Chess is by far the most popular board game in the world, perhaps because you become a general who directs an army against your opponent in an exciting battle of wits. This is a blatant attempt to lure you to the royal game. It's based on the very same lessons Pandolfini has given to thousands of beginners, whose questions and problems have shaped it. The format is unique and easy to follow: the fundamentals have been broken down into short, logical statements each idea is numbered, ordered, and clearly stated statements are linked in graded sequence, with the easier ones preceding the harder where desirable, explanation has replaced calculation the stress is on understanding, not memory plenty of diagrams for almost every idea you can even read this book without a chess set!