Introduction

1 The Rules of the Game Moves of the pieces; capturing; castling; check and checkmate; stalemate and other draws; notation.

2 Elementary Endgames Checkmate with two Rooks; with one Rook; other mates against a lone King; King and Pawn against King.

3 Elementary Tactics Relative values of the pieces; the fork; the discovered attack; the pin; mating combinations.

4 Principles of Opening Play Development of the pieces; control of the centre; the conquest of space; rules and when to break them.

5 Endgame Strategy The creation of passed Pawns; techniques of winning with an extra Pawn.

6 Strategic Planning The assessment of positions; material, space and the initiative; Pawn weaknesses and other positional factors; the formulation and execution of a strategic plan.

7 Basic Opening Theory Open games; Semi-open games; Closed games; Semi-closed games; Flank openings.

8 Illustrative Games A historical discussion of the development of chess through the games of the World Champions from Anderssen to Kasparov.

9 The Art of Chess Compositions Chess problems and studies; fantasy in chess composition.

Postscript

Appendix: Forms of Chess Notation

Glossary