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

I have not yet finished going through the book, but after reading the first 3 chapters, I'm quite impressed! I really like being able to scan the QR codes at the end of each chapter to get practice and more in-depth knowledge about the content of the chapter. In the digital section I've already learned the basic ideas for the italian, ruy lopez, scotch, and london. The printed diagrams of the chess board are also really helpful so I don't have to use my physical chess board every time I'm trying to learn, which is especially important if you are a chess player who only plays on their computer or phone, which is probably a lot more common nowadays. I'll come back to this review once I've finished the book and also give an ELO progress update :)

A gifted teacher with a passion for teaching, Mr. Levy Rozman has written a chess book for beginning and intermediate players in a way not often seen in many of the copious chess books available (I know, I own most of them!). His book is well written, clearly thought out, building on one's knowledge in succinct steps. Placing interactive teaching examples on the Internet was truly inspired. These learning examples are geared to help remember what he's teaching being both numerous and actually useful. As informative and instructive his lessons on the Internet are, he has now provided written lessons which is very helpful for quick reference and review. For a through grounding in chess for the beginner or for a well-presented review of many chess topics for the intermediate player, I recommend Mr. Rozman's book. Actually, I recommend his book for ANY club player. I hope he writes a second!

An upfront caveat: I haven't read through the whole book and am, at best, a chess enthusiast. Unfortunately, I've already spotted at least one missed but obvious fact, which, (to me, as an enthusiast and and not an expert) implies at a minimum a missed opportunity for explanation (i.e. a teaching moment): In chapter 2 there's a sections that asks, "Why learn openings" which ends with the fact that after the first 2 moves, there are 400 board configurations AND also a table with "Opening Do's and Don'ts." Fact: If you follow the first rule on the Do's and Don'ts column, that immediately removes 6 move options, leaving you with 14 potential pawn moves. Fact: If black doesn't follow the same rule, there are now only 280 POSSIBLE board configurations. If black does follow the first rule then there are only 196. 196 is 49% of 400... If you follow just the first *RULE* on Levy's table, you REDUCE the number of paths moving forward. Supposition: This will only increases your likelihood of playing a game that favors your perspective and skills. Supposition: Most "openings" try to use modern computers' ability to capture metrics in order to provide evidence from human-played games that "following an opening line" leads to following paths that are ultimately better for the player who knows the different paths. A counter-statement might be, "This is why both Magnus Carlson and Levy often leave the 'known' paths as early as possible in their best games." The conclusion there being that I need to read on, because understanding principles is infinitely better for humans than memorizing board positions. I.e. Learn "Why to do a thing", not simply "What to do." Proof cases for that statement go far beyond chess.

I am about 1600 Elo and got this book to check out and possibly recommend for my chess club. I have about five bookshelves of chess books, including many for beginners. Levy's book is the best one I've ever seen for beginners up to intermediate. I learned a couple of things myself, and was very impressed with how clearly he explains concepts and gives good examples. I also like how you do not need to have a chessboard handy to use this book. My only nit-pick is that I would have liked the dark brown squares to be slightly lighter, as it makes it hard to see the black pieces on them, depending on eyesight and lighting. Therefore I am only giving this book 4.99999999 stars. But yeah, really you did a great job Levy! And there's a reason he is the most popular YT chess guy by far.

This book is a new and refreshing guide for understanding the fundamentals of chess, and most importantly, how to study openings and develop a strategy (notice I didn't say "it outlines openings and strategy." I said "how to study openings and develop a strategy"). It is THE must-have chess book for the 21st century. Levy does a stellar job at writing in a way that is engaging to the reader. The best part is the QR codes that let the reader practice the very concepts the book outlines! You don't need a physical board (which was essentially required for every other book that predates this one). Just scan the QR code, and be transported to Levy's website, where the concepts are explained in further detail, and you can practice! This book is perfect for people who are completely new to the game of chess, as well as those who would consider themselves intermediates. The pacing and flow of the book are nothing short of perfection. And most importantly, it is not a dry read by any means. I have read chess books that were likely written to cure insomnia. This is NOT one of those books.

I have followed Levy online and find his content interesting. He definitely makes chess approachable. I play the English with white and randomness with black and don’t go very deep in theory. I managed to get up to 1200 or so on a popular chess site. I enjoy chess puzzles and playing against bots. In the first few chapters, I feel like I got a good intro to various openings and now know how to solve the room/king endgame - which I mostly could do previously but not accurately. I expect the rest of the book will improve my chess. The connection to online training material is super valuable. Good value and a good way to support someone who’s online content I appreciate.