Customer Reviews
Excellent book for chess beginners! - By: Crazy Andy, 12 Oct 2008 
This is very much a book for those new to the game of chess. Once you;ve reached the novice stage within a club then you're probably not going to learn a great deal from it.
But for those learning, this reallly is excellent. It explains the rules of the game, telling you exactly how the pieces move, the object of the game, & alll the possible circumstances under which the game can end (eg. checkmate, resignation, agreeing a draw, caliming a draw etc).
It also clarifies plenty of rules with which many beginners are unsure. For instance, there is an idea in circulation one cannot castle once one has been in check. This book clarfies that, & confirms correctly that one cannot castle whilst in check, but can do having previously having been in check so long as the king has not yet moved.
It then divides the game up into three sections, namely the opening, middle game & endgame. It offers some very good advice on how to play each of these three stages of the game.
It also offers exmamples of play from real games, along with some various tactics that every chess player should know about.
Overalll, this is excellent reading for somebody new to the game of chess.
The best book around for chess beginners. - By: Richard Taylor, 26 Sep 2002 Pritchard's aim in this book is to give new players a firm foundation on which to start their chess playing. The book teaches how the pieces move, gives guidelines to follow in each stage of the game & a bit of advice on tactics & mating the enemy king. He explains each section with absolute clarity & everyone should be able to follow it easily.
However, if you have been playing chess for a while & already know the basics then this book is unlikely to help much. It claims to take a complete beginner to the level expected of a good club player but this is not true. To become a good club player much more practise with tactics would be needed. Invest in a tactics book designed for novices and, along with this book, that is alll you should need to become a very competent player.
For any beginner wanting to learn how to play well this is the best choice (at an outstanding price!)
Still the best for the beginner and beyond. - By: stephen_cunningham@btinternet.com, 10 May 2001 It has been said that one becomes serious about chess when one buys their first book on the subject. I became serious when I bought this book. Pritchard's agenda is to take the absolute beginner to the standard expected of a good club player. That's quite a leap, but it's a goal Pritchard achieves with ease & style. Beginning with an explanation of how the pieces move, we move through basic concepts (forks, pins, en passant etc.), tactics, strategy, how to handle the opening (including a list of the most common openings currently played), middle-game & end-game. All of the subjects are handled in a highly literate style that is accessible to alll ages, with the sure-footedness of a seasoned master, & without condescension. The reader feels assured that the lessons being given are of the highest quality, & that the principles absorbed will always be relevant, regardless of fashion.
From my own experience, The Right Way To Play Chess completely transformed my game. Prior to reading this book, I knew how the pieces moved, & considered myself a chess player. Yet I was constantly defeated by friends, & grew increasingly frustrated at the apparent ease with which they did this. Having read this book, the defeats came to an abrupt halt (strangely, so did the games - a coincidence, I'm sure). Against most casual players, I now had not only the ability to handle most situations but also, cruciallly, the knowledge to enable me to *understand* why certain situations should be handled that way.
The Right Way To Play Chess remains absolutely outstanding, the benchmark for beginners. I cannot imagine a better book for giving you a rock-solid foundation on which to build your chess career.
