Studying Chess Books

So now i have some shiny new chess books to read:

• Discovering Chess openings - J Emms
• Logical chess Move by move - I Cherney
• Predator at the chessboard Vol 1+2 - W Farnsworth
• How to reassess your chess 4 Edition - Silman
• Complete endgame course - silman

1. Do i read them one at a time or dip in and out of each?
2. If you suggested one at a time, then in what order?

many thanks in advance

I'm a noob but I'd say do Chernev first, I'm working through that book right now too. I would combine working through that with tactics training. After that probably do endgames. Reassess Your Chess is quite an advanced work, so I've read. Emms would be a good book to read through once you've done endgames at your level (the Silman book lets you do this). Just my 2 Euro cents, FWIW.

Read Logical First followed by the Endgame Book by Silman. In between you should be also solving tactics puzzles.

Hint: doesn't do much good to read about the rest of the game if you don't know how to handle the opening.... 

And better to spend time with all the others before trying "Reassess Your Chess"...

J Emms have mammoth book of chess that is much suitable read for OP level chess players than anything else.

i suggest reading CHESS FOR DUMMIES first ..then get a TACTICAL PUZZLE BOOK and solve 3-5 puzzles daily .along with it CHESS OPENINGS FOR DUMMIES . now dont read this book completely . read & learn about one opening per 2 weeks .

i guess what i am saying is that these two books - TACTICAL PUZZLES and CHESS OPENINGS FOR DUMMIES are your  dip in and out books .

read the LOGICAL CHESS by irniv completely .

then start on REASSES YOUR CHESS . when its finished then go for ENDGAME COURSE.

when u have gone through CHESS OPENINGS FOR DUMMIES then start on  CHESS OPENINGS by emms but go through it in dip in and out style .

i hope this helps ..

remember 

 its not about finishing these books as fast as u can , its about learning .take your time .

I apologise, A lot of posts are mentioning my rating and i should've clarified.I only joined this site a few days ago but i'm not new to chess, my rating is only low because chess.com gave me an initial rating of 800! i've not played enough games yet on this site. On another online chess site I'm around 1400 elo. I've never bothered to buy books before.....just played chess!

Based on your 1400 rating, I recommend that the relative PRIORITY of the books in your list be (there is no reason you can't read some of them simultaneously, as you are inclined)....

1.Discovering Chess Openings by Emms (understanding opening fundamentals is paramount)

2. Predator At The Chessboard (tactics, tactics, tactics, and then more tactics!)

3. Logical Chess Move By Move (understanding how games evolve, from beginning to end)

4. Complete Endgame Course (many games are lost, which could otherwise have been won,  as a result of poor endgame skills)....

after spending sufficient time with these, I recommend continuing with (in order)...

5. "Weapons of Chess" by Bruce Pandolfini (introduction to the basic elements and techniques of positional chess - the key to playing chess at the highest levels)

6. "Simple Chess" by Michael Stean (introduction to the practical application of positional chess concepts)

7. "The Amateur's Mind" by Jeremy Silman (starting to put all of the above together)

After studying all, or most of these books, you should then be ready for "How to Reassess Your Chess" (i.e., your advanced chess course).

Absorbing all of this will take time....there is no rush....the goal isn't to quickly get through the books, it's to understand what is in them....no matter how long it takes...

That is exactly what i'm after,

Thank you very much RussBell

As you probably already know, Silman himself (in his endgame book) suggested reading it from time to time instead of all at once.

Mr. Capablanca wrote some superb books on chess tuition, not at all overrated in my opinion.   Full of the best essential tactics, a bit like "The Dummies Guide to Chess" or something.  I should think if a man considered by many to be the Marlon Brando of chess wrote some books on how to play well, they must surely be worth a read.

Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals is highly-rated by most commentators I've seen. You can get a good Kindle version now as well.

 Welcome.

The following list contains lots of instructive books for the amateur chess player, from beginner to expert, on all aspects of chess...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

"... 'Chess Fundamentals' ... does not deal so minutely as this book will with the things that beginners need to know. ..." - J. R. Capablanca's Primer of Chess

"... Just because a book contains lots of information that you don’t know, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be extremely helpful in making you better at this point in your chess development. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

I may be in a roughly similar place as you Rich.  I have developed a two year study plan largely from the suggestions of helpful posters such as Russ Bell and others, and all of the resources you list are on it.  

I have completed Predator at the Chessboard and cannot praise it highly enough - really good description of various tactics and an excellent discussion of the thinking process one should bring to assessing tactical opportunities.   I worked through it twice, and now periodically try random problems from the Chess Quizzer feature from Farnsworth's site, Predator at the Chessboard.   It is an excellent text in my opinion to begin with, together with Chernev's Logical Chess, which I am currently working through.  As noted by another poster, Silman's Complete Endgame Course is designed to be read in stages over time to correspond with one's development.  I've completed through the end of Chapter Four, but have put it aside and do not intend to continue straight through but instead will return once I have worked through some other material (including some chess.com study material) and gotten stronger.

Good luck with your studies!

Thanks guys for your praise of Predator. I was looking for a book that teaches - and then tests - tactics and I was torn between Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics book and this one.

I have Chernev/Reinfeld's Winning Chess but have found it disappointing.

I would recommend "Logical chess move by move" for players 1000~1400

Update: I've just looked at Predator on Amazon. Two big heavy books. Not available on Kindle. And expensive.

Can anyone recommend a good alternative that is available electronically? What about the Seirawan book? Is it a good tactics tutor - it does get good reviews.