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

by Levy Rozman

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!

• ISBN10: 1984862073
• ISBN13: 9781984862075
• Publish Date: 24 October 2023
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Ten Speed Press
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 272
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781984862075

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

How to Win at Chess is a thought-provoking and information dense chess monograph by Levy Rozman (GothamChess). Released 24th Oct 2023 by Penguin Random House on their Ten Speed Press imprint, it's 272 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. 

This is an all-around volume, from the minutiae and basics of the rules, including scoring and notation, to the nuts and bolts of gameplay, including early-mid-and-endgame strategies. The author includes his thoughts and experiences as a chess teacher (and high-end competitive player) to help readers approach problem solving in game thoughtfully and improve their repertoires gambit-wise.

He has millions of followers on youtube and chess.com, and is the most-followed western player in the world (there are some few with more followers in Asia, India specifically). He's in a handful of chess players and teachers worldwide with a finger on the pulse of competitive gameplay and has analyzed thousands (tens of thousands?) of games for followers. His almost real-time commentary on competition play is pithy and insightful and very colorful.

Readers who are familiar with his work in film/audio media will immediately recognize the same brash bright attitude and humor in the book. He makes a number of salient points and really does offer insight into improving readers' performance at all stages of their game. 

It's enchanting to see people doing things they clearly love, and doing them very well. He's unvarnished (a bit "in your face" at some points), very very clever, well spoken and funny, and it's clear he REALLY loves chess.

Five stars. This would make a great choice for public or school library acquisition, for gifting, and for chess afficionados. It would also be a good choice for more formal instruction, for chess clubs' libraries, gaming clubs, and similar. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.