Rio's book is not concerned with the broad topic of positional chess per se. It is focused on one facet of positional chess. That is, the various pawn structures associated with specific openings and their implications for the overarching planning and strategy of the game. It's an excellent book on its respective topic - I highly recommend it...
Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide by Mauricio Flores Rios
https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/Flores_Rios_Chess_Structures-excerpt.pdf
On the other hand, Gelfer's book is a collection of annotated examples of specific positional chess themes...
Positional Chess Handbook: 495 Instructive Positions from Grandmaster Games by Israel Gelfer
Calling the book a "handbook" is a bit of a misnomer. It is more in the vein of a glorified puzzle book, where the author presents detailed analyses of a varied collection of chess positions taken from actual master games chosen to illustrate specific positional themes...
https://www.amazon.com/Positional-Chess-Handbook-Instructive-Grandmaster/dp/0486419495/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20PKS4P8W780Z&keywords=positional+chess+handbook&qid=1689982351&s=books&sprefix=positional+chess+hand%2Cstripbooks%2C138&sr=1-1&asin=0486419495&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1
https://www.amazon.com/Positional-Chess-Handbook-Instructive-Grandmaster/dp/0486419495/ref=sr_1_1?crid=20PKS4P8W780Z&keywords=positional+chess+handbook&qid=1689982351&s=books&sprefix=positional+chess+hand%2Cstripbooks%2C138&sr=1-1
For a comprehensive education in all aspects of positional chess, pawn play and pawn structure, you might check out.....
Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy
Pawn Play and Structure - for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/chess-books-on-pawn-play-and-structure
Discover other helpful and instructive chess resources, including more book recommendations, in my Chess.com blog...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell
Hello, so I'm choosing a book on positional chess. I tried Silman's reasses, and just don't find it enjoyable. I got the feeling that some variations are left unexplained that are really difficult to understand, and some simple moves are commented on alot that make me go "well duh". I remember enjoying Amateurs mind a lot more when I read it a year ago. Might be that I'm not ready for reasses yet, but probably I would prefer a book with less words, more to the point. I've been mostly between 1600-1700 rapid here for about a year, playing 15/10 games.
So I've set out to find a good replacement book, and two books that I find the most attractive are Rios chess structures and Gelfer positional chess handbook. They seem very different but both interesting, and just what I'm looking for. Which book do you think is more appropriate for my level?
If this helps, I'm currently working through 300 positions by Lev Alburt, find them quite enjoyable, tho not very difficult, and also reading Alekhine's selected games, but not very consistently. I'm looking to improve, and have fun!