zarifes@bnrmtv.UUCP (Kenneth Zarifes) (01/30/86)
I am in the process of introducing a friend to chess. I first gave her the Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess book and she has worked through the entire book and REALLY enjoyed it. She was saying things like, "Gosh, I wish I knew how to GET to these neat positions", and "How do you start a game?". My question is, what is a good next step? Should I give her an opening book? A middlegame or endgame book? Or one of the "primers" like Lasker's Modern Chess Strategy or Tarrasch's manual? I think Nimzovich's My System is too advanced, isn't it? Or should I go ahead and teach what I know (which isn't much). I showed her about opposition, how to mate with 2 rooks, 2 bishops, etc. Any suggestions? Mail me or post. I'll summarize if appropriate. Thanks in advance! -- {hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!zarifes --Ken Zarifes
seltzer@learn.DEC (DECWORLD/MGMT MEMO/EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS) (02/03/86)
I highly recommend Chess for Tomorrow's Champions by J.N. Walker (Oxford Press). It covers all the basic, is well written, easy to follow, and provides some good depth as well. In addition, try Winning Chess by Chernev and Reinfeld. That's a series of problems, arranged in order of difficulty and by type to train you in looking for and recognizing various tactical traps.