Roman Pelts

This is a detailed, comprehensive guide to learning how to play chess. Primarily intended to serve as a manual for those teaching chess in schools and colleges, and for parents teaching chess to their children, or themselves, the book is an ideal starting point for anyone, no matter what age, who wants to take up the sport. "Volume I" looks at the chessboard and the starting position; how pawns, rook, bishop, queen, knight and king move and capture; chess notation; the centre; check; checkmate; castling; relative values of chess forces; how games are drawn; how to record moves; how to open a chess game; test. "Volume II" looks at the rules of play; chess terms and concepts; attack and defence; mistakes in the opening; opening traps; exploiting a large material advantage; double attack; pawn endgames; pinning; the skewer; typical mating combinations; other endgames; final test.

Thirty years ago, Roman Pelts was my chess teacher in Odessa, Russia. Later he assembled all knowledge essential for becoming a stronger player in this Comprehensive Chess Course. The techniques used in the Course proved to be a success for me as well as for generations of chessplayers in Russia and later in Canada and the United States. Now, the Course can help you learn chess the correct way to realize your chess potential fully. - Grandmaster Lev Alburt, three-time U.S. Champion