Customer Rating: 
Summary: You want to learn checkmates...?
Comment: ...this is your book! Or at least maybe the one to start learning this 'art'. Lots of examples of simple and not so simple checkmates in one or two movements that will make it possible for you to find the best way to finish the game in a favorable way for you. If you feel you don't know how to checkmate your opponent, this is your book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good Beginner's Book to Practice Checkmates
Comment: This is like a workbook of checkmates. It is a perfect book for a beginner and has hundreds of simple (very basic) checkmate positions to find the checkmate in. I like this a lot better than "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" because it has a lot more problems. There are not a lot of books that teach basic checkmates in a workbook form so get this book if you are a real beginner before going to the next step where I recommend "1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate" and "Winning Chess Traps for Juniors".
My teacher in school uses this book to set up problems for us to solve!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Improve your chess
Comment: Yes, it's simple and basic. But for a weak or new player, the drills are invaluable. I've seen mates that I never would have noticed except for what I learned in this book.
It will also help you see how the pieces work together. If you're rated under 1200 this book can help you.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for the beginner
Comment: I bought this book a long time ago and kept it around because I felt it would be useful later. It has proven to be. My son is just starting to learn chess and for his individual study I have him working through the book. The progressively harder problems have proven a challenge for him exactly as I intended. Many of the other books out there on checkmating are above his level and he would quickly get discouraged. This one is just right: challenging enough where he doesn't get bored but not so hard he just gives up.If you're new to chess, a casual player, or just one who likes running through chess problems quickly, this is a good book. The answers are at the bottom of the pages, so there's no flipping between two different sections of the book. A slip of paper or a bookmark and you can keep the answer hidden until you've made your guess. I would prefer all puzzle books to be written this way.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A core skill-builder for our school chess club
Comment: Our small year-round school (3rd-12th grade) has used this book regularly since the chess club was founded. New club members join every quarter but are generally not strong players, so they seldom reach checkmate opportunities in club play. We give each student a double-page spread (4 problems) to solve without marking up the book: we cover the answers, then students must point out the checkmate to an adult or a stronger player. This way the book can be used again and again. Solving 4 puzzles or 8 in the course of a club meeting is a nice short exercise for even the most hyper students.
Students start out with the 1-move puzzles and move on to 2-moves as they get stronger. This practical, repeated exposure to basic mates starts showing up in their own games.
I've seen a 10th grader improve his skills by regular practice with the book, but have also used it successfully with my 6-year-old daughter (who plays USCF tournaments). I definitely see a correlation in beginners who use these puzzles often and their growing skill in tournament chess. Of course, as the other reviewers have pointed out, this is only one element of chess training.
