But, to reitterate what others have said, I very much suggest Silman. Not only has he revolutionized the way chess instruncion books are written, he has, (to a lesser degree,) changed the way chess strategy itself is looked at.
Also, he is one of those rare High-ranked masters who can take a complicated idea, and make it make sense. Even to us weekend pawn-pushers.
Plus his books are all large print. Very easy on the eyes.
I notice that Chess Praxis will be coming out for the e+Chess app at some point. Nice to see the list of titles growing.
http://eplusbooks.com/forthcoming-top/24-chess-praxis-nimzowitsch-trans-sherwood
For improving my skills I would be glad if you could recommend some books on strategy (mostly middle game) for an minor to intermediate skilled player ?
If you`re allowed to buy only 1 or 2 books in your whole life on this topic, which ones would be you purchase ?
Thanx in advance :-)
Only one book? "My System" by Nimzowitsch.
Two books? Choose your favorite Master and get an annotated collection of their greatest games.
Definitely +1 for Coakley's book. A very easy read, as it is layed out for kids, but the content is no less useful and the layout certainly helps this tired adult after a hard day's work.
I also quite like Harding's Better Chess For Average Players, but suggest Coakley first.
Have you seen Dan Heisman's list of recommended books, organised by topic and strength?
Thanx for the list. Will check it out.
Annotated game collections are also very good educational tools, especially if you're under intermediate level (~1700 OTB). Pure stratgy books will teach you some positional ideas, but not the general flow of the game, which is IMHO more important when you start...
awesome comment. thank you. Needle in a haystack.
LOL Shivsky
While I hate all rants on General Principle, I agreed with pretty much all you said there.
Despite myself.