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

by Levy Rozman

Overview

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Learn chess from International Master and YouTube’s top chess teacher Levy Rozman (aka GothamChess) in this refreshing and fun guide for beginner and intermediate players.

Clever and informative, How to Win at Chess teaches you everything you need to know about the game, including all the important moves and strategies to start off strong and keep you thinking several steps ahead.

Full of Levy Rozman's signature charm and humor that have made him beloved by millions of fans, the first half of this unique guide introduces rising players (0-800 Elo rating) to the four key areas to consider when playing chess—openings, endings, tactics, and strategy—and the second half builds upon these core skills for more experienced players (800-1300 Elo rating). Brimming with practical and easy-to-follow tips for improving your game, How to Win at Chess includes over 500 instructional gameplay illustrations to help you better visualize the board, as well as chapter-specific QR codes for exclusive bonus content on Chessly, Rozman’s teaching platform.

Whether you want to become a recreational chess player or are training to be a Grandmaster, How to Win at Chess is the perfect interactive introduction to the world of chess!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781984862082
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	10/24/2023
Sold by:	Random House
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	26,268
File size:	67 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Levy Rozman, more popularly known as GothamChess, is an online chess streamer who earned the International Master title in 2018. A former scholastic chess coach, he is passionate about chess accessibility, and has donated $100,000 in scholarship funds for chess programs in education. He currently boasts the biggest chess channel on YouTube, where he focuses on creating fun and educational content.

Read an Excerpt

Introduction

Hello and welcome! My name is Levy. I’m an International Master, a former semiprofessional player, and now I primarily teach chess online. Before we dive into the specifics of how to win at chess, I’d like to give you some background about myself, this book, and the basics of this incredible game.

Chess is a fascinating game, but our learning material can be quite intimidating. Throughout my years as a chess instructor, countless people have asked me, “What is a good first chess book to buy?” The truth is, nobody has a definitive answer! In my experience, beginner and intermediate chess books vary greatly in length and depth, and usually require having a physical chessboard on hand to follow along with the instructions. The search for a comprehensive, modern guide to chess was my inspiration for the book you currently hold in your hands. My goal was to write a refreshing, revitalized take on this timeless and beautifully complicated game.

I’ve spent nearly my entire adult life teaching chess to others. Whether it was in kindergarten classes or corporate offices, I always searched for the most effective means of demystifying the 64 squares to my students. When the world shut down in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, I began teaching my students on Zoom, but forcing six-year-old kids to sit through private chess lessons online was both fruitless and mildly depressing, so I turned my focus to YouTube. In the years since then, I have made a video about chess nearly every day of my life.

Some of you might have found me on YouTube a few years back, and my videos became your reprieve during hard times. Others may have watched me back in 2018, as a disheveled mess livestreaming at 4 a.m. on Twitch. And the rest of you may not have a clue about my online endeavors but are simply curious about learning chess—just know that I deeply appreciate all of you. I love making the game fun and accessible to everyone, which I hope will become clear to you in the chapters ahead. Over the next several pages, you will learn the fundamental rules of the game, to which you can refer back at any point in your learning and play as a refresher. Then the real lessons begin. Enjoy!