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Some chess players hate to hear someone call chess a game. They think that doing so trivializes what is actually a profound intellectual activity. Try as they may, however, chess enthusiasts seem incapable of convincingly placing chess solely in the context of art, science, or sport. Uncannily, chess contains elements of all three – and yet chess remains a game.

Actually, I prefer to think of chess as a game – the best game ever invented. Chess is a game loved by engineers and free-verse poets alike. It imposes a set of rules and has finite limits, but just as you start to think that you’re finally solving its mysteries, it thwarts you. As a result, sometimes the game is frustrating, but far more often chess proves to be both surprising and delightful. The deeper you dig into chess, the more of its secrets you unearth – but interestingly enough, the game has never been tapped out. Even today’s monster computers are far from playing the theoretically perfect chess game.

To master chess, you must combine a kind of discipline normally associated with the hard sciences and a creative freedom akin to the inspiration of artists. Few people develop both aspects equally well, and few activities can help you do so. Chess, however, is one such activity. The methodical scientist is forced to tap into his creative energies to play well. The fanciful artist must, in turn, conform to certain specific principles or face the harsh reality of a lost game. Not only is chess an excellent educational tool that helps strengthen both sides of your brain, but the game is also an endless source of pleasure.

After most people discover that I play chess, they usually say, “You must be very smart.” They should instead say, “You must have a lot of spare time.” Chess has been played throughout history by people with above-average leisure time, not necessarily by people with far-above-average intelligence – so if you don’t consider yourself in the “I-aced-the-MCAT” crowd, fear no more.

As a matter of fact, chess tutors can teach preschoolers the rules of the game. (So maybe they can’t get the tots to stop chewing on the pieces, but they can teach the youngsters how to play.) In fact, anyone can learn how to play chess with a bit of spare time. And you don’t even need too much of that to learn the rules.

About This Book

This book is designed to help you become a better chess player in several ways:

❯❯ First, it contains a great deal of information and advice on how to play chess. You can read the book from cover to cover, or you can read only the sections or chapters that interest you – it’s completely your call.

❯❯ You also find in these pages information about how to talk about chess, which, to many players, is at least as important as knowing how to play. (Part of the fun of chess is the social element involved in discussing other people’s games – called kibitzing.)

❯❯ Finally, this book offers numerous suggestions on how to find other players who are just about at your own level (and how to mind your chess manners when you sit down to play!).

If you’re a beginner, the great joys of chess await you. If you’re an intermediate player, you can find in this book a wealth of material to help you improve your game and to enjoy chess even more.

Throughout this book, I use diagrams of actual chessboards to show the positions I discuss. This convention should sometimes eliminate the need for you to have a chessboard and set in order to use the book – but even so, following along with an actual board and set is better. Just note that in these diagrams, the white pieces always start at the bottom of the chessboards, and the black pieces start at the top.

Here are a few other conventions to keep in mind:

❯❯ Throughout this book, I refer to moves with chess notation, which I usually place in parentheses. You can skip over this stuff if you don’t want to find out how to decipher it, but if notation interests you, you can flip to Chapter 6 whenever you’re up to the challenge. (Understanding it really isn’t tough, though – believe me!)

❯❯ I use boldface to highlight the key words in bulleted lists and the action steps in numbered lists.

❯❯ I use italics whenever I define a chess term. You can use the glossary as a quick reference for these terms, as well as a resource to discover other chess words.

When this book was printed, some web addresses may have needed to break across two lines of text. If that happened, rest assured that I haven’t put in any extra characters (such as hyphens) to indicate the break. So, when using one of these web addresses, just type in exactly what you see in this book, pretending as though the line break doesn’t exist.

❯❯ I alternate the use of male and female pronouns by chapter throughout this book. No gender bias is intended.

Foolish Assumptions

I assume that either you want to learn how to play chess, or you already know how to play chess and want to get better. I also assume that you’ll be able to find someone to help you if you’re a beginner and have any problems with the material in this book. (And if you don’t know anyone who can, I provide plenty of websites and computer programs that can help you navigate the road through the world of chess.) After all, everyone has to start somewhere.

Icons Used in This Book

The icons used in this book point you to important topics and help you pick out what you want to know. Make a mental note of the following icons to guide you on your path to chess greatness.

This icon wouldn’t be necessary if chess didn’t have so many good, general rules. Keep the rules of thumb in mind when you play. You’ll be surprised how many you can retain – and how helpful they can be.

This icon points to helpful hints – anything from playing better chess to where you can find more chess stuff.

This icon warns you of impending danger that you just may be able to avoid.

Throughout this book, I also use sidebars (in shaded gray boxes) to introduce famous chess players or to add miscellaneous information you don’t really need to know to play chess. I’ve included this information to increase your sheer enjoyment of the game. If you’re crunched for time, feel free to skip the sidebars.

Beyond the Book

In addition to what you’re reading right now, this product also comes with a free access-anywhere Cheat Sheet that summarizes some key info, such as setting up your board, naming ranks and files, knowing how each type of piece can move, and understanding check and the different types of mate – plus a few chess-related articles on topics that just wouldn’t quite fit here. To see this Cheat Sheet and articles, simply go to www.dummies.com and search for “Chess” in the Search box.

Where to Go from Here

If you have no knowledge of chess whatsoever, I highly suggest that you start right at the beginning with Chapter 1. Otherwise, just remember that it’s perfectly okay to skip around the book to locate the chapters and sections of most interest or use to you. Dig in!