Rating: 
Summary: It builds up your chess strengh
Review: A lot of the reviews seem to state that this book is for beginners. I believe I am an intermediate player in the 1700 range but I still got a lot out of it. The book can be used as a beginning course for beginners yes, but it can also be used as a refresher for intermediate playes and up. After working through this book a lot of material on back rank mates stayed with me and I found that I could spot back rank mating combinations faster and more accurately than before. Use this book to brush up on basic mating patterns etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Great 2nd chess book
Review: After reading a book like the Complete Idiots guide to chess I think that this is a great second chess book. This book starts a budding chessplayer down the road of drilling tactical ideas into their head. This is the best way to improve as a chessplayer. Tactics tactics tactics!I really like how the book does not require a knowledge of a chess language such as algebraic or descriptive notation. The answers are given with a diagram showing an arrow with the correct answer. This might seem like overkill for an experienced player, but for a new player it is a nice feature, not to require the user to learn a notation. I also like how the answers are given on the next page, and how the book makes good use of its small space by allowing it to be read front and back. The tactical problems are very useful also focusing on common themes such as a weak back rank. Make sure you can master this book before moving on to books such as 1001 Brilliant ways to checkmate by Fred Reinfeld. Another nice feature is that this book can be read without a chessboard. I went through my copy on the exercise bike at the gym.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for beginners
Review: As someone who began chess later in life (I am currently in my mid-twenties), this book has dramatically increased my chess prowess. Though this text deals exclusively with endgame play, it has also taught me how to form combinations and find weakness in opponents position. Now I see how to increase the power of my position on the board and also I look (and sometimes find) forced mate earlier in the game than I previously did. This book is also a very easy and quick read, you can complete it in a manner of hours. I have read this book numerous times and every time I finish it, my game has improved.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for beginners
Review: As one who picked up chess later in life(I am in my mid-twenties), I have found this book to be an incredible tool for increasing my skill in chess. It taught me to see combinations better and look (and sometimes find) a possibility for forced mate earlier than I normally would. Though the book deals primarily with endgame play, it greatly enhanced my vision and ability in all areas of my game.
Rating:
Summary: for beginners
Review: No offense, but the previous rewiever who said " experienced players " will benefit aswell as beginners is completely wrong.
The book is intended for beginners, aswell as people who do not know how to play chess at all. It first teaches the reader about the pieces, how they move and can capture, aswell as the other chess rules. ( pawn promotion, castling, checking, checkmate etz ). Then, the main point of the rest of the book seams to be to show the beginner/novice to see basic mating patterns. Aswell as the main tactical tools(pins,skewers,uncovered checks, discovered checks and attacks ). +Distracting/removing defenders,back rank mates etz. The way it is written is very usefull, Bobby writes about something ( for example back rank mates ) for a few pages and then you get a diagrammed position and you have to find the attack/mate and possibly answer a question and possibly draw an arrow to indicate the right course of action. You then flip to the next page to see Bobby`s answer. This makes sure you understand what you are learning, and is a good way to write a teaching book. The beginning offcourse also includes a few words from the author, aswell as a few words written about him. I have given this book 5/5 cos it is great at what it is intended for, teaching beginners about the basic consepts. I mean come on, no1 ever said this was " My System " and players above 1000 shouldn`t get anything out of it. so i really have to take issue with the people who claims it can teach better players something, beacause it can`t. When i read it, i had been playing for about 6 months. ( every day ) I read the entire thing in one day and didn`t make a single mistake, nor should i. It is for beginners, nothing more. If this is you, then get it. If you are better, then spend 8 bucks on something else.
Rating:
Summary: .
Review: It doesn't have much text but it doesn't have to. it is a book with a bunch of gameboards and a problem, on the other side it has the answer and you try to figure them all out. it's about 200 pages but you can finish it in no time, it's just a matter of whether or not you can retain it in a time of need.
Rating:
Summary: pretty good let me tell ya
Review: This book is great, since i bought this book it has helped my game tremoundsly. I've learned how to completly see the board and how each piece relates to the greater goal; checkmate. While i do really love this book i wouldnt however reccomend this to the barebones begginner. It'd probably be best for the chessplayer who has played a few games and understands a little how the game is played. i also dont think that this book is great as a standalone, if you are serious about improving your game you should pair this book with a few other basic beginning books that other more experienced reviewers have recommended and any books written by Yasser Seirawan + the chessmaster 8000 software plus this book to help your game.
Rating:
Summary: good for beginners
Review: i got this book awhile ago when i just moved pieces around stupidly. i still did that afterwards so i would reccomend a book on more of tactics and strategy but this is a good book. after finishing it instead of moving the pieces around stupidly i could somewhat try to get things in order to get a checkmate which is what this book teaches but that dosen't mean its bad at all. i did after reading this start to see ways to checkmate earlier on in the game and started working towards those. when i read this book i knew where the pieces moved and thats basicly it i didn't know castling or in passing or anything so when i read this i did become much better. so i would reccomend it to beginners followed by or after a book of openings and tactics etc.
Rating: 
Summary: Big book of back rank mate
Review: This book isn't worthless--in fact, it's a pretty good exercise for a beginning player. The format is involving and fun. However, if you buy it, you should be aware that it is extremely limited. It deals only with mating combinations, first of all, and within mating combinations mostly with back-rank mate. Although this is useful to know about, it hardly represents the totality what is needed to play chess. If you are looking for mating combinations, go ahead and buy it. If you are looking for a book to introduce you to chess, their are lots of other books that fit this purpose. I recommend I. A. Horowitz's Chess for beginners as one good book for a beginner.
Rating:
Summary: An Ideal Way to Begin Learning Chess
Review: As others have noted, a better title for this book would be "Bobby Fischer Teaches Checkmate", since that is as far as it goes. On the other hand, what better way is there to introduce the game? A complete beginner, ignorant even of the pieces and their moves, can pick up this book and very quickly proceed to an understanding of combinations that have ended grandmaster games. If a youngster can be thrilled by chess, this is the book to do it, and they will be eager to learn the rest of the game from other sources.
| 
