How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit chess)
By Murray Chandler
Customer Reviews
Good bok, but not so much for beginners or little kids
Because my kids would like nothing more than to beat their dad at chess, I got this book for my 7 and 4 year old sons. The book does a great job explaining different types of mating patterns, but the explanations are too brief and too abstract for my kids. I learned a lot reading the book, but I'm not sure my kids did. The title makes it seem as if the book is for young children. It is really for intermediate to advanced players. For them, this is a great book. For little ones, I would not recommend it.
One of the best beginner to intermediate chess books available...
This book really improved my beginning chess. First, Chandler gives a great overview of why pattern recognition is important. Then he proceeds to show certain board set-ups to demonstrate various checkmating techniques. Don't be fooled by the title, this is a great book for all beginning chessplayers; more experienced players may already have seen this material, though probably not nearly so elegantly presented! When I began playing correspondence chess with some of my (equally matched) friends, this book did more for me than almost any other (some tactics books were also very helpful, and should be part of your learning experience). In fact, my recommendation would be to tell your friends about this book, but keep it secret from your chess enemies!
White Queen on E2 Complicates (breaks?) #8
I'm a weak player, but curious, so I set up both Chessmaster and Chess Genius with the layout shown for Damiano's Mate, the 8th Deadly Checkmate, but the first example from the introduction.
Neither engine cooperated with Chandler's script by taking 7.Kg1, because both recognized another option: While 7.Qh5 didn't change the outcome of the game, it extended it by nearly 60 moves!
It seems unlikely that this board position is (as Chandler describes) the same one where Grandmaster John Nunn recognized the winning combination in two seconds, because the white queen on e2 changes everything!
That doesn't mean the book is worthless, of course, but it does shake my faith in the author somewhat. If I were a GM, I would recognize the typo and move on; as a novice who is probably the target of this book, I find the gap between explanation and reality most confusing. Has this error been corrected in a revised edition?
Product Description
This is not just a book for kids - for 'Dad' read any opponent who beats you regularly! This book teaches the 50 Deadly Checkmates - basic attacking patterns that occur repeatedly in games between players of all standards.
Each mating motif is carefully and simply explained, and several illustrative examples are given. A final test enables the reader to grade his pattern recognition abilities, and the last chapter explains what to do if your Dad is Garry Kasparov.
Fun, instructive - and guaranteed to improve your game.
