Good Morning All

i'm wondering if quality chess books (especially GM repertoire) are for  intermediate chess player (1600-1900)

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/

Hi Hakim

Yes, you can certainly buy them. The GM repertoire books are by GMs and certainly intended for GM readers, however the books are written in such a way that us mortals can choose how far we wish to delve into the details on show (and the books are very detailed).

The motto behind the GM repertoire series is that there is a lot of benefit to be had studying main lines because they are main lines for a reason: they are 100% sound - based on good moves/ideas - and lead to good positions. Good positions, based on understanding, will give better results.

Quality have also published other excellent books. I thoroughly recommend the book "Rook versus Two Minor Pieces" by Esben Lund. It will teach you all the ins and outs of that material imbalance; it is based on training material by Esben (who uses Silas as his first name now, btw).

Of course, Jacob Aagaard is an old friend so I guess I would push his company. Seriously, though -- he and John Shaw are really scrupulous in producing the best books possible. In short Quality!

Their website is also an important resource.

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/

thank you simon

i bought the book called "the sicilian defence" by Lubomir ftacnik, and i find it a lil bit hard

i will look for "Rook versus Two Minor Pieces"

hey IM pfren

so you mean that chess quality books are not suitable for my level

OH i'm glad that you you looked at my games

i will purchase some Everyman repertoire books

i appreciate your concern

Thank you very much

I've noticed that about chess books. "The Kings Indian which is played by such notables as kasparov, karpov, carlson," . They say that in every opening book I've ever read. Can you think of a major opening that Kasparov said he couldn't play?

Also, Quality Chess is an excellent source. I"ve never purchased one of there books that I thought was a waste of money. Everyman is very good also. I know I'll get some grief on this one but Gambit is on the poorer side in my opinion. Hope I'm wrong.

Books published by McFarland & Company are very good quality, allegedly. However, I refuse to pay the outrageous prices they charge.

Moreover, they are poor at giving excerpts which are very useful in deciding whether to buy a book or not. I've had my eye on Soltis' "The 100 Best Games of the 20th Century, Ranked" for a while, and might be persuaded to pay over the odds for this book - but only if I could see what it was like. So one clicks on "Table of Contents & Excerpts" on their website and get... no excerpts. This sucks bigtime. 

Edited to add: I just checked every single chess book on the McFarland website and there aren't any excerpts for any of them (and sometimes no table of contents either). Off to look for illegal pdfs now... 

Have been lurking on these forums for a few months, but had to reply as I can't believe no-one's mentioned the series of the "The Fundamentals" and "Beyond The Basics" training books written by Yusupov for Quality Chess, especially for someone at your level and mine (I'm much weaker, though).

I've only worked through the first of the "The Fundamentals" books.  But I'd say that it's really instilled in me the importance of slowing everything down, and a, at least vaguely, correct thinking process. 

Supplement with extra material by all means (I've used Nunn's "Understanding Chess Endgames" and CT-ART 3.0), but the practical method of working through many test positions has given me the confidence that I'm at least tackling newly-seen positions in games with the correct mindset.  And when I get lazy, and don't use that mindset, I've been severely punished.

Also, for those who are undecided about Gambit books, check out Steve Giddins' book "50 Essential Chess Lessons", which is what really inspired me to get serious about chess again after a long break.