Just Bought 58 Chess Books for $40

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Avatar of MrDurdan

Hey all, I just bought 58 Chess books from a long time chess player (who just decided to give up his collection) for $40.  A lot of the books are probably old and outdated but I felt like it was a deal I couldn't pass up.  I don't know if I will ever be able to go through all of them but there were some good finds.  Here is the list let me know what you think of my most recent purchase.

 

How to Open a Chess Game 17 GMs
Chess Poitions Alexander
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge Averbakh
How to play the Ending in Chess Barden
King's Indian Defense Barden, Harston, Keene
100 Selected Games Botvinnik
Imagination in the End Game Brieger
The Silican Sozin Butterill, Harding, Kottnauer
The Pirc Defense Butterill, Keene
The English Opening Cafferty
Logical Chess, Move by Move Chernev
Winning Chess Traps Chernev
The Carro Kann Defense Chess Digest
The Colsed Sicilian Defense Chess Digest
The Reti Chess Digest
Petrosians's Best Games, 1946-63 Clarke
Lessons in Chess Strategy, Book 3 Cozens
My 60 Memorable Games Fischer
Chess Olympiads Foldeak
Fischer v Spassky Gligoric
Selected Chess Masterpieces Gligoric
Capablanca's 100 Best Games  Golombeck
The Grunfeld Defense Hartston
Golden Treasury of Chess Horowitz
Winning Chess Tactics Illustrated Horowitz
The Closed Openings in Action Karpov
The Openings Keene
How to play the Opening in Chess Keene, Levy
Practical Chess Endings Keres
Pawn Power in Chess Kmoch
Modern Chess Openings Korn
Play like a Grandmaster Kotov
Lasker's Manual of Chess Lasker
Best Of Karpov Markland
King's Pawn Openings Marovic, Susic
My System Nimzovich
Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 1 Pachman
Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 2 Pachman
Best of Chess Life and Review, Vol 1 Pandolfini
100 Billiant Ways to Checkmate Reinfeld
Attack and Counterattack in Chess Reinfeld
Complete Book of Chess Openings Reinfeld
Learn Chess from the Masters Reinfeld
Strategy in Chess Endings Reinfeld
How to think ahead in Chess Reinfeld, Horowitz
The Art of Positional Play Reshevsky
Modern Ideas in Chess Reti
Reti's Best Games of Chess Reti, Golombeck
Modern Chess Sacrifice Shamkovich
White Opening System with P-Q4 Soltis
The Art of Sacrifice in Chess Spielmann
Middlegame Laboratory Suetin
Modern Chess Opening Theory Suetin
1234 Modern End Game Studies Sutherland, Lommer
The Tarrasch Defense Taimanov
Tal's Winning Chess Combinations Tal, Khenkin
How to play Chess Openings Znosko-Borovsky
The Yugoslav Informant, Vol 33, 1982  
The Yugoslav Informant, Vol 34, 1982  
Avatar of goldendog

These two are practically worth the price of admission.

Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 1 Pachman
Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 2 Pachman
Avatar of MrDurdan
goldendog wrote:

These two are practically worth the price of admission.

Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 1 Pachman Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 2 Pachman

Shows what I know, I highlighted the ones I was happy with (the 60 memorable games is a first edition as well).  I am still admiring my so called "collection" still and haven't decided what one i am going to tackle first (or how I am going to organize them lol) but this may be a good starting point.  Since the only book I had before was "The Amateurs Mind" by Jeremy Silman (which I HIGHLY recommend and have almost finished)

Avatar of Joseph-S

MrDurdan wrote:  Hey all, I just bought 58 Chess books from a long time chess player (who just decided to give up his collection) for $40. 


Man, did you ever score! 

Avatar of CuzinVinny

i'll buy some of those books if ur interested

Avatar of Joseph-S

 What about pieces, boards, and chess clocks?  Did you ask him if he's getting rid of those too?

Avatar of MrDurdan

Haha he told me he went down to a bookstore and they offered him 35 for all of them so he posted an online ad for 40 and all I had to do was drive for little over an hour to get a little "gold mine" as it was called. Even after I payed 4 dollars a gallon I still felt it was worth it that I was so pleased with our deal I didn't ask him about pieces, boards, and clocks (I have a few of each).  Still need to get a chronos clock, however at 100 a pop I'll stick to my 30 dollar Saitek until I've absorbed some of the information I got.

Avatar of Mimchi

May I please purchase some of those books from you? 

Avatar of Lampman

What a great deal.

Nobody in the UK would sell so many books for such a bargain price.

Avatar of TheOldReb
AnthonyRBrown wrote:

Books are Finished!!... ( Paper format ) Just learn from a 3000 + Chess Engine!.


                 H O G W A S H 

Avatar of NimzoRoy
MrDurdan wrote:

Hey all, I just bought 58 Chess books from a long time chess player (who just decided to give up his collection) for $40.  A lot of the books are probably old and outdated but I felt like it was a deal I couldn't pass up.  I don't know if I will ever be able to go through all of them but there were some good finds.  Here is the list let me know what you think of my most recent purchase. 

You got a great deal, but be wary of opening books/pamphlets +10 yrs old, actually even +5 yrs old for popular openings. I don't think you can go wrong with reading any of the endgame or middle game books, study endgames first, middlegames second, openings last! (take this with a grain of salt of course :)

Here are the books I've read or have read reviews of

100 Selected Games Botvinnik A+
Logical Chess, Move by Move Chernev   B+
Petrosians's Best Games, 1946-63   B+
My 60 Memorable Games Fischer    A++++
Capablanca's 100 Best Games A+    One of my faves!
Modern Chess Openings Korn   (what edition? probably outdated)
Play like a Grandmaster Kotov  good book, but first read My System, then Pachman
Pawn Power in Chess Kmoch -ditto, and not a must read IMHO
Lasker's Manual of Chess Lasker a classic, but I've never read it :(
My System Nimzovich A+  A must read AND very readable!
Complete Chess Strategy, Vol 1 + @ Pachman  Vol 2 Pachman  VG books
 The Art of Sacrifice in Chess Spielmann Another unread classic :(
1234 Modern End Game Studies Sutherland, Lommer   Fun + instructive
1001 Checkmates Reinfeld good book, you can probably give everything else by Reinfeld away to interested beginners and/or libraries
Informants  good reference books

Avatar of dkischess

paper books are always good

read them casually

Avatar of dkischess

eat them and digest before buying more

Avatar of Flamma_Aquila
paulgottlieb wrote:

If you're comfortable with descriptive notation, "How to Think Ahead in Chess" is a really great tactics trainer


This is why I can't stand old chess books. I can't think in "Queenside bishop pawn" mode.

Avatar of Loomis
MrDurdan wrote:

Still need to get a chronos clock, however at 100 a pop I'll stick to my 30 dollar Saitek until I've absorbed some of the information I got.


A bit off topic, but I've had my Chronos for over 10 years and it still works perfectly (even after being stolen and discarded in the woods once -- these are durable clocks!). I've not known any other clock brand to have the longevity of a Chronos.

I'd put the endings books closer to the top of the list of things to read.

Avatar of Flamma_Aquila
Loomis wrote:
MrDurdan wrote:

Still need to get a chronos clock, however at 100 a pop I'll stick to my 30 dollar Saitek until I've absorbed some of the information I got.


A bit off topic, but I've had my Chronos for over 10 years and it still works perfectly (even after being stolen and discarded in the woods once -- these are durable clocks!). I've not known any other clock brand to have the longevity of a Chronos.

I'd put the endings books closer to the top of the list of things to read.


I am a humbel Saitek owner myself, but have used Chronos at club and at tourneys. I like the one with the actual buttons, but I HATE the version with the little metal touch knobs. I hate them to the point that, if I am black, I insist we use my clock instead. Ive bumped those damn things with my arm and started my clock on accident, tried to use a newly captured piece to punch the clock and sat like a dipshit while my time ran... I know the point is to avoid button noise in a tourney situation, but I don't like it.

Plus I like a nice satisfying click sound when I triumphantly make a ++ move (rare).

Avatar of Bardu

I have a Chronos, but I think I would trade it for that stack of books! (And then buy another Chronos.) Man, that is a nice score! I don't think you can even find the unabridged copies of Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy any more.

Avatar of jesterville

Great Deal man...now you know how it feels to win something grand...or a stock tip pans out...or you become first at something...

...so what are your plans for the bounty?

Avatar of Tricklev

The Botvinnik book alone goes for above 40$ here, which blows, cause I really want it.

 

Congrats mate.

Avatar of goldendog

The Dover 100 Selected Games goes for $40? Or is that another edition?