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Usborne First Skills
Starting Chess
Covers the basics of chess, including the layout of the board, the verious pieces and how they move, exchanges, opening and closing moves, and chess notation, and also includes internet links.
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
5 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Harriet Castor
74 books4 followersHarriet Castor was just thirteen when the first of her Fat Puss novels was published. She went on to become a children's book editor and now writes full time for both children and adults. A real ballet enthusiast, she is the author of the popular Ballerinas series.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 24, 2023
Very nice beginning chess book for children.
April 25, 2025
Very good for chess beginners!
May 5, 2023
A great introduction to the game of chess
I was taught how to play chess when I was a teenager, so I already knew what each piece was called and how they moved when I started teaching my son the game as part of his homeschooling curriculum. With that said, there was still much to learn about this game that I had never been taught before.
This book takes the reader into the history of chess, providing a short overview through the book, of the game over the years. In the first few pages it also provides a quick intro to what is needed to play the game of chess, the symbols used to represent each piece, how set up the board and even what each side of the board is called.
Next the book provides a breakdown of the pieces in the game of chess over the span of a couple of pages for each one, explaining the moves that each piece can do, accompanied with visuals, and how they capture the opponent’s pieces.
To help the reader with comprehension on the section read, the book provides visual puzzles throughout. The reader can even try their first game of chess with only the pawns, kings and queens, adding more pieces to each subsequent game as they learn them.
The reader is also taught about exchanges and bad swaps, special moves, opening moves and tricks, writing chess down and how a game of chess can end.
This book taught me quite a bit about this game and I still reference it when a question arises in the middle of a game, but most importantly it taught my children, who are eight and eleven, the game of chess.
I was taught how to play chess when I was a teenager, so I already knew what each piece was called and how they moved when I started teaching my son the game as part of his homeschooling curriculum. With that said, there was still much to learn about this game that I had never been taught before.
This book takes the reader into the history of chess, providing a short overview through the book, of the game over the years. In the first few pages it also provides a quick intro to what is needed to play the game of chess, the symbols used to represent each piece, how set up the board and even what each side of the board is called.
Next the book provides a breakdown of the pieces in the game of chess over the span of a couple of pages for each one, explaining the moves that each piece can do, accompanied with visuals, and how they capture the opponent’s pieces.
To help the reader with comprehension on the section read, the book provides visual puzzles throughout. The reader can even try their first game of chess with only the pawns, kings and queens, adding more pieces to each subsequent game as they learn them.
The reader is also taught about exchanges and bad swaps, special moves, opening moves and tricks, writing chess down and how a game of chess can end.
This book taught me quite a bit about this game and I still reference it when a question arises in the middle of a game, but most importantly it taught my children, who are eight and eleven, the game of chess.
February 15, 2018
A very gentle introduction to chess aimed at age 5 up. It builds the rules up gradually with engaging illustrations and some fairly simple puzzles. It doesn't go beyond the basic rules and a few simple tactics, but it would be a good introduction for a complete beginner.
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July 14, 2019I just want to say I re-shelved this book today (July 2019) - it was originally published in 1995 and updated in 2001. It advertises ‘Internet links’ included :O Wow!! Anyway, these internet links are still active, so props to Usborne for that.
June 25, 2017
Really good introduction to chess!
July 14, 2017
Gives a great foundation for learning this wonderful game. It helped me a lot.
May 13, 2020
346 - 2020
June 22, 2021
Best starting chess book! I checked out several from the library, and this was our favorite by far because of how easy it was to read.
March 25, 2024
中譯: 大家來學西洋棋
June 10, 2013
Since we are having all our Esperanza scholars learn to play chess I felt it would be a good idea if I learned--at least the basics. Found this book at the UEA (Utah Education Assn.) Convention. It is a good beginning for me. 6/09/13: I read this book again. I can't believe how much more I learned this time around now that I have been playing for about 18 months. This is a terrific book that would be a great resource for all our Esperanza scholars.
April 6, 2016
I've played this game since I was in third grade and it's a shame that the numbers of players/victims have decreased over the years. This book is excellent for the young or beginners in the game. Didn't learn anything but it's an excellent introductory book on the subject and the illustrations are great.
June 6, 2018
Very helpful with young learners.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews