Checkmate wins the game. Learning checkmate patterns helps you win games. It's that simple. Many checkmates fall into recognizable patterns. My First Book of Checkmate presents all the basic patterns in clear diagrams, provides simple puzzles to get you started, and then takes you on a fascinating and rewarding journey through the beautiful and brilliant world of checkmate. By the time you finish this book you will be well prepared both to see danger before it strikes, and to deliver the crushing blows that win games. My First Book of Checkmate is a revised, enlarged edition of The Chess Kid's Book of Checkmate by David MacEnulty, originally published in 2004 by David McKay.