101 Questions on How to Play Chess

by Fred Wilson

What is the object of the game of chess? What is chess notation? How does the King move and capture? These and a host of other chess questions are answered simply and clearly in this indispensable guide for beginning players.
Chess expert Fred Wilson has distilled an enormous amount of information into an easy-to-follow question-and-answer format that not only explains the most basic rules and essentials of play, but also offers expert advice on openings, combinations, middle and endgame strategies, notation, castling, and other topics.
Over 100 carefully chosen diagrams and illustrations demonstrate moves, positions, and strategy. With this inexpensive manual, would-be players can quickly and easily familiarize themselves with the fundamentals and begin enjoying the challenge and stimulation of one of the world's most fascinating and popular games.
A noted chess writer, historian, and teacher, Fred Wilson has owned and operated Fred Wilson Chess Books in New York City's Greenwich Village since 1979. He is the author of A Picture History of Chess .

Genres: Chess

77 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an explanation of the basics of the game in, as one can imagine from the title, question and answer format. Wilson starts from the very beginning, listing how the pieces move, how the board is arranged, and the rules of check and checkmate. He introduces the concept algebraic notation very early, and then proceeds to use it throughout. The book runs through some very basic strategy, and then ends with some guidance on periodicals and joining a club.

If you are a total beginner at chess, this book may work as well as any other introduction to the game. However, you'll want to pick up Tim Harding's Better Chess for Average Players (New York: Dover, 1996) because Wilson's book doesn't really prepare you to hold your own against stronger players. If you are no longer a total novice at chess, this book may still be worth buying. There's a totally annotated game here that holds some interest, as well as a bibliography of various useful books for players from beginning to intermediate. Since the book was published priced as low as the Dover Thrift Editions, it may be worth it.

[Mark Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book for a total beginner, explaining the moves, etc. But it also goes into some more advanced topics that will take work for the beginner. Thankfully, there's a list of 85 books for further reading for those who are interested.

[Derrick Peng · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this book for one reason: To allow my friends to borrow it. For this function, 101 Questions on How to Play Chess is near perfect - it's dirt cheap, it teaches many of the basics of chess in digestible order and form, and the cover generally looks very beginner-friendly. On the downside, the organization isn't great for re-reads, and the 1994 published book is missing a lot of helpful information about online play, chess engines, and more.

Instead of chapters, the information is presented in Q&A format, which makes content harder to find if you know what you're looking for, so it's clearly meant to be a read-once book, though there is an index at the end. The content itself is organized well at the beginning; it teaches algebraic notation from the very beginning (with descriptive notation near the end) before moving on to piece movements. Some of the Questions are a bit contrived sounding (Q: is there another unusual way I can use a pawn to make a capture? A. en passant) in order to accomplish this, and Checkmate is notated ++ (usually double-check) instead of #.

From there, it's a hodgepodge of basic endgame checkmates, basic tactics, and piece optimization pointers, with the concepts of en passant and castling mixed in. Then comes some terminology, such as "sacrificing the exchange" and backward/isolated pawns, fianchettoes. This is followed by some opening advice, but thankfully no complex lines. After the opening is some middlegame and then endgame advice. Then suddenly the book teaches the Lucena and Philidor Rook endgames!

After the advice section is the etiquette and miscellaneous rules section, including touch-move and blitz times. Then a full game is analyzed, followed by a descriptive notation section. Finally, the book ends with some "where to go from here" and "why play chess" questions, followed by a potentially very helpful Further Reading list.

Overall, 101 Questions on How to Play Chess is far from comprehensive, and the questions seem a bit contrived at times. But it's not a boring read and it does touch on everything a player needs to know to get started on the physical game. It leaves out chess engines and general chess technology as well as online play, as it was published before the time. I decided to dock some points for that because I am assessing its usefulness of the modern reader. All things considered, I'd give this book a B-.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ideal first book on chess. Along with board setup, rules, and piece movement, the author also introduces core tactics such as pins and forks; demonstrates common beginners' mistakes; gets you up to speed on chess notation, both "algebraic" (the modern notation system) and "descriptive" (the prior system used until around 1980 or so); and even walks you through a rook-and-pawn endgame — all in less than 80 pages! I really liked the approach, too: no "rule dumps" or anything like that here. Instead, everything is introduced gradually and incrementally by example, with LOTS of diagrams throughout. At the end is a solid list of books for further reading, each with helpful comments indicating what skill level the book is best suited for and whether it uses algebraic or descriptive notation.

If you're looking to get started playing chess quickly, this is a hard book to beat. Although you can easily read through it in an afternoon, I suggest going along with the author's recommendation of setting up a board (or a chess app) and stepping through the moves he describes. It will take you a little longer to get through the book — a few days at most — but you'll begin (emphasis on the word "begin") seeing the game with more of an eye toward tactics and strategy.

[Nate D · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thoughtful gift from someone who hasn't actually read it, this includes a quantity of questions about chess notation (in two forms) and formal/professional modes of play unlikely to be asked by any real beginners. On the other hand, the excerpts of famous games used to illustrate tactical points, and the tactis themselves, are a useful refresher.