Chess for Juniors

(February 2005) 'Chess for Juniors' by Robert M. Snyder; David McKay Company; March 1991; 256 pages. • How to play chess: Basic rules; check and checkmate; opening systems; endgame strategy; tactics. Two sample games with comments on every move. 277 diagrams.

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This is the first book in Snyder's 'Chess for Juniors' series. If you are asking, 'How do I play chess?', this is a book for you. • The material is structured in twenty graduated lessons with each lesson building on previous lessons. The book starts with how the pieces move and explains check, checkmate, castling and draws. After presenting chess notation, it cycles through openings, tactics, and endgames, presenting elementary concepts of each before tackling more advanced concepts. • It covers tactics like hanging pieces, discovered attacks, forks, and pins, plus elementary checkmates like the scholar's mate, the back rank mate, and smothered mate. The opening systems include the Ruy Lopez, the Sicilian Defense, the Nimzo Indian Defense, and the Queen's Indian Defense. Elementary endgames -- King and Queen (plus King and two Rooks) checkmating a lone King, simple King and Pawn positions -- are explained in sufficient detail. An entire lesson is devoted to positional features of Pawns like doubled Pawns, isolated Pawns, backward Pawns, and the Pawn chain. • Two complete games are explained with move by move analysis. The book wraps everything up with a detailed nine page index. The author's many years of experience working with young students are evident throughout. Everything is explained with a simple vocabulary and ample doses of humor: not cartoons, but stories.