How to Win at Chess: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners and Beyond

As someone who already plays the game, I found this book to be a great refresher. It reminded me of important concepts (basics actually) and helped me brush up on my skills. One thing I loved was learning new concepts, like Zwischenzug (an in-between move). I also feel that the book has helped me improve my endgame skills. For example, I now know how to calculate if my opponent’s King can catch my pawn before it promotes. This has made me more confident in close games. Top of head, Levy also talks about keeping tension in the game and not trading pieces unless it helps -something I am not good at as my old strategy was to have a good pawn structure, then trade immediately to reach end game. This tip really changed how I think during matches. Another thing I like is that his writing is friendly and easy to understand, which makes the book fun to read. In fact, I think if you watched any of his YouTube videos, it would feel like he is just right there coaching you as you read. Lastly, I appreciate that he included links to videos for extra help. The book was so good that I am playing with the idea of buying the physical version to reread it later. As for my recommendation, I am recommending this book to everyone. Whether you are new to chess or you already play. It is a fantastic guide that is easy to follow and full of useful tips! Thanks, Levy!

Must buy for anyone learning. My husband asked me to play him in chess last week. I never really played. He smoked me. I bought this book without telling him and challenged him to a game a week later and I beat him. He was really impressed I learned so much in a short amount of time. This book has taught me a lot about chess but also about strategic thinking in general. I also recommend the chess deck! We each take a card to study and use it to play each other. It’s really fun.

I've read scores of chess instruction books over the past 50 years. "How to Win at Chess" is by far the most comprehensive, easy to understand, and strategically laid out explanation of winning approaches to chess I have ever read. I cannot wait until Levy's next book due out in October 2026. I am counting the days until its release. If you want to take your chess game to the next level, don't waste time figuring out what book to read and study. Read Levy's book!

I highly recommend this book. I purchased it for my kids who were just learning to play chess, and the first half of the book does an excellent job of explaining the basics of game play, scoring, and general principles that I was never taught when I first learned to play. It also gets into some slightly more advanced techniques that are good background for new players to at least know about, even if they're not quite ready to apply them regularly. The second half does cover more advanced techniques in greater detail for more experienced players. I've been reading that and it has helped me to improve my game, which is good because my kids have now gotten better so thankfully I can still beat them! The price is reasonable for an information and illustration-rich book, and the thick covers and pages are durable enough that my kids haven't destroyed it yet.

A really solid beginner chess book. Levy Rozman explains ideas in a clear, simple way that feels like one of his YouTube lessons. It’s great for learning basic strategy and avoiding common mistakes. Some stronger beginners might find parts of it a bit basic, but it’s perfect for learning the fundamentals.

The book is beautiful. I have the hardcover edition, and it is elegant and charming. Unfortunately, there is a major problem with this book and I'm so disappointed because I love his YouTube videos. I went through a lot of the reviews written here about this book, and a few people have pointed out that they have trouble seeing the black pieces on the dark squares. Let me set this straight. They are absolutely correct, but what they are missing is this it's almost impossible to see the white pieces on the light squares. It is a major disappointment. This should've immediately been noticed and changed I think the entire book should be reprinted with better colors. But it is beautiful and it is a joy to hold in your hand. But it's a chore to enjoy. UPDATE.......I just bought the digital version for my IPAD, and it's fantastic. the problem that I had with the colors of the squares is not a problem at all with the digital version.........I'm so glad, It's a beautiful book and a joy to read. I'm changing my 1 star into 5 stars!

My grandson received this and was pleased Ruth the content. The author is a well known content provider on U tube . I found it well organized easy to read and welll illustrated.

I am 71 years old and first played chess aboard ship on a westpac in 1974. My Chess Library is over 200 books from all the top grand masters who wrote teaching books going back to the 1970s. My only video teaching is from DVDs and Workbooks narrated by Elliott Neff. I have the Chess Genius Pro Computer that I use often. I have a small 10 inch magnetic chess set that I take with me on the road and also join my old chess master friend for lunch once a week at our favorite restaurants and play while waiting for our lunch to be served. Now the constructive criticism based on just receiving the book and not reviewing it totally cover to cover, yet. The book starts off with a five star rating because of the spiral binding advantages over all paperback and hard cover books I own. The only negative is the dark squares are too dark making it difficult to differentiate the dark chess pieces when on the dark squares. The teaching in the introduction chapters is very well written and in total agreement with the teachings in the better chess teaching books I own. The trouble with paperback and hardback books is that as you move through them it is difficult to read the pages close to the binding. With this spiral book, the spiral is heavy duty and the cover is hard and the pages are also heavier. You can easily lay the book flat and also open the book 360 degrees easily. I love it. With the more complex books, I use my 10 inch chess set to lay out the board to agree with the book for a better learning experience. The authors do not always have the best moves, and we really need to think for ourselves and not just use textbook direction. This book should be used with and without a good chessboard with the file letters and rank numbers for quickly teaching beginners. Eventually as you become an intermediate to advanced player you should play on a board without the file letters and rank numbers for serious tournament playing. As the authors recommended playing better players as I do is the best experience to advance your play. About me. I am a retired Electrical and electronic engineer and engineering manager. Engineers are by nature your better problem solvers especially after they gained some practical experience. My much younger educational years was with shops in wood, metal, and machine shop. Since I been retired, I used my hand and machine tools to make my children and grandchildren Chess Boards and Chess Pieces out of quality hardwoods. I also purchased he same small 10 inch magnetic chess sets and chess books for kids for the grandchildren who are more into playing and learning. PS: I will update my review after I reviewed the entire book at least once. After going through over 200 other books, I will be able to provide an update on the quality between the covers. The author said this is a book for beginners up to the intermediate level, so we should not expect to become a grandmaster from just reading this book. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000Z9G456?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079RKQDN3?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Chess-Board-Set-User-Friendly/dp/B0CHW3V5LS/ref=sr_1_7?crid=OA3I62YT8Z7Q&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.qOfhrsMl-3kR7Q0VBV-dDo_c_Vp5G1q3gz_HQy0t7fOPZdRrg7AXN_9BM_4OkyJdvXGOXOHYUtkULlWBBTqwd5TF_vXQLkjOMcyQH-djyNxeBbfYw18Ab5iQdl1qdyzlh55wB6ZH4KhNEyZOnwtQNh68CVLW6ixVbyJOUNAXdCOT_msilUPNDbS931UMTF9jNG2lAm6zO_tt_T3X-WrnoBPK2TT5jHl-blEkW-oeIVdzRDoe-NvkI24pOqHc-ZH5zfXE7HvrjINb2euJWRGguk9KBDHXtp6iQ85cbjoKIZY.fIDM53sZAGVS3tCrDYraHfMD4leMl2TopHOeRi2BVvc&dib_tag=se&keywords=millennium+chessgenius+pro&qid=1752176051&sprefix=Millennium+ChessGenius%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-7

Kapak kısmından hafif yırtık geldi. 4 tane kalın kitabı basit bir zarfa koymuşlar ve tüm avrupayı bu şekilde dolaştı ve tabi üstteki kitap hafif yırtılmıştı.

Finally bit the bullet and got Levy's book. Kid likes it so all good

I think you must read this book if you’re a new to chess or even a professional this book is one of the best books I’ve ever read

Levy has a great way to teach chess to beginners and intermediate players there’s something for every player at most levels to learn.

Great beginner book. Fun and easy to read. The moves are shown visually which is great for beginners. You can understand the basis chess strategies and tactics if you read this.