First chess book
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lutak22
May 31, 2017
0
#1
I have a few books to choose from but I'm looking to improve my game. I can choose between Jose Capablanca Chess fundamentals, Jeremy Silman Amatuers mind, Silman how to reassess your chess, my system is also a choice or chess for dummies
May 31, 2017
0
#2
In any case I'm going to read over one of these books and start going over morphy games .. I'm making it a official. I want to break 1600 and beyond !
Pick Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca.
"... 'Chess Fundamentals' ... does not deal so minutely as this book will with the things that beginners need to know. ..." - from Capablanca's Primer of Chess
Possibly of interest:
Simple Attacking Plans by Fred Wilson (2012)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708090402/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review874.pdf
Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev (1957)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104437/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/logichess.pdf
The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Winning Chess by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld (1949)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093415/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review919.pdf
Back to Basics: Tactics by Dan Heisman (2007)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233537/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review585.pdf
Discovering Chess Openings by GM John Emms (2006)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627114655/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen91.pdf
Openings for Amateurs by Pete Tamburro (2014)
http://kenilworthian.blogspot.com/2014/05/review-of-pete-tamburros-openings-for.html
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/openings-for-amateurs/
https://www.mongoosepress.com/catalog/excerpts/openings_amateurs.pdf
Chess Endgames for Kids by Karsten Müller (2015)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf
A Guide to Chess Improvement by Dan Heisman (2010)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105628/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review781.pdf
Seirawan stuff
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627132508/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen173.pdf
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
kindaspongey wrote:
"... 'Chess Fundamentals' ... does not deal so minutely as this book will with the things that beginners need to know. ..." - from Capablanca's Primer of Chess
But the OP has given set of books where he can choose from. The easiest book to digest among the books that he has given is Chess Fundamentals. Otherwise I will suggest Idiot's Guide to Chess by GM Wolf or Play Winning Chess by Seirawan as a good first chess book
lutak22 wrote:
... or chess for dummies
xxx
lutak22 wrote:
I have a few books to choose from but I'm looking to improve my game. I can choose between Jose Capablanca Chess fundamentals, Jeremy Silman Amatuers mind, Silman how to reassess your chess, my system is also a choice or chess for dummies
Without knowing very much about them, I'd go with Capa or chess for dummies first, and definitely My System later on.
You should try reading a bit from all of them, and see what's more appropriate for your level, and more suitable for your enjoyment.
Jun 1, 2017
0
#11
Hmm.. thanks for the responses .. I was leaning towards capablanca's book to begin with... maybe followed by my system after and then the silman books. Also I guess I should reiterate I'm not a complete beginner but up to this point have really only looked at a few morphy games .. I have other game collections that I'll be looking at from time to time while I go over this book.. I'm thinking I'll start with chess fundamentals. Thanks again!
"I would suggest Silman's book, which may come as a surprise to some.
My System is an iconoclastic book. A lot of things in there is sheer provocation, and it does need an expereienced player to know what exactly must be taken at its face value.
I love 'My System', and I have read it cover to cover one dozen times, but suggesting it to a class player is an entirely different matter." - IM pfren (~1 year ago in a thread, "Reassess your Chess or My System")
I would take IM pfren's advice over 1000 other posters'
@kindaspongey A link to that comment you quoted would be useful
Jun 1, 2017
0
#14
Interesting! .. Chess fundamentals seems to be a much smaller book so I hope to spend only a few months on it and move on to silmans books directly afterwards .. silmans books are intimidating based solely on the size of the books but I'm definitely going to move on to a silman book by the time winter comes .. I have silmans complete endgame course as well and it is organized by skill level which is nice for sure.. I'll be looking at my endgame book throughout... I think it's time for me to write an improvement plan and follow through with it. I need to restructure what I'm doing to continue improving.
Jun 1, 2017
0
#15
I'm thinking something on the lines of daily tactics and then daily combinations mixed with endgame study every 2nd day and general book study such as chess fundamentals or possibly silmans amatuers mind or how to reassess your chess every other day
Check out this if you want to know a bit more about "My System"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQpJmqWnp-w
Play me in a Simul on Chess.com 3pm CET Saturday 3 June. 60/60 and all challenges welcome. Rated or unrated. Do not care. No rating caps no paramaters. Streaming Live on Twitch! https://www.twitch.tv/thenextmove
Jun 1, 2017
0
#18
Tactics is most important. When Silman's How to Reassess Your Chess was a 200-page 1st Edition, I bought a copy for each of the USCF-rated OTB high school players I coached and it helped: we won the county title several years in a row, It easy-to-read rules of thumb and methods for evaluating imbalances and attacking. Now the 4th Ed. is a 658 page BETTER book, but I think it should come later in a player's study plan now and if I was still coaching I'd get my 900-1300 rated players Fred Wilson's Simple Attacking Plans.
Eseles wrote:
... @kindaspongey A link to that comment you quoted would be useful
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/reassess-your-chess-or-my-system?page=2