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Summary: A gem of a chess primer
Review: Legend has it that a former world chess champion, the late Mikhail Tal, used to skim through beginners' books in search of ideas. If Tal were alive to read this one, I'm sure he'd be thoroughly impressed.Patrick Wolff describes the game more completely than any single writer in any single text has done before. I especially like it for its separate sections on strategy and tactics, and Wolff's distinguishing between the two. (Sometimes even I forget which is which.) And I truly appreciate his advice on how to study chess openings and endings. If this book has a weakness, it's that it might be filled with too much information for the beginner to absorb at once. But, hey, better too much than not enough, right? In that case, I'd advise keeping this book on the side of the chessboard as a ready reference. I admit that I had my doubts about this book after I noticed on the cover photo that White's king and queen are not standing on their correct starting squares. I guess it pays to not judge a book by its cover; Wolff has provided a gem of a primer. I wholeheartedly recommend it. FYI, my all-time favorite beginning chess book is "The Right Way to Play Chess" by David Brine Pritchard "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess" didn't quite unseat Pritchard's work as tops on my list. But it came mighty darned close.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for idiots - PhD's only!
Review: Let's be serious - this is a very advanced book. The first few chapters fit well with the "Idiot" theme: these are the rules of chess, the queen moves like this, here's how you win the game, your basis Chess 101 topics. But watch out! By chapter 7 the author is walking the reader through 20-move sequences from historical Grandmaster matches. In the span of 7 chapters, the reader is working on his Master's degree in Chess. This is fine, if you want to move that quickly. But if you are even considering a book with the word "idiot" in the title, I would argue that there must be a much better alternative out there. This is not a Chess 101 book!
Rating:
Summary: Accesible, Understandible Introduction to Chess
Review: My wife has been pressing me to teach chess to my five year old. The only problem is, I don't play it myself. I know the pieces and rules and I played some speed chess in college, but I had not played a game in 20 years and could not beat my Palm Pilot freeware even at level 1. I definitely needed some help. This book was well reviewed in a variety of places, so I gave it a shot despite my antipathy to the idiot/dummy guidebook genre. I am very glad I did. This is an excellent book on chess, and I recommend it highly. Writing a good "how to" for a strategy game is much harder than it looks. If the book is pitched too low, a reader will quickly lose interest. If the book is pitched to high, a reader will quickly pitch the book. It has to be challenging enough to engage the reader, but not so challenging as to make the reader throw up his hands. This book is admirable on many levels. The chapters progress in an orderly way, and build upon each other. The concepts, which seem so mysterious to the uninitiated, are laid out thoroughly and understandably. The illustrations, asides, historical notes, and pointers are well placed and enjoyable. The exercises are hard (for this novice, anyway) but mostly doable -- and when I was stumped, I referred to the good explanations in the solution endnotes to figure out where I went wrong. I am now consistently beating the palm pilot at a higher level (I won't say how high --I still have room to grow) and feel I have learned enough to play with my five year old. I may even be able to beat her.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST book, with the WORST title.
Review: Over a period of about two months, my fifth grader eagerly devoured every word of this excellent book. We also played a game or two, every day. Then, in his first scholastic tournament, he won five out of six games, and qualified for the state championships! So, for the last two years, I have been enthusiastically recommending this book to all novices, particularly scholastic players. The only trouble is the title. This is not a book for idiots - Wolff writes clearly, and communicates his great enthusiasm for the game - but it's hard to recommend it to someone without sounding insulting! Nevertheless, if you want to buy just one book to help you and your kids learn chess, this is the book to buy.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect beginning chess book for anyone
Review: Patrick does an excellent job of both providing valuable information and keeping the reader intrigued. Easy to read, from beginning to end. Starts with history and explaining basic rules, so even someone with no experience can begin here. Has useful chapter summary at each chapter's end. Provides great recommendations on "further reading". It is not "For Phd's Only" as the above comment suggests. It covers the basics well: history, rules, the opening, the endgame, tactics, strategy, as well as how to beat your computer & the chess "all-stars". That is perfect for all ages and intelligence levels! True, it gets into weak squares and some more advanced topics, but explains them well and doesn't dwell on advanced material. Highly Recommended for beginners. Great for Chess Library, both for reading and for lending to new chess prospects.
Rating:
Summary: It Lives Up to Its Billing
Review: Patrick Wolff does an excellent job of helping novices learn how to play the game. For thirty years I have known how the pieces move. But I really had no clue about chess strategy. He explains things simply and does not give the reader the feeling of being overwhelmed with data. I still have much to learn, and I don't win every game. However, I now have direction to my play. Mr. Wolff has added much enjoyment to the game of chess.
Rating:
Summary: A good beginning, but then what?
Review: Patrick Wolff has written a very basic book covering the very basics of chess. At least, that's what I thought while reading this book for the first time. But the more I played, the more I realized that the book makes no effort to explain any of the ideas behind the strategies and tactics that it displays. It shows the reader lots of things, such as gambits, the Sicilian defense, and more, but doesn't even try to explain them, or, more importantly, explain WHY you would want to use them. Furthermore, I found it discouraging that the examples contained within the book are so neat and tidy. Obviously, to demonstrate a specific technique this is the only way. But none of my games, nor any that I've ever witnessed, ever reveal such clear-cut examples as the board positions used inside Wolff's book. If I don't know the reasoning behind the French defense, how could I possibly expect to use it? I'm assuming that I will personally benefit from a slightly more advanced book: one that focuses on theory AND practice. But if this really is a beginner's book, it shouldn't even pretend to teach the new reader advanced [or even intermediate] techniques.
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Summary: First book I recommend budding chessplayers read
Review: There are basically two types of chess players. Those who know how the pieces move and play maybe once a year or so. Then there are people who study the game and take it more seriously. Whenever someone wants to make the jump from the first to the second stage I always recommend this book as the first stepping stone. There are lots of chess books out there, but this one provides a great gentle introduction to all of the important phases of chess as a hobby. After reading this book you will not feel intimidated talking to a chess geek, who will talk in a special language such as "he played the Sicilian against me". If you have to choose between this book and Chess for Dummies I would recommend this one more. I liked the content and humor better, and found it more useful in general. This book is not just about how the pieces move, and will get you started towards playing serious chess and enjoying in more ways than you originally might think.
Rating: 
Summary: Learn the Fundamentals Quickly
Review: Thinking of brushing off the rooks and bishops? This is the one with a foreword by Deep Blue, who we discover not only could trounce the champion human, Garry Kasparov, but can write well. The rules are laid out from square one, as the board and pieces are explained in terms a new player will understand. Each piece is discussed at length, something which will be appreciated as the player learns his way around the board. Terms are defined so to reduce confusion. "En passant" is explained (a very handy pawn maneuver), as is pawn promotion (make your pawn into a queen or rook), castling (your king can jump over your rook), and checkmate. How to win in various positions and with different pieces is explained. Much of a chess game can be simplified to situations affecting the whole board, and Wolff helps the player see chess systematically and not be overwhelmed by the multitude of complex moves. Values of pieces vs. position, and when to exchange what is presented so that young players who love to trade pieces can better know when it is wise to or not to. For the player advancing in skills, forks, weak squares and other finer strategies and predicaments are described. Wolff pushes his personal website too much, but he also provides URLs for major chess sites, books for further reader and other training opportunities. I fully recommend "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess" by Patrick Wolff. Buy it, and call your dad up. You'll be able to beat him in no time. Anthony Trendl
Rating:
Summary: Deepest Beginner's Book Yet!
Review: This book goes further than any single beginner's book I've seen yet. It's tactical sections are particularly enlightening. It also has several good references to other books for continued study of chess's many aspects. There are a couple of mistakes in the diagrams, and if you study the cover closely you will notice that White's King and Queen have switched places on the chess board, but other than that, if you want to play serious chess, this book is a great starting point!
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