Which of the greatest chess players were the best chess book authors?

Sorry, I read that one, Fabel, and I disagree. There was relatively little in-depth analysis in that book, and his personal anecdotes were not as well written as those found in Tal's books. It's possible the problem lay with the translations, but that doesn't explain the level of analysis. 

And yes, Larsen has a reputation for being a great analyst. That book may not show him in his best light.

Yes, he was behind the two best players of his generation. He never passed them. That world championship match was a consolation match between the two losers of the Candidates' cycle. It was a battle for third place, and Timman was demolished.

Kasparov's books are good reads, especially maybe Kasparov on Kasparov I which gets a bit more personal than his predecessor series.

OK, Keres no doubt. (He even would have played Alekhine for the crown, were it not for WW II spoiling it). Timman was unlucky to be in the KK era.

No. The premise of this thread is to ask who, among those who were undisputedly the best player in the world at some point, wrote the best books. 

Keres might have had an argument. Timman, no.

Well, i don't agree. But never mind, we don't have to agree..

I haven't read that one yet, but Larsen is in general great for light reading with more anecdotes and not too much of deep analysis beyond the basic stuff a few moves deep. For example Kasparov's books sometimes put me off with their 50 ply deep alternative lines being discussed in for me far too much detail.

I think that Keres was never " allowed " to beat Botvinnik ... and perhaps Bronstein was also not allowed .... certainly some strange happenings in chess during Botvinnik's reign , including the tournament to determine the new champion after Alekhine's death . Kasparov writes about some of these things in his great predecessors books ... 

I say Bronstein for sure

And about Euwe. He was world champion only because Alekhine was playing like a donk in that WC match for whatever reason.

I'm a 100 % about that. He told me himself (while being drunk). Publicly he only HINTED towards that. But I already told that whole story in another thread.

Pssibly so, but his end game book worked for me. 

Spielmann is a sympathetic author, his sacrifice book is easy reading, even if he probably doesn't qualify for better than top 5 in the world at best.

"FM nobodyreally

As a beginner the books by Pachman helped me a lot , I know he doesnt qualify as a great player though ... My favorite Fine book was his book : Understanding the Chess Openings .  It was a book with a lot of text which helped me rather than just a reference work .... 

Even those who believe that ratings are inflated over time generally accept that ratings serve well to rank players at any given time. So, in order to consider a person the "greatest player" of his time, either a player is rated #1 or won the world title. For me, yes, it is that simple and that objective.

If Keres was ranked #1 in the world in 1938 (or any other year), then that's a good reason to include him. Either Keres was ranked #1 or he wasn't. If he was, then he should be included. Timman was always behind Karpov, Kasparov, or both. Timman shouldn't be included. 

So yes, one can be objective. The argument over the quality of writing though is indeed subjective. 

Ludek Pachman

Modern Chess Strategy

Chess Tactic

Timman was maybe never # 1, but he made MORE than up for it with his publications.As a combined player/writer I still say he's #1.

DON'T THINK I'm promoting Timman here. I've been "at odds" with him since 1984. Even though maybe he isn't even aware of it.

But I recognize greatness when i see it.

<<The only reason Nimzowitsch didn't play for the world championship against Lasker was a lack of money. Though I do wonder if Lasker may have ducked him anyway.>>

Lasker was a fraud. Kasparov wrote some decent books. Obviously Karpov and Bronstein. Wish I'd talked to Bronstein when I was standing next to him at a chess book stall and got him to sign a book. He was even staying at a friend's house.