A must-read for everyone is Logical Chess Move by Move, by Irving Chernev. If you haven't read it, do so!
The "Winning Chess" series by Yasser Seirawan is also very good. The first three in the series are Play Winning Chess, Winning Chess Tactics, and Winning Chess Strategies. Look into those.
If you want a book that covers several different aspects of chess theory, look into The Complete Chessplayer, by Fred Reinfeld.
Hope that helps.
Look into buying them in ebook (cbh) format:
http://www.everymanchess.com/catsearch.php?area=ebook
That way you can read them and review positions right there on your computer, without having to set up a board, or enter moves.
Best total beginner book ever. (I'm serious)
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Chess-Third/dp/1592573169
The Oxford Companion to Chess, Hooper and Whyld 1984. ISBN 0-19-281986-0
For the price of a book, why not try a few months of Chess Mentor? It's easier to use than a book, give you personalized lessons and feedback, and have a huge range of course!
chessmaster 10th edition is the best piece of software out there for beginners. Josh Waitzkin's lectures are worth the cost alone.
There's been numerous threads identical to this one, but I will paste here what I have pasted previously from my profile:
My Chess Book Collection:
My System - New Translation (Aron Nimzowitsch)*
Chess Praxis - New Translation (Aron Nimzowitsch)
Reassess Your Chess - 3rd Edition (Jeremy Silman)*
Reassess Your Chess Workbook (Jeremy Silman)
The Amateur's Mind (Jeremy Silman)*
Silman's Complete Endgame Course (Jeremy Silman)*
The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (Mikhail Tal)*
Winning Chess Tactics - Revised (Yasser Seirawan)*
Forcing Chess Moves (Charles Hertan)
* = Currently reading, * = Completed reading at least once
wiseachoo wrote:
There's been numerous threads identical to this one, but I will paste here what I have pasted previously from my profile: My Chess Book Collection: My System - New Translation (Aron Nimzowitsch)* * = Currently reading, * = Completed reading at least once
Chess Praxis - New Translation (Aron Nimzowitsch)
Reassess Your Chess - 3rd Edition (Jeremy Silman)*
Reassess Your Chess Workbook (Jeremy Silman)
The Amateur's Mind (Jeremy Silman)*
Silman's Complete Endgame Course (Jeremy Silman)*
The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (Mikhail Tal)*
Winning Chess Tactics - Revised (Yasser Seirawan)*
Forcing Chess Moves (Charles Hertan)
All of those books (except for winning chess tactics and silman's endgame) are WAY too advanced for a beginner.
if you insist on a book, the Play Winning Chess series (by Seirawan) is excellent. the single best book if you are only going to read ONE chess book in your life is Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess (not Dummies).
I agree that Chess Mentor is the single most helpful resource for improving chess. It has helped me more than anything including multiple books to improve my chess. You can sign up to use it on this site or buy various versions of it for Windows in a cd format. The advantage to the cd is that once you install it you won't have to keep paying to use it. However, even the most deluxe version is missing a number of courses that can be found on this site, and the online version also has a few more features.
eternal21, that's really good to know on the Everyman ebooks. Most of them show up in amazon as CD, but not all. Whish I knew about this two weeks ago before I bought Dynamic Reti in paperback. I may still get the ebook.
Thanks to everybody who contributed to this forum. I have bought Logical chess, move by move, winning chess and the complete chessplayer.
I want to buy a chess book that will help me with the theory of chess and useful tactics or openings. I would be delighted if any of you could recommend a good book that includes these things.