Which books should I read?

I have Kotov's Think Like a Grandmaster and 'Play like a Grandmaster'

Are there any other books out there that match these books. These books are of the highest quality. I would even say that they are just a shade better than Euwe and Kramer's middlegame book.

Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games. It will help improve your tactics. This is my first and only chess book.

Zurich 1953 - David Bronstein.

Did you finish Think Like a Grandmaster and Play Like a Grandmaster? Having them don't help your chess.

stormstout, no i have not finished. what is your opinion of these books? i am 72 pages into play like .. also, right now i am mostly trying to absorb the ideas and not looking very deep into the variations and moves presented. i go about 5 or 6 deep and since i don't feel like playing them out, i just skip it and try and remember the diagram.

trahald, a very very strong player once recommended that book to me. the only disappointing thing is that half the games in it are draws.

I just read this great book. Chess Secrets: Giants of Strategy by Neil Mcdonald. Your strategic play would improve after reading it.

I aggre I really enjoyed Zurich 1953 - David Bronstein

i have that book. it is a good book. but i prefer books by GMs.

Neil McDonald is a GM.

ok .. that makes sense. I thought he was an NM.

hey xjian, thanks for the recommendations.

i have another question, don't want to open another thread for it.

mandy, you said you read that book. does that mean you finished it? if so, tell me how often you use a board. do you have the visualization skills to read it blind?

also, i was just looking through Yusupov's book. It is amazing how he has broken down the material and I have found it useful. The only thing that annoys me is how he devotes entire chapters to useless subjects like 'mate with bishop and knight', 'fortresses' and 'mate in two'. Pffft.

Right.. mate in two and fortresses are very useless in chess.

There are good books and bad books to be sure.  But, to some extent at least, the quality of the book doesn't matter.  Pick any well regarded book.  The trick is going over it slowly and carefully, trying to get out of it everything the author is trying to show you.

I'm reminded of a Bruce Lee quote.  I don't fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times. (something like that).

pdve wrote:

Stormstout wrote:

Neil McDonald is a GM.

ok .. that makes sense. I thought he was an NM.

No, NM are his initials. I can imagine the confusion. My neighbour Gert Maas never even touched a chesspiece. Crazy

I wouldn't decide by title. there are books of authors who have a reputation as some of the best coaches worldwide. take Dvoretsky and Watson for example.

exactly, and ive never understood anything that dvoretsky or watson have written.

M. Stean's Simple chess would certainly improve your strategic understanding. At least it helped mine. Now I just started to work through the first orange book ('build your chess' 'the fundamentals') of Yusupov's series. I hope and believe this will improve my calculation and make me a better player. It's also a pretty book. Recommendable.

Unfortunately, I need a physical board or a board on screen. Can not visualize after 3 moves :) 80% finished reading. An excellent book on strategy.