Everyman Chess

Everyman Chess is a specialist chess-publishing brand associated with books and CD-based chess products for readers ranging from improving beginners to advanced tournament players. The business has operated under several names, including Cadogan Chess and Popular Chess, while Everyman became the best-known consumer-facing brand. The Wikipedia subject is currently titled Popular Chess, and the business is also identified as Gloucester Publishers. Everyman is a registered trademark of Random House. The publisher is headquartered in London and has built its reputation around practical chess education rather than around a single author or one narrow format. Its catalogue includes opening manuals, strategic guides, game collections, historical works, and training-oriented series. The books generally combine explanatory prose with annotated games or positions, allowing readers to study both the underlying ideas and their application in play. Its audience includes club players, ambitious amateurs, chess teachers, and stronger players seeking focused material on openings, middlegame themes, endgames, or the history of the game. Among the brand's notable series are Winning Chess, associated with grandmaster Yasser Seirawan; Starting Out, written by a range of authors including John Emms, Chris Ward, Glenn Flear, Joe Gallagher, Richard Palliser, and John Shaw; and Move by Move, which uses question-and-answer or decision-based instructional formats and has included contributors such as John Emms, Steve Giddins, Adam Hunt, Colin Crouch, and Cyrus Lakdawala. The publisher has also released Garry Kasparov's five-volume My Great Predecessors series, the Modern Chess series, and the Dangerous Weapons opening series. The Starting Out books are designed for readers who have moved beyond the absolute-beginner stage. Their typical structure offers a broad strategic explanation of an opening or chess topic, supported by annotated examples and visual callouts identifying tips, warnings, and notes. This accessible presentation helped the series reach a wide readership. At the same time, chess reviewer John Watson criticized the series for sometimes providing less detailed theoretical coverage than specialist opening manuals, and another review raised the concern that some titles may have been marketed as Starting Out books even when their content was more advanced. Former world champion Garry Kasparov has served as the publisher's chief adviser, while John Emms has been identified as general editor, with Richard Palliser assisting in editorial work. Their involvement reflects the brand's emphasis on expert-authored and practically oriented chess instruction. In 2024, Popular Chess was announced as having been sold to Quality Chess. Because of a rights issue, the business reportedly had to continue using the Popular Chess name, even though Everyman Chess remained the established brand identity associated with much of its catalogue. Its current corporate structure and detailed ownership arrangements are not fully documented in the supplied sources.

Popular Chess is a specialist chess publisher based in London and historically marketed under the Everyman Chess and Cadogan Chess names. Its catalogue developed around chess books and CD products intended to explain the game to a broad audience, particularly players progressing from beginner knowledge toward club and tournament competence. The Everyman name became strongly associated with instructional chess publishing, while the corporate and publishing identity later appeared as Popular Chess and Gloucester Publishers. The business's editorial model has relied on themed series as well as individual titles. Rather than limiting its output to reference works for elite players, it has published books that introduce openings, strategic concepts, tactical ideas, historical developments, and the games of leading players in a format intended to be usable by ordinary chess students. The series structure allows readers to identify books by level and subject, while the use of annotated games connects abstract principles with concrete decisions on the board. The Starting Out series became one of the publisher's most recognizable lines. These books generally target players who understand the basic rules and principles of chess but need a more systematic introduction to an opening or topic. They commonly explain strategic plans, identify the relative theoretical status of variations, and use marked tips, warnings, and notes to make the material easier to navigate. The series' breadth and accessible presentation contributed to its popularity. Critics nevertheless noted that its general introductory approach could mean less exhaustive theoretical detail than readers would find in specialized opening works, and questioned whether every title placed in the line was appropriately pitched at its intended level. Other important lines broadened the catalogue. Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess series presents core strategic and tactical themes. Move by Move books use an interactive instructional approach in which the reader is encouraged to evaluate positions and candidate moves. The publisher also issued major historical and analytical works by Garry Kasparov, including the five-volume My Great Predecessors series and the Modern Chess series. Dangerous Weapons titles focused on provocative or less conventional opening ideas. Contributors across these lines included John Emms, Chris Ward, Glenn Flear, Joe Gallagher, Richard Palliser, John Shaw, Steve Giddins, Adam Hunt, Colin Crouch, and Cyrus Lakdawala. Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion, served as chief adviser. John Emms was identified as general editor, assisted by Richard Palliser. Their roles helped associate the publisher with grandmaster-level expertise while preserving a practical orientation for non-professional readers. The Everyman trademark is registered to Random House, an arrangement that helps explain the distinction between the consumer brand and the later corporate naming used in reference sources. In 2024, the sale of Popular Chess to Quality Chess was announced. The supplied reference states that a rights issue meant the publisher had to continue under the Popular Chess name. Consequently, Everyman Chess is best understood as the principal legacy and market-facing chess brand within a business whose published identity and ownership have changed over time. The available sources do not establish a precise founding date, detailed corporate chronology, or a complete account of its current organizational structure.

• 2024

  Sale to Quality Chess

  [1]Popular Chessen.wikipedia.org

  Popular Chess was announced as sold to Quality Chess. The reference notes that a rights issue required continued use of the Popular Chess name.

• Chess publishing under the Cadogan and Everyman names

  [1]Popular Chessen.wikipedia.org

  The business operated under Cadogan Chess and Everyman Chess names before the Popular Chess identity became the relevant Wikipedia subject.

• Development of major instructional series

  [1]Popular Chessen.wikipedia.org

  The publisher established a broad catalogue of series including Starting Out, Winning Chess, Move by Move, Dangerous Weapons, Modern Chess, and My Great Predecessors.

Accessible, expert-led chess education for improving players, club players, and serious enthusiasts, combining practical guidance with annotated games and structured series formats.

• Chess instruction series

  Starting Out

  An introductory-to-intermediate series for players who have progressed beyond the absolute beginner stage. Titles typically explain strategic ideas, outline the character of an opening or subject, distinguish more theoretical lines from less forcing ones, and use annotated examples with visual labels for tips, warnings, and notes. The series is designed for broad accessibility, although reviewers have noted that its coverage may be less theoretically exhaustive than specialist manuals.

• Chess instruction series

  Winning Chess

  A series associated with grandmaster Yasser Seirawan that presents practical instruction in fundamental chess skills. Its positioning is educational and improvement-oriented, using explanatory treatment of strategic and tactical themes rather than serving solely as an encyclopedic reference.

• Interactive chess instruction series

  Move by Move

  A training-oriented series built around the decisions arising in positions and games. Its authors have included John Emms, Steve Giddins, Adam Hunt, Colin Crouch, and Cyrus Lakdawala. The format encourages readers to assess moves and plans rather than only read a static explanation.

• Chess history and annotated games

  My Great Predecessors

  Garry Kasparov's five-volume historical and analytical series examining earlier world champions and major figures in modern chess. It combines historical narrative with detailed discussion of important games and players.

• Chess analysis and history

  Modern Chess

  A Garry Kasparov series focused on the development and character of modern chess. The line extends the publisher's role beyond beginner instruction into high-level historical and analytical treatment.

• Chess opening books

  Dangerous Weapons

  A series devoted to unusual, provocative, or strategically risky opening choices. It is aimed at players looking for practical weapons that may surprise opponents or lead to less familiar types of positions.

• 2024

  Sale to Quality ChessM&A

  Background

  Popular Chess, the publishing business historically associated with Everyman Chess, was reported as having been sold in 2024.

  Action taken

  Quality Chess acquired the business, according to the supplied reference material.

  Aftermath

  A rights issue reportedly required the publisher to continue under the Popular Chess name, creating a distinction between the legacy Everyman brand and the post-sale publishing identity.

  Source

1. 1Popular Chessen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Everyman Chess official websiteeverymanchess.com