Top 10 Chess Books to Own

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

I'd recommend

Secrets of modern chess strategy by John Watson. Really loved it!

1. Art of Attack - Vukovic

2. Zurich 1953 - Bronstein

3. 200 Brilliant Endgames - Chernev

4. The Sorcerer's Apprentice - Bronstein

5. My Great Predecessors - Kasparov

6. Positional Chess Handbook - Gelfer

7. My System - Nimzowitch

8. Logical Chess - Move By Move - Chernev

9. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual - Dvoretsky

10. Anatoly Karpov's Best Games - Karpov

Top 10 chess books worth getting?

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1. Pachman, Ludek - Modern Chess Strategy (Descriptive)

2. Bronstein, David - Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953 (Descriptive)

3. Vukovic, V. - The Art of Attack in Chess (Descriptive)

4. Kmoch, Hans - Pawn Power in Chess (Descriptive/Algebraic)

5. Fischer/Margulies/Mosenfelder - Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

6. Polgar, Laszlo - CHESS 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games (Algebraic)

7. Fischer, Bobby - My 60 Memorable Games (Descriptive, you want to find the Faber and Faber version, don't trust the pathetic re-issue in Algebraic)

8. Keres, Paul & Kotov, Alexander - The Art of the Middle Game (Descriptive)

9. Kotov, Alexander - Think Like a Grandmaster (Descriptive)

10. Horowitz, I.A. & Reinfeld, Fred - How to Think Ahead in Chess (Descriptive)

Oops, I fergot about 1 book I recently picked up, which I haven't read...

Hellsten, Johan - Mastering Chess Strategy, which is the first of 3 books. Although I haven't read it, it gives decent examples of chess play, and I'm totally supporting a book like this. Thumbs up.

BTW: Lasker's Manual of Chess was the first chess book I recieved (someone bought it for me), it's a great example of an old school chess book.

Endgames are worth studying, other then the Hooper endgame manuals, I recommend Basic Chess Endings by Rubin Fine. Though I've skimmed through the book, Fine released 3 books on chess (Opening, Middlegame, Endgame) which was the first 3 books in the Tartan chess series.

The more time I spend reading Valeri Beim, Paul Morphy: A Modern Perspective (2005), the more I become convinced that it belongs on my top ten list.

And what books for the middle school bunch? I teach middle school--help me out. Thanks.

I'll buy them myself. Just let me know what to buy. 

There's a slew of books aimed at youth. Many are very good. They are most appropriate for MS/HS as the reading level remains too high for most elementary kids.

Just avoid anything by Robert Snyder. You don't want the embarrassment of finding that you've put a book into the hand of a child that was written by a convicted pediaphile.

Put John Walker and chess into a search at your favorite online bookstore. All of his books are suitable for middle school students.

http://chess.about.com/od/chessbooksandequipment/fl/Review-Chess-Training-for-Post-Beginners.htm.

If you deter from Snyder's books, then you should do the same about Walker's, for the same reason.

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/apr/06/childprotection.schools

I strongly disagree with putting

Fischer/Margulies/Mosenfelder - Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

in the top-ten. It is nothing but a collection of basically tactical motives and diagrams. There are at least a 100 books which do this much better. Fischer only lent his name which is regrettable. And yes, I own it and fell for the cool title.

I strongly recommend Van der Sterren: Fundamental Chess Openings (FCO) in the list. It's from Gambit Books. You can learn a lot of ideas from it as it gives an explicative overview of all the sensible chess openings. Of course, eventually one wants to study particular openings in more detail. But as a primer, this is a most valuable book. In addition it is very well produced.

Crap. I didn't know that about Walker. There are stacks of his books in the club room at one of my schools.

The books Yasser Seirawan did in the 1990s (Jeremy Silman was co-author on one or two) are well-suited for middle schoolers.

I  can also recommend the exercise books by John Bain, Al Woolum, Dean Ippolito, and Todd Bardwick. These are suited to elementary players as well.

Bruce Pandolfini's Beginning Chess and Pandolfini's Endgame Course are well-suited to players starting out at any age. You can hardly go wrong with anything by Irving Chernev (as long as you are a skeptical reader--see http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2013/02/chernevs-errors.html). 

In no particular order (except for the first book):

1. Your First Move - Sokolsky
2. The Middlegame (Book1) - Euwe

Rashid Ziyatdinov, GM-RAM: Essential Grandmaster Knowledge (2000), or the privately published 1997 edition.

I wrote this review four years ago: http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2010/02/gm-ram-essential-knowledge.html

Recently I've been returning to this book with stronger resolve. Clicking on the tag "Ziyatdinov" at the bottom of the link will connect to other posts concerning this book.

My System Aron Nimzowitsch ,My 60 memorable gamesby Fisher, Midle Games by Dr Laszlo Polgar ,Tal's Winning chess combination,Play like Grand Master Alexander Kotov, EndGame Manual by Mark Dvoretsky

All you'll ever need: (In no particular order)
1. Chess Opening Repertiore for Black Explained
2. A strategic chess opening repertiore for white
3. Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master (Silman)
4. How to Reassess your Chess (Silman)
5. Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy (Watson)

and download chess tactics app

"Chess Opening Rep for black explained" is not the worse book those authors have produced, the equilvalent for white is really terrible, but there are better books covering similar ground. For example Eingorn's "A solid rep for black".

In no particular order...

Chess Praxis - Nimzo

My System - Nimzo

Soviet School of Chess - Kotov

Alexander Alekhine - Kotov

Soviet Chess 1917-1991 - Soltis 

Games of Tigran Petrosian (vol. 1 and 2) - Compiled by Shekhtman

One Hundred Selected Games - Botvinnik

Carlsbad 1929 - Nimzo

Hypermodern Strategy - Van Reek

Petrosian's Legacy - Misc. (mostly articles by Petrosian collected from various sources)