From Amazon:

Once a chess player has learned not to drop pieces, that innate feeling of not wanting to sacrifice them willingly takes place in our consciousness. Why should give up our pieces unless we must?
This book tries to remedy that thinking pattern by introducing the student and reader to the concept of imagination. For the purpose of expanding the imagination, the author has created sixty examples of varying degrees of difficulty to illustrate tactical and mating patterns of many kinds.

Lastly, the author has put together a long list of do’s and do not’s under the umbrella of “Chess Maxims” for beginners and inexperienced players.

Last year I wrote a trilogy of pieces about the fascinating Charles Dealtry Locock, who had a long and varied career as a player, problemist, writer and, towards the end of his long life, teacher.

Locock was in many ways a man ahead of his time, a pioneering supporter of girls’ chess with a belief that composed positions have much value in chess teaching.

These days most reputable chess teachers advocate the solving of endgame studies as an excellent way to develop your creativity and imagination, and many also recommend solving composed problems as well.

Here’s Locock in his introduction to Imagination in Chess, first published in 1937:

Up to a point, I agree. My experience has always been that young pupils learn how to checkmate with two rooks and don’t bother with anything else, trading everything off to reach something they know, and missing quicker mates along the way.

I would disagree, however, that ‘frequently the only way to do this is to lose pieces on purpose’. Occasionally, yes, but not very often. Looking at Locock’s games, and at many others from the late 19th century when he was active as a competitive player, I also find many examples of unsound sacrifices.

So, while I’m in favour of introducing pupils to a wide variety of mates, and in developing their imagination, I’m also wary of being too obsessed with sacrifices at the expense of more general calculation.

Here we have 60 positions which are somewhere between positions from play and problems in that they use problem themes to illustrate mates which may arise over the board.

They are presented one to a page, using computer graphic diagrams, with smaller diagrams being used within the solutions.

This is Q29, which will give you a good idea of the sort of position you’ll find in this book.

It’s a mate in 3 (although Black would probably resign if you took the queen with your rook instead): I’m sure you can find the first move and all the variations yourself.

As the book proceeds, the positions get harder. Here’s Q55, a difficult mate in 4.

The (far from obvious) first move is Ke2, stepping aside from a potential pin on the f-file. There are (unmentioned) alternatives which also lead to mate, but take longer to achieve their aim.

I suppose you’re learning two things from these puzzles. Each one requires knowledge of standard mating patterns, but you also need to use your imagination in order to set them up.

It’s a rather unusual method of teaching chess, but it serves two purposes at once and many readers might well find working through the book helpful.

Then, as a bonus, we have the contents of another, very brief, book: One Hundred Chess Maxims For Beginners and Moderate Players, first published in 1935.

There’s an extra bonus: there are actually 103 maxims rather than the promised 100, not to mention 8 “don’ts” for beginners.

While most of them are unobjectionable, a few are decidedly odd.

Don’t No. 4 will be unpopular with devotees of the London System.

Don’t play your c1-bishop to f4. It has no attacking force there, is probably undefended, and liable to attack by queen or knight.

Maxim 37:

The object of the game is to mate, and as quickly as possible. Captures are only made to deprive the king of his defenses.

Maxim 38:

An attack on a well defended castled king must usually conclude with the sacrifice of a piece.

I always thought the object of the game was to mate as certainly as possible, not as quickly as possible. I think these two maxims, for me, sum up the deficiencies in Locock’s approach to chess.

Yes, you need to excel at calculation, but sacrifices and mates are only a very small part of calculation. Even today there are many chess teachers who fail to understand this.

While the puzzles themselves are well worth solving, here in 2025, the book has mostly curiosity value. Nevertheless, it’s great that it’s available in a well produced modern edition.

Carsten Hansen should be congratulated and thanked for his efforts in making Locock’s writings available to today’s readers.

You can buy it on Amazon here.

• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CRY1SVY7
• Publisher ‏ : Alexander Game Book Classics (9 Jan. 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 112 pages
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8874189808
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.24 x 0.66 x 22.86 cm