I will be the first to admit that I'm not an expert on beginner's books, but several e-mails have asked me to address the subject so I feel compelled to voice an opinion. There are hundreds of "learn the rules" books out there; most of them are just a rehash of the same old stuff, others try to be fancy and end up confusing the poor reader, and some are simply dull. Of all the "starter kits" I've seen, the best is Seirawan's Play Winning Chess.

This well-rounded manual starts by giving you a taste of chess history. Too many players nowadays ignore this aspect of the game; they don't know the names of the colorful giants of our sport, they couldn't care less about the World Champions and their battles for supremacy, and they are oblivious to the fates of chess playing artists who gave their lives for the game. This ignorance is a great pity, and it detracts from the complete chess experience.

Play Winning Chess nips this problem in the bud by lightly touching the lives of the World Champions, by probing the historical origins of all the pieces, and by offering up photos that are designed to make chess less abstract and more human.

Naturally, the generic stuff is also covered in detail: all the rules are presented in clear, easy to understand language, notation is explained, and chess is broken down into four concepts (force, time, space and pawn structure) so that positional ideas enter your mind from your first game on. Tactics are explored, tests and quizzes are given, annotated games are presented, discussions about the chess clock are tossed in, and a full glossary makes the understanding of any chess term a simple turn of the page away.

I will admit that I helped Yasser with the design and writing of Play Winning Chess. However, instead of making me biased, it allows me to know firsthand just how detailed and user friendly this book really is.

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