Here are the books im gonna buy.. please tell me if i should change my choice to another book.. and also which opening book should i buy?

1. Modern Chess Strategy - I chose this book instead of reassess your chess because its more advance (according to some people).. and amazon.ca didnt have it..

2. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual - I chose this instead of silmans complete endgame book because i believe Dvoretsky's books are more advanced and im a pretty good endgame player.. also because amazon.ca didnt have it either.. (i dont wanan buy used cause i want free shipping!!)

3. The Art of attack in chess -- I might not buy this one.. im not an attacker but i want to be a bit of an aggressive player , should i buy it?

4. OPENING BOOK.. i need 1.. Im thinking of NCO's book (Nunn's Chess Openings) BUT i heard it doesnt explain why moves are played in a specific opening.. which i kinda want.. so please fill out #4 for me :)

Also do all these cover every aspect of chess? (Openings middlegames endgames strategy) I have online resources for tactics so cross that out.

I'm not sure how strong you are, since your bullet rating is off the charts, while your correspondance rating is slightly below mine, but I can tell you my experience with NCO, Dvoretskys books aswell as The Art of Attack in chess.

4. It doesn't explain the ideas at all, if you have the money for it, collecting the Mastering the Chess openings, or the similiar series from NIC, Chess opening essentials is probably a better idea if you want to get some ideas explained aswell. Keep in mind that these books are not complete theory tomes though, which NCO or MCO isn't either though.

3. I enjoyed the book somewhat, can't say how informative it was though, since I had a little to much going on around the time I read it.

2. I've read some of Dvoretskys books, or rather, I've tried to, I didn't understand jack, that guy does not write for <2000 (otb) rated players. I really do think that Silman's endgame book is quite nice, but I'm leaning thowards complementing it with another endgame book, that covers more deeply into various topics, or books that are just inspiring, such as Mihail Marins endgame book Learning from the legends.

---

 Thanks alot.. im not an attacking player at all so I believe i can get something out of it.

---

 Thanks! really helpful, I think im a really strong endgame player.. but do you believe his endgame book will be too advanced?

 Also what opening book would you prefer? (if all i can do is memorize then I guess i will memorize but i would really like to know theory behind it..) It can be a combination of books but no more then 2 please.

I'm actually thinking about getting a collection of either Chess Opening Essentials or Mastering the chess openings, but I can't decide on which ones to get. You aren't interesting in buying them both and then tell me which ones you prefered?

I know that Chess opening essentials covers more opening than Mastering the chess openings, but I don't know how huge the difference is, in terms of discussing plans and ideas.

---

If you want the most up-to-date encyclopedia of openings that has excellent verbose explanations and just enough variations, I strongly recommend this book:

Fundamental Chess Openings by Paul Van der Sterren

Think of it a reference for chess opening window shoppers. You can skim through the moves and the theory behind each one until you find the one that you want to invest in. Only then should you spend on new books, DVDs, videos and time on the opening of your choice.

If you feel that you need something more advanced than FCO, I recommend John Watson's

Mastering the Chess Openings Vol 1 - 4 (so far)

The analysis is sound and the variations are deep for each opening that he covers in each book.

---

 Thanks alot ! you helped me so much but now im stuck!

 Idk if i should buy fundemental chess openings or mastering the chess openings! They are both up to date almost but mastering chess openings seems more advanced but has more then 1 volume meaning it doesnt cover everything.. While fundemental chess openings does but seems less advance..

What do you suggest for 1650 Fide rated player?

EDIT: And now i see mastering chess strategy and it has good reviews.. now im stuck between that and modern chess strategy..

I would say go with the Silman Complete Endgame Course instead of Dvoretsky. Dvoretsky's book, apart being written for more advanced players, is drier than dust.

There are also two new books on endgame from Nunn. The impressions I get from the excerpts online are pretty positive.

It's just my opinion, but if you want a log to hug during winter, go with Dvoretsky. If you prefer books that an average human being can actually get through, buy Silman.

Thanks but Amazon.ca does not sell it and they sell it used for 37 bucks.. and i want free shipping rathr then buying it used and paying for shipping..

They sell Dvoretsky's endgame manual for 25.68 (+Free shipping)(on .ca) but if i buy Silmans endgame manual on Amazon.com I have to pay 16 bucks + shipping which results in 26.27 So the difference is like 60 cents and .ca's shipping takes up to 7 business days while .com's shipping takes up to 16.. which isnt a big deal to me..

Now Im struggling once again.. idk which one to buy now, im stuck on this and openings.

Mastering the Chess Openings by John Watson are fantastic books. He explains the ideas and plans in depth and doesn't skimp on theory of the vatiations he looks into. I own volumes 1,2 and 4. All you need though is volumes 1 and 2 (e4 and d4). These books could very well be the only opening books you need till the 2000 level.

Have you ever read an opening book before? Do you know what to expect? Do you have access to a bookstore or a library that has them?

If you have access to them, I suggest that you browse and borrow them first.

If you only have access to Watson's Mastering series and you are overwhelmed, then it you should start with the FCO.

Your opening book progressions would be:

1. FCO
2. Mastering the Openings 1-4
3. Nunn's Chess Openings MCO 14 (classic) or 15 (badly reviewed)
4. Grandmaster Repertoire 1-5

Did you mention if you are already using a chess database management system to prepare your repertoire using a computer? You will need:

1. Chessbase 10 or 11 when it comes out
2. Chessbase MegaDatabase 2010 or 2011 when it comes out
3. Chessbase Opening Enclopedia 2010

Welcome to the wonderful world of chess information overload!

Thanks enigma, reviews are always helpful now I'm still stuck.. I just hate the fact of having to spend 40 bucks for the 2 books (vol. 1 and 2) as opposed of buying FCO for 20

Thanks chessroboto, your very helpful.. It seems like the right path to get FCO then MCO and so on.. Looks expensive as well :)

---

I made a typo earlier.

When you need one of the technical books on modern openings, you have the option of:

1. NCO - Nunn's Chess Openings
2. MCO 14 - Modern Chess Openings 14th Ed
3. MCO 15 - Modern Chess Openings 15th Ed

I hear that NCO is the preferred choice, but note that the book has been getting dated every month. That is why you will have to update yourself with the latest repertoire books and Chess Informant.

Books are costly and destroy trees, worse they will shove you into a straight jacket, next thing you know you will be playing the Slav and the Caro Kann and you will have no friends at all anywhere. You will just be like the rest of us.

Go your own way play 1 e4 and whatever they do play d4.

Learn more that way and save your eyesight

HI

---

How dare you, the Slav and Caro-kann are my opening choices :P

---

 Poor you