Top 10 Chess Books to Own

NimzoRoy, if you click on second link you gave (Chess Master vs Chess Master) it comes up with Master vs Amateur.

However, rigamagician's book cover is a clincher for the existence of an English book with that title.

Any idea where one can get a copy??

ETA: Ok, I found one for $60 on Abe Books.

Paulgottlieb writes : What kind of chess player calls a book "exquisite?" Most real chess players can't even spell it.

I know of a couple of present day super-grandmasters who have degrees in linguistics.

About TOP 10 : 1. for beginners or intermediate or advanced, which ? (i.e.,  I have heard of players who started of with NIMZO'S "Praxis", gave up chess & never took it up again !)

                      2. for general instruction value or entertainment or historical or tactics or strategy or creative approach or for the chess book that had the greatest influence on your Elo rating or for the most inspiring & motivating chess book, etc...., Which category !

Have any idea how many hands a chess manuscript has to pass through before it finds it's way in a bookshop.

                                                      1. author

                                                      2. various proof reader's

                                                      3. interior factual quality controlers

                                                      4. cover designers

                                                      5. editor's

                                                      6. publishing  marketing strategist's.

                                                      7. friend's  

                                                          etc...
 

Exactly Twomove.  You are 100% correct in saying that there is not any magic pill to improve their chess & that they need to do their own work.

In fact one of the best ways to improve is to thoroughly analyse and study your OWN games. See where you went wrong and not repeat the mistakes.

"The road to chess Improvement", is an excellent book about self analysis. As I mentioned earlier on, it is by doing that one really learns.  "Master the grand art of Chess Calculation ", is a book that expects the reader to do the doing in the category of chess visualisation/calculation improvement. The step by step method used builds the student up gradually towards achieving the ability to calculate accurately. Excellent visualisation training. Ignore the one star ratings from people who seem unable to "think outside the box"(as concerning SUGGESTED animal metaphors).  Certain to improve the Elo rating for beginner & intermediate players.

Could some1 suggest me a book which got  no examples. I hate examples. I need plain theory with diagrams and rules.

Its the law. Might hopefully help you. I'm sad that there is no definity rules in chess, other than the rules you teach a beginner (how a knight moves and so on)

Endgame theory might be somewhat tangible, if thats what you mean.

In chess, everything is mercurial.

I mean i dont need game examples . They write down the sequence of moves , before i start visulaizing the sequence, i lose interest to learn.  For me its boring to decode be4's and na3's lol. SIlman books like how to reasses you chess dont have much game examples. I guess its too early for me to read game annotations.

I must say, the recommendations of Mr. NimzoRoy seem to have stood the test of time. 

Does anybody have any experience with Kotov on Alekine's heritage?

What about Averbakh's Chess Middlegames, Essential Knowledge. 

brandnewgambit wrote:

thank you b1. But still those dont cover most of the books. anyways a good idea, i wud google for book pgn collections n see what i get.

1. Agur, Bobby Fischer his approach to chess.  (not Kasparov's book, its too complicated and sometimes unfairly critical)

2. My 60 Memorable Games His writing is as impressive as is analysis- Petrosian has a knack of snuffing out such ideas 20 moves before they enter his opponent's head.  

3. Averbach disc, endgames. 

4. Golumbak, Capablanca's Best Games  Simply written and clear. 

5. Fireside Book of Chess As someone else wrote, an interesting and amusing book about chess. Put Lasker's Chess for fun and Chess for blook in the same category. 

6. Polgar, book on chess combinations   A well-organized and progressive analysis; you can see how his children following it became grandmasters.

7. Soltis, Pawn Structure Chess Good analysis and well-written. 

"Does anybody have any experience with Kotov on Alekine's heritage?" The complete series is in Russian. The batford book on some of the highlights of this series is quite good. Am hoping someday might see the complete version in English. Fairly recently Botvinnik's  "analytical works" was translated in three book series. They have also started working on all his written articles and all known games.

NYET

See my chess books for sale on e-ba*. type in my novel title in to the search bar, " Living in the Time of Wolves " then check out my " See other items". I am selling several boxes of chess books. I have at least 6-7 more boxes to put up. Thanks. *=y

Kk im a rather new, (2 month) 14 year old who loves to play chess. I think im pretty good for the time i trained. What books would you recommend, and where would i get them from?

Pachman's Complete Chess Strategy, as well as any general endgame book. You can probably order them online or possibly find them (or similar texts) at your local chess club.

I dont have a local chess club

Here are a few threads discussing beginner books.  Scary thought, but all these threads are archived...

http://www.chess.com/forum/search?keyword=Beginner+chess+books

And here is Coach Heisman's book list:

http://danheisman.home.comcast.net/~danheisman/Events_Books/General_Book_Guide.htm#anthologies

KarlsBad 1907 by Georg Marco and Carl Schlechter (one of the greatest tournament books ever)

My System by Aaron Nimzovitch (new edition 2006)

De Labourdannais vs Mcdonald 1834 by Cary Utterberg

My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer

300 Chess Games by Siegbert Tarrasch

Laskers Manual by Emmanual Lasker

The Chess Sacrifice Technique Art and Risk by Vladmir Vokovic

Schlechter's Chess Games by Tom Crain

Adolph Anderssen Master of Attack by Sid Picard

The Life and Games of Akiva Rubinstein by Donaldson and Minev