comprehensive training approach

I'm not a serious, dedicated player...just a casual player looking for an easier way to study at a slow pace.  It seems like most books and videos focus on one aspect of the game - openings, tactics, strategy, etc.  I have a few books I enjoy such as Chernev's Logical Chess & Seirewan's Tactics.  What I have not seen however, are many series that includes all aspects of the game and teach incrementally more advanced aspects of them.  Are there series that do this?  I've heard about Yusupov, but he seems a bit advanced for me (1000) and kind of dry.  I would love a one-stop-shop of a series where I could work on all aspects of the game, even if it's only 30 or so minutes a day.  

If you are willing to spend a bit of money, check out this link: https://www.ichess.net/shop/

Thanks.   I checked it out.   There's a lot of stuff - any recommendations?

https://www.chessable.com/

I do not recommend the ichess materials, at least for you right now.  The videos are hit or miss, the quality can be mixed, and there are very few that speak directly to beginners.  That is, most of the GMs presenting the material have forgotten what it feels like to be a beginner, and they tend to rush certain items.

Fred Reinfeld had a Complete Chess Course book, and though Fred was a great writer, it is old, likely in outdated notation and is far from complete; that said, you could likely gain a lot out of it, especially if you plan to just study a little bit every day.  John Nunn also has a Chess Course book iirc, but he tends to be more advanced.  I'm sure there are many possible beginner manuals, but those are the two I know.

 You are probably correct that Yusupov is a bit beyond you at the moment. It also takes a LOT of dedication and work.

You might be interested in:

https://www.chess-steps.com/

Chess Steps was a curriculum designed for children but adults also find it quite usable.

I'm wondering if anyone has used the Steps program for self-instruction.  It seems like it is designed for adults to use as teachers in a class setting.  Yusupov is designed for individuals, but apparently pretty dry and intense.  Steps seems less intimidating.  Just trying to find a good fit - thanks!  

The most coherent way to develop your chess ability is to get the Dutch 'Stappenmethode' (steps method), which teaches chess in an entirely original but carefully structured, slowly progressing way.  You might want to cover level one only lightly, since the material there will be familiar, but it is still worth glancing at so you get the idea of their unique approach and can advance more comfortably at the higher levels.

This is the same method I mentioned earlier.

As for Diedre's comment, I kind of agree with it IF you are at that level. But for those truly at the beginning of their chess journey, it will simply be too tough.

As for Yusupov being dry, it is that. But that is as much a strength as a weakness of the material. The material is very dense. He teaches what you need without the frills. You don't have to go digging for what is important. IMO, it is a great value.

But again, it it would be immensely frustrating if you are too low.

I picked it up wondering if it would be too advanced for me (USCF 1437 earned many years ago). In my case, it wasn't.

One strategy would be to pick up both the first Yusupov book. Try it. My guess is it will be too advanced. Shelve it. Get the steps method book. Do it. Come back and try Yusupov again. Repeat until Yusupov is doable and then switch.

Another approach would be to do Steps 1-3. Then switch over to Yusupov book 1.

Is it really?

I got his blue books (books 4, 5, and 6 out of 9) and they were challenging for me at 1800 level.

Sure, some chapters were easy, but others kicked my ass... really badly.

I've seen some positions posted from the orange set (the first 3 of 9). They were pretty challenging too honestly. IIRC one was a mate in 6. Personally I wouldn't recommend them to anyone below 1600.

Are you talking about this author?

https://www.newinchess.com/en_US/catalogsearch/result/index/q/Cor%20Van%20Wijgerden/

This is a very good series IMO, probably just what the OP has in mind. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm not sure it covers endgame or openings though, and the OP might have wanted that.

An all in one book that covers all aspects and progressively gets harder doesn't exist as far as I know. It would have to be the thickest book ever written if it did

Maybe you'd be interested in something like Reinfeld's The Complete Chess Player, although I don't usually recommend that book, but it is all in one and for beginners.

Chess for Dummies is perhaps an insulting title, but it's all in one, and for beginners.

For a series of books I'd say either Seriwan's "Winning Chess" series or the step method by Cor Van Wijgerden listed above.

But if you're not opposed to online stuff, then why not right here at chess.com?

https://www.chess.com/article/view/study-plan-directory

Oh, and years ago this guy gave a good list of various resources, pros and cons of each, all that stuff. You'd probably find it worth checking out.

https://www.chess.com/blog/hicetnunc/resources-for-systematic-training

Thanks for the feedback.  It sounds like Steps may work for me.  I would love to know why there are not more series like Steps and Yusupov.  It seems like the advice given on these forums for training is to read a book on tactics, then a book on the Sicilian, then one on pawn structure, etc.  It makes sense to me that some of the great instructors would provide materials that are comprehensive so that one could find a teaching style he connects with and stick with that person for several books as he progresses.  Can I be the only person who thinks that makes sense?   For example, I really enjoy Seirawan's books.  Couldn't he and an editor take all of his books and combine elements from all of them into a series: a book for 800, 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600, 1800, etc so that one could have many facets of the game covered in a coherent/comprehensive fashion in one book at a time instead of having to bounce around?  Just the musings of a casual chess player  

For sure chess instruction is lacking in its pedagogy. It really can't be compared to texts and programs you'd find in schools teaching math, literature, or even music.

Silman's "Complete Endgame Course" sounds like what you're talking about. It's one book. It says it offers only essential knowledge, and it breaks it all up by rating. It's also over 500 pages. Doing this with each subject would require a series of books for sure.

As for Seriwan's "Winning Chess" series, all of the books in that series are suitable as a player's first book on the subject. That series will take you from beginner to _____ level (not sure what that level would be, maybe 1600 if combined with plenty of practice?)

I suppose chess is different in that way too. There's not really such a thing as strategic concepts for 1200 vs strategic concepts for 1500. Everything from beginner to 1600 is probably fine for a beginner to begin learning right away. But in chess (as in any skill) knowledge is not performance. Reading about isolated queen pawns, and correctly playing positions with them, is different. You can understand the principals, which honestly aren't too hard, but then you have to go out and make lots of errors and do analysis of your games before you can preform at a high level.

I think the reason there aren't more systematic chess methods available are:

1) They are difficult and time consuming to write, and by there nature are quite large.

2) They are probably relatively poor sellers. People, simply want the fast fix. The time investment in something like Yusupov is immense.

If each chapter of Yusupov takes 4 hours (and I think that is probably understating it for most people), then just one book = 24 x 4 = 96 hours of time. Multiply that by 9 books, and you are talking about a full time job for about 1/2 a year just to go through it. That is a BIG commitment for most people.

I wouldn't be surprised if most of the 2-9th books of Yusupov are not bought as a set with the first. To put it another way, I would expect that if someone doesn't buy books 2-9 right away as part of the set, a large proportion of the people who buy book 1 never buy books 2-9.

That despite the fact the material is absolutely first rate.

But also, you certainly don't have to read 5-6 books to be 1600. In fact I assume most haven't. But if you do, your advantage is having a well rounded game, with less roadblocks for future improvement... or maybe you just like learning about chess, which is fine too.

But if your goal is more performance focused, and you're not worried about getting any titles (and if you don't mind the drudgery of solving tactics) then it's mostly about tactics. Tactics are most closely tied with performance. They make you practice visualization, good calculation habits (like focusing on forcing moves) and of course they teach common patterns to win material (like forks, pins, etc).

Depending on your goals, really you could get away with only focusing on only two areas. Tactics and endgames or tactics and strategy. That's it.

Oh, I didn't notice you gave a link really early. I tend to read topics backwards, from the bottom up.

I agree with everything in this quote by the way.

On a forum such as this there are chess players from across the spectrum in terms of interest level, intensity, time commitment, etc.  I often resist the temptation to post questions since there are many seriously dedicated players here who can't relate to someone like me for whom chess is simply a fun diversion and is not concerned about his rating and how fast he can improve it.  I was simply inquiring about different types of books available.  If I could convince my wife, four young children, dog, and boss to give me more time to devote to chess perhaps I would be asking different questions here