What is a bookworm?

A bookworm is a reader who cannot stop reading. You read one whole chess book, from the first page to the last. A good chess book is like a coach who never gets tired. When you read it, its moves start to show up in your own games.

Which book?

Any chess book counts, and three kinds are easy to find:

• A how-to book teaches rules, tricks and checkmates.
• A puzzle book gives you hundreds of positions to solve.
• A book of a champion's games comes with the champion's own notes.

A thin book you finish is better than a thick book you give up on.

Where to find one

Ask at the library first. Many libraries have a chess shelf, and you can borrow the books there. Then try your school, the club, or a grown-up's bookcase. The biggest chess library in the world is in Cleveland, and it holds over 32,000 chess books. You only need one.

How to read a chess book

Keep a board next to you, and play the moves as you read. At the best moments, stop and ask yourself why the player chose this move. If you get a puzzle wrong, go back and try it again. The book Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess works like that, and it sold about a million copies. Mark the page you love most, because that is the page you will show.

How you get the sticker

Your grown-up or coach checks it and hands you the sticker. Open the page you marked, and show its best game or idea on a board. Your grown-up does not need to play chess, because you explain and they listen. Did you read a chess book before you had the passport? It still counts.