A Primer of Chess

by José Raúl Capablanca

Former world champion José Capablanca’s introduction to chess, available for the first time in English in algebraic notation, is an ideal first chess book for players of all ages. In systematic fashion, Capablanca lucidly explains the rules and basic principles of this fascinating game, and illustrates these with a wide range of practical examples. Topics covered include: . The game, the pieces, their moves and object . Improving your game . Elementary opening principles.... and much more After capturing the world championship in in 1921, Capablanca was for a time regarded as practically invincible. Although he surprisingly lost his title to Alexander Alekhine in 1927, Capablanca remained a leading player until his death in New York in 1942.

Genres: Chess, Nonfiction, Games

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1935

About the author

World chess champion from 1921-1927.
One of the best players of all time.
His skill in the endgame and his speed of play garner special praise.

Reviews

[Morris Nelms · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like Chess Fundamentals, this is clear, concise, and sharp. Great writing about the greatest game from one of the greatest players, who also happens to be one of the best writers on the subject. I prefer the algebraic edition from Everyman.

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even in the age of YouTube tutorials, I would recommend would-be casual players begin with Capablanca.

[Ricky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has good principles and some interesting diagrams to study, but it is hard to follow the moves because he uses descriptive notation. For someone trying to learn chess today I think algebraic notation is probably more helpful and it is a shame that this book doesn't use it, because I felt that it could have been great practice for getting more familiar with it.

[Talvez... · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's instructional (not as much as other primers out there however), well written and it has the reedeming advantage of being written in algebraic notation, while most of the other chess classics are only available in descriptive notation.
The focus on endings is both a positive point and a negative point. On one hand it's throroughly and clearly explained, on the other hand this is a rather technical subject which I am not sure amateurs will enjoy.