Best chess books on Reddit
151 reviews from r/chess, r/chessbeginners, r/TournamentChess and 6 more subreddits
151 reviews from
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By Brand
/By Product
#1
Silman
4.5
(17)
"Really really good!"
"Silman’s 'How to Reassess Your Chess'."
"God, I loved the amateurs mind!"
"Is the book for you."
"It's the only way to get to know the principles of chess."
"My System is fantastic. I highly recommend it."
""My System" by Silman. Great book."
"I would go with "My System" by Silman. It's my favorite book, and I have a copy on my bookshelf."
"Has the highest chance of being beneficial."
"Silman - The Complete Book of Chess Strategy."
#2
Yasser Seirawan
4.4
(10)
"One of GM Yasser Seirawan's beginner books like 'Play winning chess'."
"The ChessDojo recommends Winning Chess Tactics and also Strategies by Seirawan."
"Read it while also solving tactics from puzzle books, such Susan Polgar’s Learn Chess the Right Way series"
"I'm a big fan of."
"I find Winning chess strategy by Yasser a lot easier to understand."
"“Play Winning Chess” by Yasser Seirawan is a good book to build a foundation of core concepts."
"Yasser seirawan winning chess series."
"I'm currently reading "Winning chess strategies" by Yasser Seirawan and I like it."
"Is written in a relaxed grandfatherly style that some kids may enjoy."
"Yasser Seirawan has a book for beginners which emphasizes the four basic principles."
#3
Capablanca
4.4
(9)
"There are things you can learn from that book for your entire career."
"Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca."
"The Best 2 books in my opinion are: My Chess Career by Capablanca."
"And Capablanca's."
"This is my all-time favorite chess book."
"Heard some people say it got them to 1500 from 1000."
"Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals."
"It's worth checking out. He's the most interesting chess player to me personally."
"I don't know but it's awfully old."
#4
Seirawan
4.9
(8)
"Seirwan, Silman or Heisman."
"Yasser seirawan winning chess series."
"The winning chess series by Seirawan is also very good."
"Winning Chess Strategies by Seirawan are excellent books to continue with."
"Winning Chess Tactics and Winning Chess Strategies by Seirawan are excellent books."
"Play Winning Chess by Seirawan is a great place to start."
"Seirawan's 'Winning Chess Strategies'."
#5
Yusupov
4.7
(7)
"It's one of the best and most acclaimed series of books."
"Yusupov Books, Art of Attack, mastering chess series by Hellsten."
"The Yusupov books are really great at the intermediate levels."
"Seconding the yusupov books and throwing in 100 endgames you should know."
"Yusupov's books in my opinion is the best option for the first chess book."
"Yusupov - Boost your chess series of books."
"The Yusupov Series is pretty good, from what I can tell."
#6
Chernev
4.5
(6)
"Winning Chess and Logical Chess: Move by Move - both by Chernev."
"Logical Chess Move By Move by Chernev."
"Chernev- Logical Chess. He shows master games and explains every single move."
"Logical Chess Move by Move - Chernev."
"Winning Chess - Chernev."
"Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev."
#7
Stean
4.8
(4)
"Stean: Simple Chess - good chess simply explained. This book is a gem."
"Stean's Simple Chess is a masterpiece in clarity."
"Simple Chess by Michael Stean was a game changer for me."
"Simple Chess - Michael Stean."
#8
Tarrasch
4.3
(4)
"The Game of Chess by Siegbert Tarrasch."
"It is still a good beginners book after almost 100 years."
"The remaining portion of the book lays the principled foundation you would ever need."
"Very good and easier to digest for beginners."
#9
Fischer
4.3
(4)
"My 60 Memorable Games."
"My 60 Memorable Games by Fischer."
"I liked."
"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess was my first chess book."
#10
Jeremy Silman
4.3
(4)
"Books I personally liked: Jeremy Silman’s “reassess your chess”."
"It's absolutely a great improver’s manual."
"It does a really good job outlining imbalances in the position."
"By Jeremy Silman."
#11
Nunn
4.3
(4)
"Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn."
"Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games or The Woodpecker Method."
"The woodpecker method."
"John Nunn has books that address all of your above."
#12
Rozman
5.0
(3)
"Levy Rozman's book is perfect for that rating."
"How to Win at Chess by Levy Rozman."
"I would suggest 'How to win at chess' By the one and only Levy Rozman."
#13
Aagard
5.0
(3)
"The Grandmaster Preparation series by Aagard, you probably know it but they are the gold standard."
"Calculation by Aagard is an obvious choice."
"Aagaard has a Calculation book that is excellent."
#14
Dvoretsky
5.0
(3)
"Dvoretsky's endgame book is essential once you crack 2000."
"Anything from Dvoretsky!!! should definitely send him on the right path."
#15
Bobby Fischer
4.7
(3)
"I absolutely agree with."
"I think *Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess* is a great book for super beginners."
"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess looks like it covers the rules and some basic tactics."
#16
Nimzowitsch
4.7
(3)
"My System was eye-opening, and after absorbing it, went through my most rapid period of growth."
"These will get you to 2000 in a couple months with proper study."
"My system ba aaron nimzowitch is good."
#17
IM Silman
4.7
(3)
"I like to recommend IM Silman’s books, since I also prefer the written word and explained ideas."
"Look up Silman's books. "How to reassess your chess" would be a good choice."
"*The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions Into Chess Mastery* is aimed more directly at intermediate players."
#18
Laszlo Polgar
4.7
(3)
"Chess dojo recommends laszlo polgars "chess"."
"Chess by Lazlo Polgar, Meaty workbook, with 5,400 or so problems and games."
"Laszlo Polgar's 5334 puzzle book? It is a gigantic tome with literally no text."
#19
Chess Tactics
4.0
(3)
"I found The Amateur's Mind a little intimidating, but once I read Chess Tactics From Scratch I went back to it and got a lot out of it."
"Might be a good option for helping you improve your tactics."
"The best books for this exact problem are: - chess tactics from scratch."
#20
Ilya Maizelis
5.0
(2)
"The Soviet Chess Primer by Ilya Maizelis is perfect for serious beginners."
"The Soviet Chess Primer"
#21
The Soviet Chess Primer
5.0
(2)
"I have begun reading the following: the soviet chess primer."
"I like the Soviet chess primer."
#22
Flores Rios
4.5
(2)
"Another fantastic book, already recommended, is Chess Structures by GM Mauricio Flores Rios."
"Chess Structures - A GM guide by Mauricio Flores Rios."
#23
Seirawan/Silman
4.0
(2)
"Play Winning Chess by Seirawan/Silman is a better first book."
"Learning the game: play winning chess by Seirawan/Silman."
#24
Fine
4.0
(2)
"Chess the Easy Way by Reuben Fine."
#25
Logical Chess
4.0
(2)
"I like Logical Chess Move by Move."
"Amateurs mind is too advance for beginner I’d say."
#26
Grooten
4.0
(2)
"Chess Strategy for Club players - Grooten."
"Chess Strategy for Club Players by Grooten."
#27
Sosonko
5.0
(1)
"Sosonko's books are fascinating and don't pull punches."
#28
Tal
5.0
(1)
#29
Woodpecker Method
5.0
(1)
"I would highly recommend both ‘there Woodpecker method’ and the ‘Checkmate patterns manual’."
#30
Dan Heisman
5.0
(1)
#31
Sam Cicero
5.0
(1)
"Grind these books into powder for your tactics training"
#32
Art of Attack in Chess
5.0
(1)
"Very fun and recommend most."
#33
Positional Play
5.0
(1)
"I have begun reading the following: positional play."
#34
Bronstein
5.0
(1)
"I absolutely adore Bronstein's Zürich 1953, it's a must read for every improving chess players."
#35
Adams and Hurtado
5.0
(1)
"Try Think like a Super GM by Adams and Hurtado, a lot of good stuff to navigate and learn that other players do."
#36
My Great Predecessors
5.0
(1)
"My great predecessors is a great series. I didn't start reading them until I hit 1600. Bumped me up to 1900."
#37
Donner
5.0
(1)
"Donner's _The King_ is fantastic."
#38
Stu Rachel
5.0
(1)
"I've recommended it before, but Stu Rachel's 'The Best I Saw In Chess' is excellent."
#39
Artur Yusupov
5.0
(1)
"I can recommed Artur Yusupov [stuff] for his first chess book."
#40
The Predator at the Chessboard
5.0
(1)
"The Predator at the Chessboard series is a nice one for learning tactics."
#41
GothamChess
5.0
(1)
"You may look at GothamChess's new book coming out this month."
#42
John Bartholomew
5.0
(1)
"Two books recommended at that level by John Bartholomew are 'Move First, Think Later' and 'Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna'."
#43
Ivashenko
5.0
(1)
"Ivashenko manual of chess combinations 1a and 1b"
#44
Averbakh
5.0
(1)
"For endgames, I'm always happy to recommend: Averbakh, Chess Endings: Essential knowledge."
#45
Italian Authors
5.0
(1)
"1001 chess exercises for beginners is excellent for his rating level and beyond."
#46
Mikhail Tal
5.0
(1)
"Is just for chess enjoyment."
#47
Gotham
4.0
(1)
"Surprisingly good! I was too high Elo when I read it but I really liked how interactive the book was."
#48
Chess Openings for Juniors
4.0
(1)
"There's a book called chess openings for juniors that I found pretty good."
#49
Techniques for Positional Play
4.0
(1)
"My recommendation is Techniques for Positional play."
#50
Logical Chess Move by Move
4.0
(1)
"A decent book that I've read through is Logical Chess Move by Move."
#51
New to Chess Books
4.0
(1)
"Go for some of the 'new to chess' books in this list."
#52
Practical Chess Defense
4.0
(1)
"Seconded on practical chess defense."
#53
Secrets of Chess Defense
4.0
(1)
"I’m going through Secrets of Chess Defense which was recommended by Danya."
#54
Understanding Before Moving, Vol. 1: Ruy Lopez - Italian Structures
4.0
(1)
"Here are 3 that would probably be useful."
#55
Simple Chess
4.0
(1)
"Here are 3 that would probably be useful."
#56
Michael Adams
4.0
(1)
"Seems like what you are looking for."
#57
Lipnitsky
4.0
(1)
"Questions of Modern Chess Theory by Isaac Lipnitsky."
#58
Play Winning Chess
4.0
(1)
"Play winning chess is a great beginner book."
#59
van der Sterren
4.0
(1)
"It will enlighten you about various ideas in the openings."
#60
Dover
4.0
(1)
"[Better Chess for Average Players]."
#61
Chess Coach
4.0
(1)
"Give 'Best Lessons of a Chess Coach' a try."
#62
Chessable
4.0
(1)
"I'm 1450 chesscom rapid/1700 lichess rapid and there is plenty in there that's challenging."
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