From the basic moves to winning your first games – and beyond "Ashley has a way of talking about the game that engages his audience." - Rick Kennedy, ChessVille Assuming no knowledge of chess beyond the rules, Maurice Ashley guides you on an inspirational journey through the world of chess tactics. He brings the pieces to life by examining their fundamental characteristics, and shows how their powers can be put to use to win pieces or give checkmate - the building-blocks upon which all chess skills are based. Ashley writes: “the approach is unique because it is basically me: the way I teach, the way I talk about chess, the way I think. You’ll find my love for the martial art aikido in these pages, as well as my ridiculous love for sports, story-telling and teaching.” But his approach is not just entertaining: teams under Ashley’s guidance have won nine national junior championships. His charismatic teaching methods are the stuff of legend - and are to be the subject of a movie. This book makes his ideas and material available to all: teachers and students alike. He has been called the Tiger Woods of chess. In 1999, Maurice Ashley became the first African-American to qualify for the elite Grandmaster title, an achievement that was widely reported in the international media, including Time magazine, USA Today , New York Times , Sports Illustrated and The Times (London). Ashley is one of the highest-profile figures in American chess, and has commentated on the game for ESPN and Channel Four Television (UK). He sees chess as playing a role in helping at-risk youth, and has coached a number of junior teams to victory in national championships, most famously the Raging Rooks of Harlem. In 2003 he was named Grandmaster of the Year by the US Chess Federation. "Ashley presents a very novel approach to teaching beginners the basics of the game. It's clear a lot of time and thought have gone into the material presented and it's great to see a really entertaining book for beginners in the shops" - GM Stephen Gordon "Especially produced for learners, though the average club player may also benefit, if utilizing it as a refresher course" - Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad "this book is not only about explaining the utter basics, but also about having fun with chess and with analysing chess games. And that's just why Ashley's book is so nice. He wants his readers to enjoy chess ... And this, of course, is the most valuable skill of all." - Arne Moll, Chess Vibes "The seven basic skills really are quite basic but they are explained through a generous helping of diagrams and there are simple test positions to assess one's progress and understanding." - Alan Sutton, En Passant "I know my chess juniors have always reacted well to his commentaries, spoken in a way that suggests he's reporting from a worldwide cataclysmic event. Fans of his audio style will be delighted to hear that the same sort of approach is applied to his written work too, albeit it in slightly lesser force." - Sean Marsh, Marsh Towers "American grandmaster Maurice Ashley has a florid, persuasive style of writing which turns the learning of basic ideas into good fun." - John Saunders, British Chess Magazine