Customer Reviews

Starting Chess (First Skills)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Starting Chess" is written at about a high school reading level and designed to give you a quick introduction to how the pieces move, elementary rules and a little bit of strategy to get you started.

The order of presentation is not the best in my opinion. I personally liked "Learn Chess: A complete course" a lot more for organization and the completness of the material necessary to make a beginner into a decent player. Even the junior chess guide for the beginner is far more complete. If you just want to learn how the pieces move and the very, very basics, then "Starting Chess" is satisfactory.

I got 3 books on chess for my 12th birthday. Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Chess For Juniors and Starting Chess. I give most of the stars because his book has great pictures and graphics. But, the amount that I learned from the written text was where this book was not so good. I do like this book a lot more that the Fischer Book, but my Chess For Juniors book was the absolute very best for a kid my age.

I've been reading this book to two kids in the family, ages 7 and 9, and they love it. Also we have a 3-year-old who likes the pictures and has slept with this book under his arm--what other endorsement do you need?

The drawings are fun, with lots of animated characters. Chess notation is described but not required for learning the moves (drawings are shown instead). The book covers all the basics for each piece, discusses exchanges (and points per piece), special moves (castling, en passant), opening moves and tricks, and endgames. Plus there's some chess history and simple puzzles. High recommended.

If you are a beginner who wants to learn to play from a book then this book is ok, but it is really not long enough.

There are a lot of things to understand when you set out to play chess. It is more that learning how the pawns and all the the other pieces move, and how to set up the chessboard correctly. Though you don't have the learn them all, right at the start, it is important to have the reference information available in case you have questions.

My experience of learning to play chess is that beginners have a lot of basic questions, and that just thinking you can teach a few moves is not enough. Apart from that I though the book was quite good to read.

The book is full of pictures and neat diagrams. But when it comes to explaining things in actual words this is where I have a problem. I am a 6th grader with good reading skills. Sometimes things are not explained to my satisfaction. A little jumpy is the word I would use to say why I give 3 stars. But for pictures this book is awesome.

This is a very nice book with pictures and diagrams. But the written part of it is very much in need to have more clear instruction. I was not all that happy when I got it for my birthday after reading it. Well, thats life.

Originally found this in the library. I knew some chess, but wanted to get back to the basics. The color art and thinness of the book (not a lot of long explanations to bog me down) attracted me to it, and I got quite a lot out of the simple, to-the-point concepts and explanations. I am now referring it to a friend of mine who is visually-impaired and wants to learn chess. The large print is good for his reading, and the simple explanations help him to understand chess without drowning in complicated teaching.

It is nicely layed out with picutures and stuff. I found this to catch my eye at the Barnes and Noble store so I got it.

But the actually reading material was hard for me since I am in the forth grade. I am an average reader but really good in math.

This is a rather colorfull book that is aimed at introducing chess to the young beginner who has no knowledge of chess whatsoever. Beyond the rules, it provides very elementary strategy. For a player say ages 8 to 12 who doesn't plan on going much beyond just learning very elementary basics STARTING CHESS is suitable. The under 8 year old should consider getting YOU CAN PLAY CHESS to cover how the pieces move and basic rules (designed as a coloring book, it is very unique).

I began reading this book to my son when he was four. We began with the basics of how to set up the board and how the pieces move. Starting Chess helped peak my son's interest and learning in the game. He has now progressed to thinking about strategy and combinations as a result of Harriet Castor's excellent method for conveying the fundamentals found in book.

As an Usborne book, I knew this would probably be a great tool to teach the game since the company designs interactive reading to compete with television and video games. The puzzles and great graphics throughout helped to stimulate my son's (and now my younger daughter's) interest. They are both really enjoying the game, and we play often.

Highly recommended!

PS "Chess For Children" by Ted Nottingham is an excellent follow on book to continue developing young kid's passion for Chess.