'A friendly and approachable book on a game which can often seem quite daunting ... An excellent book, highly recommended.' Parents in Touch'With Sabrina as writer, no basic points are omitted This might make an excellent present.' James Pratt, British Chess MagazineA brand new edition of this international chess classic, with all-new illustrations.Aimed at children aged 7 and up, this character-based book is a complete guide to chess for those starting out in the game. In straightforward, animated language, Jess and Jamie two rough-and-tumble kids who are obsessed with chess explain everything you need to know, from first sitting down at the board to sneaky tricks to help you beat your opponents.The book explains who the pieces are and how they move (and that we're talking about pawns, not prawns), how to reach checkmate (or, in Jess's words,'how to kill the king'), and the concept of the opening, middlegame and endgame. It also introduces the idea of chess etiquette and explains why sometimes no one wins and a game ends in stalemate.Friendlier and funnier than the average children's chess book, The Batsford Book of Chess for Children is an essential addition to any child's bookshelf.Chess is experiencing a new wave of popularity in schools, and it's educational too. Organisations like Chess in Schools are promoting it as the perfect way to develop analytical thinking skills, increase resilience, foster the competitive instinct and provide a lot of fun along the way.

Sabrina Chevannes is a Women's International Chess Master and digital marketing professional. She started playing chess at eight years old and has won 10 British chess titles.

Introduction 6

The Battlefield 10

The Pawn 14

Pawn Wars 17

The Rook 18

Rampant Rooks 20

The Bishop 22

Busy Bishops 25

The Queen 26

Quirky Queens 28

The Knight 30

Hungry Horses 34

The King 36

Mine Alert 39

Trying to Kill the King 40

Getting Your King Safe 44

Setting up the Board Correctly 46

Why We Should Castle 50

When You Can or Can't Castle 52

Pawn Magic 54

Scoring Points 60

Playtime! 62

Chess Etiquette 64

Ways to Draw 66

Chess Tournaments 72

Tournament Play 73

Chess Language 76

Getting Off to a Good Start 78

Chess Maths 81

The Classic Trick 82

The Fork 88

The Pin 90

The Skewer 92

The Discovered Attack or Check 94

Removing the Defender 96

Walking the Dog 98

The Kiss of Death 104

Box Them In 108

Puzzle Section 1 110

Puzzle Section 2 114

Master Game  118

Notation Sheet 124

Glossary 125

Index 128