What Chess book to buy?

So, here's my dilemma: I got some money for Christmas and I want to get a Chess book that will help me advance my game.  The thing is, there are so many to choose from and it's so hard to decide!

Right now, the only Chess book I have is 'The Mammoth Book of World's Greatest Chess Games', by Burgess, Nunn & Emms.  It's a good game collection and it's well annotated and instructive, plus it has 125 games, so I probably don't need another game collection right now.  I don't really consider myself a beginner, so I don't want something that teaches how the pieces move and that I'll know half of already.

I don't really want a book on openings, as I think at my level I should be focusing more on tactics/strategy/endgames.  I'm guessing it probably isn't worth getting a book on tactics either, since I've got TT and other online resources for that.

I think I'm pretty strong in the endgame for my level, so maybe something on strategy would be good.  Can anybody recommend me something good for my level?  I like Silman's articles and teaching style, so I'm thinking about getting one of his books, or are those too advanced for me?  If not then which one is good to start with?

Thanks in advance!  T4T

I highly recommend "The Amateueur's Mind" by Silman. It reads more like a book than a bunch of notation and, despite the title, is pretty deep. He spends a lot of time exploring common mistakes in strategy and position, not just tactics. Hope that helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Amateurs-Mind-Turning-Misconceptions-Mastery/dp/1890085022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419699802&sr=8-1&keywords=the+amateur%27s+mind+turning+chess+misconceptions+into+chess+mastery

Thanks for the suggestion syphongalaxy - I'll definitely put it on my short-list.  I've been browsing online just now and there are some other books that also look good:

• Logical Chess Move by Move (Chernev)
• Pawn Structure Chess (Soltis)

Has anyone read these?

logical chess too easy for you plus descriptive notation.art of the attack in chess by vladimir vukovic is my recommendation.

@Olympian256:  Thanks for the tip.  I had a look and they seem to have it on Amazon.  The thing is, I checked out their preview sample and tbh I was a bit turned off:

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Chess-Strategy-Planning-Pieces/dp/4871874907/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1419726384&sr=1-1&keywords=pachman

It seems a bit light on analysis - he prints a whole game without any notes and then provides 2-3 paragraphs of explanation.  Is the whole book like that?  Or, maybe it's just that first section?

Thanks for the tip Apotek.  I looked at the preview on Amazon and perhaps it is a bit too basic.  Art of attack in Chess does also look very good.  I also had a look at this thread too, where people were discussing the pros/cons of The Amateur's Mind:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/amateurs-mind---terrific-or-terrible

Several people there said that Yusupov's build, boost, evolve series are very good.  Have any of you read any of those?

you are welcome.i haven't read yusupov's series but  it sounds like a good proposition.

Logical Chess Move by Move is an excellent book IMHO.  Pawn Structure Chess might be a bit too advanced (for now) and I think your time would be better spent on something else.

I sent you e-mail about the Yusupov Books with more information and one or two sample positions.  I think Yusupov is the way to go, especially because you seem to be quite serious about becoming a strong OTB player.

I've heard from my Coach Logical CHess Move by Move is a fantastic book.

Yusupov's books are great textbooks, but they require work and are challenging.

Yeah yusupovs and dvoretekys books has its upsides and downsides. They didn't really wow me. I have heard great stuff about Master positional chess by Daniel naroditsky

Chess words of wisdom by Mike Henebry.

If you check the Amazon page, there is an extensive review of this book by Bob Long of Thinkers Press.

http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Words-Wisdom-Principles-Essential-ebook/dp/B006596X2Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419764375&sr=8-1&keywords=Chess+words+wisdom

Another interesting book is A Gnat May Drink: One Hundred Annotated Games of Chess from 1900 to 1999 by Hinton. It is an annotated game collection. I liked the kindle sample but I haven't read any reviews/feedback here on chess.com

Lee, get Art of Attack by Vukovic.  You won't be able to put it down.  (get the very latest version)  Please be relevant, helpful & nice!

TJBChess wrote:

Logical Chess Move by Move is an excellent book IMHO.  Pawn Structure Chess might be a bit too advanced (for now) and I think your time would be better spent on something else.

I sent you e-mail about the Yusupov Books with more information and one or two sample positions.  I think Yusupov is the way to go, especially because you seem to be quite serious about becoming a strong OTB player.

Thanks very much for your message TJBChess and for the sample exercises. They were tough but insightful and I had a look at the preview as well (Morphy was such a genius!). The thing is, they seem to be more focused on tactics and combinations than position/strategy - is that a fair assessment? Although, tbh perhaps that's more of what I need right now and if they're recommended to improve my strength then I'll definitely consider them, thanks! I am willing to put some work in and I like the way they're structured with lessons and an exam at the end :-)

Search online for free chess books you can download. You don't need to buy any!!!

aussiedj wrote:

Yeah yusupovs and dvoretekys books has its upsides and downsides. They didn't really wow me. I have heard great stuff about Master positional chess by Daniel naroditsky

Thanks aussiedj. I really like Naroditsky's articles, so I'll definitely check that one out. I am also seriously thinking about Logical Chess, as many people have recommended it and I really liked the look of the preview I saw. I also read that he has another book: Understanding Chess Move by Move, which may be at a higher level. Does anyone know where I can get hold of that?

do he know to quote ?

btw the art of chess 

@brumtown: yeah, but I like the smell of a new book, plus I got some money for Xmas, so I can justify it! ;-)

@Krish_01: I'm using an iPad right now and the quoting thing doesn't work properly (doesn't show the grey box). Thanks for the tip btw :-)

I highly recommend  " Find The Right Plan with Anatoly Karpov ".....written by Anatoly Karpov and Anatoly Matsukevich.  The publisher is Batsford.If it cannot be found in your local library or bookstore, then you can order it direct from the publisher at www.anovabooks.com....it's one of the best.