Award-winning author Charles Hertan knows what kids really need to know about mobilizing their pawns and pieces.

Traditional chess opening books concentrate on the variations in different openings. Charles Hertan believes that for beginners and advanced beginners memorizing lines is not only boring but also a waste of time.
Hertan’s approach is different. He helps kids to develop a solid understanding of the fundamental opening ideas and principles. What are the properties of each chess piece, and how can they be mobilized effectively to work together and get a strong position on the board?

In his humorous and kid-friendly way, Hertan teaches what you should actually be trying to achieve at the start of a game. Kids will love learning how to avoid The Five Most Common Opening Mistakes.
This is a fun, easy-to-use, down-to-earth and accessible chess opening primer.

For kids who love to amaze their friends with their chess skills, Charles Hertan presents new ways to find Power Moves, winning tactics that require thinking ahead. In Volume 2, the four special teachers get a new colleague! Knelly the Knight arrives on the scene and will assists Zort (a computer from outer space), the Dinosaurs, the Power Chess Kids and the Chess Professor. Together they will help you to become a very dangerous chess player. Power Chess for Kids is the most complete, practical and fun kids guide ever on learning how to win games. Forget about studying openings and endgames, Power Moves will help you to beat your opponents in all stages of the game!

A power move, explains experienced chess teacher Charles Hertan, is a winning master tactic that requires thinking ahead. To become one of the best chess players in your school you need to be able to think just 1,5 moves ahead, and this book teaches the four basic tricks do so. You will learn how to weed out silly moves and just consider a few important ones. Forget about learning openings and endgames, power moves will help you win in all stages of the game. Charles Hertan introduces the four main characters who will help you to learn these basic skills: Zort (a teenaged computer from the planet Zugszwang), the Dinosaurs, Power Chess Kid and the Chess Professor . The most complete and fun kids book ever on learning how to win games!

Cos'è che ci impedisce di trovare più spesso mosse forzanti che portano alla vittoria? si chiede l'autore. La risposta è che ovviamente un ruolo importante lo giocano il talento e il duro lavoro, ma la tendenza umana a scartare automaticamente certe opzioni ha una responsabilità rilevante. Se provassimo a neutralizzarla guardando alla posizione con gli 'occhi del computer', e ad analizzare prima di tutto le mosse forzanti, i nostri pregiudizi scomparirebbero e saremmo in grado di prendere in considerazione opzioni che magari ci permettono di identificare quelle sorprendenti combinazioni che spesso invece ignoriamo. Come dice il gm Joel Benjamin, la bellezza del lavoro di Hertan sta non solo nella qualità delle posizioni presentate ma anche nelle analisi; i temi trattati sono di grande interesse per i più forti maestri, ma il modo in cui vengono spiegati ed analizzati li rende alla portata anche del comune giocarore di circolo; un accurato studio delle mosse forzanti ha un'importanza fondamentale nella formazione di ogni giocatore.

Charles Hertan, an experienced chess coach from Massachusetts, has made an astonishing discovery: the failure to consider key winning moves is often due to human bias, since your brain tends to disregard many winning moves because they are counter-intuitive or look unnatural. Charles Hertan?s radically different approach is: use COMPUTER EYES and always look for the most forcing move first! By studying forcing sequences according to Hertan?s method you will develop analytical precision, improve your tactical vision, overcome human bias and staleness, and enjoy the calculation of difficult positions. By recognizing moves that matter, you will win more games!