INTRODUCTION

Once upon a time these World Chess Champions were beginners!

Emanuel Lasker (L) & Wilhelm Steinitz, world champions between 1886 and 1921!

Boris Spassky (1969) talking to Mikhail Tal (1960), world champions with Candidate Challenger Lajos Portisch in the background.

Bobby Fischer, a champion who rose to the top and who beat all his challengers without the aid of a computer or a team of analysts.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the second edition of this booklet, fully updated and modernized, which introduces the basic rules of chess. We will help you to start playing and enjoying chess as quickly and as simply as possible. Chess is a great game for everyone to learn at any age. We hope that this short course will encourage a new generation of players to come forward and begin a rewarding journey towards chess mastery. Andrew Martin, February 2021