From America’s foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, Bruce Pandolfini brings us the most accessible and easy-to-use chess strategy book ever. Written for beginning and intermediate players, Weapons of Chess is the first encyclopedia of chess strategies that doesn't rely on the usual baffling chess notation. There are no symbolic chess moves, no charts or sequences in chess notation: every move is explained in words. Arranged alphabetically for easy use and based mainly on pawn formation, the incredibly detailed and thorough entries in this book talk a player through dozens of common strategic dilemmas, such as "doubled pawn," "bishops vs. knights," and "hanging pawn pair." Diagrams illustrate the terms, first showing the basic position and then strategically moving to more complicated versions of it. Players will learn how to formulate plans once they have reached a middlegame, enabling them to make wiser strategic decisions after the first few moves of the game. Designed for use as a ready reference during actual practice games, and usable without a chess board, Weapons of Chess is a unique and invaluable resource for any developing chess player.

From America’s foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit comes a comprehensive guide covering all aspects of the game, to improve your technique whether you are a newcomer or a longtime fan. One of America's best-known chess masters, Bruce Pandolfini has helped millions learn the intricacies of chess through his acclaimed books and workshops. In this exciting volume, he presents a complete overview of the entire game and its culture. Structured as a dialogue between a beginning student and an expert teacher, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess takes the student step-by-step from fundamentals to advanced, highly strategic play. Combining easy-to-follow diagrams with trenchant and up-to-date analysis, Pandolfini puts a new twist on accepted chess theory, offering a seamless beginning-to-end approach, including: • a short introductory history of the game • the moves, rules, and contemporary notation forms • the basic principles of chess • how to develop an opening repertoire • the art of tactical play • pattern recognition and memory aids • traps and pitfalls to be avoided • middlegame play, strategy, and planning • defense and counterattack • transitions to the endgame and the endgame itself • computers and the future of chess • the best websites for playing chess online With Pandolfini's expert insight into the history and modern world of chess, as well as several appendices to enhance play and appreciation, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess makes the perfect gift for players of all ages and will be the benchmark title for chess players for years to come.

A first-of-its-kind encyclopedia for chess players, this volume features detailed explanations and invaluable illustrations for new chess players, those intent on improving their games, and anyone who needs to brush up on both the basics and more advanced play. 140 detailed illustrations.

The perfect, and necessary, addition to any personal chess library, Pandolfini's Chess Complete is a comprehensive, accessible reference. National Master Bruce Pandolfini has covered every aspect of the game, from chessboard and pieces to history and strategy, and has responded to virtually any possible question or situation that could arise.

In the first completely instructional book ever written on chess openings, National Master and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit Bruce Pandolfini teaches players how to take charge of the game's crucial opening phase. Of the three traditional phases of chess play—the opening, the middle-game and the endgame—the opening is the phase average players confront most often. Unfortunately, though, many openings are not completed successfully, partly because until now most opening instruction has consisted of tables of tournament level moves that offer no explanations for the reasons behind them. Consequently, these classical opening patterns can serve as little more than references to the average player. In Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps, Bruce Pandolfini uses his unique "crime and punishment" approach to provide all the previously missing explanation, instruction, practical analyses, and much, much more. The book consists of 202 short "openers" typical of average players, arranged according to the classical opening variations and by level of difficulty. Each example includes: -the name of the overriding tactic -the name of the opening -a scenario that sets up the tactic to be learned -an interpretation that explains why the loser went wrong, how he could have avoided the trap, and what he should have done instead -a review of important principles and useful guidelines to reinforce each lesson Also included are a glossary of openings that lists all the classical "textbook" variations for comparison and reference and a tactical index. Chess Openings: Traps and Zaps is a powerful, pragmatic entry into a heretofore remote area of chess theory that will have a profound influence on every player's game.

'When most people learn to play chess, they usually memorise the movements of the pieces and then spend years pummelling away at each other with little rhyme and even less reason. Though I will show you how each piece leaps around, what it likes to do

From America’s foremost chess coach and game strategist for Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit comes the best chess drill book for beginners of all ages. From ever-popular chess instructor Bruce Pandolfini comes this entertaining, interactive, and effective book for teaching young chess players and other newcomers to the game. Filled with hundreds of questions and answers, fill-in-the-blanks, and true-or-false posers, Square One combines traditional chess drills with diverting games and problems to stimulate the analytical skills of beginners of all ages. Besides covering the basics—the board, moves, rules, and notation—Square One goes on to include information on attacks, checkmate, draws, and special rules, giving the beginner a broad overview of the game. With more than 200 instructional diagrams, and answers to all questions and problems, it is a complete workbook for chess players starting at square one.