I have no experience with any of the books you mention, but I would like to give a recommendation for Dan Heismann's A Guide to Chess Improvement.
It's full of great material in it's own right, but it also has a chapter on devising a study plan and book recommendations for different strength players. When I have a bit more time tonight I will dig up the link to the Novice Nook column for the chapter.
Also see this RussBell blog, and other articles by Russ on similar topics.
Here is the original Dan Heismann article I mentioned before.
OK, I found the RussBell blog article specifically dealing with book recommendations.
Largely based on Heismann's article, my study plan (just starting) is largely:
However, since I am just starting on this, it might be prudent to ask me in 6 months how it is working out!
I have other books and ideas lined up for later phases, but the above will keep me going for a while. I am working through all the books at the same time which is slower per-book than doing them one at a time, but it works for me.
I'm also middle-aged.
I think that adults underestimate the value of studying material that's "beneath them" or might make them self-conscious about being beginners, but I think it's often necessary in order to truly internalize the fundamentals of a discipline and make up for not having started as a child.
Consider learning a foreign language. An adult might grab a dictionary and a classic piece of literature and painstakingly translate it with the help of the dictionary while feeling satisfied that they're reading a serious work in that foreign language, but I think that that adult might have better long term results reading fifty books on the level of "See Spot Run" without the dictionary before repeating the process with slightly more complex works and continuing along these lines until they've truly built the skill to read and appreciate that work of literature.
From this standpoint, I think that working through the Polgar series or something like Chess Steps (aka Stappenmethode) from the beginning is a good way to go if one has a long-term view.
Thanks to you both.
Xanitrep..., it's definitely not a matter of feeling beneath me, or not wanting to study from a child's level - perfectly fine with that. My worry with the Polgar series in particular was that the previewed 20+ puzzles were just too obvious. Queen 3 positions away from a Knight, one other pawn on the board in the far end. 1 move to claim a piece, what do you do? I mean, DEAD simple.
@JugglinDan consider Logical Chess by Chernev. I've seen the Neil McDonald book recommended as a follow on to Logical Chess.
@MarkGrubb I have seen that recommendation too. I will have a look, thanks.
Ditto, I've seen it listed alongside Polgar's Chess Tactics for Champions
Hi @jamesabout. I'm 44 so middleagedish. I started chess last january. I have Chess Tactics for Students by Bain and Logical Chess by Chernev. Both are good beginner books. Bain is probably similar to Polgar but is aimed at complete beginners in that it introduces the basic tactical motifs then has about 30 puzzles on each on, 400 in total. Logical Chess is good. Basically it is a collection of GM games selected and annotated by Chernev to teach basic principles to beginners. Many of the games are straightforward to follow, no obscure moves. I find playing through them a useful way to learn about positional chess. It can be instructive to see how a GM exploits weakness for example - the annotations explain what is going on and why. IMO after you've learned the basics from a general beginners book, then a workbook of tactical puzzles and a collection of GM games will see you through to intermediate level. There are plenty of websites to study tactics but I understand if want a break from the screen. The important thing is to make sure books are pitched at your ability. On the tactics, it took 3 months of 5 to 10 a day puzzles before I started to see the improvements in my games, so recommend little and often and give it time.
Hi Mark. Nice to meet you. At 49 I have a few years, but same generation (grin.)
Yeah, sounds like we have similar ideas, and books.
The, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess is somewhere between GM games, and Tactical Puzzles. From what I've read about it, the author give little info and a serious of questions about how to move and makes you make the next move choice - then you see if it was right.
Yes, it seems Bain and Polgar may be offering a very similar product in the Tactics area.
I wish I could get a better feel for her LEarn Chess the Right Way series. It breaks everything down in stages, but I'm very concerned about the quality of the puzzles (not fair of me as a beginner to say, but it's like in modern board gaming.., if you can handedly beat it without knowing anything about it the first time, it gives you pause for the long haul.)
So, what's your thoughts on mid and end game books?
I always get confused with Method/Strategy/Tactics. I use them interchangeable which I know must be wrong. I at least understand "moves" and "combos" are what you do because you "know" the tactics of the board/game.
I at least have a lot of time to devote, I just got to get it straight enough in my head so I can buy a few things and get started.
Learn chess the Right Way is for beginners up to 1200 rated players. It teaches basic tactics. The problems are simple but will get harder. The series is offered on Chessable.com. You may want to go there and read the reviews on the course. I do have the series and found it to be well worth the money spent.
There are many definitions, and many may take issue with my attempt, but here is how I think of method, strategy, and tactics.
Tactics: relatively short sequences of forced moves to win material or the game. Lots of motifs and patterns to learn including pins, skewers, discovered attack, forks etc. chess.com Puzzles are essentially tactics training. I find it helpful to practice puzzles at or slightly above my ability as well as easy ones. The difficult ones I tend to solve through candidate moves and calculation, while drills on easy puzzles are great for reinforcing the basic patterns. Rated Puzzles and Puzzle Rush sort of correspond to these categories.
Strategy: For me, this is all about learning what to do when there are no tactics on hand. What is a good plan here? Where is a good place for my knight? Should I trade my bishop for their knight? In some ways, tactics serve the strategy. EG: I would like my knight on e5. It's a good outpost. Are there tactics I can use or create to get rid of the defending bishop? In other ways, strategy serves the tactics. Some authors describe this as "tactics emerge from a good position". A simple example might be the basic strategic advice to connect your rooks during opening development. Even though you may not have a specific tactic at the time, many tactics are enabled by connected rooks. So good positional/strategic play can be seen as creating the conditions for tactics. Clearly I am not very good at doing this yet, but that's my understanding, and thus my plan for studying strategic play.
Method: I see a method as a higher-level organisation of strategic ideas. It also implies a thinking/planning/evaluation method. Two examples might be Seirawan's concept of the Five Chess Elements (force, space, time, pawn structure, king position), and Silman's Imbalances. Seirawan refers to the elements across an entire series of excellent books (Winning Chess). The elements provide a framework for understanding and applying strategic ideas, as well as evaluating a position and making plans.
Hi for endgame techniques I have Silmans Complete Endgame Course. Silman is pragmatic and a good educator. The chapters are based on rating. Silman recommends you learn the chapter up to your rating and the one after it if you wish, then put the book away and study other areas until your rating improves for the next chapter. For middlegame I have a few but the three I get on with best are Weapons of Chess (WOC) by Pandolfini, Simple Chess by Stean, Amateurs Mind (AM) by Silman. I reacon they are all suitable for a developing beginner. I thought AM was an excellent introduction to strategy and planning, I got a lot out of it, aimed at 1200-1400 players. I intend to go through it a 2and time. WOC is more of an encyclopedia of positional chess concepts. It explains what terms mean such as a bad bishop, minority attack, isolated pawn, and gives simple examples. It tells you that these things exist and what they are but doesn't necessarily give lots of examples. Sorry about the blocks of text. Cant insert paragraphs on the android app.
Hi for endgame techniques I have Silmans Complete Endgame Course. Silman is pragmatic and a good educator. The chapters are based on rating. Silman recommends you learn the chapter up to your rating and the one after it if you wish, then put the book away and study other areas until your rating improves for the next chapter. For middlegame I have a few but the three I get on with best are Weapons of Chess (WOC) by Pandolfini, Simple Chess by Stean, Amateurs Mind (AM) by Silman. I reacon they are all suitable for a developing beginner. I thought AM was an excellent introduction to strategy and planning, I got a lot out of it, aimed at 1200-1400 players. I intend to go through it a 2and time. WOC is more of an encyclopedia of positional chess concepts. It explains what terms mean such as a bad bishop, minority attack, isolated pawn, and gives simple examples. It tells you that these things exist and what they are but doesn't necessarily give lots of examples. Sorry about the blocks of text. Cant insert paragraphs on the android app.
I have a bunch of Silman's books, and plan to tackle those after working through the stuff listed and the other Seirawan Winning Chess books. Silman co-authored some (all?) of the Seirawan books, and the material is said to flow nicely.
I couldn't make much progress with Weapons of Chess. It's the encyclopaedia format, the different sections don't feel integrated. While Seirawan and Silman both have meta concepts to tie everything together.
Agree. In AM Silman is very good at threading his Imbalances concept throughout the book. You can see how the same fundamental thinking tool is applied in different situations. I like the approach. Not all authors are as effective at framing the ideas to help the reader see a coherent philosophy. I plan to pick up Reassess Your Chess when I've improved. My impression from reviews and comments is its aimed at 1600-1800.
I'm also an adult learner. I started with the lessons here on this site, which are very good, along with the drills. People recommended Smithy's Opening Fundamentals, which is a free course on Chessable. I'm only part-way through that, but it's very clearly presented. I also just purchased Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Strategies and Winning Chess Tactics on Chessable. He's delightful.
There are also a couple of free endgame courses on Chessable that are very good.
Thanks SRMarquardt for the info on the Polgar series !
Thanks everyone - I'm muddling through.
"Learn Chess The Right Way" series......
Here in is my worry. I went to Chessable.com to see the reviews. All are positive, but mostly from people using it as a drill, not instruction.
Here is the worrisome review of Book 2:
"The first half is a bunch of captures, organized by the piece that does the capturing. About 200 positions where you know there’s a piece hanging, and you know who can capture it. Super easy"
Hi, thanks for the add.
I am enthralled by this world of chess that's been opened up to me since watching, The Queen's Gambit (having been a creative content provider for board &card games.)
I DON'T want to be like trying to learn a musical instrument using an inferior instrument and make the process defeating, if you understand my meaning.
Quick background so any answers to my question can be qualified by the experience of the one asking--
I'm middle aged. I know the basic directions the pieces can move, the same info a child would read on the instruction pamphlet of a new game. When I play a computer game in here, against the most basic starting game, I win in 20 moves and says with a rating of 800.
I want to learn a firm foundation to understand how things work, be able to solve puzzles, and, improve my chess game. But I don't know what order of study and/or books to be taking.
I don't have a fortune to spend on a library of books but I do want a few to move me in a true direction - and yes, books. I prefer to turn a page, though I'll also consume the free online chess lessons when in front of the computer (but don't want to be chained to the computer.)
I know SUSAN POLGAR's, Chess Tactics for Champions, is a standard and plan to buy.
I know BOBBY FISCHER's, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, is a standard for Tactics through Puzzles, and I plan to buy.
But I also know for a beginner serious about learning, it's usually recommend to get a Beginner book, a Tactics book and lots of puzzles, a Midgame book, and Endgame. Not sure where opening enter, except that you need to know the Tactics behind using Openings.
*** Susan Polgar has a 5 BOOK SERIES, called, LEARN CHESS THE RIGHT WAY ***
*The Amazon Preview suggests a planned forward moving foundational approach and instruction, with 500 puzzles per book.
*BUT, the first 20 puzzles they preview in each are DEAD SIMPLE, like a 10 year old with no experience would find it obvious.
So, I'm worried the focus is on even newer beginners than I, and that they don't progress.
I understand one approach, especially to tactics is dead simple puzzles so you can more easily begin to see patterns and spacial appreciation, but...
*** DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THESE BOOKS PROGRESS & GET HARDER ? ***
IT's $100 for 5 Books and like 2500 puzzles, but can anyone speak to the content?
BESIDES THIS.......
I've scoured Amazon for Chess Basics, Tactics and Puzzle books, and discovered deep master books down to simplistic books written by life-hacks or skill writers (not necessarily chess specialists) that aren't much more than the info included in a new chess game.
I've seen books like:
MAGNUS TEMPLAR: Chess For Beginners series. (a Comprehensive guide, Winning strategies, Fundamentals & Tactics, Openings & Midgame). They all make boastful claims, but seems like you get a fair bit in each book. Anyone familiar?
MAXEN TARAFA: Conquer Your Friends series (seems lighter & casual, but to the point). Best seems to be 10 Easy Checkmates. 4 Daredevil Openings looks interesting.
MIKHAIL ANTONOV: For Beginners. Again,, seems a lighter version of Magnus Templar.
Lyudmil Tsvetkov: EXPRESS CHESS , seems like a nice 160pg book covering most basics... maybe a little more formal of what Magnus Templar offers within a couple of his books (but maybe more examples in Templar's)
----a little more formal below:
Yaroslav Srokovski: Chess Training for Post-beginners: A Basic Course in Positional Understanding. Twice the size, actual chess instructor. I think this is for One Step beyond what I need in one of the above books, yes? still worth having?
ARE ANY OF THESE A GOOD START OR DIRECTION?
OR AM I WAY OFF BASE?
I know there are a number of forum threads with recommended books, etc.... but at this point, I don't know what's the best order to be studying (I mean, Strategy then Tactics, then Openings, etc.... OR jump into Puzzle sand figure it out, then Tactics, etc...), let alone what titles are best in my position. So I'm hoping this post puts it a little differently based on my (right or wrong) expectations?
Thanks for any direction - I'd love to get this started ! (but my ADD and OCD requires that I know and plan a thing out rather thoroughly before I commit.)
James