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The Queen's Gambit,
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BarbaraNathalie
I know there are pieces that go different directions and that there are pawns, rooks, castles, bishops, a queen and a king. It's interesting that the queen is the most powerful player. That's all I know. I don't know who does what. The Queen's Gambit is a "show me" story of incredible moves. I could not resist this book. I raced along with it to game after game in the orphanage, to the tournaments in the US, to Mexico, Paris, and Russia. I never felt confused by the game because Walter Tevis was a master storyteller whose characters, on and off the chessboard, are riveting wherever they take you.
Martin
No you don't need to know anything about chess to enjoy this book. The author manages to make the chess games exciting and tense without the reader needing to know anything about how to play.
By the end you will have learnt a few things, the names of opening moves like the Queens Gambit for example, but the book is not aimed at chess players. I am not a chess player but I really did enjoy it.
By the end you will have learnt a few things, the names of opening moves like the Queens Gambit for example, but the book is not aimed at chess players. I am not a chess player but I really did enjoy it.
Andrew Chandler
no, but (like the tv series), extra levels of enjoyment are unlocked with more knowledge. The board layout, the moves of the pieces, and a cheatsheet on chess descriptive notation (like Queens Bishop 4) help to visualize the board, but the book is able to give drama and excitement to the games without this knowledge
Paul
No, you don’t need to know anything more about chess except the names of the pieces and perhaps how they move (e.g., bishop moves diagonally, etc,). That being said, there are a number of passages about various named and recognized strategies as well as detailed descriptions of the games move by move. You might want to skip these passages. I did, and doing so didn’t lessen my enjoyment of this stunning book. I might also recommend the Netflix series of the same name. Beautifully acted and beautiful cinematography. With the series, you don’t need to know anything about chess, and are free to sit back and watch the wonderful tale unfold.
E2c
Probably not, but it does help.
Myrna Gottlieb
Mostly I skipped the details of the chess moves during individual games and moved on to when Beth described her feelings about herself, her play and the other players. There's enough story to keep readers involved, even those who do not play chess.
Abhijit Saha
You need to know the meaning of some basic stuff in chess like Gambits, sacrifices, etc. But i think the character work is immaculate enough to draw you in the book
Peacejanz
Nope - I know so little about chess and I loved the book. I know a queen is different from a king but I do not know how a pawn fits into this. Certain pieces can go certain ways. I loved it and can only spell chess. Enjoy. peace, janz
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