Rating: 
Summary: Get this book first
Review: I hadn't played chess since I was in gradeschool, about 15 years ago. I found this book on sale and picked it up. I wasn't a total beginner, and I don't really think I'm a complete idiot, but I never knew any of the theory behind the game. After reading Mr. Wolff's book off and on for 6 months, I have to say it has helped more than any other in my effort to become a competetive player.This book got me back into chess. I read through the first few chapters and refreshed my basic understanding. In my excitement to learn more, I moved on from this book quickly and bought other, more advanced books. Most were written for experienced players and were of limited value to a novice/intermediate player. I have since come back to this book and still find parts of it to be educational and useful. While this book is marketed at people just starting out in chess, it contains enough information to benefit players. Like any good introduction, it remains useful as a general reference long after you move to more specific topics. I keep it in my backpack and work through some of the chapter exercises when I have time. There are about 300 exercises at various levels of difficulty. It should keep you busy for a while. Once you grasp the material of this book, you will be in a good position to study games and other more advanced material. I would recommend getting How to Reassess Your Chess, by Jeremy Silman, when you think you are ready to move on from this book. There are a lot of books out there, but whichever one you get, GET THIS BOOK FIRST.
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Summary: Chess Idiots? NOT if you get this book...
Review: I have owned this book for about 2 months. The book sat on my shelf along with about 30 other chess books. I have been searching for something to, you know 'hit the switch'. Well I got about 3/4 through this book and found my switch. I want to advise anyone considering this book...BUY IT. If you want to become a better chess player. Do every exercise and pay attention to what is being taught( by the way some of the exercises are challenging!) In this book he uses games from Andand, Kasparov, Karpov, Nimzovich,and others, Have you ever heard of those guys?. Do not spend your money on any other introductory book on chess. Start with this one and you won't be sorry. In fact with all my other books I have yet to write a review because I found them 'so so' but this one is different. The modules are bite size so you can work through this at a comfortable pace and if you want to take a break and come back in a little bit...the chapters are relatively small so finding a good break point is easy. Enough said...I gave this book 5 stars for some very valid reasons...I just wish I could have given it 6 stars...because it is deserves it! I hope this review helps...
Rating: 
Summary: Great book for some, but not all beginners
Review: I just finished this book. It took several hours because of the great exercises.
I highly recommend this book for the beginner who is willing to put in 30-40 hours of work! Background:
I had not played for years, but I wanted to play with my girlfriend. I purchased this Idiot's Guide by Wolff and Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman. I'll be honest. I picked up the Idiot's book for my girlfriend and Silman's book for myself. Well, we were both frustrated. She found the notation in the Idiot's Guide too hard to follow. I found Silman's book too advanced. I decided that I must be chess idiot and decided to work through this book and save Silman's book for later. Decision time:
If you are willing to work on your chess (learn all the rules, learn notation, spend hours on exercises), buy this book. However, if you want some basics without as much effort, go for Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess. It uses pictures and arrows instead of using chess notation. For children, I recommend starting with Chess for Kids. Final Assessment:
It is very well written. The sections on tactics, strategy, and opposition are excellent. Most importantly, Wolff's excitement for the game shows through on every page. For these reasons, I give it four stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best beginners book
Review: I must have browsed twenty books on basic chess before I decided to buy this one; that's ironic, since this was the FIRST one I'd browsed! But I just couldn't swallow buying a book with the word "complete Idiot" on the cover--I'm too proud! But after those other twenty--with their tiny board diagrams, lousy typefaces, and unintuitive flow--I settled on this one. If you've ever read the "Introducing" series of books on subjects like Physics, Philosophy, etc, you'll immediately grok this book's smart, graphics-assisted layout, with info sidebars to keep things clear. If you've already got a basic grounding in how the pieces move, but need to get a good overall survey of tactics and strategy, there is no better designed, written and laid-out book than this.
Rating:
Summary: Most Lucid Book on Chess Yet!
Review: I think this book does an excellent job explaining not only the basics but also going a little more in depth. Whether you're looking to just learn the rules or begin to seriously improve your game this is a wonderfully well written book. While it does stray from strictly begining theory once you get past the tactics section it is laid out in such a manner to be easily followed, put down and forgotten, and picked back up with out having to relearn everything. This is without a doubt a book that I often refer back to and one of the most worn in my chess libary. Written in such a manner that you don't get a headache trying to picture the advice I recommend this book for any begginer player but would say it is a waste of money for an intermediate player.
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Summary: Will take your game to the next level.
Review: I'm not a real big fan of the "Idiot" concept because most of the books in the Idiot genre I have read are written for an audience of idiots! But this book does a pretty good job of just teaching you about chess, without all of the non-sensical humor other Idiot books have, which I guess is supposed to make you fell less intimidated by the subject matter. At any rate, this book will take your game to the next level. If you are like me and are only vaguely familiar with the rudiments of chess and not the concept of playing chess "strategically" this book will definately remedy that. I love the way the authors change the illustrations to reflect the move(s) they are instructing you in. This book is very, very easy to read, and the concepts are easy to master. Because of this book I feel very comfortable about going to a more intermediate-level book to further enhance my game.
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Summary: Complete Chess Wisdom
Review: I've been playing chess on and off for about 15 years now. Only recently did I decide to start formalizing my tactics and strategies. In the past, I would simply wing it against my opponents and most of the time I would win, simply because I had more experience than them. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess is a well-written book. It has plenty of board diagrams showing all the rules, tactics, and strategies that most novice to intermediate players can appreciate. What was really helpful for me was that it actually described and categorized moves that I've always used, but never knew the names of. The book is extremely easy to follow. I usually pick it up and read a little before I play my computer. I've noticed an increase in my performance in a very short time. It's becoming easier and easier to beat the machine! Definitely worth the investment for all fans of the wonderful game of chess...
Rating:
Summary: A fine tutorial - Don't let the "Idiots" title turn you off
Review: I've learned quite a bit from this book. The text and the diagrams are well integrated. The sidebars and the chapter summaries are excellent, as is the non-tutorial section (about chess-related resources and the history of chess) at the end of the book. I withheld the last star from my rating because I could not absorb as much about strategy as about tactics; the chapters on strategy were more vague. Since the other parts of the book are so well written, I suspect this means that strategy is much harder to get across. I normally ignore Dummies/Idiots books (yes, based on their covers), but Amazon recommended it and the other readers' reviews cemented it for me. Don't let the title fool you: many people, not just idiots, can learn from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Brain Food!
Review: If you are just starting out and just learned the moves a few days ago ... or you have been playing tournament chess for a couple of years and you still are not where you want to be; THIS IS THE BOOK YOU HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR! I am a Life-Master. I bought this book to teach out of. I was not supposed to enjoy it. God forbid, a beginner's book should teach me anything! But this is exactly what happenned. Not since Capablanca's Primer and Chess Fundamentals has there been such a book. A book like this comes along once every 20 years. Believe me, I have sufferred through enough of the bad ones, I appreciate the good ones. If you are trying to improve in chess and you can read, this book will help you. Hint: Set up a board and study every position in this book. You will get the maximum benefit from it. GM and U.S. Champ Pat Wolff will make you a better player. Get it. Buy two. Give one to a friend.
Rating:
Summary: A great introduction to a great game
Review: If you want to know all the fundamentals of chess which will especially enable you to beat your "untrained friends" in a game then this is the book for you. This book lays a solid foundation in every aspect of learning the game of chess. I also bought the "Chess for Dummies" book and it was fine but found that I learned alot more from this book- the complete idiots guide!
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