beginner then get "Learn Chess; a complete course" by Alexander and Beach which is far superior when it comes to covering both basic rules and strategy.