Which order should i read these books?

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McDirtalot_Inactive

Hello Chess Friends.

I have these books and i plan on reading them one at a time.

What is a good order to read them in?

  1. Logical chess Move by Move - Chernev
  2. Predator at the chessboard - farnsworth
  3.  How to reassess your chess - Silman
  4. Complete Endgame course - silman
  5. Discovering chess openings - Emms
  6. Fundamental chess openings (FCO) -Sterren.
  7. Chess Training for Post-beginners: A Basic Course in Positional Understanding - Srokovski
  8. A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best of Novice Nook - Heisman
  9. Back to Basics: Tactics - Heisman

 Please just write down the numbers in the order your would read them.

many thanks.

RussBell

Roughly.....9 - 2 - 5 - 8 - 4 - 7 - 3...

"FCO: Fundamental Chess Openings" by Paul van der Sterren is an (excellent) openings reference - use it as required....similarly for #1... and probably #4 and #8 as well...

My recommendation is to read books that are 1) Appropriate for your current state of knowledge and skill and 2) Read them in any order that you feel interested.  

Concerning 1) - "Reassess Your Chess" by Silman is very advanced for your current level.  You are not likely to derive as much benefit from it at this time as you might from books by, for example, Dan Heisman, Bruce Pandolfini, Irving Chernev, Yasser Seirawan, etc., authors who specialize in writing books appropriate for the beginner-novice (i.e., you, based on your current rating).

Regarding 2) - There is no need to think in terms of reading books linearly, i.e. reading one book completely through or before starting another.  You can profitably read several books simultaneously by studying topics of interest to you at the moment.  

Finally, you might enjoy perusing this chess book list specifically for anyone who has not yet added "Master" to their chess title...
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

 

 

McDirtalot_Inactive

Thanks, edited it now.

kindaspongey
McDirtalot wrote:

...

1. Logical chess Move by Move - Chernev

...

4. Complete Endgame course - silman

5. Discovering chess openings - Emms

...

8. A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best of Novice Nook - Heisman

9. Back to Basics: Tactics - Heisman

...

These are the books that seem to me to be best to get to early, but I agree with RussBell that one can benefit from not feeling obliged to finish one book before reading some of another. This is particularly true for the Silman Endgame book that is specifically designed to be read in stages. For nearly any book, I think it can be taxing to work on just one subject without taking a break to look at something else. And don't forget to do lots of chess playing along the way.

YU_2

Generally speaking, I would start with the endgame (less pieces and less distuctive).

Afterwards I would study middlegames and only then openings. I think this is a good

didactical approach... play 'slow games' and choose for the beginning just 2 openings

you like.

arunchess

I think if you study A Predator on chess board by Farnsworth carefully you will gain good insight of tactics which will improve your ratings quickly. A 1200 player hardly needs to know openings beyond basic rules ( quick development, central control, kings safety etc ). You don't need much to know ending either beyond check mate by K+Q, R+R and K+R as 95% games are decided by blunder by either player ( you can find this idea in Silman's endgame book)

kindaspongey

"... I won’t try to recommend one [general opening book], but if you find one you like, this should be the first opening book you purchase. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

"... For beginning players, [Discovering Chess Openings] will offer an opportunity to start out on the right foot and really get a feel for what is happening on the board. ..." - FM Carsten Hansen (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf

swarminglocusts

I would study them in this order... 1, 8, 9, 5, 2, 3, 7 and then 4/6. I believe openings should be studied over time and repeated and after you play a game look up the opening and see where you or your opponent moved out of book and learn a move or two more, or find a line you like. The same can be done with endgame, once you lose a game, look up what type of endgame it was and see if you can find how you lost and if it is in your endgame book. Everything else I would read in the numbers above. They are ordered so you would repeat topics to help you learn them better. Irving Chernev's book really helped my chess thought a lot. 

swarminglocusts

take time to review what you learned and any notes you have taken.