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New Chess Book for Beginners

The paperback Beat That Kid in Chess was published by Createspace on September 2, 2015, the first chess book written by the nonfiction author Jonathan Whitcomb, whose previous writings were on cryptozoology.

From the Back Cover

How few chess books are for the raw beginner! How few of them concentrate on what the early beginner needs the most! “Beat That Kid in Chess” differs by emphasizing the simple basics that give the biggest rewards, so you’ll quickly make real progress . . .

Checkmate, pin, knight fork—those are demonstrated and explained, but how much more is given to you in this chess book for beginners!

From the Publisher

Reading level for the text: teenagers and adults
(Assumes the reader already knows the rules)

This book has been carefully crafted for the raw beginner who wants to win a chess game as soon as possible. It’s for the beginner who knows the rules but not much else. Children, teenagers, and adults can benefit from these lessons and the two chapters of exercises: simple and advanced exercises at the end of the book.

From the Introduction in the Book

Have you had trouble with a kid who was too smart, beating you in a game of chess almost before you knew what hit you? I can probably help you teach that kid a lesson, but I make no absolute guarantee: You know that kid and I don’t. If you know the chess rules but almost nothing about how to win, this book is for you.

. . . This book can take you into a level that should help you defeat many beginners, at least sometimes. In other words, you will no longer be a raw beginner and will instead be able to defeat raw beginners, at least more often than you lose. And it may be easier than you think. . . .

You may notice that many diagrams are nearly identical, something rarely encountered in most chess books. You need to get used to those small differences that are so important in chess games. How critical can be the smallest difference! This approach can help you to think like a tournament player, in the sense of diving into a chess position as if it had never come up before, a unique landscape for you to explore.

Suggested retail: $13.40

194 pages

ISBN:  1508856222
EAN13: 978-1508856221

nonfiction paperback book on chessBeat That Kid in Chess

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Simple Queen-Versus-Rook End Games

Many chess end game positions can be challenging, especially with queen versus rook. But Beginning Chess really is for beginners, so let’s look at easy puzzles with simple tactics.

Chess History

 In 1873, he [Wilhelm Steinitz] revealed a new approach to chess playing: a system that would become known as modern chess strategy. From the middle of the 19th Century until around the end of it, the romantic chess style was most popular, but the theoretical contribution of Steinitz revolutionized master competition strategy.

Chess in the Movies

A 3D computer-animated short film, Geri’s Game, follows  the comical antics of an old man who appears to be two  old men who play chess in a city park.

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