The joy of chess lies in its endless possibilities. With each move, you immerse yourself in a world of strategy, calculation and creativity. Every game presents a unique challenge, testing players’ intellect and intuition to the maximum. Chess is also known for its ornate and beautiful pieces as much as it is for strategy and tactics. Even many people who don’t play will often display a polished wooden set in their homes. Chess Illustrated offers a compact, accessible introduction to the pieces, classic sets and basic moves of this supreme game of strategy. Learn about the Staunton chess pattern, which provides a model for most modern chess sets; marvel at the Isle of Lewis chess pieces, which offer a fascinating insight into the culture and wider connections of medieval Scotland; and understand how skilled players use pawns to control the centre of the board. The book also includes features on some of the great players and classic games of the modern era. Beautifully produced in traditional Chinese binding with 100 illustrations and photographs, Chess Illustrated will fascinate anyone interested in the material culture of one of the world’s oldest and most widely played games.

Alastair Horne is a lecturer in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, in Scotland. The author of four previous books for Amber – Abandoned Scotland, Graves of the Great and Famous, Paris: City of Light, and London: Treasured Capital of the United Kingdom – he is currently completing a doctorate on how smartphones are changing storytelling, and a novel set in an unnamed Parisian cemetery in the early twentieth century.