Book: For the beginner I would recommend: Bruce Pandolfini - Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess. It is written like a dialogue between student and a teacher. It discusses about all stages of the game. And it's easy to read. Try it!
Software: Recommend one of the Chessmaster games. It's pumped with information. I personally own Chessmaster XI Grandmaster's edition and it is awesome.
PS I wouldn't recommend Chess for dummies. There are many much better books. Avoid this.
http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Strategy-Kids-Coakley/dp/1895525055/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_c
Don't be put off by the title, this book is gold! There are three books. The green one and the red one go together, and the blue one comes next. Principles of strategy and tactics are covered in a fun, conversational way and there is a lot of solid information you must know to improve. Highly recommended.
Book: For the beginner I would recommend: Bruce Pandolfini - Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess.
I used to have this book and thought it was appalling...
Learn Chess by Nunn is good and to the point. Idiots Guide to Chess is also good but it's a heavy book, lots of pictures so that might suit you more if it's your kind of thing.
After that I can recommend the Chess for Juniors / Unbeatable Lessons books. Might be difficult to find since the author is a scumbag therefor the books are out of print.
Someone posted in this board asking for book recommendations, and I typed quite a long message only to find the topic was deleted before I could post my reply. Luckily, I copied it first in case something like that happened.
Of all the chess books I've read (which I'd like to say is a lot), this is what I've decided are the best, in my opinion:
The best practical book I've read is Silman's Complete Endgame Course. By practical, I mean can help you play chess better by giving you facts. To elaborate, in a king and pawn vs lone king endgame, some may find it difficult to determine where the defending king needs to be in order to achieve best promoting chances. Where the king needs to be is not opinion, but fact. And Silman's endgame course gives you these facts that you need to know. He also describes how to mate a lone king with king and rook, along with mating in two bishops vs. lone king.
I'm reading Nimzowitsch's My System right now. I'm just starting the chapter on the pin. This book is great, one of the best books on chess I've read. It tells you what moves to make when it looks as if there is nothing better to do. These moves give you a slight, very slight, advantage, but these advantages manifest themselves in the endgame (control of a file, doubled pawns, ect.).
Polgar's 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games is a must have. Don't expect to go through it all in one sitting though. What I've found most helpful (so far) are the miniature games, each involving a piece sacrifice to expose the enemy king. I've been able to incorporate some of these techniques in my own game with good results.
Fischer versus Russians is one of the many books I own featuring grandmaster games with annotations. What makes this book separate from the other ones I have (Khalifman: Life and Games, Kasparov's On My Great Predecessors Pt. 5, Nunn's Understand Chess Move by Move, and more) is that it goes beyond just all of Fischer's tournament games against Russian oponents. It gives you a feel of the tension behind the matches, the history behind the game, plus grandmaster comments of the game afterwards.
If traveling and you do not have a chess board available, I'd recommend either 303 Tricky Chess Puzzles or 303 Tricky Mates, both by Fred Wilson and Bruce Albertson.
If you're just starting, Eric Schiller's First Chess Openings introduces you to many common lines of the Ruy Lopez, the Sicilian and the Fried Liver attack.
Fred Reinfeld is excellent....learn the basics... and then never use them. It gives you an advantage.
Book: For the beginner I would recommend: Bruce Pandolfini - Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess. It is written like a dialogue between student and a teacher. It discusses about all stages of the game. And it's easy to read. Try it!
Software: Recommend one of the Chessmaster games. It's pumped with information. I personally own Chessmaster XI Grandmaster's edition and it is awesome.
PS I wouldn't recommend Chess for dummies. There are many much better books. Avoid this.
I recommend the Pandolfini book. I found it to be quite valuable to me. I liked the teacher-student prose style of the book. I was able to understand it more clearly than just following a bunch of diagrams. It really depends on which particular way works for an individual though.
I agree too in saying Logical Chess Move by Move. I have both Play Winning Chess and Idiot's Guide but I think Play Winning Chess is much more simpler for the beginner.