Pandolfini'S Ultimate Guide To Chess

The sender provided excellent service in sourcing this not so easily book and supplying it to us in mint condition. Well done. Keep it up.

Good book for beginners. It is quite descriptive and it might discourage someone who is not used to reading books. But that is how you learn chess right?

Very well written about the different aspects of chess.

Want To Learn Chess From Zero Knowledge. BRUCE PANDOLFINI (author) really make learning chess a fun and enjoyable.

Good book

Very slow coaching, many a times repetitive and boring. Text and diagram are often on different pages. Bind and readability are good. May help beginners though

Awesome Book for beginners

Ok book

Useful "ultimate" guide for the chess beginner. The book really starts from zero and teaches all a beginner should know. I am very happy with my copy.

El libro está imprimido por Amazon con baja resolución de escaneo.

Heel leuk boek om te lezen, ik had al logical chess move by move maar dit boek had ik eigenlijk beter voor logical chess van Irvin Chernev gelezen. Het omschrijft aan de hand van één partij tussen meester en student de basisprincipes van het schaken van de opening, middenspel tot het eindspel. De uitleg is met veel woorden omschreven en weinig variaties wat het uitstekend maakt voor een beginnende schaakspeler die nog niet het wat moeilijker heeft met lang visualiseren of analyseren. Het boek leest ook heel vlot, ik heb het in een dag of drie uitgelezen. De kwaliteit van het boek zelf is een beetje minder, de papierkwaliteit en kaftkwaliteit is nogal dun maar alles blijft wel goed samen en er zat geen enkel deukje ofzo in. Heel tevreden over de inhoud van dit boek maar het is wel echt voor beginnende schakers die hun niveau aan de hand van basisprincipes willen verbeteren.

Compared to other chess books I've consulted to improve my game, I found this book to be clear, easy to absorb and insightful.

I think this is a lovely book from this well known US writer and coach. The first thing that makes it appealing is that Mr Pandolfini has written it in the form of a Socratic/Platonic dialogue between a beginning student with only a few perceived ideas of the game and gently instructs and advises as the book goes along. Mr Pandolfini (unlike his portrayal by Ben Kingsley in "Searching for Bobby Fischer") is known to be a laid back and yet effective teacher. This comes across in his assurances to the reader not to panic or get distressed if something is not immediately clear as it will be revealed later. I find this approach a breath of fresh air as a lot of chess books throw a lot of information at you very fast: often with lines of notation which you either have to play on a chessboard to hand or something like an ipad. Pandolfini's book, thanks to plenty of diagrams means that you sit yourself down and absorb the material without having to flick between board and book. I have not seen them yet but no doubt his "Chess Movies" books will be even better in this regard. I have not come across any typos yet in my book of confused diagrams but I could comprehend these from the gist of the text. There are always going to be a few mistakes as to diagrams and notations in a book such as this ("The Right Way to Play Chess" By David Pritchard (recent update by someone else whose name escapes me) is littered with them but you can figure the problem out normally. I would recommend this because the calm and yet detailed style of the book makes it particularly useful to younger players or those who are taking up the game later in life and want a clear, simple guide. Unfortunately not many off us are able to have access to a top chess coach but through good books like this, "Learn Chess" by John Nunn (Gambit), Play Wining Chess by Yasser Seirawan (Everyman ) and the Dover reprint of "Better Chess" for Average Players by Tim Harding (Pandolfini and Harding: IMs and Nunn and Seirawan GMS) you will have great instruction by players who have the gift of great writing and teaching. This book is probably the first i would recommend out of all of them for its breadth and its accessibility however.