There has been much debate about the origins of chess but most authorities consider the Indian game of Chaturanga, for which documentary evidence exists from the early seventh century, to be its earliest precursor. The pieces for this game were essentially the same as for the modern game of chess: the king, the counsellor, which later became the queen, the chariot (rook), elephant (bishop), horse (knight) and footsoldiers (pawns). This game travelled east to the Islamic world, where chess flourished for more than 150 years from the late eighth century under the name of Shatranj. The game soon spread to Europe via invasions and trade routes, and by about 1000 it was well known throughout the continent. While some of the pieces (the king, rook and knight) were the same as we know them now, the other pieces had more limited moves. The pawn could only move one square forward, the piece we now know as the queen could only move one square diagonally and the equivalent of the bishop only two squares diagonally.
In about 1475 in Spain the game underwent a sudden and dramatic revolution. The queen and, to a lesser extent, the bishop, became much more powerful than previously, and the game was transformed from a rather slow and stately pastime to the exciting game we know today.
The mid nineteenth century saw tremendous advances in chess organization. Chess clubs were founded and tournaments at all levels organized. Developments in public, and later, private transport made matches between chess clubs possible and competitive chess available to everyone.
Chess received another boost in 1972 when the world championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky made international headlines, mainly, it must be said, for reasons not directly connected with chess. Tournament entries and club membership increased dramatically and many parents wanted their children to learn chess. Although the boom proved to be something of a temporary phenomenon the effects are still felt today, more than 35 years later.
In the twenty-first century, chess faces a new set of challenges. The computer age has seen radical changes in the way people spend their leisure time, and this has impacted on chess, along with much else. Millions of people, doubtless more than at any other time in the game’s history, now play chess, but at the same time chess clubs, at least in the United Kingdom, are finding it difficult to survive as chess can now be played readily at home, either against a purpose-built chess computer, or against chess software for a PC, or against human opposition using the Internet.
Chess software is now available, which, for the price of a ticket for the theatre or a football match, will play you at whatever level you choose – and at the top level these programs can beat the best players in the world. On the Internet, chess can be played in real time at any speed you choose against opponents from anywhere in the world, or by email or computer notification with several days for each move.
The increasing strength of chess software, along with the rapid dissemination of information by electronic means, has had an enormous effect on the nature of professional chess over the last couple of decades. Nowadays, the professional chess players have analysed the major opening variations twenty or thirty moves deep, and a new move played, say, in Siberia today will appear in your Inbox the next morning if you haven’t been able to watch the game live over the Internet.
Chess was popularized in the old Soviet Union in the 1930s and, as a result of this, the majority of professionals still come from Russia and other Eastern European countries, although Asian countries such as India and China are developing into the new chess superpowers. For the Western Grandmaster, on the other hand, coming from a country with a higher standard of living, the safer option of a traditional career often proves more attractive than a life in chess.
But below the top players there are other chess professionals who make money out of media work, writing and teaching. In some parts of the country there is a considerable demand for professional chess tuition, mostly for children, and some who provide this service are gifted teachers who enjoy working with children, but are not necessarily themselves of master strength.
The other major change in chess since this book was first written has been the game’s growth in popularity amongst children. Between the 1950s and 1970s chess was played mostly in secondary schools, but in the last thirty years chess has been very popular in primary schools. More than 70,000 children, mostly of primary school age, take part every year in the UK Chess Challenge, which is organized through school and other chess clubs. But this in itself presents another problem in that, while a few primary school pupils reach a very high standard, most make little progress and give up the game before moving to secondary school. There is also now a much wider range of activities open to young people as well as a greater level of academic pressure, so it is increasingly difficult to persuade teenagers to maintain their interest in chess.
In spite of all these changes, though, chess remains the same. The pieces are essentially the same as they have been for about 1400 years, and they move the same way as they have for more than 500 years. It is popular throughout the world, increasingly so in much of Asia, although it has yet to conquer Japan and Korea where they have their own versions of chess. It is a game without boundaries. It can be played and enjoyed by both young and old, regardless of sex, race or religion. Physical handicap is no barrier to success: there are many excellent blind players. Those who are housebound or live far from major centres of population can play by post or on the Internet. A game of chess can be as quick or as slow as you like. Many of those who enjoy Internet chess prefer 1-minute chess where each player has just sixty seconds to complete the whole game, so don’t believe anyone who tells you chess is slow and boring. On the other hand, games played by post can last several years. The game of chess is a perfect balance between tactics and strategy and has an extraordinary inherent beauty. Look at the way the knight moves and you’ll see what I mean. It has an extensive literature whose richness is unrivalled by any other pastime, and an endlessly fascinating history and heritage. Numerous studies have claimed that children who study chess gain considerable educational benefit from doing so, and it has also been shown that playing chess helps older people keep their brain active and staves off the onset of dementia.
To be honest, chess isn’t an easy game. If it was, there would be little point in playing it. It isn’t a game for everyone, and any attempt to suggest that it is risks being counterproductive. Chess really doesn’t benefit in the long term by being, in the current parlance, “dumbed down”. At the same time, although you need to have a strong mathematical/logical and visual/ spatial intelligence to play well, academic success is by no means essential for chess success. Of course, you might also choose to define success as how much you enjoy playing rather than how well you play, and, on that count, weaker players are often more “successful” than stronger players. Because it isn’t an easy game, players, especially those starting out, need guidance to point them in the right direction. A vast amount of knowledge about the best way to play chess has been accumulated over the past 500 years, and, unless you tap into this information yourself you will stand little chance against someone who has done so. And that is where this book comes in.
The Right Way to Play Chess was written in 1950 by David Pritchard, a leading chess expert and teacher, who had continued to update the book through several editions. Since then it has continually been one of the bestselling chess books in the United Kingdom and has been recognized by two generations as one of the best guides for adult beginners on the market. David sadly died towards the end of 2005 and I was asked by the publishers, and with the blessing of his family, to prepare a new edition.
In this new edition I have rewritten some of the more topical sections taking the changes outlined earlier in the introduction into account. I have also computer checked all the analysis, amended the notation to bring it into line with current practice, added a topical game to Chapter 8 and made minor changes to the vocabulary and grammar to reflect contemporary usage.
At the request of the publishers, I have added a new chapter on teaching children to play, based on my 35 years’ experience in chess education. In order to get the most out of playing at school, young children really need constructive help and support at home. If you have children yourself, please read this chapter, along with the rest of the book, before you start teaching them to play.
It has been a great pleasure to help bring this timeless classic to a new generation of readers. I hope you will gain as much enjoyment from reading it as I have from preparing this revised edition.