Ever stare at a chessboard and have no idea what to do next? You're not the only one. A classic book called Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev was written to fix that exact problem. It doesn’t just show you good moves; it explains the simple, smart thinking behind them.
Why This Book Is a Game Changer for Your Chess
Many chess books feel like trying to drink from a firehose. They throw tons of moves and complicated ideas at you and expect you to remember it all. This book is different. It feels more like a friendly coach is sitting with you, explaining everything in a way that makes sense.
Instead of making you memorize a bunch of stuff, Chernev gets right to the "why." He takes 33 full games from master players and explains the reason for every single move. This logical chess move by move style helps you understand the game from the ground up, one simple idea at a time.
Building a Solid Foundation
The coolest thing about this book is how it teaches the main rules of good chess. You don't just learn what to play; you learn how to think about the game. The main lessons are easy but super powerful:
- Control the Center: Find out why putting your pieces in the middle of the board gives you more power.
- Develop Your Pieces: Learn how to get your knights and bishops into the game quickly and with a good plan.
- Keep Your King Safe: See why moving your king to the corner (castling) early is one of the best habits to learn.
By learning these basics over and over, you'll start to see the board in a new way. You’ll start making strong, smart moves because you get the strategy, not because you memorized a list of moves.
"Chernev seems to have annotated the games specifically for the advanced beginner audience. He states numerous principles of good play in the best possible way—within the annotations of an illustrative game."
This way of teaching has helped players for a long time. In India, for example, chess has become super popular, partly because of great teachers and books that make the game easy to learn. The country now has over 85 grandmasters, with amazing players like Viswanathan Anand showing what can happen when you learn the basics early. You can learn more about the rise of chess in India and see how a strong chess community is built.
A Guide That Never Gets Old
What makes Logical Chess: Move by Move so great is that its lessons are always true. The ideas of controlling the center, developing your pieces, and attacking the other king will never be bad advice. The book gives you a clear map to follow whenever you feel stuck or confused.
Whether you’re just starting or trying to get to the next level, this book gives you the tools to play with confidence. It’s the perfect first step on your journey to becoming a better chess player.
Building a Strong Opening Without Memorizing
The first few moves of a chess game can feel like a pop quiz you didn't study for. Many players think they need to memorize tons of complicated openings just to survive. Logical Chess: Move by Move throws that idea right out the window.
Irving Chernev’s way of teaching is like getting a simple recipe instead of a giant cookbook. He cuts through all the confusing stuff and gives you a clear, easy plan for the opening. This whole plan is based on just three golden rules that work in almost any game.
The Three Golden Rules of the Opening
Chernev really believed that a strong start comes from understanding ideas, not just copying moves. The book’s opening plan is all about these main goals, which you should try to do in your first 10 to 15 moves.
- Control the Center: Get your pawns and pieces aiming at the four most important squares (d4, e4, d5, and e5). Think of the center like the high ground in a battle—if you control it, your pieces have more space to move and more power.
- Develop Your Knights and Bishops: Get your smaller pieces off the back row and into the action. Chernev often says to develop your knights before your bishops, because it's usually easier to know where the knights should go early in the game.
- Castle Early to Protect Your King: Your king is your most important piece, but it starts the game stuck in the middle. Castling is like a special move that tucks the king safely behind a wall of pawns and lets your rooks work together.
By just focusing on these steps, you can get into a good position without needing to know any fancy opening names. It’s a plan that makes sure all your pieces are working together and your king is safe from trouble.
Learning by Doing, Move by Move
The book doesn't just give you a list of rules and wish you good luck; it shows you how they work. Chernev walks you through games played by experts, explaining the "why" behind every opening move. He'll show you, for example, how a move like 1. e4 doesn't just put a pawn in the center—it also opens up paths for the queen and a bishop to join the game later.
"Develop with a threat whenever possible. This cuts down the opponent's choice of replies and allows you to dictate the flow of the game."
This idea is a big part of his teaching. Instead of just moving a piece out, you learn to find a move that also creates a small problem for your opponent to solve. A logical chess move by move approach means every piece has a clear job to do.
You'll see what happens when a player follows these rules and, just as important, what happens when they don't. Chernev shows games where someone gets into trouble by castling too late or by ignoring what's happening in the center.
He also points out common mistakes, like moving the same piece over and over again in the opening or bringing the queen out too early, only to have it chased around by weaker pieces. By seeing these ideas in real games, they just make sense. You’ll start your own games feeling confident, knowing you have a solid plan to get to a good position every single time.
Finding the Right Plan in the Middlegame
Okay, the opening moves are done, and now you’re in the middlegame. This is where the real chess starts, and to be honest, it's where most players feel totally lost. The simple opening rules don't apply anymore, and the board can look like a mess. This is where Logical Chess: Move by Move comes in to help you out.
Irving Chernev makes it clear that the middlegame is all about having a plan. He teaches you that a good plan isn't some secret that only grandmasters know. It's usually about spotting a simple weakness in your opponent's setup and then going after it.
Spotting Your Opponent's Weaknesses
The first step is to be a detective. You need to look at the board for clues—little problems in your opponent's position that you can use. Chernev points out several common weaknesses to watch for:
- A Weak Pawn: Is there a pawn all by itself, with no other pawn to protect it? That’s a huge target. You can win whole games just by attacking that one weak pawn.
- An Unsafe King: Did your opponent get a little sloppy and move the pawns in front of their king? Every time a pawn moves, it creates a small hole that your pieces might be able to use later.
- Badly Placed Pieces: Is there a knight stuck on the side of the board? Or a bishop blocked by its own pawns? These pieces aren't doing anything, which means you're pretty much playing with an extra piece.
As you go through the book's games, Chernev points these things out over and over. He shows you how a master looks at a slightly weak pawn and thinks, "Aha! There's my target." This logical chess move by move approach helps you see chances you were probably missing before.
Building a Team Attack
Once you’ve found a weakness, the next step is to get your army ready to attack it. A single piece trying to do everything alone usually isn't enough. Real power comes from teamwork, when your pieces work together. Chernev shows you how to bring all your pieces into the attack.
For example, if the enemy king is the target, you don't just jump one knight over and hope it works. You bring a rook to an open column, slide your queen into a good spot, and use your bishops to cut off escape routes. Each move adds more pressure until your opponent’s defense finally breaks. The book makes it super clear how every single piece plays a part in the attack.
"Counterplay in the centre is the best means of opposing a kingside attack. To secure counterplay, the pawn position must be kept fluid."
This quote shares a very important idea from the book. Even when you're attacking, you can't ignore what your opponent is doing. If they are building up a scary attack on one side of the board, your best defense is often to strike back hard in the center. This makes them deal with your threats and messes up their plans.
Knowing When to Defend
Of course, chess isn't always about attacking. You'll often be the one under pressure. Logical Chess is just as good at teaching you how to defend. Chernev explains how to move your pieces to protect your king or fix a weak pawn.
He shows that good defense isn't just sitting back and waiting for something bad to happen. It's about actively untangling your pieces, making your position better, and always looking for a chance to fight back. A good defense can make your opponent frustrated and cause them to make a mistake, giving you the perfect chance to turn things around.
In the end, learning these middlegame plans takes clear thinking. Our guide on how to improve chess calculation can give you some tools to help you see these ideas better over the board.
How to Win in the Endgame
Getting into a winning position feels great, but the job isn't finished. You still have to win the game, and that’s where the endgame comes in. The endgame is all about being careful, where one small mistake can undo all your hard work. This is another area where Logical Chess: Move by Move is great, teaching simple but strong ways to finish the game.
Irving Chernev’s special trick is making tough endgame ideas feel simple and, well, logical. He doesn't show you weird puzzles you'll never see in a real game. Instead, he teaches you the useful skills you need to turn a small lead into a win.
Mastering King and Pawn Endings
The simplest and most important endgames to learn are the ones with just kings and pawns. Chernev shows that your king, which you spent the whole game hiding, suddenly becomes your strongest attacker. It’s often the most important piece on the board.
One of the first ideas he teaches is the opposition. This might sound tricky, but it’s really just about getting your king directly in front of the enemy king to block it.
"The king is a strong piece. Use it!" This idea is what Chernev's endgame lessons are all about. By using your king, you can help your own pawns and attack your opponent's weak spots.
When you have the opposition, you control the important squares and force the other king to move away. This lets your king march forward. Through his super clear examples, Chernev shows you exactly how to use this idea to help your pawns get to the other side of the board and become a new queen.
Creating a Pawn They Can't Stop
Another big idea Chernev talks about is creating an outside passed pawn. Think of it like a secret weapon. It’s a pawn on one side of the board, far away from everything else, that works like a distraction.
The enemy king has to run all the way over to stop it. While their king is busy, your king is free to eat up all the pawns on the other side of the board. Chernev’s move-by-move style shows you how a master creates and uses this smart advantage to win a game that looked totally even. It's pure, logical strategy.
Using Rooks Like a Pro
Rook endgames happen all the time, but they can be very tricky. Chernev makes it easier by focusing on a few golden rules:
- Put your rooks behind passed pawns: It doesn’t matter if it’s your pawn or your opponent’s—a rook behind it is almost always in the best spot. Behind your pawn, it helps push it forward. Behind an enemy pawn, it stops it cold.
- Get your rook to the seventh rank: Putting a rook on your opponent’s second row (your seventh rank) is like letting a wolf into a chicken coop. It traps the enemy king and attacks pawns from the side, causing huge problems for your opponent.
These endgame skills will always be useful. In India, a country with a huge and tough chess scene, learning these basics is a key part of training for young players. The country has dozens of Grandmasters and hundreds of International Masters, which shows how much they value good skills from the first move to the last. Many of these top players got better at endgames by studying these same ideas. You can find out more about the impressive roster of Indian chess players and their amazing success.
By working through the clear examples in Logical Chess, you’ll start to see the endgame not as something scary, but as a chance to win. You'll learn to play with confidence when there are just a few pieces left, turning those small advantages into big wins.
A Simple Study Plan to Actually Get Better
Having a classic chess book is cool, but let's be real—getting the smarts from the page into your games is the hard part. Just reading Logical Chess: Move by Move won’t magically make you better. You need to really think about the ideas. The secret is to stop being a passive reader and become an active learner.
This simple plan will help you get everything you can out of each game in the book. Instead of just flipping through, you’ll be training your brain to see the board like Irving Chernev. This is how you really improve for good.
Make Your Study Time Count
The goal isn't to finish the book as fast as possible. It's to learn the main ideas so well they become second nature. To do that, you have to slow down and really pay attention.
- Get a Real Board: First things first, set up a real chessboard. There’s something about moving the pieces with your own hands that helps you understand the game way better than clicking on a screen.
- Cover the Next Move: After Chernev explains a move, use a piece of paper or your hand to cover up what happens next. Stop and think for yourself. What move would you play here? Why?
- Guess and Compare: Once you've picked your move, uncover what the master played. How does it compare to your idea? Chernev’s explanation is right there to tell you the logic, which is perfect for fixing how you think on the spot.
This "guess the move" method is a game-changer because it makes you think hard, not just read. Over time, you’ll find your own choices start to look a lot like the smart, strong moves played by the experts. To really make these lessons stick, you have to learn actively. You can find out how interactive training principles help you do more than just read to really learn something new.
Stick to a Simple Schedule
Being consistent is way better than cramming. You don't need to study for hours every day to get better; a simple, realistic schedule is what really works.
- Focus on One or Two Games a Week: Seriously, that's all you need. Give your full attention to understanding just a couple of games really well. You'll learn way more from studying one game deeply than you will from quickly reading five.
- Take Simple Notes: Keep a small notebook nearby. After each game, write down the one or two biggest things you learned. Maybe it was a lesson on attacking a weak pawn, or how it's dangerous to move the pawns in front of your king.
- Review Your Notes: Before you start a new game, take 30 seconds to read your notes from last time. This tiny habit is huge for helping you remember the ideas for a long time.
By making a steady routine, you're not just studying chess; you're building a habit of getting better. This is what separates players who improve from those who stay at the same level.
This picture shows how your focus changes in the endgame, from making your king safe to using your pawns and rooks.
The flow from king safety to pawn promotion shows how Chernev's logical ideas work even with just a few pieces on the board. Building a solid plan like this is super important, and our guide on how to build a chess study routine that works has more tips for making a schedule you can actually stick to.
How This Book Helps Players at Every Level
One of the best things about Logical Chess: Move by Move is that it’s not just for one type of player. It doesn’t matter if you just learned the rules yesterday or if you've been playing for years—there's something useful in it for you. Irving Chernev’s simple, clear style makes it a great tool for anyone who wants to get better at chess.
The book feels like a guide for everyone, meeting you right where you are in your chess journey. Instead of using a bunch of confusing words, Chernev explains ideas in a way that just makes sense. This is why players at so many different levels find it so helpful.
For Beginners Just Starting Out
If you're new to chess, this book is one of the best first steps you can take. It builds a super strong foundation by focusing on the most important things. You won’t just learn what moves to make; you'll finally understand the reasons for them, which is the secret to getting good.
"The objective of all chess openings is to get one’s pieces out quickly," Chernev explains. This simple tip helps beginners stop making random moves and start playing with a clear plan from the very first move.
Instead of feeling lost after a few moves, you'll have a real plan. The book teaches you how to control the center, get your pieces into the game, and keep your king safe. Learning these basics will give you a huge advantage over other new players who are just moving pieces around.
For Intermediate Players Feeling Stuck
Are you a player who knows the basics but feels like you're not getting any better? Maybe your rating hasn't changed in a while, and you keep making the same mistakes. Logical Chess is the perfect way to fix those common, annoying bad habits.
So many intermediate players get into trouble by attacking too early or playing without a good plan. Chernev’s move-by-move explanations show you how to be patient and build up your position in a smart way. He teaches you how to find an opponent's weakness and then carefully organize your pieces to attack it. This way of thinking helps you replace those bad habits with strong, smart ones.
What You'll Learn Based on Your Skill Level
To give you a clearer idea, here's a quick look at how Logical Chess can help you at different points in your chess journey.
| Player Level | Main Goal | Key Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | To build a strong foundation. | Learning the main ideas of opening play, piece development, and king safety. |
| Intermediate | To fix bad habits and find clear plans. | Understanding how to spot weaknesses and use your pieces together for a winning attack. |
No matter where you're starting from, the book gives you the tools you need to take the next smart step in getting better.
Common Questions About Logical Chess
It’s a famous book for a reason, but lots of players still have questions about Logical Chess: Move by Move and how to use it best. It helps to know what you're getting into. Let's go over some of the most common questions people ask.
Is This Book Good for a Total Beginner?
Totally! This is one of the best first chess books you could ever get. If you just learned how the pieces move but often find yourself staring at the board thinking, "What now?", this book is perfect for you.
Chernev is great at explaining the reason for every single move in simple, clear language. He doesn't throw a bunch of complicated ideas at you. Instead, he slowly helps you understand the basic plans that make up good chess, which is the perfect start for your journey.
What Makes This Book Different?
Most chess books either show you long, confusing lines of moves or just give you a bunch of puzzles. Logical Chess does something totally different—it’s all about the reason for each move. The focus is on understanding the plan, not just memorizing moves.
The goal isn't to just copy what masters do, but to start understanding how they think. This book teaches you how to think like a chess player by focusing on plans and ideas.
By walking you through every single decision, the book helps you build your own logical chess move-by-move thinking process. You’ll find yourself naturally starting to ask "Why?" before you make any move.
Should I Use a Real Board or a Computer?
You can follow along on a screen, but I really, really recommend using a real chessboard. There’s a big difference between clicking a mouse and actually holding a piece in your hand as you move it.
Setting up the board and making the moves yourself does a few important things:
- It helps the ideas stick in your mind. The physical action makes the lesson stronger.
- It makes you slow down. This gives your brain more time to understand the logic behind each move.
- It helps you see the board better. You'll get much better at spotting patterns and seeing plans on a real board—which is how most serious chess is played anyway.
What Book Should I Read After This One?
Once you finish Logical Chess, you’ll have a great understanding of chess strategy and planning. The natural next step is to build on that.
A great choice would be a book all about tactics, which are the short-term attacks that decide most games. A classic like Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser Seirawan is a fantastic next book. Or, you could learn more about strategy with a book like Jeremy Silman's How to Reassess Your Chess, which takes the ideas Chernev teaches and looks at them in a more advanced way.