The Success Chess website also has a large list of recommended books by Richard Shorman and Henry Vinerts. Note that their “advanced” books tend to be for 1000-1400 players, which is the lower end of my teaching range. Enjoy!

SOFTWARE (everyone should have at least one chess playing program)

1. Chessmaster 10 (http://www.chessmaster.com/) – good interactive interface (1000-1600) *

2. CT-Art 3.0 – tactics training software (1000-1800) **

3. Fritz 10 – strong engine plus medium sized database for about $50 (1600+) ****

4. Rybka 2.3 (http://www.rybkachess.com/) – very strong engine (2000+) **

5. Chessbase 9.0 (http://www.chessbase.com/) – very expensive but useful for top players (2000+) ***

Print a chess notation sheet to use for your own tournament games!

Reuben Fine’s 30 Rules of Chess (with some minor editing)

OPENING RULES

1. Open with a center pawn.

2. Develop with threats.

3. Play knights before bishops.

4. Castle as soon as possible.

5. Avoid developing the queen too early.

6. Do not move the same piece twice without a good reason.

7. Use your minor pieces to fight for the center.

8. Maintain at least one pawn in the center.

9. Make as few pawn moves as possible.

10. Avoid sacrificing without a clear and adequate reason.

MIDDLEGAME RULES

1. All of your moves must fit into a plan suggested by a weakness in the position.

2. Combinations are based on double attack.

3. When ahead material, exchange pieces (especially queens) but not pawns.

4. Avoid serious pawn structure weaknesses.

5. In cramped positions, free yourself by trading pieces.

6. Do not bring your king out with your opponent’s queen on the board.

7. If your opponent has one or more exposed pieces, look for a combination.

8. In superior positions, attack the enemy king by opening lines for your pieces.

9. In even positions, coordinate the action of all of your pieces.

10. In inferior positions, the best defense is a counter-attack (if possible).

ENDGAMES RULES

1. The king must be active in the endgame.

2. Avoid passive pieces that merely defend.

3. Passed pawns must be pushed.

4. The easiest endgames to win are pure pawn endings with extra pawn(s).

5. When ahead material, exchange pieces, not pawns.

6. Do not place your pawns on the same color squares as your bishop.

7. Bishops are superior to knights when there are pawns on both sides of the board.

8. Rooks belong behind passed pawns.

9. A rook on the seventh rank is usually worth a pawn.

10. Blockade passed pawns using the king.

Top 10 Things to Remember at Chess Tournaments (by Fpawn)

#10. Make sure every move has a purpose. A good move performs two functions at once (e.g. double attack). A great move does three things.

#9: After each move by your opponent, ask yourself: “Is he threatening anything?”

#8: Kids attack better than they defend. So A-T-T-A-C-K!

#7: If you don't know the opening, remember the opening rules.

#6: Don’t give up just because you blundered. Play hard and look for tricks--your opponent might mess up as well.

#5: Think of the five elements of chess: material, space, time, center control and king safety.

#4: Look out for tAcTiCs!

#3: This deserves additional emphasis: *C*A*S*T*L*E* *E*A*R*L*Y*

#2: When winning, trade pieces but not pawns. Conversely, when losing, try to avoid piece trades.

#1: T A K E Y O U R T I M E!!!

Notable Chess Quotes

If you don’t know what to do, find your worst piece and look for a better square. [Jerry Schwarz]

When you have a winning position, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid). [Michael Aigner]

One bad move nullifies forty good ones. [I.A. Horowitz]

When you see a good move, look for a better one. [Emanuel Lasker]

A win by an unsound combination, however showy, fills me with artistic horror. [Wilhelm Steinitz]

The sign of a great Master is his ability to win a won game quickly and painlessly. [Irving Chernev]

You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances. [Bobby Fischer]

A young player, specifically because he is so inexperienced, naturally fears an established Master. Only the ambitious player becomes a solid Master, and that by breaking that fear. How? By being prepared to play out every game. He must gamble on losing; there is no other way of winning. We all make mistakes. A determined player makes fewer, and those he does make are more often overlooked simply because of the pressure and tension he exerts on his rival! [William Lombardy]

Without error there can be no brilliancy. [Emanuel Lasker]

A good player is always lucky. [Jose Raul Capablanca]

You need not play well - just help your opponent to play badly. [Genrikh Chepukaitis]

The winner of the game is the player who makes the next-to-last mistake. [Savielly Tartakower]

During a Chess competition, the Master should be a combination of a beast of prey and a monk. [Alexander Alekhine]

Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine. [Rudolf Spielmann]

Your body has to be in top condition. Your Chess deteriorates as your body does. You can't separate body from mind [Bobby Fischer]

A bad plan is better than none at all. [Frank Marshall]

The most powerful weapon in Chess is to have the next move. [David Bronstein]

Pawns are the soul of chess. [Francois Andre Philidor]

The king is a fighting piece. Use it! [Wilhelm Steinitz]

Weak points or holes in the opponent's position must be occupied by pieces not pawns. [Siegbert Tarrasch]

The pin is mightier than the sword. [Fred Reinfeld]

The main objective of any operation in an open file is the eventual occupation of the seventh or eighth rank. [Aaron Nimzovich]

First-class players lose to second-class players because second-class players sometimes play a first-class game. [Siegbert Tarrasch]

Look at Garry Kasparov. After he loses, invariably he wins the next game. He just kills the next guy. That's something that we have to learn to be able to do. [Maurice Ashley]

If your opponent offers you a draw, try to work out why he thinks he's worse off. [Nigel Short]

Nobody ever won by resigning. [Unknown]

By playing at Chess then, we may learn… First: Foresight... Second: Circumspection... Third: Caution... And lastly, we learn by Chess the habit of not being discouraged by present bad appearances in the state of our affairs, the habit of hoping for a favorable chance, and that of persevering in the secrets of resources. [Benjamin Franklin]

Who is your opponent tonight? I am playing against the Black pieces. [Akiba Rubinstein]

Not all artists may be Chess players, but all Chess players are artists. [Marcel Duchamp]