Shortlisted for the English Chess Federation Book of the Year Award: “once picked up, the book is most difficult to put down” - ECF Press Release

Chess might seem a complex and mysterious game, but the ultimate goal is simple: checkmate.

Checkmate can occur in all stages of the game, from snap mates in the opening, through middlegame attacks to simplified endgames. Learning how to use our pieces together to corner the enemy king is a fundamental skill that all chess-players must constantly practise, sharpen and develop.

This book lays out, in systematic and thorough fashion, a wide range of mating patterns and techniques, in particular showing how each piece-pair can combine to deliver mate. A working knowledge of these ideas enables players to move on to mating combinations, where pieces lay down their lives so that the remaining forces can deliver mate. Gude explains an amazing variety of tactical devices, and illustrates them in unforgettable style with some of the most brilliant mating attacks from practice, new and old. There are chapters on how to attack kings in the centre, as well as standard (and other!) attacks against the castled position.

This is a true textbook of checkmate; readers will never be short of mating ideas, and will instinctively know when there is a possibility to launch an attack, or when they must parry the opponent’s threats. Fundamental Checkmates also features more than 300 exercises with full solutions.

Antonio Gude is an extremely experienced chess writer and teacher from Spain. Several of his books on tactics and for beginners are long-standing best-sellers in Spanish language. Gude has also translated a great many books, including some of the classics of chess literature. He is the author of "A Complete Chess Course", also published by Gambit.

“Mating patterns and combinations are well covered in Antonio Gude’s new book. The Spanish writer admires beauty in chess and explains how attacks and combinations work together with mating patterns. He is well-read, knows important games from the past and present, and uses famous endgame compositions to create a useful mating manual for wide readership” – Lubosh Kavalek, Huffington Post

“Checkmate diamonds shimmer on every page” – Sean Marsh, Chess Magazine

“The number of great examples is overwhelming. On the one part there are classic game fragments you may already know, but also a lot is new, giving something for everyone. I myself am currently using this book as study material for my constant training… the book is actually suitable for any chess player. Highly recommended” – IM Dirk Schuh, Rochade Europa