Starting Chess

by A.J. Gillam, Tony Gillam

This is the simplest book ever written on how to play chess. Part one deals only with how the chessmen move and capture; the objects of the game; check and checkmate; and the values of the different chessmen. Everything is described step by step, with plenty of examples, simple exercises and diagrams at every stage. Part two is an introduction to the main ways in which the chessmen can be used to win your opponent's pieces. Again, the many examples, with diagrams, illustrate the most commonly used variations. There is just enough in this book to enable you to play your first few games of chess with a clear understanding of the way the chessmen move and the rules of the game. Whatever your age and whatever you knowledge of chess, this is the self-tutor to get your started.

Genres: Chess

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Anthony John Gillam

other names:
- Tony Gillam, https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is my interpretation and expansion of Ken Smith's Chess Improvement Course

Beginners 800-1000 Elo

A35 Starting Chess - Gillam [starting from Zero Knowledge - 300 Elo]
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess [starting from Zero Knowledge - 300 Elo] [Programmed Instruction]
A1 Learn Chess: A New Way for All Volume I - Alexander
E1 Learn Chess: A New Way for All Volume II - Alexander
D12 Simple Chess Tactics - Gillam
J12 Simple Chess Checkmates - Gillam
A16 Chess Tactics for Beginners - Reinfeld
J7 How to Force Checkmate - Reinfeld
F24 Winning Chess - Chernev
[Get a Novag Super Constellation Tabletop Chess Machine]
[Get Hiarcs Software on a Mac - Analysis]

Class E 1000-1200 and Class D 1200-1400

Encyclopedia of Chess Openings A B C D E [most essential for now Volume C and A]

[Volume C 1e4 e5 games and Volume A all the irregular openings]
[now you have a handbook for knowing where your first weak move is, and only a comprehensive openings encyclopedia will show you most all of the plausible moves]

Bilguer's Handbuch des Schachspiel - 1919 Olds Edition Reprint

[this has a lot of plausible moves that ECO leaves out, but you know those Soviet Grandmasters doing ECO, almost every weak move that gets you in a chess trap is probably in here - Larry Evans thought this was his bible on his desk for his column]

Furst Artistry Series - 5 Volumes
[Theme - Checkmate - Middlegame - Pawn - Endgame]

Theme Artistry - Furst
Checkmate Artistry - Furst
Middlegame Artistry - Furst
Pawn Artistry - Furst
Endgame Artistry - Furst

E69 The Game of Chess - Tarrasch
E36 Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca
E10 Lasker's Manual of Chess
E2 My System - Nimzowitsch
E25 Chess: The Complete Self Tutor - Ed Lasker [Programmed Instruction]
A33 From Beginner to Expert in Forty Lessons - Kostyev
E112 Test Your Chess Results - Zak
E89 Chess Training - Nigel Povah
E21 Logical Chess: Move by Move - Chernev
C813 Openings for the Club Player - Harding
C799 Chess Openings - Basman
C700 Chess Openings: Your Choice - Reuben
F56 Chess Tactics - Littlewood
C812 Unorthodox Openings - Benjamin and Schiller
E122 The Complete Chess Course - Reinfeld
C606 Catastrophe in the Opening - Neistadt
Inside Chess Openings - Gufeld
E81 The Catalog of Chess Mistakes - Soltis
F81 Better Chess [Book One] - Gillam
F95 Improve your Chess [Book Two] - Gillam
E246 Modern Chess Lessons - Tangborn
E239 Hypermodern Strategy - van Reek
E229 Attacking Chess - Waitzkin

[Peter Mueller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This shows how different our learning styles are. I got this book form the library based on the many positive reviews I saw but it did nothing for me. It was just too minimalist. I fared much better with James Eade's books, e.g. the 'Chess Bible' or the more detailed 'Chess for Dummies'.