"Alpha Teach Yourself Chess in 24 Hours" Zsuzsa Polgar ...et al, [...] ISBN 0 02 864408-5
Rates much above the typical beginner book, because Polgar ILLUSTRATES the point she is making, instead of giving you dull and boring, wordy paragraphs to read. When you see the illustration, you QUICKLY get the point of the lesson.
The author is SUSAN POLGAR, and "Zsuzsa" is the Hungarian form of our "Susan". Susan Polgar gives days and weeks of her personal time through the year, to promote chess. She is one of the most self-sacrificing chess celebrities in the entire world, totally committed to enlarge human experience through chess. She has a heart of gold where chess is concerned.
For example, the weend of 13-14 May 2006, Susan Polgar attended the annual Bert Lerner National Championships for children grades Kindergarten through 6th Grade. Many of the children taking home trophies, had the honor of having Susan Polgar appear on stage with them for photographs. Besides that, Ms. Polgar gave a simultaneous exhibition on Friday the 12th of May.
This book has a nice set of questions at the end of each chapter, with answers in the back. I also like the way Polgar has sample games that have a new diagram for EACH and EVERY MOVE in the sample games, and there are explanations for each and every move.
Chapter Nine must be mentioned, because it covers ENDGAMES. It is so important that all chess players get skills for the Endgames, and Susan gives them here.
This book is THOROUGH, and COMPLETE. I can recommend it to any chess BEGINNER as a "first book" on chess. --Bruce R. Bain, President, Denver Chess Club