Best Chess Book for Positional Play

It looks kind of nice, having flipped through it at the bookstore, chapters with a few questions at the end of each chapter.  Way above me, way way above me.  I think Grooten's book likewise has that format of chapters with a few questions at the end (I like questions/problem solving), but that book from the reviews I have read is more advanced than Naroditsky's.  

I own all of these and am a beginning player myself (an underrated 1047P USCF). I have finished Logical Chess and it really opened my eyes to what is possible in chess and lead me to start playing tournament chess and to also seek out more knowledge about this wonderful game.

I have worked through half of Winning Chess Strategies (and all of Winning Chess Tactics) and it is definitely a good start to learning the finer points in chess. Very easy to read/understand, lots of diagrams. It does have quite a few typos though.

I have only scratched the surface on the Amateur's Mind, but can already tell its going to completely change the way I think about chess and what I should be doing.

Honestly, unless you are tight on money, go ahead and get all these books and take advantage of the free shipping. I will warn you though that learning so much material and trying to better the way you play chess may cause a temporary drop in your ratings as the material takes time to set in. But once it takes hold you should see the chess board in a new light. I believe my rating should be in the 1300-1400 range by the end of the year.

When it comes to improving the game i recommend this site tactics and chess mentor hands down a real life changer.Books lev alburt and jeremy silman are good teachers.....but again nothing matches the speed of the internet.Those old books are good to but a little dry for the novice

I might definitely buy the books. While I did enjoy the idea of chess mentor, I found the lessons to be just as dry as reading a book, so might as well just read the book. And with chess mentor, things don't stay in my mind as strongly as a book. I think it's because chess mentor behaves more like a game, and the hints and stuff can get me quite confused, and I end up guessing until I get it right, but I don't seem to learn much.

With books, things seem to stay in my memory better. I just hope the books I buy, will teach general principles and lessons to draw from each game or diagram, rather than specific moves and their explanations, because that is specific to each game, and may never come up in real-gaming situations.

Yeah, following those lengthy analytical lines takes it toll.  They basically say "such and such move is refuted because of this lengthy line of play, of which we will tell none of the reasons behind the in-between moves that were made because they ought to be obvious to any 2300-level patz."  

See also the book.

How to Choose a Chess Move – Andrew Soltis – Batsford Chess Books

Book Review

http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/review-how-to-choose-a-chess-move

Also in pdf:

http://search.4shared.com/network/search.jsp?searchName=How+to+Choose+a+Chess+Move&searchExtention=category%3A5&submitButton=Search&searchmode=3

Yeah, I quite like Soltis' How to Choose a Chess Move.  It covers quite a lot of the main ideas from Alexander Kotov's How to Think like a Grandmaster and Jonathan Tisdall's Improve Your Chess Now, but it does so in a way that might be more accessible to intermediate level chess players.  Very interesting book.

Cool stuff I might check out that book too, I ordered The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery, I'm hoping that will help change my thinking to become a better player. I kind of wish there was some book that could give me a flow chart of what strategies to pursue based on positions, pawn structure, or king castling.

A book by Soltis called Pawn Structure Chess might came closest to that order.

Isn't that the $40 book? I think I might wait till I finish my current books before that one, but thank you for the advice, I'll definitely check that one out.

I looked on Amazon.com & it sells for about $80.

Dvoretsky and Yusupov's Secrets to Positional Play: School of Future Champions Series.

• School of Chess Excellence 1: Endgame Analysis
• School of Chess Excellence 2: Tactical Play
• School of Chess Excellence 3: Strategic Play
• School of Chess Excellence 4: Opening Development
• Secrets of Chess Training: School of Future Champions 1
• Secrets of Opening Preparation: School of Future Champions 2
• Secrets of Endgame Technique: School of Future Champions 3
• Secrets of Positional Play: School of Future Champions 4
• Secrets of Creative Thinking: School of Future Champions 5 
• Dvoretsky Analytical Manual
• Dvoretsky Endgame Manual 
• Studies for Practical Players

Dvoretsky's books are aimed at the 2100+ looking to make GM.

Then what is the difference between "School for Excellence" series and the "School of Future Champions" series?  Is one for like 2100+ and the other for like 1700-1800+?  Or are they both for 2100+?  Why make the same series twice essentially (money?)? 

I believe that they just up-dated the series, maybe money was one of the reasons.

Regardless of age and all, My System is worth reading by Nimzovitch.  Yes, it is old.  Yes, it can be tough to read sometimes.  Yes, overprotection is kind of funny, especially when you look at the mock game about it.

But it is the only thing other than Seirawan, Silman, and Fischer I have ever studied, and it really does help with positional play.

Mmm, nobody into My System then...?

I'll only say the absolute WORST thing you can do is plug lots of money into multiple books right now.  Absolutely no chess knowledge comes by virtue of having a well-stocked bookshelf.

You need two books:

1) Any general book on strategy.  I recommend one of the Silman ones, like Reassess Your Chess, but it's only one of many.  Silman, Pachman, Euwe & Kramer, Grooten, Nimzowitch...any of these will do.  Focus on learning THAT system, even if it's not 100% perfect.  Go through it cover-to-cover, preferably a couple times, to make sure the general concepts sink in.

2) Any good annotated games collection.  Nunn's Understanding Move by Move, Zurich '53, or one of the GM's greatest games type collections (great ones out there for Alekhine, Tal, others).  Then study those games ACTIVELY, using the understanding you have from book #1.  Read the GM's notes, compare to what you understand from chess strategy, see where you agree, disagree, come up with other viable plans, or flat-out blunder.  Play along on your engine, and see why things work, and why they don't.  Often, an amateur "good plan" is a blunder.  Learn to spot these and eliminate them from your game as much as possible.

Go through 1 and 2 a few times each, deepening your understanding each time.  Do this, and you will have gotten more use from a two-book chess library than most players with 100+ books on their shelves get from their whole library in a lifetime of pseudo-study.  If you feel you must add more books, add more annotated collections, or books on tactics/puzzles.  Avoid opening books like the plague.

I'm a little hesitant about answering since I don't play at your level.  I've been out for quite a while (try 30 years).  But I've always had an interest in the game  and built up quite a library trying to advance in it.  I've looked at a lot of books and was a little surprised at the Zurich 1953 book.  I just didn't get that much out of it.  I guess I'll dig it out and look at it again.  The books that have been impressive to me have been the Silman books.  Reassess Chess Workbook and The Amateur's Mind.  They address the areas you talk about specifically.  Since you've researched recommendations on Amazon, I'm sure you've seen his books listed, so I'm just adding a personal recommendation that either or both of these books are worthwhile.