The game of chess has challenged and delighted the world for centuries. In Back to Basics: Fundamentals, the essential building blocks of the royal game are presented simply and in an easy-to-understand format.
With the expert guidance of chess master Branislav Francuski, you will learn how the chess pieces move and capture; the underlying principles of the game; how to spot and carry out simple checkmates; and understand the basic tactical ideas that are so important to playing and winning.
"In this book, I try to emphasize and clarify the chess fundamentals that young players need to know, as a strong grasp of the basics will eventually lead to the strategic thinking that is necessary for advanced play." - From the Author's Preface
Fundamental concepts, tactical themes and other significant points of the game are underscored by over 800 diagrams and positions. Solutions and clear explanations are supplemented by important principles, highlighted in blue.
Whether used alone or with an instructor, Back to Basic: Fundamentals will put you on the road to good chess!
Author's Preface
Why and how does chess help?
For many years, chess was only a game for me, albeit the best game ever invented. It was only after I had been teaching and coaching young chess players for several years that I realized how helpful chess is to the process of developing one's mind. The "Royal Game," as chess is often called, improves memory, calculation, visualization, and pattern recognition. It teaches one how to concentrate deeply, think independently, how to be patient, and, ultimately, how to enjoy the fruits of their own imagination.
Yet there is more to it than that; chess also influences the development of one's personality. Young people learn how to socialize, how to deal with victory and defeat, how to earn and show respect, and how to gain self-confidence. Learning chess helps impulsive children to be more circumspect - because they learn that they make fewer mistakes when they take the time to analyze positions more attentively. It also helps insecure children become more confident - because, as they recognize recurring patterns, they are able to make quicker decisions, which increases their self-esteem.
Therefore, it is not surprising that children involved in chess programs earn higher grades in mathematics and English, and have greater overall success in school. Chess is a great educational model for the development of the necessary skills for success in life. That's why chess is becoming a greater part of the curriculum and being incorporated into after-school programs at many schools.
How does this book help?
From years of teaching chess, I realized that the book my students needed the most had not been written. The chess books available provided only a few simple and easy examples of checkmate for beginners, and, after a few easy puzzles, the children would get discouraged when they could not solve more difficult problems. Subsequently, some of them would give up altogether.
Thus, I decided to write this book to provide beginners with many different checkmate puzzles, and to encourage their progress. This book also teaches the reader the basic rules of the game and the movement of the pieces.
Chess is a very complex game with many different elements. In this book, I try to emphasize and clarify the chess fundamentals that young players need to know, as a strong grasp of the basics will eventually lead to the strategic thinking that is necessary for advanced play.
Branislav Francuski
January 2008
Queens, New York
Content:
006 Acknowledgments
006 About the Author
007 Author's Preface
008 Introduction
008 The Origins of Chess
008 The Chessboard and Chess Notation
010 How the Chessmen Move and Capture
010 The Rook
011 The Knight
012 The Bishop
013 The Queen
014 The King
016 Checkmate
017 Stalemate
018 Castling
019 The Pawn
020 Pawn Promotion and En Passant
022 Decisive and Drawn Games
023 The Touch-move Rule
023 Basic Principles of Play
024 Basic Tactical Motifs
033 Recording Moves with Chess Notation
034 Chapter One: Underlying Principles
034 What can the king capture?
035 What can the rook capture?
036 What can the bishop capture?
037 What can the queen capture?
038 What can the knight capture?
039 What can the pawn capture?
040 Is it checkmate?
051 Which is the most valuable piece that can be captured?
054 Which rook is under attack?
055 Which bishop is under attack?
056 Which queen is under attack?
057 Which knight is under attack?
058 Which pawn is under attack?
059 Which units are under attack?
061 Solutions
068 Chapter Two: Simple Checkmates in One Move
068 Checkmate in one move with the rook
072 Checkmate in one move with the bishop
073 Checkmate in one move with the knight
074 Checkmate in one move with the pawn
075 Checkmate in one move with the queen
078 Checkmate in one move with the rook
079 Checkmate in one move with the knight
080 Checkmate in one move with the bishop or knight
081 Checkmate in one move early in the game
082 Checkmate in one move with pawn promotion
083 Checkmate in one move with a pin
084 Checkmate in one move with discovered and double check
085 Solutions
090 Chapter Three: More Checkmates in One Move
090 Checkmate in one move with the queen
095 Checkmate in one move with the rook
105 Miscellaneous checkmates
108 Solutions
113 Chapter Four: Even More Checkmates in One Move
113 Checkmate in one move early in the game
114 Checkmate in one move with the pawn
115 Checkmate in one move with the knight
116 Checkmate in one move with the bishop or knight
118 Checkmate in one move with the queen
122 Checkmate in one move with discovered check
126 Checkmate in one move with a pin
128 Checkmate in one move with pawn promotion
130 Solutions
135 Chapter Five: Miscellaneous Checkmates in One Move
155 Solutions
159 Chapter Six: Basic Tactical Ideas
159 Knight fork - find the best move
161 Double attack with the queen - find the best move
162 Double attack - find the best move
164 The skewer - find the best move
166 The pin - find the best move
170 Discovered check - find the best move
172 Place the black king on a square where it is in checkmate
173 Place the white king on a square where it is in checkmate
174 Checkmates in one move for white and black
176 Back-rank checkmate in two or more moves
178 Removal of the guard
179 Find the best move
181 Solutions
186 Chapter Seven: Puzzles from My Students
191 Solutions | 
