The Complete Idiot's Guide® to Chess

Patrick Wolff is a two-time U.S. Chess Champion (1992 and 1995) and an International Chess Grand-master. Patrick writes a chess column for the Boston Globe. In addition, he has been a chess coach and instructor and has appeared in several instructional chess videos.

I. LET'S PLAY CHESS. 1. Why Play Chess? Are We Having Fun Yet? Once the Game of Kings... 2. Drawing the Battle Lines. Meet the Chessboard. Naming the Squares. Meet the Pieces. The Two R's: Reading and 'Riting Chess Moves. Now Take a Deep Breath. 3. Rules of Engagement. Three Special Moves. Win, Lose, or Draw: How Does That Happen? Sometimes Nobody Wins. Okay, One More Deep Breath and You're Ready to Play! 4. How to Win with Just One Piece. Checkmate with Queen and King Versus King. Checkmate with Rook and King Versus King. Could You Do It Again? II. TACTICS. 5. It's a Material World. The Concept of Material. How to Win Material, and Avoid Losing Material. How to Defend Against a Threat to One of Your Pieces. Practice, Practice, Practice! 6. Tricks of the Tactical Trade. The Fork. The Pin. The Skewer. Two Attacks at Once. 7. Dirtier Tricks. Getting an Enemy Piece Out of the Way. Attacking the Defender. Overloading the Defender. When You Are Your Own Worst Enemy. Wishing Can Help You Make It So. Superman's Not the Only One with X-Ray Vision! The "In Between" Move. 8. Hunting Down the King. When a Material Advantage Is All Relative. The Emperor Has No Clothes! Exposing Your Opponent's King. Useful Tactics for Attacking the King. The Infinite Variety of Checkmates. III. STRATEGY. 9. In the Beginning. The Beginning, Middle, and End of a Chess Game. "The Opening" or "An Opening?" When Does the Beginning End? Two Openings to Illustrate the Principles. 10. Making the Most of Your Pieces. Mobility: Give Me Room! Do Be Cruel: Attack Your Opponent's Weaknesses. The Knight. The Bishop. The Rook. The Queen. 11. Pawn Shop. "The Pawns Are the Soul of Chess". Chain Gangs. Pawns: What Are They Good For? 12. The Final Frontier. The Advantage of Space. Relieving a Cramp. 13. Weak Squares. Recognizing Weak Squares. Weak Squares and Pawn Structure. Weak Squares and the King. Repairing a Weak Square. 14. All Good Things Must Come to an End. But Don't Forget What You've Learned Up to Now! The King Is a Strong Piece: Use It! The Passed Pawn Rules the Endgame! Three Specific Endgames. IV. BEYOND THE BASICS. 15. Training Camp. Studying the Opening and the Endgame. Magazines and Periodicals. Using www.wolffchess.com and Other Web Sites. Studying Tactics. Studying Strategy. Reading for Pleasure. Collections of Games. Studying Your Own Games. 16. Hall of Fame. The Classical Era. Soviet Dominance. The Fischer Revolution. Will the Real World Champion Please Stand Up? 17. Getting Competitive. Finding Stronger Opposition. Special Chess Rules for Tournament Play. How Chess Tournaments Work. Long-Distance Competition. Chess Competition for Children. 18. Chess in Cyberspace. Chess Web sites. Playing Chess Online. Chess News and Information. Chess in the Palm of Your Hand. Chess on Your PC. 19. How Computers Play Chess. The Thinking Machine? What About Artificial Intelligence? Will the Computer Overtake Us? Man versus Machine. What Does Deep Blue Mean for Us? 20. How to Beat the !?%@&?>!# Computer. There's No Magic Bullet. The Computer's Strengths. The Computer's Weaknesses. APPENDIXES. Appendix A. Your Chess Rolodex. Appendix B. Other Chess Notations. Appendix C. Answers to Exercises. Appendix D. Glossary. Index.