Hi all,

I've spent a small fortune on chess books, read them, but didn't really improve as much as I wanted. I've switched to chess software then (mainly Convekta stuff, Chessimo, ...), which seemed to be more bang for a buck, but my most recent additions to my chess library made me reassess the value of the "Good old chess book".

Enough for the introduction. Here comes my new "TOP 5 chess books" list:

Igor Khmelnitsky - Chess Exam

Igor Khmelnitsky - Chess Exam: Tactics

Both of these books evaluate where you currently are (chess wise) and gives very good advise how to proceed depending on your level.

Lev Alburt - Chess Training Pocket Book

Lev Alburt - Chess Training Pocket Book II

If you are like me then you probably want to learn chess everywhere. If yes, then these books come in very handy. They are small and have some excellent positions to master. There are always 4 diagrams on the left page and the solutions on the right page (use a piece of paper to cover the solutions... don't glimpse). He even states in his first book that these 300 positions contain the most important ideas in chess. I don't know if it's true but I can tell you that I made astonishing 3 points in my last 3 real games.

So what's the last book:

Rashid Ziyatdinov - GM-RAM

You should probably only buy this if you are REALLY serious and have plenty of time, because you will be given 300 positions, but no solution. You have to work it out all on your own and then, to finish it off, you shall remember 59 games.

You can find these games here:

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chesscollection?cid=1003578

Have fun & improve,

Michael

This is very interesting. Chess exam appears to be an extremely useful book. Reading some of the reviews on amazon.com confirms that. People seem to like it quite a bit.

Is it a bit of a one shot book though? I feel like if I read chess exam now, then if I'm struggling to find my weaknesses in the future it won't be helpful anymore since I've already seen everything inside it? Do you think it would be wise to choose the time to read it carefully?

GM-RAM seems horribly daunting.

Hmmm... good question. I guess that after a period of 6 months you can make the test (chess exam) again. You probably don't know all the nuances of the positions anymore :-)

The rating that is calculated for each of your categories will probably be higher, but the overall differences in the ratings (the relative values, like the difference between the tactics and the endgame rating) will show where your weaknesses are.

hmmmm...........

Ah interesting point. That's good to know. I would really like to give that a try now, I just don't want to need it more later and not be able to access it.

For players who are really serious about wanting to improve I think GM Alex Yermolinsky’s "The Road To Chess Improvement" is excellent. In fact it should be a classic but probably never will. The reason? He gives an honest answer when he states there are no quick fixes doesn’t make any wild claims about rapid improvement. What he does do is show you HOW to study and takes you through examples that show you how to apply the process. The book is based on lectures by Yermo and the very strong master Boris Men when they lived in Cleveland Ohio and ran a chess school. He advocates a lot of hard work which is why it won’t be popular, but if players spent as much time doing things Yermo’s way as they waste on openings and doing endless tactical exercises they’d be further ahead. I’d say to really benefit from the book though you need to be 1600-1800.

Too bad this book came out far, far too late to do me any good because years ago I reached the point where I was satisfied with my level and became content to just play. But I believe if I’d had this book back when I was 1600 my progress would have been faster and I’d have gone farther.

chesext,

If you're rating is correct, then it is time for Chessbase and Rybka.  An opening repertoire with 3 openings with White and 3 with Black.  Memorization and understanding variations is the way up in rating.

Thanks for the link!

There are lot´s of chess e-books in the Internet if anyone is interested. Just use Google.

Just a comment from me. Khmeninitsky's two books nearly put me in my grave. Very hard. Very tedious. And somewhat confusing.

I have put them away for now. Maybe another time they will be more appealing.

If you get them, I hope you can enjoy them.

stwils