United States Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess, Fifth Edition (Paperback)

by U.S. Chess Federation (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess is the only official rulebook for chess. Serious players at every level as well as chess club teachers, directors, and tournament sponsors should have it on hand during every match. This new edition features the latest rules, including guidelines for the popular game of speed chess, an updated quick rating system, and the latest conventions of governing tournaments. It also contains explanations of every legal move, a guide to calculating lifetime rankings, guidelines for sponsoring and running a tournament, and a lesson on how to read and write chess notation.

From the Inside Flap
The U.S. Chess Federation's Official Rules of Chess is the only official rulebook for chess. Serious players at every level as well as chess club teachers, directors, and tournament sponsors should have it on hand during every match. This new edition features the latest rules, including guidelines for the popular game of speed chess, an updated quick rating system, and the latest conventions of governing tournaments. It also contains explanations of every legal move, a guide to calculating lifetime rankings, guidelines for sponsoring and running a tournament, and a lesson on how to read and write chess notation.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Random House Puzzles & Games; 5 edition (August 12, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812935594
• ISBN-13: 978-0812935592
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #103,402 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

128 of 129 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Complete US Rules of Chess, September 13, 2006

A Kid's Review

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.

138 of 141 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars SERIOUSLY: something more easy for a new comer to chess needs to be written, September 3, 2006

A Kid's Review

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.

62 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult Understanding for the Newcomer to Chess, September 11, 2006

A Kid's Review

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?