How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit chess) Reviews

• They don't aways work but some good stuff anyway

  
  By on 2006-09-14
  I got this book. My dad didn't fall for all but one of these checkmates. But then I was happy. I tried them all, but he would get me down too much to use any of them so I think just the beginners book for juniors worked better anyway. I did get him in the backrank one because he was upset by my little sister tossing stuff when she didn't get her way and he was not paying attention. I got a beginners book for juniors and and a traps book and both worked better. I now beat my dad more than half the time.
  
  

• Learned some good checkmates

  
  By on 2005-11-10
  After reading my Chess For Juniors and Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess books I got this one. I loved Chess For Juniors a lot but found Bobby Fischer to cover checkmates but not as good at this book. Bobby Fischer was too easy and some of this book was hard but I stilled learned from it.
  If you are thinking of getting Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess then don't and get How To Beat Your Dad At Chess instead because it is better.
  You can learn the back rank and legels checkmates and a lot more to help you win.
  
  
  

• LEARN MATING PATTERNS - an excellent book on learning how to mate quickly and efficiently

  
  By on 2005-12-26
  Do you know how to mate? You can now get actual experience in the most important basic positions. This book will test you and teach you new positions you probably didn't know about before.
  
  Without knowing these patterns you will miss many important opportunities in your game. HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS has 50 of the most important patterns. By looking at the title and cover it may at first appear to be just a book for kids, but it is for all ages (though not for a beginner).
  
  [...]The cover may look silly, and the title may not really tell you what the book is all about, but it is well organized and should be a fine addition to additional books on other parts of tactics.
  
  I highly recommend this as an important and excellent book for those who are intermediate skilled chess players.
  
  

• Not for kids only

  
  By A33DRDZUXRDAQ on 2000-03-20
  I found the title to be an unfortunate choice; it makes the book look like a kids book. Kids will benefit, but so will anyone with a USCF rating below ~1500. This is not a book about how to move the pieces. It doesn't outline basic strategy such as controlling the center, developing your pieces, or castling early. Instead, almost the entire book is devoted to "The 50 Deadly Checkmating Patterns." These range from the simple back-rank mate to four variations of the Greek gift sacrifice to methods of salvaging a "Petrosian draw" in the endgame. Chandler argues that these are common themes, and that by working through the well-diagramed, two-page-per-example sections, we will notice these possibilities in our play. He includes a test section at the end to how well the material has sunk in. The text is easy to read with clear, well-anotated diagrams (the key move is indicated by an arrow as well as the text), and the hardcover version withstands abuse in your gear bag. This is a superb book to glance at while you're waiting for the tournament to start.
  
  

• Fifty Deadly Checkmates...

  
  By A29V2FHY7FQ2CQ on 2004-07-31
  There are only two weaknesses one could find in this book. The first is the cover: a work like this should not have the cover of a fifth grade drawing project. The second is the title: it should have been "Fifty Deadly Checkmates You Could Beat Your Dad With". Based on the principle of pattern recognition the author introduces you to fifty checkmate patterns and emphasizes the elements necessary to attain them. From "Anastasia's Mate" to "The Fischer Trap" it does an excellent job depicting the deadly patterns that would lead to mates. But there are no discussions of openings or middle game antics, not to mention the tedious end game struggles. Certainly, pattern recognition plays an important role in chess, but so does elemental principles of positional and tactical plays, of which this book shows only few examples. Taken together, these checkmates reinforce principles such as the value of the defensive f-pawn and the beauty of seemingly senseless decoy sacrifices. But students of elemental principles of sound chess may find this book somewhat disappointing.
  
  
• Dive right in!
  By A1RL5DVIICAK5F on 2005-10-24
  I started off with CHESS FOR JUNIORS (my third book was UNBEATABLE CHESS LESSONS FOR JUNIORS) as my first chess book (excellent first book) dove right into HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS. I really found the checkmating patterns to be well organized - a great tactical workbook! I wouldn't hesitate to get all three of the first books I read. I have moved on to others, and come right back and say - these are the best three books to start off with!!!
  
  
  
• Learned some new checkmates but this book is not for beginners (tha's for sure!)
  By on 2005-12-12
  I found the teaching of checkmates in this book to be hard for me because I am a advanced beginner. So I would suggest this book for more advanced players. A beginner should get a beginner book. [...]
  
  
• One of the best chess books you can buy
  By A1H0DP3UTEX7JZ on 2003-02-06
  This book teaches mating tactics in so many ways!

  * 50 patterns, 2 pages each
  * For each pattern, a brief description of the elements which must be present. (This is similar to more advanced checkmate books, but at a very simple level.)
  * Then, a couple of diagrams with arrows, showing the motion of the key pieces, with the moves written below. Very good for improving visualization, so you might spot the pattern later.
  * Then another similar pattern, with 2 diagrams.
  * Then a couple of positions for you to work out yourself, with solutions directly underneath.
  * And finally, near the back of the book, a set of a few dozen positions. They include theme numbers for you to use as hints if necessary. Solutions are separate. This reinforces the learning.

  These are all attacks on the castled king, not How To Take Advantage of Opening Blunders, or How To Solve Unlikely Chess Positions. These positions can actually occur in your games, even Fischerandom. The attacks are simple, but not obvious. Some are even by the Black pieces!

  Nice hardcover for a thin book. Large diagrams. Feels great in your hands. Very well-designed.

  Excellent book for someone rated between 1200 and 1500. I keep it in the bathroom. (I use different chess books in different ways. I take tactics puzzles to the gym. I always keep a chessboard handy for endgame books. I use a miniature set for studying openings. And I follow along with game anthologies by using a computer database and watching the computer analysis. And I am improving rapidly.)

  Do one theme (two pages) per day. In two months you'll have actually finished an entire chessbook, and you'll miss it! You will find yourself improving your own defenses because you'll know what to look out for. One of the few chess books you'll actually read cover to cover, and it's cheap for a hardcover.
  
  

• Will Sharpen Skils
  By on 2005-08-23
  After my first book "Chess For Juniors" (the absolute best first book to get when learning chess - the entire series is great) I got "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess". I found it to really help me improve my checkmating skills! And, I recommend it very much. It could use more problems, which is why I gave it 4 instead of 5 points.
  
  
  
  
• Moderate Checkmate Patters to Learn
  By A28AS46O5OF88X on 2005-11-10
  I guess I am more into the "workbook" type of books for learning tactical patterns such as "1001 Brilliant Checkmates" by Reinfeld or "Combination Challenge" by Hays.
  However, "How to Beat your Dad at Chess" is a better than average chess book. It could use MORE PROBLEMS to work on, which perhaps is my only complaint, but a good one!
  
  
• Really nice format - don't judge book by the cover
  By A3HTD7YTMDGNOX on 2002-12-20
  I first saw this book at a display by a chess book vendor at a large chess tournament that was being held in Denver last year. I am an adult active tournament player, currently with a 1570 USCF rating. A friend was walking out and said he had bought a book. As a joke I said "How to beat you dad at chess"? and everyone laughed, since my friend was also an experienced player.

  A few months later one of the people who was with me when I made that joke told me he had looked at the book at a store, and was really impressed, and bought it. He said that I would really like it. I had a gift certificate to amazon.com, so I decided to buy it also.

  It turns out that my joke was not really as funny as I thought it was! This book is not really for people who want to learn how the pieces move. It is a collection of mating patterns.

  While most of the material was not new to me, I really liked how the book was laid out. You can read it in little chunks, which is really nice. Each mating pattern is about 2 pages, so it is easily digestable. You can also read it without a board setup, which is really nice too, when you are on a plane, or just want to lay on the couch.

  I would recommend this to players from about 1000-1500 USCF strenght, or those that want to brush up on their mating patterns. Again, not for people just learning the game. It might look a little embarrassing if you are an adult, and leave it out on the coffee table, but just remember to "not judge the book by its cover". I am glad I didn't!
  
  

• Well-organized and useful to players of any ability
  By A1J93EGDYK0IWA on 2006-12-30
  This is a very well-organized and highly readable book on various types of checkmates. Since this is the whole purpose of the game, it is an obvious area of emphasis from both offensive and defensive perspectives. In other words, if you want to be a winner you need to always be looking for checkmate whether you are on the "giving" or "receiving" side! I think the author is correct to be emphasising this early and teaching people to recognize patterns than come up that lead to checkmate. This will both prevent you from being checkmated by surprise and to see checkmate opportunities in real game situations that you might otherwise miss.
  
  The other reviewers are correct in their observations that this book is suitable for players of any age. In fact, I would say it is even a bit misleading to position it as a book for kids. It seems to me that one would need to be at least 12 years old to fully appreciate and benefit from the contents. It might be a difficult read for younger kids, but one they can grow into over time. I wouldn't buy it for someone is 6 years old, but it certainly is a possiblity for a bright 9 year old.
  
  I don't really have anything critical to say about the book. It gets to the point quickly and focuses on principles and patterns that come up again and again in chess. If you are serious about chess, but haven't really studied it, this would be a great place to start. The contents are not overwhelming and the book covers a lot of ground without becoming boring.
  
  Finally, if you are a beginning chess player and you really want to beat your dad, this book will help enormously. The other books by this author are also very good. In addition, I would recommend getting a good chess program. This is one of the best ways to improve your play.
  
  
• My Dad Fell for a Checkmate I learned in this book
  By on 2005-11-13
  I wanted to right about it. After going over this book I beat my dad for the first time using the exact checkmate on the back rank with my Rook when he was not looking. I was losing the game and was like a Queen behind. But my Rook saw a sneak checkmate after my dad had castled. It went down to the back rank and zap! He was checkmated! He almost fell out of his chair. Funny ha, ha, ha. My dad can read this in here because I learned it from this book.
  
  
• Learn how to checkmate
  By on 2005-12-07
  The book teaches how to checkmate and gives problems to do that. It was fun to go through the book. I wish there was more and that is why I feel it should not get more stars as it could have been thicker with more stuff. That is I went through it quikly and felt that there should have been more inside.
  
  
• Great for 5th grade and up
  By A129DYT9HJ0W1S on 2006-09-02
  I bought this book for my 3rd grader who is mediocre for a competing chess player at this age (a U.S. chess federation ranking of like 200). The book is a little hard for him, and I have to go over it with him, so I think it is better for older kids. Probably a middle school or high school age would be best if they are to read it and understand it on their own. It basically has a bunch of scenarios you review so you can recognize them in a game. The scenarios are more than I knew before I read the book, and have no doubt he would be able to whoop me if he could read and understand the book on his own. It is well written, and we enjoy reading it together. For the older child, I give it 5 stars, for the younger child it is too advanced.
  
  
• Superb Explanation of thematic checkmate positions
  By on 2006-06-08
  Although many books are available that claim to teach tactics and combinations, this is the best around for explaining how to attack the enemy king. I know that this book makes perfect training material for a chess teacher, as I have several friends who routinely use it as standard coursework for their pupils.
  
  The examples are presented in a light-hearted yet educational way, and the checkmate positions illustrate the themes well. You hardly notice that you are learning some pretty intense stuff!
  
  After reading this book I had the feeling that I could attack and checkmate just about anyone, given certain types of formation! I like the way the author has taken all the positions from real international games too, none composed.
  
  The rationale is that "in real life pieces and pawns often lurk in inconvenient places, and you have to learn to take them into account with each combination."
  
  This approach could backfire and make the book too challenging, but not here. A lot of thought has gone into grading the puzzles, and there is an inspirational mix of easy puzzles and hard puzzles.
  
  How to Beat Your Dad at Chess is compartmentalized into 50 sections (hence the "50 Deadly Checkmates) with a typical example being "Morphy's Mate" or a "Rook Sacrifice on g7."
  
  Occasionally if a deadly checkmate theme is a very popular one, it will be spread over more than one section. I think the biggest section was for the commen Greek Gift sacrifice, when white sacrifices a bishop for a pawn with Bxh7 check (four sections).
  
  The book is hardback which is useful as the extra weight of the covers means it opens nice and flat.
  
  One other feature than must be mentioned is the introductions to each of the motifs. They provide instruction and background, especially when the motif has adopted the name of a famous player who first used it.
  
  A good example of this is the amazing Bobby Fischer trap, where Bobby played a two piece sacrifice. With the moves Bxf7 check!! followed by Ne6!! the black king was forced into the center of the board, where it was ruthlessly hunted down and checkmated by Fischer.
  
  Some experienced players might know that game and trap, but I had no idea that it was Siegbert Tarrasch who fell for a very similar motif long before that game. And I was pleased to learn that with other variants of the same theme you can often win the enemy queen by force.
  
  I can recommend this unique book as an unbeatable tool for any player. The pattern recognition it teaches is amazing, and I am very alert to new attacking opportunities in every game I play now.
  
  
  
• Chess Nuts Boasting
  By A1C4PZDQ84I9MA on 2007-04-18
  
  
  Great book. I love the premise- and the careful way the Mr. Chandler explains it- which is that pattern recognition is a more powerful tool than in-depth computation analysis. It serves as a nice illustration of Gladwell's "Blink" theory, that less information can be more when the brain is finely tuned in to the right information. Chandler points out that a human chess pro is better than a computer because our brains can quickly filter out the irrelevant info and just recognize the broad pattern, such as a set-up for a standard mate possibility. The computer is inferior, per the author, because while it might come to the same conclusion, it has to do it by generating every single possible move with every single piece on the board, following out hundreds of thousands of possible subsequent sequences to arrive at the checkmate. Of course, I would suggest that the computer is actually superior in this respect because, even though it has to analyze hundreds of thousands of possibilities, it really doesn't mind. It doesn't get bored, fatigued, or seduced by a bold capture. But, still, I appreciate his point.
  
  The author gives examples of fifty standard checkmate motifs, and uses good illustrations to help recognize the pattern when it is there and understand the sequence of events. My only beef with the book, for which I've docked a star, is the sexist title. I can't help but comment on this in this post-Imus era. The author tells us from the start that it is really a book on how to beat anyone in chess so the title is just an eye-catcher. But I don't want to reinforce the many messages that young girls get about what they should or shouldn't be good at. Okay, to be truthful, in all the chess playing families that I can think of off the top of my head, it is in fact the fathers who are the chess nuts, who hand the game down to the next generation. But lets not reinforce the not uncommon notion that men are naturally superior chess players. I've even read the likes of Camille Paglia, in one of her faux-academic pieces, use the fact that chess champions are all men as evidence for a male superiority in spatial and mathematical reasoning. Without going too far into what is a complicated and emotionally loaded argument, I would just direct people to do a little internet search on Judit Polgar if you are not already familiar.
  
  Still, overall, thumbs up. A good book, really for beginning to intermediate chess fans of any age, which will increase your arsenal of offensive tricks and improve your defensive vigilance.
  
  
  
• Good Book with Checkmate Tactics
  By on 2005-08-12
  I like this along with 1001 Brilliant Checkmates (Reinfeld) which are two of the better books that use checkmate tactics.
  How to Beat your Dad at Chess give you some excellent checkmating patterns. Could have more problems (why I give it 4 instead of 5 stars) to make it complete. If you are a beginner, then start with Chess For Juniors (Snyder) first and then get this book.
  Overall, a very good book!
  
  
• Learn Checkmates!
  By on 2005-11-08
  How To Beat Your Dad at chess teaches you how to checkmate.
  You learn 50 different checkmate ideas.
  This book is much better than Bobby Fisher Teaches Chess because it has a lot more to work on and the author knows more about teaching chess. This book is also more advanced, but good for advanced beginners and intermediates too.
  I recommend it.
  
  
• Good Book on CheckMate Patterns
  By A12TPC9ZJTJ1GA on 2005-03-01
  This book doesn't look like it has much at a glance. However, it is well organized and the checkmates it contains a very good examples of important checkmate patterns that every chess player needs to know.
  If you are in need of a good book on checkmates I recommend this book along with "1001 Brilliant CheckMates" and "Winning Chess Tournaments for Juniors". I do not recommend "Bobby Fischer Teach's Chess" (see my review on it).
  Why 4 instead of 5 stars. I think "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess" is one of the best checkmate problem books, however, it left me wanting more problems to work on. If the author puts out "How to Beat your Dad at Chess Volumee Two (Dad gets older and wiser!)" then I will upgrade this to a 5!!!!
  
  
• Small book, but great value!
  By on 2003-03-31
  This book was excellent! I agree with the other reviewers who say that the outside cover looks really silly, but once you open it and start working through the problems, it can really improve your chess. I'm not a tournament player, nor have I ever been rated, but when I play on the net or at the local cafe, I notice that many of the patterns (especially the Greek gift and the missing h-pawn attacks) come pretty often. By practicing the patterns in this book, I'm beginning to win more and more.

  This book isn't for people who are learning how to move pieces, but it's good for intermediate players who want to learn how to sacrifice and how to attack. It'll help intermediate players get over their fear of sacrificing, and it'll reveal possibilities that one might not normally see.

  Highly recommended.
  
  

• This is a great book!
  By on 2003-10-01
  Its a great book for beginner and intermediate chess players of all ages. It helps you with recognizing patterns so you can see check mates several moves before you execute them. It says that most beginner players play chess using five percent of their time recognizing a pattern and 95% of the time analyzing the situation and their moves. A master player recognizes patterns 60% of the time he's playing and only analyzes the situation about 40% of the time. Now I play trying to look ahead to see if I have been in the position before. I also try to remember positions I'm in for later use when I've won. This book helps you beat anyone who continuously defeats you. Its easy to read. More visual players should put a chessboard in front of them with the positions shown in the book so they can move the peices according to what it says instead of imagining them in their mind. I recommend this book for kids and adults who want to improve their game.
  
  
• I do like this book!
  By on 2005-06-13
  I found this book to be a lot of fun - it helps improve your ability of find checkmates, but not anything more than that so the title is a bit misleading and the cover is great! I have beaten my dad several times using the checkmates in this book.
  I started out with CHESS FOR JUNIORS (the best first book to get if you are beginning or just beyond that stage and that entire series is simply the best series period). But I can recommend HOW TO BEAT YOUR DAD AT CHESS for some great advice on learning how to checkmate because the patterns are very nice.
  
  
• A very nice book
  By AN9K7VOYKBNNF on 2002-02-03
  This is a very nice book. It's written in a very readable style. Absolutly not for advanced players, but these traps are worth knowing even if you are just a beginner - you can never know when you'll have the chance of using one of them.
  
  
• Not for Kids only
  By A3KV7UGO18FKLK on 2004-04-28
  I found the title to be an unfortunate choice; it makes the book look like a kids book. Kids will benefit, but so will anyone with a USCF rating below ~1500. This is not a book about how to move the pieces. It doesn't outline basic strategy such as controlling the center, developing your pieces, or castling early. Instead, almost the entire book is devoted to "The 50 Deadly Checkmating Patterns." These range from the simple back-rank mate to four variations of the Greek gift sacrifice to methods of salvaging a "Petrosian draw" in the endgame. Chandler argues that these are common themes, and that by working through the well-diagramed, two-page-per-example sections, we will notice these possibilities in our play. He includes a test section at the end to how well the material has sunk in. The text is easy to read with clear, well-anotated diagrams (the key move is indicated by an arrow as well as the text), and the hardcover version withstands abuse in your gear bag. This is a superb book to glance at while you're waiting for the tournament to start.
  
  
• Best Book on Checkmating Patterns
  By on 2005-01-30
  There is absolutely no doubt that this is the VERY best book on learning the MOST IMPORTANT checkmating patterns. It works on a simular theme to WINNING CHESS TOURNAMENTS FOR JUNIORS (which I recommend as a good companion book for tactics).
  It doesn't matter how many openings you learn, how many endgames you know, if you don't know how to checkmate you will be at a loss. This is the book!
  
  
• Fun is the key
  By A1VD2CAM3LI3HF on 2003-05-20
  Here's the scoop:
  After reading this book you'll be thinking of ways to play the game differently. !... This is not a beginner's book!... Not in my opinion anyway, I've been playing chess forever and I found moments of this book difficult but I also picked up a few gems that I had ignored in my journey down the road of chess. One cool development after reading this was a friend and I created a sacrifice game where losing key pieces was unavoidable by design. Our version of sacrifice includes a clause where if a player has not captured a piece within his first 5 moves (regardless of the consequences) the other player gets to take one of his pawns (any pawn) it goes on from there but you get the idea. Let me tell you, you get your [self] out there and find a way to capture a piece ASAP, along the way you also learn how to recover from some seriously bad moves and there is a lot of laughing and whooping and hollering (which I think chess needs more of) also a byproduct is finding the "State of the board" after a few minutes in a very unique disarray. This book will expand your vision of the game and get you eager to go at it with a little more vigor and less fear. After all, the best game of chess I ever played I lost. Playing with a spirit of adventure is gained in this book, may chess never bore you again.
  
  
• Good book on Checkmate Patterns
  By A1JH2CRHQJ6BR5 on 2005-03-27
  Also see my reviews on the other books that cover checkmates (Art of the Checkmate, 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate, Kids Book of Checkmate & Bobby Fischer teaches Chess).
  I rank How to Beat your Dad at Chess as one of the better books on checkmating pattterns. It does a good job of covering a wide variety of the most important patterns. The only drawback is that it could use a little more material. Other than that is is very good.
  Warnign: Get this book before getting Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess or the Kids Book of Checkmate (the reasons are in their individual reviews).
  
  
• Pattern Recognition
  By A1UKOWS0MQRLTE on 2003-05-24
  Concise - nothing but pattern recognition explanations & exercises. Written for children, but a great work-thru for anyone! I've seen nothing like it. Written by Grandmaster Murray Chandler.
  
  
• OK book on checkmate themes
  By on 2005-03-17
  This book does an ok job of covering the basic checkmates (My other book "Art of the Checkmate is even better"). I think it is a little overated by some of the reviews, but is it still a good book (I can see that someone liked it so much that they wrote the exact same review two times before I wrote this one - daa - doesn't someone check these reviews on this site). Well anyway, I can recommend this book but also think of getting "art of the checkmate" by renald and Kann.
  
  

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