Dear ladies and gentle-germs,

I was recommended by a mentor whom is A class that  ' My System '  is a very good book. In fact, it is my only chess book. Sad to say, I have learned more and improved my performance by borrowing a kid's chess book , " Winning Chess Strategies and Tactics" by Tedd Nottingham from the school library.

My mentor disapproves of Seirawan books because they ' are not good ' . However I was able to use what I got from his Winning Chess Openings in the friendly, unrated scholastic tournaments and come out alive in the openings of all my games.

I am thinking of expanding my chess library in the following order:

1) Silman's Endgame Course

2) How to Reassess Your Chess

I also have Chessmaster, but it feels fake when I am using the computer for learning, or playing for that matter. And the experience is not as thriling as using a board.

If anyone has any suggestions for books or comments of any sort --that are not vulgar--than please feel free to do so.

Sincerely, Averbach

the Silman endgame book is great..

but maybe replace #2 for now with another tactics book if youre seeing gains in that department, as its the most vital

Seirawan's books are generally considered to be very good. I don't agree with your mentor, and I would recommend Winning Chess Tactics and Winning Chess Strategies.

Another good one is Chernev's Logical Chess.

averbach555: your mentor should not be pushing Nimzovich's My System on you. 

I have a general question: Why are there so many people who recommend Nimzovich's My System?

Because My System is a good guide to positional concepts in chess.The main question would be at what point in a chess player's development should they commit to acquiring deeper positional understanding?

I agree with everyone except your mentor.  I actually think both Silman books are must-reads, but my suggestion is, the first time you venture into How to Reassess Your Chess, just focus on the ideas..  Read through the short-and-sweet examples, but maybe even skip the game analysis and variation lines.  Read the book twice this way even.  Then set up your analysis board and dig in. 

Edit:  To be clear, I think My System is a great book too.  But I didn't think that the first time I tried to read it.

Many people recommend My System because they think it is an intelligent thing to do. It's a classic after all, right?

Sure it is, but it's not the easiest book to understand and make use of. My old sparring partner always said it could "use some algebra." In other words, simplification for comprehensibility.

It's an odd choice to place in the student's hands if only because the art of teaching chess has risen in the last 80 years.  Relatively more modern works like Pachman's and Euwe's seem much better to me, and later works by Stean and Silman contain all the student needs and in a way he won't have to struggle to translate.

These, including My System, are not suitable for every player; you have to have some real skill and knowledge to make profitable use of your time studying them. My System, for example, was typically recommended back in the 70s for those ready to enter class B USCF and go beyond. Being stuck lower meant you still had lots of simple spadework to master.

I don't have Stean's Simple Chess but from what I've been able to gather it is excellent in every way, and there is a modern algebraic edition for those who can't speak descriptive.

I don't think either student or teacher will go wrong with it.

Do Simple Chess owners agree?

P.S. I also like Seirawan's books as early stepping stones. I disagree with the OP's mentor opinion here.

My System requires a certain amount of chess knowledge before it really does you any good.

That said, I've read it seven times over many years, and got a little more out of it each time.

The first few chapters are good for any level, but once he begins addressing more positional concepts, the reader needs some experience to appreciate what he is saying.

My system exists with algebraic notations so for those that doesn't understand what KBP means, there's still hope.

Seems quite a common thing for people to read books that are above their level, which doesn't seem constructive.

It's like trying to learn to place a kick-serve halfway up the service-box tramline when you haven't even learnt to hit it in the box yet.