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“For surely of all the drugs in the world, chess must be the most permanently pleasurable.” –Assiac aka Heinrich Fraenkel


Heinrich Fraenkel – Chess Author and Writer

Fraenkel was born to Jewish parents on September 28, 1897 in Lissa, Poland—then Province of Posen, Germany.

In 1933, he emigrated from Nazi Germany and lived in Britain. He died in Ealing, England in May 1986.

Heinrich Fraenkel aka Assiac smoking a pipe.

Under the pseudonym “Assiac,” an anagram of the name of the fictional chess goddess Caissa, Heinrich Fraenkel edited a chess column in the New Statesman.

He published several chess books, among them “Adventures in Chess” in 1951—and the American edition was published as “The Pleasures of Chess.”

The Pleasures of Chess

The Pleasures of Chess book cover.


Fraenkel was also a historian and a highly esteemed writer for his biographies of Nazi war criminals—including Goebbels, Goering, Himmler and Hess—published in the 1960s and 1970s.

Doctor Goebbels

Doctor Goebbels

“A measured, scholarly account of a real monster.” -Newsweek


Hermann Göering

Hermann Wilhelm Göring

“There are no better biographies of Goering, Goebbels and Himmler in existence.-The New York Review of Books


Heinrich Himmler

Heinrich Himmler

“There are no better biographies of Goering, Goebbels and Himmler in existence.-The New York Review of Books


Rudolf Hess

Rudolf Hess

On October 1, 1946, the Nuremberg Trials judges sentenced Hess to life imprisonment at Spandau Prison in West Berlin, Germany.

On August 17, 1987, Prison guards found Hess dead at age 93 years old in a Spandau Prison cell. He had hanged himself using an extension cable strung over a window latch. Hess had been the only inmate in Spandau Prison since 1966.

Germany demolished Spandau Prison shortly after Rudolf Hess’ death to prevent it from becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.


The World’s Best Selling Scholastic Chess Workbooks!

177,685 of John’s workbooks sold!

Beginner’s Book – Chess Rules For Students

Chess Rules For Students workbook

“Knights Battle”

Chess Rules For Students is a workbook for students learning the game of chess and for beginning students returning to the game. No previous knowledge of chess is necessary. Parents unfamiliar with chess will find this booklet a valuable guide to their child’s new interest.

Chess Rules For Students is designed with students, coaches, and parents in mind. Reading level is appropriate for grade-school use. All major rules of chess are covered, and algebraic notation worksheets are included. Each page is in easy-to-use worksheet format.

A student-friendly Answer Key makes self-correction fun!


Beginners & Intermediate Book – Checkmate! Ideas For Students

Checkmate! Ideas For Students

“Knight Checkmates King!”

Checkmate! Ideas For Students is a workbook for beginning and intermediate students. Checkmate! covers the tactics used in checkmate attacks with clear explanations, diagrams and arrows to pinpoint the key features.

Unlike many other basic checkmate books, Checkmate! categorizes the checkmates by the tactics used to force the checkmate–like Pins, Sacrifices, Removing the Guard, Attraction, Clearance and Attacking Flight Squares–rather than only the checkmate pattern itself.

The worksheets and Answer Key are clear and simple for the student to use, and easy for the parent, teacher and coach to correct! Fun!


Intermediate & Advanced Book – Chess Tactics For Students

Chess Tactics For Students workbook

“Profiles Face-Off in King’s Shadow”

Chess Tactics For Students contains 434 carefully selected problems in worksheet format.

Chess Tactics has been extensively field tested with elementary, middle-school, and high-school students over a four-year period. This book is ideal for independent seat work as well as for homework and classroom instruction.

The worksheet format and Answer Key enable self-correction with minimal dependence or direct help from a chess teacher, coach, or parent.


Chess for Students Shop Now

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Solve a chess puzzle, enter the weekly drawing as often as you like, and win awesome prizes! Winners’ prizes are listed below. If you don’t win this week, try again next week! New puzzles are posted daily!

CHESS PUZZLES WEEKLY PRIZES

Below are the weekly prizes we send out! If you don’t win, try again the following week for your chance to win! Click on the prize to learn more about it.

Checkmate In One Prize
Chess Rules For Students Workbook
An instructional workbook designed for students learning the game of chess. Click here to learn more!
Checkmate In Two Prize
Checkmate! Ideas For Students
An instructional workbook containing tactics in worksheet format used to checkmate--like Pins, Sacrifices, Removing the Guard, Attraction, Clearance, and Attacking Flight Squares!
Checkmate In Three Prize
Chess Tactics For Students
An instructional workbook containing 434 carefully selected problems presented in worksheet format.

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