Chess Tactics for Kids Hardcover – Illustrated, January 1, 2003

HARDBACK IS BEST FOR THIS BOOK SINCE IT IS A BOOK WORTH SAVING TO READ OVER AND OVER AGAIN

Great book and in great condition.

Murray Chandler again proves his ability to convey great ideas in small bites! Like his other book (the famous 'How to beat your dad...'), this book gives a fifty great ideas, which you could try and remember some while playing. Best part is that how often you can read this - you don't have to read it cover to cover each time, or even sequentially. You just open it wherever it opens, and read that particular tactic! (Of course, I recommend you try and read it front-to-back, sequentially, at least once - and mark the pages that really resonate with you).I have three Gambit books now, and I think they have made this their style : each concept is given only two pages, the left and the right. First it is introduced with some text and two diagrams, and then the implementation is shown on the right page - in exactly four diagrams that could be from four different games or less. Once you get used to it, it's a great format!And like their other books, I have the same complaint here too : it would have been great if of the game referenced had been named exactly (date and players). Some of these positions seem so obvious or simplistic that you start wondering how great masters and grandmasters ended up in that situation!But still - get the book. It's better than playing with your smartphone to pass the time!

The second I opened this book after receiving it, I hated it. Black and white pictures only, small font type, and tedious nomenclature. Did not seem like a kid book. I was on the fence about returning it, or keeping it and going through it on my own to translate it for my son, who is 8.I decided at the last minute to just show it to him to see what he would think, assuming that he'd find it boring. It turns out that he loved the book! He was driven by the fact that it had "secret moves" that he could use on other players. Without even reading the instructions, he just started setting up the board based on some of the pictures. So I helped him with some of the protocols, and we figured it out together. He spent the day going through quite a few tactics on his own. Who knew he'd like it?Still though, it doesn't feel like a kid book, and I'm wondering if the interest will last. He hasn't used it in a few days and I suspect it won't be the type of book he keeps going back to because it does seem quite tedious for a kid. So I'm giving it 4 stars because it is a great book, but really isn't super easy to get through if you're a kid.

This book contains 50 standard tactical situations that are explained in a clear manner. I agree with many of the reviewers that it is somewhat above beginner level. But most kids will be there soon enough. It is also an excellent review for stronger players. I highly recommend it.Regarding Public Defender's comments about the answer to puzzle #22 on page 120 I think he must be referring to a different book. There is a puzzle #22 on page 120 in this book, however in the starting position of the puzzle the white Queen is on d1, so the first move of Qf5 that he suggests is impossible.

It's not for complete beginners, but kids can learn very fast, and this book is excellent for introducing players to the basics of good tactics. Now, a question regarding puzzle # 22 ob page 120, for any experts out there. I think white can sacrifice its knight and win by queening a pawn: 1. Qf5+ QxQ 2. NxQ, KxN 3. a5 (black moves) 4. b6 and if a7 x b6 then 5. a6...I don't see anything black can do to prevent white from getting a queen on a8 or perhaps b8. But perhaps somebody here can figure out a better outcome for black. The best I can see for black is and end game of black Knight with 4 pawns versus white king and queen, with white winning easily. This seems better than the answer provided, which wins two pawns (and also wins, of course).

Wow, maybe for EXPERIENCED CHESS PLAYING KIDS. But, for a newbie like me, I was lost after the first couple of pages. It took me awhile to figure out in the FIRST EXAMPLE, with only five pieces on the board, how the rook sacrifice let the knight put the King in checkmate. It would be obvious to any player with a few months of experience but that ain't me, yet.Then, the terminology that the author thinks we are all familiar with. "Of course, you can see several tactical motifs hidden below the surface - including deflection and discovered attack..." REALLY??? I SURE MISSED IT.I'll bet that after I become more familiar with chess then this book will be super helpful.

An absolutely fantastic and thorough book. The content is well thought out and the examples are superb. Even the production quality of the book (the print, the binding) is excellent. The themes and patterns shown here are something that are applicable to almost every chess game - right from those played by beginners to the super GMs. Some reviewers have said that the kids' pictures on the cover is misleading i.e. the material is quite advanced. But then, these days the kids are soooo good ... I suspect that if the pictures were of adults instead, the kids - the target audience - might get discouraged by the wrong impression that the book is too elementary ;-)I must point out that the author takes the games played by kids pretty seriously! On the back cover it says, "Murray Chandler finished .... ahead of Kasparov and beat him in World Cadet Championships in 1976 ... one of the few players with 100% score against Kasparov" ... Yes, indeed. The author was 16 years old and Kasparov was 13.