Silman's books

I was wondering which of these Silman books to start with - Reassess, Reassess workbook or Amateur's Mind.  I am relatively new to chess, 1140 rating on chess.com.  The reviews seem to suggest that these are good books.  Any thoughts?  Thanks.

Silmans books are excellent for beginners.  id suggest starting with the Amateurs  mind first, but you cant go wrong with any of them.

Silman recommends reading the first few chapters of Reassess, then all of Amateur's Mind, then the rest of Reassess. So, all of 'em. 

Maybe it's just me, but I found Silman's books monumentally overrated.

I feel the same way about Lobster

I, for one, find Silman's books very instructive. His endgame course is terrific.

IF you are just starting out I would pick something along the lines of Play winning chess by yasser seirawan, or Complete idiots guide to chess by wolff.  Silman's endgame course is awesome tho. I would start with it for endgame work. His other 2 books seem to be a bit more for midlevel people.

  If just starting out I would pick a book like Wolff's idiots guide to chess, then a good basic tactics book like Heisman's back to basics tactics book. Along with Seilman's endgame course. Along with a good online tactics trainer that will be all you need for along time.

I second baughman. I would put off Reasses Your Chess until you have a bit more experience. There is no tactical instruction at all in Reasses Your Chess. You want to focus much more on tactics than the kinds of position stuff in that book.

But once you are somewhat proficient tactically but finding yourself in positions where there are no tactics and you don't know what to do, pick up Reasses Your Chess and you'll really enjoy it.

If Silman's books are over-rated it's because they are really highly rated. Reading Reasses a few times has made a big difference in my chess playing from the time I was about 1500 USCF to my current level of about 1900 USCF. At my level, games are still decided by tactics, but there are already plenty of games without gross tactical oversight where a good positional idea can greatly increase your chances.

I have not read the Amateur's mind.  I beleive that Silman himself (based on some articles of his I have read) considers it to be more of his "beginner" book that How to Reasses Your Chess, which he recomends to those rated 1400 and up (not super high, but not for the complete begginer either).  Reasses is basically an introduction to strategic play.  It covers things like what makes a minor piece superior to another, the use of space, pawn structure, those types of topics.  I think it is a great book on the subject for the club level player.

Having said that, in response to the OP, I think the most important thing that someone sub1200 can do to improve their rating to work on tactics.  I have managed to work my rating up to the mid 1400's now, and my games are virtually always won and lost by tactics and getting ahead in material, which either lead to mate, or leads to a won endgame.  At some point strategy is going to start being more important, but I am good 300 points ahead of you at this point and it is still basically about tactical strength.  I win when I make fewer tactical errors than the other guy, and loose when it is the other way aroung. 

My suggestion to to work on tactical vision.  On every move look for checks, captures, and threats.  Always look at what the opponent can do in response.  Untill you can keep your pieces safe, calculate combinations of moves at least a few ply deep, and find tactical motifs like forks, pins, skewers, etc, no amount of strategic finess will help.  You will just end up down material and loose.  Once you are avoiding those pitfalls, and can inflict some pain on the other guy through your own tactical skills, then it is time to start thinking a bit more about strategy.

If you do want to read one of Silman's books, I would actually suggest his endgame book Complete Endgame Course.  Many players badly neglect their endgame skills, and it is never to early to start in on the basics.  Some of the later chapters get a bit arcane, but going through the first part of that book would give you a very significant advantage over most new players.  I end up in a lot of games with dead won endgames and the other guy wiggling like a fish because he doesn't know what he is doing and doesn't recognize that he is already dead.  Not that I am some great player, I am still pretty low level myself, but having some end game skill will really give you a leg up on other lower level players.

Edit: I second Baughman's reccomendation of Seriwan's Winning Chess series for a begginer.  They have good basics and are very novice friendly.  And if memory serves I think Silman had some input in the books, although they are basically written in Seriwan's voice.

I also would suggest his Endgame Course first. There are many other (superior?) books like Reassess Your Chess and Amateur's Mind.

Necrobump!

I've found his Endgame book to be absolutely indispensable. Breaking the endgames down by class is a great way of doing it, and working through it has been very helpful.

I've just started Amateur's Mind, only having time for a quick readthrough without playing out the positions along the way, and I'm very disappointed. The advice seems contradictory in a lot of places. One game, he'll go on and on about sticking with your plan and not letting your opponent dictate the play. The next, he'll go on and on about not ignoring what your opponent is trying to do. Technically those aren't directly contradicting, but they are close enough that a ton of subtle chess understanding is required to make use of the two pieces of advice.

The ideas all make a lot of sense, but it just doesn't seem like it will help its target audience actually find good moves on the chess board. The insight into how a master thinks vs. amateurs is interesting, but I'm not sure it's all that useful.

Some possibilities:

1) When I can go through it again more slowly, playing out the positions, it will become much more clear.

2) I'll see improvement as it is now once I get to the board and start playing some games with these ideas in mind.

3) I'm still just a bit too low of a level to find this useful. Close, but not quite there.

 I am reading the Amateur's mind as well. I don't find his advice all that contradictory. At the surface it might seem so, but in the context of the book the advice makes sense.

In your example Silman says you should not only be reacting to your opponent's threats as you will not be able to accomplish anything. You should prevent the threats before they become issues.

But for about half the moves in which an amateur player tries to prevent a threat, he chides them for not sticking to their own plan.

I definitely don't doubt that each advice makes sense within the context of the game he is showing us.

What I doubt is that it will be particularly helpful to an amateur player with a different game in front of them, trying to find a good move in the position they are faced with.

When I was doing Chess Mentor, Silman's lessons were the only ones where I was actually sometimes losing points, or gaining very few. Now I don't know if that is a good thing or not. 

Okay, I have to admit, that in two slow games last night, I had one against a much higher-rated player. These games usually are just me trying desperately not to lose any material to tactics each move. Using the principles I read in the book, I found a lot more initiative and counterplay and actually had a very decent game going (till I mysteriously lost one of those infernal rook and pawns endgames).

Playing it over with the examples should be the true test, but I can give the readover a tentative thumbs up.

I'd like to renounce my original statement completely. I'm still going through my slow re-do of the book, but even the quick readthrough has done amazing things, I'm seeing a huge difference in how I play, and the results have followed.

I have "Reassess Your Chess", 3rd edition. I believe it came out in 1995 and I picked it up about 12 years ago and it's been very helpful. He likes to view the game from an angle that is insightful and unique and his perspective is interesting. It is definitely a keeper book, IMO, and he covers varied aspects of the game that can really help a player who's already (somewhat) experienced. I've haven't read his other stuff, but eventually I plan to. One thing that is not discussed in the 3rd ed. of Reassess, is the opening. Other than that, if you can get a hold of a copy, it is instructive and interesting.