Seems like you got some good suggestions when you asked this 3 months ago:
One good book for an aged beginner
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I recommend a series instead by Yasser Seirawan called Winning Chess. 7 books, learn and apply that information in your play and you will be a C class player that you aim to be. Additionally it's a nice heirloom set of books in my opinion. I've provided a link here where you could purchase them although I'm sure Amazon may have them individually too.
http://www.chesshouse.com/Winning_Chess_Series_Titles_p/z100.htm
Keep practicing and playing!
http://www.chesshouse.com/Winning_Chess_Series_Titles_p/z100.htm
Keep practicing and playing!
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Chernev.
Very good book which is written at a level ideal for your skill level.
Winning Chess Strategy by Seirawan.
"Winning Chess Strategy for Kids" by Jeff Coakley
An excellent book....lots of good chess instruction....for the beginner-novice player of any age.....not just for kids....although it could make you feel young again!
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Strategy-Kids-Coakley/dp/1895525055/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470645381&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+chess+strategy+for+kids
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-strategies
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094112/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review332.pdf
https://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-books-and-youth-vs-old-age
I see you are a Diamond member. I don't know if the resources here you are utilizing includes ChessMentor or not. If not, I would suggest that you take a look at it if you haven't already. It is essentially a buch of "books" in electronic format. Many years ago, I bought the PC version of this software and it was my first introduction to "real" chess. I would suggestion clicking the "View Courses" link in ChessMentor and sorting by "Newest First", then going to the bottom of the list. The original courses are much more thorough than some of the newer ones produced after Chess.com acquired the product. I might suggest:
"Introduction to Tactics" moving to "Step up in Tactics" if that is to easy
and
"Exclusively Checkmates" moving to "Essential Checkmate Patterns" if that is to easy for starters.
the older courses authored by Jeremy Silman and Thomas Wolski are good. Focus on the tactics and checkmates courses with a rating level of 1600 or less for starters. Some of Silman's strategy courses are very advanced.
You're already paying for them, why not take a look? The material here used to sell for several hundred dollars in the Windows 95 days before chess.com.
RussBell wrote:
"Winning Chess Strategy for Kids" by Jeff Coakley
An excellent book....lots of good chess instruction....for the beginner-novice player of any age.....not just for kids....although it could make you feel young again!
https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Chess-Strategy-Kids-Coakley/dp/1895525055/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470645381&sr=1-1&keywords=winning+chess+strategy+for+kids
Once you finish the Jeff Coakley book (seriously), then you are ready to begin working with..
"The Soviet Chess Primer" by Ilya Maizelis...
https://www.amazon.com/Soviet-Chess-Primer-Classics/dp/190798299X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1470955209&sr=1-1&keywords=soviet+chess+primer
Just to get a better idea of whether or not the book is right for you, it might be a good idea to go to the Quality Chess site and look at some sample pages.
"The title might suggest it is for beginners, but that is not the case. [The Soviet Chess Primer] does start off with some basic positions, but quickly moves on to much more advanced material including chapters on positional play and techniques of calculation." - IM John Donaldson
As just one other example, at the Gambit Publications site, one can see sample pages from A Complete Chess Course by Antonio Gude.
kindaspongey wrote:
Just to get a better idea of whether or not the book is right for you, it might be a good idea to go to the Quality Chess site and look at some sample pages.
"The title might suggest it is for beginners, but that is not the case. [The Soviet Chess Primer] does start off with some basic positions, but quickly moves on to much more advanced material including chapters on positional play and techniques of calculation." - IM John Donaldson
As just one other example, at the Gambit Publications site, one can see sample pages from A Complete Chess Course by Antonio Gude.
John Donaldson's statement regarding the "Soviet Chess Primer" is accurate. This is why I recommend first studying something like Jeff Coakley's book - which is a truly outstanding introduction to fundamental chess concepts and techniques for ANY beginner-novice.
While it may be possible to profitably study "Soviet Chess Primer" immediately after working through Jeff Coakley's book, a more affective approach would probably be to first study the following, as preparation for the subsequent study of more advanced chess books, which tend to feature heavy doses of positional chess.
1."Weapons of Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini. A first introduction to the elements of positional chess. Any chess player who aspires to play beyond beginner-novice level would do well to learn the lessons in this book.
After reading "Weapons....", you will be ready for....
2. "Simple Chess" by Michael Stean (don't let the title fool you). The classic introduction to the practical application of positional chess concepts, as demonstrated via instructive grandmaster games.
Having read the books above, one should then be well prepared to study the "The Soviet Chess Primer".
If you do all this, you will have a great foundation for becoming a more than decent chess player!
Journey to the Chess Kingdom is another example of a general chess introduction with a sample available online (in this case, at the chess-evolution site). Here is a review of Stean's Simple Chess:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf
Well I started by ordering the Coakley book since I am really a kid at heart,and I think you all for the fine suggestions.
Welcome to the Chess world,Iwish you good luck and much enjoyment.There many good books available,my advice to you though is play and play often.Avoid the fast games for now. However can you suggest to me any books to help me live a long and productive life? Thanks Aggie.
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nicktrap wrote:
Well I started by ordering the Coakley book since I am really a kid at heart,and I think you all for the fine suggestions.
I don't think you will regret it....there are a lot of good chess fundamentals to be learned from that "kids" book.....plus the kiddie cartoon characters might put an occasional smile on your face, which can't be a bad thing!
By the way, if you are ever interested in other books that could be instructive, you might like to check out my good books for beginners and beyond list...for those of us who have yet to add "Master" to our chess titles...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
P.S. You and I are about the same age. And studying the Coakley book has only helped my chess.
Enjoy!
nicktrap wrote:
Well I started by ordering the Coakley book since I am really a kid at heart,and I think you all for the fine suggestions.
Journey to the Chess Kingdom seems to have been written with a somewhat similar sort of target audience.
https://www.chess.com/blog/Natalia_Pogonina/book-review-quotjourney-to-the-chess-kingdomquot
http://www.chess-evolution.com/download/samples/Journey%20to%20the%20Chess%20Kingdom-Promotional.pdf
kindaspongey wrote:
nicktrap wrote:
Well I started by ordering the Coakley book since I am really a kid at heart,and I think you all for the fine suggestions.
Journey to the Chess Kingdom seems to have been written with a somewhat similar sort of target audience.
https://www.chess.com/blog/Natalia_Pogonina/book-review-quotjourney-to-the-chess-kingdomquot
Sounds promising. I may have to check this one out as well. Thank you spongey...!
Chess Master At Any Age by Rolf Wetzell seems appropiate since he deals personally with the age issue.
I am a 70+ year old relative beginner, about a 1050 rating, I am not interested in collecting books but I would like one good book that would help me improve a couple of hundred points in the future. I use the available resources here, lessons and tactics trainer. I enjoy playing OTB as well and in general enjoy chess as well as I think the mental stimulus is good at my age. I am realistic about the prospects of getting a lot better, but if I could achieve a C player level someday I would be content. A suggestion of one really good sound book would be appreciated.