GameKnot: Chess related, A chess book for a child...

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Chess related: A chess book for a child...

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untateve
11-Apr-09, 19:53

A chess book for a child...

My son is 9 and has really been enjoying chess of late. He has been asking for books on chess to read but I'm having difficulty finding ones that are geared to a 9-yr-old. Does anyone have any suggestions for chess books for my son?

tactical_abyss
11-Apr-09, 20:33

Two books for children:
1.The chess kids book of checkmate (by David Macenulty)(Random House)
for ages 6 to 14.

2.Chess workbook for children (by Todd Bardwick)(Barnes+Noble)

You can do a google search for the books or check biz rate.

greenrat777
11-Apr-09, 23:18

bobby fischer teaches chess is a good book to start out with .

algol
12-Apr-09, 08:39

Murray Chandler

wrote some good chess books for children. His "Chess for children" teaches the basics and is probably too low level for your son. "How to beat your dad at chess" copiously illustrates 50 checkmates and is a fun book. I don't know his other books but see that his "Chess Tactics for Kids" has good reviews too.

bhidragon
13-Apr-09, 14:44

Bain's Tactics Book

John Bain's "Chess Tactics for Students" is a great workbook. Not a lot of theory, just straight up tactics diagrams to solve.

It's been used successfully from elementary school to adult. I use it myself and would hand it to a nine year old without a second thought.

gamlet
13-Apr-09, 14:54

A chess book for a child

I would place my bet with greenrat777 on Fischer's book. It's aimed for children but proceeds to teach some of the most advanced tactics. This will help your child advance quickly.

archduke_piccolo
15-Apr-09, 14:46

You might want to check these out...

... assuming you can find a copy. They will, no doubt, have been out of print for decades, but a hunt around internet fleamarkets like TradeMe might unearth something of interest.

Raymond Bott and Stanley Morrison "Chess for Children" Collins, London & Glasgow, 1958
Raymond Bott and Stanley Morrison "More Chess for Children" Collins, London & Glasgow, 1968

I managed to find copies of these some 10 years ago, and as the former wasd the one that taught me the game, nostalgia indicated I snap them up! One point I will make, though: both books use the Descriptive Notation (the second describing the Algebraic and giving one example of a game so recorded).

The first book is very much a primer, detailing the rules and object of the game, and examples of tactical motifs such as pins, discovered attacks, double attacks (including forks). Quite a few exercises (quizzes) to reinforce learning. Only two master games (Anderssen-Dufresne and Nimzovitch-Alapin), but several short schoolboy games at a level a learner can follow.

A sample: Game 1
White: G.Shorten (age 9) Black: J.Pickles (age11)
1.P-K4 P-K4 2.P-KB3 B-B4 3.P-QKt3 Kt-KB3 4.B-Kt2 Kt-B3
5.B-B4 0-0 6.Kt-B3 Kt-KR4 7.P-KKt4 Kt-B5 8.Kt-R4 Q-R5ch
9.K-B1 Q-B7 mate.
Used to illustrate how the notation works, but some light notes would not have gone amiss, I feel (e.g. Black's exploitation of White's disastrous 7th move could have been more efficient by reversing the move order: 7...Qh4+ and mate is quickly forced).

The second is a deal more advanced and leads on from the first. Plenty of positions to play through, motifs to explore (winning middlegame combinations and elementary endgame techniques) and illustrative games from "school-kid" level to master games. I recommend this book highly.

But, to reiterate: finding copies might be tricky...

Cheers,
Ion

chessnovice
15-Apr-09, 16:42

...

ion's suggestions can be found on ebay...

algol
15-Apr-09, 19:57

...

Amazon also has lots of second hand copies from these authors (also lots of other titles by them).
The first one Ion mentions starts at $1.38 + shipping:
www.amazon.com
The second one can be bought at $8.86 + shipping:
www.amazon.com

untateve
16-Apr-09, 14:35

My thanks to everyone. I have a copy of 'bobby fischer teaches chess' which I have given to my son. In the mean time, I'm going to look into the other suggestions. Again, thanks.

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