Games Books

Great book. Beautiful pictures, well written patterns, wonderful instructions and charts. This should be in every knitters library. Fantastic book.

Knitters will enjoy using these patterns to knit up sweaters. The bulky gauge makes the sweaters easy to finish in a week. Knit a little every day and you simply can't help finish in a week. Plus it's fun to combine the charts from one sweater with the sizes from another. Socks, mittens, hats, scarves, ponchos and even some Aran style sweaters are found in this book.

Though I have yet to knit a sweater from this book (just received it last week, and have nearly completed a pair of socks from it,) I suspect that it will be one of my most-used knitting books. It contains many sweater patterns, most of which are sized from extra small to extra large, and a number of patterns for socks, mittens and hats as well. I feel that the selection of sweater patterns is well-balanced; there are of course the traditional Icelandic round-yoked sweaters, but there are also patterns for cabled sweaters and a cabled jacket, fairisle, and many other pullovers and cardigans inspired by the traditions of other countries. There are some very nice patterns for men as well as for women and children, which is nice because attractive men's sweater patterns can be difficult to come across. The book also contains information on what exactly Lopi yarn is, plus color charts of both Lopi and Lopi Lite. Then next sweater I start will be the Norwegian-inspired men's cardigan, and I also plan to knit the little girls' poncho and the fantastic Snorri aran before next Christmas. For myself I want to knit the cabled jacket; for my mom the very unique textured, multicolored jacket; for my sister the hooded, zippered jacket with colorwork edging . . . I guess you can say that this book inspires me!

I simply had to share my thoughts on this book today, after owning this book for a few years.
While many are knitting the trend of tight fitting sweaters~ I had knit a few of Lopi sweaters and wear them rather often in fall and winter.
I made them larger for skiing ( to layer underneath) and find that this helps me to stay warm when I am on the slopes or simply walking my dogs.

I have worn one particular garment twice in the past week, just doing errands , (not putting a coat on over the sweater)and I have recieved compliments EVERYWHERE I wear this sweater! (this is the reason for my review)
It is a simple sweater,,,, grey and off white yarn is what I had chosen for my first venture into colorwork ,,, yet I continue to receive many many compliments on this garment when tossed on over a turtleneck and worn anywhere I have gone from music lessons to shopping!

I really am amazed ,,as I did oversize this greatly for me ( I wear a size 0-2 ) so I made the medium to large sizes in most of the time.
My husband can easily wear these sweaters also. This is not the current trend,,,the current trend is very fitted sweaters, but when I knit mine up I was looking for longevity and warmth~ I tend to find trends to be fickle and knitting time then wasted. I stick with what works well for me~ and an added bonus , these sweater knit up QUICKLY, depending on how much colorwork you have chosen to knit. ( a week or 2 at most per sweater!)

I have many allergies , yet I can handle wearing lopi yarn up against my skin,(with no turtleneck underneath) and many people say that this is too rough for them. They are far far lighter to wear than any other sweater I wear including cotton sweaters.

I am living proof that a person with ultra sensitive skin has NO problem with this yarn, and in fact,,,,,it KEEPS ME WARM! It really does!
I am thinking of selling a lot of my knitting books that are no more than novelty books~ as I plan to knit these patterns for my grandchildren that live in the Northern states and knit them something they REALLY can use instead of knitting them something that will sit in their closet.
( I do stick with cotton yarn for the grandchildren that live in Houston, but that is also a natural yarn too)
When I knit,,I want to knit what I really wear and live in most of the fall and winter,,,and that is a LOPI sweater! If I am dressing up , yes I will wear more fitted dress sweaters or suits, but I am talking about what I really USE on a daily basis here.

I did get some of the Lopi magazines they put out,,,, and after following this book.,,

I wait till spring and get end year clearance prices for Lopi so an average garment costs me about 45$ or under ( that is great when you compare the yarn prices today!)
One big plus is that almost all sweaters are knit in the round PLUS if you want,you don't have any darning in of ends when you finish,,,this yarn is suburb for simply twining it together and just blending it in( forgot what the technique is called but its in the book)

This is one book that will NEVER go out of style,and will keep you warm if you lower your thermostat in winter ,as we do!

This book is awesome. I highly recommend this book if your at all interested in knitting Islandic sweaters...this is the book for you! The sweater patterns are gorgeous! The patterns are easy explained and the graphs are easy to read. I have made several sweaters from this book and I am very happy with all of them. I also like the way they give you differnt color combinations for most of the sweaters also. Just in case you don't care for the colors it's knitted in in the book, they give you another color combination. I definatley recommend purchasing a Lopi color card sample if your not able to actually see the yarn before you buy it. I got mine on line where I buy my lopi yarn. Just like everything...the colors of the yarn vary from the way they look in the book. This book is definatley worth buying. I love it.

I think for such a great player ( or greatest ) as Fischer, his complete collection of games should be published. Unfortunately for the time being , no one had done this job. Fischer's " my 60 memorable games" covers only games up to 1967. Wade's book only a collection and with a few games annotated and also has been out of print. Soltis book only covers 100 games, so for the time being this is only choice. I hope in the future someone can do the job produce and annatate all the games of Bobby Fischer!!! But for the time being what we can do is to buy this book, and play through and help with a computer to appreciate Fischer's games!!!

Bobby Fischer is beyond a doubt one of the greatest players in the history of the game. This book contains over 1000 of his games. There are no annotation or comments so around 4-6 games
are put into every page. Each game has 1 diagram, taken from some
stage in the game. I have found that the very best, and most effective way to get good in chess is to study games of the great players. I have studied Morphy, Casablanca and Fischer.
I suggest you play through every single one of these games, and try and understand what Bobby is doing. With every move try to make something of it, and try to predict what Bobby will do next. I have said there are no comments, but there are ! !! ? and
?? to indicate crucial moves. Good or bad. Take a special look at these moves before you play on and try to discover why it is so bad, or so good. The book is laid out like this, starting with 1955 and then going year by year ( 56,57,58 etz ). All the games of the 92 match with Spassky are also here. There is obviously where it ends. However, after that there is " last minute additions ". Mostly games from simuls that recently surfaced. In short, all of Bobby`s important tournament games are in here, including blitz. The games from the " unofficial blitz WC " in the early 70s are here, the manhatten chess club blitz tournament ( In which bobby scored 21,5/22) also in the early 70s before his title match. Many simul games are included here also. Also, the 3 little known games Bobby played against a computer program in 1977( 3-0 ). If you want to get good, don`t buy book after book on strategy,openings,tactics etz. Buy this book, the book on Morphy`s games and the one on Casablanca. But how do i then learn the openings??- easy. In going throught this book, and trying to understand every move, you will become very familiar with the Ruy Lopez, King`s Indian defence, Sicilian and some other openings. If you wanna invest time and energy, and as little cash as possible, into getting good in chess then get this book. If it doesn`t work out, you can always sell it used and cut your losses. What more can i say, cmon people. For 20 dollars and a lot of hard work you will be getting alot back.
I hope this has helped you decide.

This book is the sine qua non of chesws understanding. The complete games of the strongest player of all time--who can fail to benefit?

Get this book, and improve your Chess but in the vision of Bobby Fischer; Old Chess is dead. This individual has created Fischer Random, a new way of playing Chess. I think Chess fans should write to amazon.com and request that this game be sold on here (referring to Fischer Random). I am not joking here but Fischer Random's format is really different but very interesting. Peter Leko from Europe is the first person to win in Fischer Random Chess.
I recommend this book to you.

Ok,
In your chess life ,you should have a book with games collections from at least a grandmaster.
Bobby Fischer is not just a GM but a world champion too.

The book contents more than 1000 unannotated games.That means full games with no comments.There will be so re-view of moves here and there.

Now,
How to use the book?

You can play the games and identify the plan that Bobby used.
There are openings index,endgames index,name of players,so on makes the book a good one.

From what Jeremy Silman wrote in his book I recommend that you can play the first 4-6 moves and than try to figure out the moves made by Bobby.

Well,nowadays,with the advance technology,you can find annotated games in the net and view it in your computer.A good web-page is G.Ossimitz Chess Page...

So,you can buy the book and feel no regret.

This is a hit for my daughter and I. It is a bit difficult to draw clearly, but we love it anyhow. I trust the product composition/quality more than the temporary tatoos my daughter likes to put on. The crayons are made by Lyra, a well-known germany company (not made in china). We left the crayons on a table near a window and the tips melted--so keep out of the sun/heat!

Every kid should have a gift like this. It inspires the imagination, but also provides ideas for how to use them. Clean up has been pretty easy. My kids go back to them over and over again.

My children received this many years ago from their uncle and loved every minute using it. Now his children are old enough and I am sending it to them for Christmas. Sure to be a favorite!

Heah! My wife and I used these crayons at our summer camp, and it's the first time we could see them clearly on my wifes skin! I know this sounds funny, but it's hard to find crayons for dark skins! We had a blast with all our kids full of TATTOOS!

My 9 year old daughter bought this with her own money. It has been something the whole family has enjoyed. Our favorite is storytelling with characters painted on our hands!

How can one not love a book that probably has more trivia per page than almost any book written? And, what bettewr way to review a book of lists than to make a list of some of my favorite lists? So, here's my list of 6 of my favorite lists from the hundreds of lists in __THE BOOK OF LISTS__.

1. 10 Words you can't pronounce correctly

2. The 15 most boring classics

3. 10 memorable books that never existed

4. 18 famous brains, and what they weighed

5. 15 famous events that happened in the bathtub

6. 10 people not to invite to dinner

In order to give you a further insight into the book, I have listed below a few random facts that I found particularly interesting.

African Elephants have gestation periods of 640 days while Opossums have only 13 day gestastion periods. (These are the two extremes from a long list of gestation periods.)

A flock of crows is correctly known as a murder of crows.

Well before 9/11, Iraq had received military aid from the U.S., Great Britain, China, and the U.S.S.R.

Desi Arnaz worked as a bird cage cleaner before he became a bandleader, Gerald Ford was a male model before he entered politics, and Carol Burnett started her entertainment career as an usherette.

As you can tell, there is enough information here to add a thrill a minute to a trivia buff's life.

not sure what our "they're all screaming lefties" friend is talking about. why does an entry that mentions countries that 'could blow up the world' necessarily correspond with left or right? the list could include countries from all over the political spectrum that have that ability. does being actually concerned about arms mean that you're to the left of the political spectrum? duh... or "countries that have recieved aid from..." how is that politically aligned one way or the other?

"The Book Of Lists" never ceases to intrigue and fascinate me even when in truth I've been reading it so many times, and for quite long hours. Many faves include: "9 Stupid Thieves" (I laughed to tears at the story where, during the trial the defendant said to the witness who pointed at him as suspect, "I should have blown your ------- head off!... If I'd been the one that was there."), "Facts are stupid things" (slip-ups by politicians), "15 Strangest Stories" and little trivias like "things you didn't know had names"... oh, geez, there are loads to mention!! This is so entertaining, at times revealing and, very funny, utterly shocking ... absolutely educational and fun to read. Who knows, what have you read from the book might have any good use for you in your life.

This is so much better than (reading) those run-of-the-mill best-selling romantic paps. Always a refreshing read.

Really, even though its got a lot of mindless fluff in it (that's fun to read I'll have you know) it also has lists that are fascinating and important from a historical or geographical standpoint, such as thirty new names for old places (i.e. Ethiopia for Abyssinia.) Besides that, the other lists are interesting even if inconsequential (like "seven remarkable messages in a bottle.") And I bet you didn't know that Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII, had three breasts! Just another amazing fact that one can find in this praiseworthy book to discuss on long car trips . This book seems to have the affliction of becoming ragged through overuse, as almost every reviewer it seems will soon have to buy a new one. I guess that's just a testament to its fortitude and quality.

I stole this book off of my father's bookshelf when I was 9 years old, and have pored through it over and over since then. It has so many different kinds of lists in it.. everything from magazine and celebrity compiled lists to obscenely obscure trivia, and of course, those morbidly fascinating ones! My husband and I make an occasional game of opening to random pages and seeing if we can guess what's on the lists. I've bragged about this book to friends more often than any other and I'm shopping for another copy now because my poor copy's about to fall apart. Beware buying this one.. it's a longtime addiction. ;)

This book is great for the self taught person with significant insignificant questions. In completing this book, all those questions answer themselves. None of that "cutsie" just great tutorial. Instruction is easily to understand and follow. I've gone through the book a couple of times and discovered something new each time. When I finished with this book, I knew what I was doing and why.

Money well spent on this book.

Straigh-forward writing with no pretension. Some knowledge of 3D graphics vocabulary is helpful but not necessary.

Book is one example from beginning to end; presumably the author. Starts with some pictures and, step-by-detailed-step, ends with an avatar.

The only fault I found is that he doesn't mention Poser in the list of 3D modeling programs for human figures.

If you want to learn how to model a detailed digital human,this is THE book for you! You start out with totally empty viewports,and if you follow the book you'll end up having created a model with an incredible amount of detail.

The author explains in great detail the process of modelling every body part (head,neck,arms,hands,legs,feet and torso) with anatomical references where they're most important.

I wanted a book which I could use as a definitive guide to model a detailed and anatomically correct human body or body part,and I'll look no further when I have to do so. It's also got a clever chapter about modifying the same model to create very different ones, and a good chapter about texturing and UVW unwrapping. Finally, it refers to cloth and hair (somewhat briefly) and,no,it DOESN'T cover rigging. But it does cover, extremely well, human modelling, which is what mr.Brilliant had set out to do,I assume. Very very good!

I used this as a class textbook and it worked fairly well. This is not a single program book so this will work well with whatever program you model with. Although, depending on what you model with, depends on if you need to go out and find plug-ins that will do what he does. The book is really good going through step by step. Although there are some occasions where he leaps forwards ahead with really telling you what to do. Also, sometimes when he gives instructions, there aren't any images to go along with them, so you have to end up guessing what to do.
This is modeling for realism/cinematics and if you want to use this book to model in-game characters, you are out of luck. The was he teaches you to model is extremely high poly (especially in the head). The CD doesn't do much for you, it mainly just has naked pictures of the guy he models on it so you can copy exactly what he does. The book does give good information on the differences between modeling men and women, although it is fairly brief. He does go into UV mapping pretty good as well as modeling hair. The book doesn't, however, go into modeling clothing fairly well, just a short chapter. The book also doesn't even mention rigging, which I think is a crucial part in character modeling.

Given that you are already familiar with some type of modeling software, this book is the best resource you could have! The non-software specific approach of the book keeps it focused on the concepts of creating a good model rather than the user interface. Every detail of the body is covered with step-by-step diagrams, and a lot of it focuses on creating a topology that is animatable and will subdivide correctly (ie the mesh is mostly in quads). It also covers texturing, rigging, facial animation, both modeled and simulated hair, and simple clothing. The book discusses anatomy to the extent that it is needed to create a realistic model, and uses those concepts to demonstrate how the male model you create can be changed into a female, or into a fantasy character that looks completely different.

One thing that did make it a little difficult to use was that in the screenshots, the mesh was transparent and therefore you couldn't tell whether vertices were at the front or the back of the model. More screenshots with an opaque mesh would have made it easier to see the topology.

Overall, the explanations are concise and makes the task seem efficient, easy, and fun.

I love this book, it is realy fun, as well as having funny clay modeled sets around the boards. TOOOOOOOTALY
WORTH IT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Buzz and Flutter's Electronic Game Book has entertained all of my grandkids for years-from my oldest to my youngest. They truly enjoy the colorful pictures and the gamepieces, yet I know that they are getting some educational knowledge. This book will definetly emtertain any kids from age 3 to 12.

My son saw this book at a friend's house months ago and has been asking about it ever since. We ordered it for his birthday and he just LOVES it.

This is the best and most lasting present that my son has ever received. He was given this book as a gift a year ago and now, five years old, he still has not tired of these wonderful board games. He asks me or his father to play these games with him nearly every day -- and that's the ultimate endorsement of a toy by a child, I'd say. You would have to see how thrilled my son gets, how he laughs, as he plays these games; my words can't convey his utter delight. The illustrations are lively and colorful and absolutely stunning; they look a bit like the amazing high-tech animation seen in the recent movies "Antz" and "A Bug's Life." These games not only amuse but teach as well. Playing these games, my son has learned counting, taking turns, game strategy, sportsmanship, and lots more. The fact that the three game pieces attach by velcro to the book makes this book portable, packable, and terrific for car and plane trips. Now this is the gift I choose most frequently when looking for a gift for other little children. As a parent, I highly recommend it!

My four year old son received this for Christmas from his grandmother and loved it; no surprise there. However, my nine year old daughter thoroughly enjoys playing the games with him! A great book for siblings on a rainy day (or instead of TV!). Also makes a great gift for young children when trying to avoid the dreaded toy store.

My 6 year old daughter and I loved this book. We had a lot of fun looking for the list of hidden objects in the pictures and identifying other everyday objects in the pictures. The pictures are amazing. My husband and I even found it challenging to find some of the objects, but it was a lot of fun.

I love this author and illustrator. Wonderful series of books. Very vivid pictures; the manner in which it's written allows the books to be enjoyed by a wide age range. I bought all books by this author!

If you want to spend some quiet time with your children at the end of the day, you can't go wrong here. The idea is to search for hidden items in each picture. The depth of detail in each scene is just amazing, and the pictures themselves are fascinating in their own right. There are plenty of easy finds to amuse a toddler, yet a wealth of subtle puzzles to challenge the older kids and adults. You have to see them to appreciate the rich detail that goes into each page. You can search for hidden items from the list on each page, or better yet, explore the pictures yourselves to find much more. Take turns and challenge each other.

We have all the "Can You See..." and "I Spy" books (also photographed by Walter Wick). These classic books never grow old, we find yet more hidden details each time we open them. Definitely keepers.

This book overall is a lot of fun. However the last puzzle asks you to find "two witches" and try as we might we have only found one. Now for most kids this would not be an issue , but for my VERY thorough five-year-old it has become quite a problem (as it is the ONLY item in the book we can't find). So, if you have one of those kids who has to finish everything they start...beware!

Whether you choose to go with his 'I Spy' collection or this 'Can You See What I See' collection (or both!), you simply can not go wrong!! I have yet to see anyone (from my three year old niece to my 73 year old father!) not become engrossed in Walter Wick's works. We currently have ALL of the two collections, and I continue to buy more as gifts! Simply wonderful books for quality time with the kids, or quiet time for the adults as the children devour the beautiful pages on their own.

*Just a note--if your kids are 'pre-readers' they will need help with knowing what to look for--but you can give them three or four items at a time and then sit back and read something else for yourself! So, these books help with their learning to read, their observational skills, AND their memory skills--lol--not to mention YOUR memory skills when they ask, 'what was the third thing you said to look for?' Oops.... :-) 'Uh, let mommy see the page one more time..... lol....'

another ciaphas cain novel that is a very exciting read. ciaphas, jurgen, and the 597th finally journey to an ice world to face off against an ork army that is threatening a promethium production facility. ciaphas discovers the 'chilling' secret that caused the facility to be placed in it's precise location. this book is one of the best of the series.

CAVES OF ICE is the second in the Ciaphas Cain series. I feel that it is another worthy addition to both the 40K Universe and the Ciaphas Cain lore.

In this outing, the self-deprecating Commissar Cain & the 597th are fighting both Orks and a surprise. I won't say who, read the book & find out.

I'm currently reading the 3rd volume: Traitor's Hand and I have volume 4, Death or Glory waiting in the wings. I just recently ordered 3 more Black Library books, all anthologies: What Price Victory?; Crucible of War; and Bringers of Death. All three have short stories featuring Ciaphas Cain.

What a cool book. The action is great and the story never looses its pace. A must read for people who love interesting characters. Ciaphas is one of the most entertaining characters out there. I hope that Sandy Michaels keep writing novels about Ciaphas.

Caves of Ice, Sandy Mitchell's second novel in the Ciaphas Cain series, was a very good read. Mitchell does a great job in putting the reader right in the middle of Cain and his Valhallan regiment's latest adventure without backtracking too much to explain the events of the previous book. Mitchell's handle on his main character is much stronger and he continues to make Commissar Ciaphas Cain believable both as a rogue whose self-preservation is first and foremost, but also as a true heroic figure in the Imperium. It's amusing to read through his attempt at self-preservation which backfires to making him very heroic in front of his regiment and thus feeding the accidental legend that he's become.

Even though the story was being told chosen passages from Cain's memoirs, Inquisitor Amberley Vail still continues to make her presence known through amusing and insightive footnotes scattered amongst the pages. Her footnotes makes Cain a much more complicated character than his memoirs would tell about the man. Her footnotes also reinforce the fact that Cain and herself shared more than professional courtesies throughout their time together.

Caves of Ice was a very good follow-up to For The Emperor for seemlessly continuing the growing characters of Cain and his Valhallans. The action still doesn't compare to Abnett's Gaunt novels, but they're well-done when needed to propel the story along. I'm glad to put the Cain series on my list of must-read novels rom the Black Library.

Commissar Ciaphas Cain and his regiment of Valhallan Guardsmen are deployed to the ice world of Simia Orichalcae. The orks intend to overtake the precious promethium plant and use the current mine workers as slaves. When Cain arrives, he has only a single day to set up the defenses before the orks reach the plant.

As Cain well knows, if it sounds too easy it normally means chaos follows. Five mine workers have mysteriously disappeared in the underground tunnels. Cain, having been a born and bred tunnel rat, is best suited to investigate (even though he wishes otherwise). The creature he finds is worse than the ork problem. Unfortunately, something worse than either of those is dormant in the ice caves and it is beginning to stir.

**** The only thing I hate is the fact that there are footnotes on most of the pages. The story is supposed to be an extract from the Cain archive that Amberley Vail has prepared and annotated for her fellow inquisitors. The author does this in order to insert comments from others present at the plant, so readers know what is happening elsewhere from Cain. Those inserts from other characters are great. They are often as exciting as Cain's archives. But I could do without the many interruptions that tell only where a certain word originated and such. As for the adventures of Commissar Cain, his gunner, Jurgen, and his people have - FANTASTIC! I look forward to the rest of the Ciaphas Cain series! ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This book will be equally useful for an individual ambitious to improve, or for a chess trainer looking for stimulating course material. There is a tremendous depth to the program of instruction here, with sections on openings, middlegame concepts (closed center, open center, isolated pawns) and endgames (queen endings, pawn endings, knight endings). Computers and databases are covered (2 pages), with the emphasis in that section (as indeed with the whole book) being as much on HOW to study as on the study itself.
A beginner might enjoy this book, but the most benefit will be obtained by players who have some experience but feel they have reached a plateau - a quite common situation in my experience. Gambit is well known for only publishing quality chess books, so this is a self-improvement work you can rely on to improve your game and rating.

What I really like about this book is how it caters for the student who seriously wants to improve. There is a lot more to it than you might think from seeing the cover, and I learned a lot about strategy and endgames. There are four things I found especially helpful:
1. the book covers a big range of topics, like how to make a plan or the important of pawn structures.
2. the diagram examples feature many famous games and famous players.
3. endgames are covered in detail (I have found that other books of this type ignore them).
4. there is lots of advice on how to improve

If you are an intermediate player (say rated 800 to 1900 USCF) this book will greatly benefit you.

What I really like about this book is how it caters for the student who seriously wants to improve. There is a lot more to it than you might think from seeing the cover, and I learned a lot about strategy and endgames. There are four things I found especially helpful:
1. the book covers a big range of topics, like how to make a plan or the important of pawn structures.
2. the diagram examples feature many famous games and famous players.
3. endgames are covered in detail (I have found that other books of this type ignore them).
4. there is lots of advice on how to improve

If you are an intermediate player (say rated 800 to 1900 USCF) this book will greatly benefit you.

why has no-one told me about this fantastic book before? There are sections on the endgame, analyzing your own games, how to study position-types and so on. Hall clearly writes from personal experience, and the method worked for him: he is a strong international master. The title is a little misleading in that it might imply the book is aimed at novice players, when the book could be useful for even club players. My chess library consists of around 300 books. This is one of the best self-improvement works in it.

You will find this book outlines a wonderful program on how to study, and gives a deep insight into openings, middlegame strategy and endgames. As well as teaching chess I play in local tournaments, and I can say with confidence that this well-rounded approach is exactly what will benefit the intermediate level player most. The chapters on the middlegame will help every junior solve some of the most common problems, and there is a lot of great study material on strategic themes. The section on the endgame alone is worth five stars, as it extensively covers topics you rarely see mentioned in other books.
There is no doubt that after reading this book your general strength will improve, and there is so much material packed in, that it is like having the contents of several books put together. That is my one complaint - there is almost too much material, and it could take several months to do it justice.
The author is an experienced chess teacher, and he shares his methods with a passionate enthusiasm. I found his methods to be valid, and quite insightful in some cases. I would highly recommend this book for both kids and adults to study and enjoy.

This is a great book to begin chess, I bought this for my son few weeks back, he loves this book, it's easy to read, and the problems at the end of each chapters are a great way to challenge his skill. I would recommend this book to everyone.

This bears repeating: for the younger student who is building his or her skill set you will find precious few resources. This work book (helps to) fill a gaping hole in instructional literature. Mom, Dads, Teaches, Coaches: get this book!

As someone who has run children's chess clubs and taught chess to children, I can confidently say that this workbook is an outstanding way for children to learn the skills they need to be contenders in the fantastic world of scholastic chess. Chess Master Todd Bardwick presents a series of lessons in language that is kid-centric without being condescending. Each lesson culminates in two sets of exercises - one set is for beginners, the other for more advanced students. The diagrams for both sets are large and clear, and the exercises often have an original flair that makes them stand out from the run-of-the-mill repetition of the same old and dry examples you can find in other books. Yet the place where this book really steps up to be head and shoulders above its competitors is in the ANSWERS to the exercises. Master Bardwick has packed a tremendous amount of information into the answer key, often developing and extending the key ideas of each exercise. At times it seems like the answer key could stand alone as a book in and of itself! Buy this book - the fundamentals of chess are presented here with simplicity and clarity.

I am the Gifted Children's Coordinator for Mensa, in Denver, CO. As such, I am always on the look-out for books and resources that might benefit gifted children (especially ones that play chess). I am highly impressed with this chess workbook. It has a clear, logical flow from chapter to chapter; an easy-style prose that renders the main points obvious as opposed to being lost in a clutter of complicated sentences, and has the ability to improve one's chess play almost immediately, via its numerous hands-on exercises. My 8 year old son, an avid chess player and also a Mensan, saw instant improvement in his chess tactics after completion of the exercises in this workbook, which by the way were fun enough for the whole family to practice! If you're looking for a great chess workbook that isn't "stuffy" or over-whelming, then look no further. Get this book!

My 7 year old son and I are learning to play chess. This book is a clear, concise and outstanding resource. Each chapter provides a conquerable amount of information with examples that build upon the stated points, facts and strategies. The problems at the end of each chapter are a unique resource among the available chess books on the market. Each problem clarifies or elucidates a point in the chapter. The explanations give not only the correct answer for each problem; but also, explanations of the most commonly made mistakes (solutions that don't solve the chess challenge). This is very helpful as one often wonders why a different move would not accomplish the same goal. Finally, the word searches at the back of the book are good ice breakers and rewards for the kids. Other members of our family are now reading the book and learning chess. This is the book to get and the best book that I have found for any adult, teenager or child learning the royal game.