Renaud, Georges, and Victor Kahn. The Art of Checkmate, 21st Century Edition. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2014. 160pp. ISBN 978-1936490844. Paper list $19.95.
MacEnulty, David. My First Book of Checkmate. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2014 (2004). 184pp. ISBN 978-1936490943. Paper list $19.95, Kindle $9.99.
MacEnulty, David. My First Book of Checkmate Workbook. Milford: Russell Enterprises, 2014. 96pp. ISBN 978-1888690163. Paper list $9.95.
Russell Enterprises continues its streak of quality releases with these three new titles, each focusing on the most critical aspect of the game: checkmate.
Renaud and Kahn’s The Art of Checkmate is a classic of chess literature. Originally published in 1953, the book takes readers through fundamental mating patterns and classic attacking games. Renaud and Kahn sprinkle bits of chess wisdom and lore throughout the text, and attentive readers can’t help but be entertained while they learn.
This 21st Century Edition has been ‘translated’ from the old Descriptive Notation and into Algebraic, thus making it accessible to a generation of young players who have never had the ‘pleasure’ of mastering Descriptive. (They really should, though. So many wonderful books are only in DN!) The book is, as is usual for Russell, well edited and laid out.
I recently read that IM Emory Tate, the attacking wizard beloved by so many in the chess world, attributes much of his prowess to an early encounter with The Art of Checkmate. And indeed, a better attacking primer can hardly be found. This is a book that can be read by players of most all ages and abilities; some will read for enjoyment, and some will read for tactical inspiration, but all will find this new edition of The Art of Checkmate a worthy addition to their library.
David MacEnulty’s work, in contrast, is sadly unknown by most chess players. They might know his story, as it was made famous by Ted Danson in the 2005 movie “Knights of the South Bronx.” His books, however, haven’t received nearly the attention they deserve. With the publication of My First Book of Checkmate and My First Book of Checkmate Workbook, perhaps they will.
My First Book of Checkmate is, as the title suggests, a book for the chess novice. It works slowly and programmatically to lead the novice to an adequate knowledge of mating procedures and patterns. MacEnulty leaves nothing to chance. After explaining chess notation and defining his terms, MacEnulty begins his book by walking the reader through a series of lessons that each focus on a specific piece and characteristic mates. Some mate in ones follow in Part II, and Part III offers readers examples of some standard mating patterns not unlike those in The Art of Checkmate. The book concludes with a short section on mating attacks and a set of problems for the reader to solve.
MacEnulty was a teacher by profession, and his educational background shows in this book. As I argued in my previous review, real tactical improvement involves two elements: (1) pattern recognition and (2) practice in calculation and imagination. MacEnulty’s book is one of the better primers for learning basic tactical patterns currently in print. It succeeds in no small part because of its programmed style of learning, where ideas are built upon and augmented as the text progresses. The reader is led from the most elementary elements of mating attacks to fairly complex concepts, each step following from what came before it.
There are plenty of problems to solve in My First Book of Checkmate. Still, there could be more; for the player hungering for more puzzles, MacEnulty has written a companion volume called My First Book of Checkmate Workbook. The structure of the book roughly mirrors that of My First Book of Checkmate, but it ends with some mate problems that would tax many a class player. At $9.95 list price, this workbook is great value for the money. I am, in fact, considering adopting it for use at a chess camp this summer.
Both My First Book of Checkmate and My First Book of Checkmate Workbook are well worth consideration for the novice player looking to improve. Younger readers might require some help with My First Book of Checkmate, but the workbook could be read by even six and seven year olds. I’d also suggest that adult readers in need of a book on basic mates check them out, as its progressive movement from the simple to the complex might provide the basic orientation needed to profitably solve more difficult mate problems.
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