Great Moves

Chess began in ancient India, and so does this course in the game, following it through the palaces of medieval and Renaissance Europe, the cafés of the Enlightenment and on to the dawn of the Industrial Age. Along the way the authors stop to meet the people who changed how chess was understood, rogues and champions alike, and use their games to teach the ideas they discovered. The exercises grow steadily harder as the centuries pass, so history and technique build together.

It works as a primer for newcomers and a sound framework for those teaching them, but stronger players will find plenty too: the lives and games of great players from earlier eras, and the chess culture many club regulars never quite picked up. A rewarding book for anyone who likes to know where an idea came from.