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poisonedpawn78
♡ 72 ( +1 | -1 )
Most influential chess book ! OK ! This is a thread i have been wanting to do for a while . I am interested in what everyone considers as the most influential chess book to THEM , which book changed your game the most ( for the better ) .
This thread will help people decide on which chess book to buy or read next !
Remember this is your own opinion , if the iron chefs italian cook book helped you with your chess game the most then post it !
For me , Aron Nimzowitsch's " My system " , ive reread the book about 10 times and everytime i read it i learn something new or understand what he is trying to say more clearly . Truely a great positional book .
So lets hear it !
PP
More: Solitaire Chess
bullmoose
♡ 38 ( +1 | -1 )
Yo I'm only just post-beginner but at my stage I'm getting a lot from "Teach Yourself Better Chess" from the TY series & also The Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom - both packed full of concise ideas that have helped great deal.
I'd like to get that Nimzo book as I really like his playing style but it's may be a bit advanced for me just now.
Moose
}: )
More: Learn How To Play Chess
brobishkin
♡ 22 ( +1 | -1 )
Lets see... Oh My... There are so many... And so many stages in learning through out the years... The one that comes to mind in all the stages of training is "The Amatuer's Mind" by Jeremy Silman... Well written and neat concept in thought training...
Bro...
More: Chess Players
javelin
♡ 5 ( +1 | -1 )
Aye Jeremy Silman's books are great!
[SF] Javelin
More: Chess Openings Database
seagryphon
♡ 10 ( +1 | -1 )
Books i've never read a chess book, do you really find them useful?
Maybe I'll pick one up.
More: Chess Game Rules
victord
♡ 41 ( +1 | -1 )
...---... 'The Amateur's Mind' by Jeremy Silman is outstanding and I have learned and will learn plenty from it. It's becomeing quite dogeared.
'The Chess Legacy of Jose Raoul Capablanca [last lectures]...old...probably hard to find, but one of my personal favorites.
'My Chess Career' by J.R. Capablanca...see above.
'100 Best Games of A. Alekhine'...not sure of the title[I lost my copy], but really good, instructive games.
More: Computer Chess
victord
brobishkin
♡ 3 ( +1 | -1 )
Vote... My vote is in Vic... To the chess related...
Bro...
More: Chess Online
das3333
♡ 16 ( +1 | -1 )
book "Chess for Children" by Fred Reinfeld. I'm pretty much a beginner and this book shows how to do a 2 move checkmate and lots of other good moves.
vietnamese_girl_18
♡ 24 ( +1 | -1 )
Art of Attack in Chess, by Vukovic. It completely changed the way I play the game. It's a good next book for those who've already read a book like Silman's Reassess Your Chess that explains basic concepts.
Sarah
sr_ajedrez
♡ 42 ( +1 | -1 )
lets see 1. Jeremy Silman's How to reasses your chess
2. Nimzowitch's My System
3. The inner game of chess by Andrew Soltice
4. Yermolinsky's book ( though only for one sentence: i had made an advance and reached a plato. And the simple concept of compairing learning chess to learning a language hast pushed me in a new race to a better develop of my game).
reading is always worthwhile , specially combined whith playing,and practicing.
poisonedpawn78
♡ 41 ( +1 | -1 )
vietnamese_girl_18 Great book ! i own that one as well , probably the best book to teach you how to destroy your oponents king side without a doubt . if your a player who already understands about chess basics but find yourself " lost" when it comes to the middle game on what to do , i would suggest this book to help you with a direction of attack .
Good choice VG18
PP
victord
♡ 25 ( +1 | -1 )
Art of Attack hummmmmmm From the 2 reviews given here that will be my next book for sure. pp78...you discribed me to a T...'lost' in the middle game. This is a reoccuring theme in my games. Thanks for that tip. I'll try to absorbe it before we meet at checkerboardsquare.
poisonedpawn78
♡ 14 ( +1 | -1 )
Victord No problem , im glad i could help you ! its a very complicated and big book .. lots to absorb so stick with it ! im constantly rereading that one too !
PP
taoistlunatic
♡ 44 ( +1 | -1 )
Reassess your chess...SILMAN Though I have read this to death and have moved beyond it. More than any other chess-book, this one changed how I see the game for the better.
For those of you who liked the Amateur's mind, this book is similar but even better.
Now I am reading about tactics, combinations and endgames. A great little book that can do wonders for your calculating skills, is eugene-znosko-borovsxy's ART OF CHESS COMBINATION.
v_glorioso12
♡ 13 ( +1 | -1 )
"The Reasses Your Chess Workbook"
"Capablanca's Best Chess Endings"
"Winning With Reverse Chess Strategy"
keiserpaul
♡ 50 ( +1 | -1 )
First learn the basics from the first great chess teacher Siegbert Tarrasch : Das Schachspiel ("The Game Of Chess") , ( and only after this Nimzowitchs reply on it : "My system". )
Enjoy Tarrasch's preface : "I have always a slight feeling of pity for the man who has no knowledge of chess, just as I would pity the man who has remained ignorant of love. Chess, like love, like music, has the power to make men happy. The way to this happiness I have tried to show in this book."
poisonedpawn78
♡ 56 ( +1 | -1 )
what about these ? Has anyone read these books ? what are your opinions ?
One Thousand and One Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations
by Fred Reinfeld
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy : Advances Since Nimzowitsch
by John Watson
The Inner Game of Chess : How to Calculate and Win
by Andrew Soltis
Fire on Board: Shirov's Best Games
by Alexei Shirov
Lasker's Manual of Chess
by Emanuel Lasker
These are some of the most famous books i have yet to read , and am thinking of purchasing , anyone read them and can tell me about them ?
PP
adrianallen
♡ 21 ( +1 | -1 )
BCO Batsford Chess Openings by Gary Kasparov and Raymond Keene. Helped me out a great deal when playing tournaments when I was younger. I have had this book since I was 15 and still use it today.
keiserpaul
♡ 20 ( +1 | -1 )
poisonedpawn78 I have read Lasker's Manual of Chess, but I did not understood it well. It is an elaborating of the theories of Steinitz, including chapters on Esthetic aspects, Science & Philosophy. Much too sophisticated, much too difficult too me !
taoistlunatic
♡ 238 ( +1 | -1 )
secrets of modern chess strategy... advances since Nimzowitsch, is a great book, but very advanced, it is aimed at the experienced tournament player. I have about 20 chess boks now, and I have read throught this one quickly, but i am still saving it for when I am more advanced before I read through it carefully. Basicaly it focuses on the modern ideas in chess that go against the grain of traditional chess theory.
John WEatson emphasizes concrete analysis is the way modern ches players look at the game, and have thrown out the old school ideas of chess 'laws' and 'principles'. I like this book and think it is a great philosophical book of chess, but IT IS NOT AN INTRUCTIONAL BOOK and john never intended it to be. It is basically a look at the modern style of play by analyzing countless grandmaster games and pointing out all the gamnes in which these masters through out the traditional rules and play according to analysis and calculation.
For example chess players are often taught a 'rule' when they start as to not move the same piece more then once when developing, or not to make too many pawn moves, so John Watson goes on to show top gms playing openings where in one game black mahes nine pawn moves out of fifteen in the opening and gains an advantage! And in another top game, white moves his king's knight five times inthe opening and stands better!
John calls the modern style of play "RULE INDEPENDENCE" and gives hundreds of example throughout his book. As I said before this book is not meant to be intructional but philosophical, but that is why I love it. If somebody told me I had to throw out all my chess books except one (besides opening books) I would definitely consider this one...just because your chess style and philosophical approach to the game are deeply important.
By the way another great book, that is not intructional but extremely helpful, is John Nunn's Secrets of Practical chess which is more about how to Play well 'over-the-board' when you have to deal with time-pressure, psychological effects of calculation an competition, etc. The best part of the book is the one dealing with calculation which is helping me tremendously over-the-board on how to calculate well without getting into time-trouble.
well hope that helps some people....
__mda__
♡ 20 ( +1 | -1 )
I really enjoy tournament books.. such as New York 1924 ( annotated by Alekhine ) and Zurich 1953 ( annotated by Bronstein ). Both books are considered classics and open a window into chess styles and strategies of long ago.
vietnamese_girl_18
♡ 37 ( +1 | -1 )
poisonedpawn78:
From your list, I'd recommend the Reinfeld book. Quite fun and good practice. I thought the Soltis book was average-- I went through it quickly and I don't remember anything outstanding about it. But I've learned that some love it, so perhaps someone would disagree. A sometimes overlooked book is Keres and Kotov's The Art of the Middlegame.
Sarah Tran
poisonedpawn78
♡ 30 ( +1 | -1 )
Sarah thanks ! i think i might pick up the Reinfeld book , i hear lots of great things about it . The Keres book ive seen many good reviews about as well .. but it allways seemed to slip through the cracks of top chess book lists and it made me wonder about it .
PP
sr_ajedrez
♡ 9 ( +1 | -1 )
Yes Sara i was trying to remember the name of that one
The art of a middlegame. very practical and
didactic.
regardz
vietnamese_girl_18
♡ 45 ( +1 | -1 )
The Art of the Middlegame The Keres and Kotov book might not be too popular because it's older (thought I don't think out-of-date) and also because it's only available in descriptive notation. Many younger/newer players shy away from it because of this. Even if you don't read most of the book, the section on defending difficult positions is extremely useful. If you are in the US, you can get a Dover Publishers copy of the book for around $9-- extremely cheap for a chess book!
Sarah Tran
calmrolfe
♡ 66 ( +1 | -1 )
Middle game One of my favourite Middle game books is "How to play the Middle Game" by John Littlewood. He used to be a a top rank UK domestic player and became a chess coach to many of the leading UK junior players. He has a fine writing style and his teaching is well illustrated with frequent diagrams.
It is a good book to learn from.
The Art of Attack in Chess by V Vukovic is one of my all time favourite books, as also is the Paul Keres book previously mentioned in these threads.
My favourite tournament book is Chess Olympiads 1927-1968 by A Foldeak. There are literally hundreds of keenly contested fights between all the leading GM's of their day.
Kind regards,
Cal