2006-06-23 Not just for kids

This is great introduction to chess. It's beautifully produced, and takes you steadily through the basics: piece moves, tactics, openings and endgames; the puzzles are challenging, and the tone unpatronising. After finishing it you feel ready for you first game. It doesn't make Chess out to be darkly complex, played just by awkward men, but keeps the emphasis on the fact that it's a profoundly beautiful, fun game that will grow as you do. I dislike the fact that it's marketed for kids - that'll put adults off buying it, or make them feel stupid if they find this 'kid's' book challenging. It has been a great start for me, and a reminder that even the greatest player in the world had to be a beginner once.