What is the best chess book for beginners?

I'm a beginner, so I need to learn more about chess. What's the best book for me?

I loved "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Chess".....Very enjoyable and rather entertaining.

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

This Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is about the worst book I can imagine. I've seen it and I actually had it at one point. It's just a ton of simple and not very interesting puzzles. Beginners need to learn about the basics of chess: piece development, central control, the elements of tactics (pins, discoveries, skewers, forks...) and vague stuff like space, initiative and so on. Any book that does not have these elements is fairly worthless to a beginner. They'd be better off just looking at GM game collections (from Morphy to Fischer) to see these basic principles in action.

I enjoyed this book as well. When I finished it, I realized I had indeed become The Complete Idiot of Chess. 😂

I see that you’ve played only 100 games or so since joining CC. (One year ago) I’m not qualified to give chess advice at my level. However, I think you can learn by playing as well. Play more games! Win or lose, just keep playing, and never lose the joy this game brings. Enjoy the Journey!

@DrSpudnik

So, you have no constructive suggestion for the OP. But you are a book critic.

Try this link . . .

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/for-beginners/beginner-to-intermediate-5-dubious-traps-you-need-to-know?page=1#last_comment

i being a very bad player and still at the bottom after many helpful suggestions from members here which iam truly grafeful for -- taking lessons on the site these last few weeks when a kind fellow member bought me a month's worth of premium so i do many puzzles and take their lessons every day --and having bought many books on the subject most where a waste of time -- including the bobby fisher one -- as his and many others don't fully understand the beginners mind when starting to play chess -- how confusing it is --- and none so far of the 10 books i have acquired-- many from used book stores keeping the costs down--address the way to teach chess -- we need as beginners--- a blueprint to get started then a over view of that blueprint to improve each segment of the starter blueprint in easy to read and follow point by point way to improve -- not theories head thinking etc etc

puzzles that never show real game scenarios that a begineer would run into -- not some puzzles based on a game played 20 years ago by two 2500 players -- those don't help-- back to the point - the boby fisher book is just a good book to read for reference once one has maybe played to a 500/1000 level -- but as a beginner we need plans- structure etc to get from point a to point b to point c ---- that book does not give that --- great book for others just not beginners

the book maybe was written by a ghost writer and not by bobby fisher

Chess for dummies. Not the best, but useful.

I thought the comment was "constructive." It was at least helpful to avoid one of the worst books out there. But since you pushed the button, if you want to start improving, looking at annotated games of old GMs is a good place to start. I found the collected games of Alekhine accessible as a noob some decades ago. I think they have even been reissued in Algebraic Notation.

Simple Chess: A great explanation of strategy, making it very easy to understand. You have it on YT as well: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUrgfsyInqNbkyiwPSSBQ6ALkkccKItPE

Logical Chess Move By Move by Irving Chernev is a classic and I believe it has been reissued in Algebraic Notation.

@DrSpudnik

Don't care about you or you "Button".

And if someone wanted to learn the fundamentals of Auto mechanics, I wouldn't tell them to watch NASCAR videos to learn from the masters.

You obviously don't understand anything about anything.

How to beat your dad at Chess by GM Murray Chandler is a wonderful book, and it's not exclusively targetting kids as readers.

For an absolute beginner, a clear understanding of the fundamentals is essential. In such a case, I would suggest going with Chess for Kids by Michael Basman. However, if you are looking for a bit more comprehensive knowledge material, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is a great pick

@Dimiclark

You picked two great books for beginners! The Fischer book sold One Million copies.