On the Origin of Good Moves A Skeptic's Guide to Getting Better at Chess

“Willy Hendriks’ book is terrific. It totally changed my view on the history of chess.” Grandmaster Erwin l’Ami
“Goes right in somewhere very near the top of my favourite chess books of all time. I found it well researched, endlessly fascinating, always thought-provoking, often digressive, sometimes provocative and sometimes extremely funny. If you have any interest at all in the development of chess ideas this will be an essential purchase. If you want to improve your rating you’ll find a lot of inspiring suggestions. It’s certainly a book I’ll return to over and over again.” Richard James, British Chess News
“There are some quite interesting challenges to widely held viewpoints. The subject matter is fascinating and IM Hendriks’ continued insistence on turning standard logic on its ear makes for compelling reading.” Chris Wainscott, On the Road to Chess Master
“It was again an absolute joy to read. Hendriks has written another masterpiece.” Helmut Froeyman, Schaken-Brabo
“Willy Hendriks lectures on the history of chess and shatters a fair amount of dogmas. Because of his humorous style and acerbic wit, the book fascinates until the last page. Both ambitious players and those who love stories from the old days are in for a treat.” International Master Mark Haast, Schaaksite
“Hendriks does a masterful job of showing how the standard story fails, and why. What makes the book delightful is that he does so with spectacular examples and loads of entertaining stories. I’m certain that On the Origin of Moves is the most important and original work written about the evolution of chess ideas. Furthermore, he has made this subject accessible, easily comprehensible, and fun to boot.” International Master John Watson, Chess Life Magazine
“Hendriks shows that conventional opinions are often based on only a handful of widely known fragments. The author’s sense of humor makes this hefty book (36 chapters, more than 400 pages) very nicely readable, as do the many exercises.” International Master Jeroen Bosch, Schaakmagazine