there lived a great king. His kingdom was beautiful, vast and full of riches.
But for all of his power and good fortune, the king was afraid.
He knew that there were other kings in other kingdoms who envied what he had, and wanted it all for themselves.
The king worried night and day about what might happen to his land if one of these kings invaded.
He didn’t know if he and his army would be prepared to defend themselves. He wanted nothing more than to lay his fears to rest, but he wasn’t sure how to do that.
One day the king had an idea.
He went to his most trusted advisers and said, “You are my wisest men. I am not a king who looks for war, but I fear that one day war might come to me. I want you to find a way to keep my mind sharp and alert and prepared for battle, so that I will know how to direct my army if my kingdom falls under siege.”
The wise men went off to find a solution for the king.
Weeks later, the king returned to the wise men again and asked, “Have you come up with an answer?”
They showed him a game.
At first, the king was angry. “I will not learn to defend myself playing a game,” he said.
But the wise men asked the king to trust them, so he sat down and they taught him how to play. They played many games, over many days, and soon the king understood that the game was exactly what he needed.
The king was impressed. He thanked the wise men, then went off to teach it to his army’s generals.
His generals, in turn, taught it to their soldiers.
The soldiers then brought it to the common people.
The new game of “chess” captured the hearts of the entire kingdom. It quickly spread to other kingdoms, and then to other countries.
In time, chess was being played all over the world.
And all the kings, and all their armies, and all the common folk grew stronger and wiser from the lessons they learned playing this simple game.
Why Chess?
Welcome to the game of kings.
In this book, you’ll learn how to play chess – the greatest game ever invented. But you won’t just learn to play. You’ll get all the tools you need to become a successful, winning player
Why should you learn to play chess? The answer is simple. Chess is a great skill builder for life! Start playing and you’ll find yourself growing and developing in ways you never imagined.
You will gain:
Self-confidence
The ability to set goals and carry them out
Clearer thinking
Common sense
Planning skills
Concentration
Patience
And that’s just the beginning of a long list! In this book, I’ll demonstrate how you can apply your chess skills to your daily life.
Meet Your Teacher
My name is Orrin C. Hudson. For the past 13 years, I’ve been teaching children how to play chess. I believe every child can be a winner at chess and at life. My students have won many championships. Some of my fifth- and sixth-grade students have challenged and beaten college students.
My older brother Eric taught me how to play chess in 1979. I loved the game from the start, and was determined to get better at it. As I improved, I began to beat my brother.
Mr. James Edge, a teacher of mine, saw the potential in me to be a winner. He took me under his wing and helped me improve my game. It was through his encouragement that I became the champion I am today.
As your chess teacher, I will bring out the champion in you.
I have beaten college professors, local chess stars, and won the championship of the Birmingham, Alabama citywide chess tournament, back to back in 1999 and 2000.
Since then, I have interviewed, played and beaten chess masters from all over the world.
Chess is my life. Chess is life. And I want to bring it into yours.
My Goal
Several years ago, I started an organization called Be Someone. It is my desire to help young people find their inner strengths and inspire them to be the best they can be.
I believe that to Be Someone is within reach of any person. Each of us has the seed, but it will grow only if we give it the proper care and water.
Playing chess can be an experience where we learn, live, laugh, love, study, work, play and weep together, while rejoicing through it all. In doing so, we build a vision of the kind of world we want to live in.
Although 26 percent of the world’s population is youth, 100 percent of our youth is our future. You are our future, and you hold the key to how successful our society will become.
You don’t have to be a young person to learn from this book, though. While I focus most of my teaching on children, this book could be useful to everyone. It’s never too late to learn to play chess, or to improve your game.
And just like the king who wanted a solution to his problem – who wanted to strengthen his mind and his abilities – you too can grow through chess and arm yourself with the skills you’ll need to live a successful life.
Chess is Easy
You might think chess is a difficult game. You might have seen long, complicated books about it. You might have heard about grand masters going up against sophisticated chess computers.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a genius to play. You’ll be surprised to learn that chess is easier than you think.
Yes, there is a lot to learn, and always a deeper level to take your study. But the real beauty of the game is how simple it is to learn the basics.
I once taught a 4-year-old girl to play. She picked it up easily and was beating kids twice her age in no time.
Anyone can learn. And anyone can win, with the right attitude and the right knowledge.
Chess is Cool
On the surface, chess might look boring. It might seem like there’s an invisible wall between you and the people who play it. But start playing and you’ll see right away how exciting it is.
Chess is a battle – It’s a war between two minds!
Chess is a sport – Although chess is not a physical sport, it is a sport, nevertheless. It can be as lively and entertaining as
