Checkmate: The Wonderful World of Chess

Foley, John. Checkmate!: The Wonderful World of Chess 
August 29, 2023 by Welbeck Children's

Copy provided by the publisher

I do not like games of any sort, and have only attempted to play chess once. Sadly, it was Star Trek three dimensional chess, so that did not go well. In some ways, this aversion to the game makes me a good person to review this book!

Checkmate! starts with the most basic information about chess. There's a brief history, but then we get right to how to set up the board. The page about how to interpret chess diagrams is essential, because the book is full of them. While the pages on how to follow a chess game and write down notes on what happened short circuited my brain a bit, it is fascinating that because of these annotations, we can see how exactly historical games were played. Players can study these and pick up strategies. 

Each piece gets a two page spread on the various qualities assigned to the piece. The name, moves allowed, and various strategies involving each piece are carefully detailed. This is followed by some special moves, and then gets into a lot of different tactics for games. I think of these in the way I think of fictional books about football: if I am confused by the plays, diehard fans will find the book informative!

This finishes with some specialized information about ending games, game clocks, tournaments, and some history about grandmasters and famous games.  There's even a bit about chess and technology, which has even been in the news a bit. 

In general, this is a great book not only for beginners but also for seasoned players who want more information to improve their games. It would be a great gift for a young enthusiast along with an upgraded chess set. Or, you know, three dimensional chess.