Top Ten Books for Beginner and Intermediate

I was recently asked for a recommendation of my top ten chess books. Narrowing my list down to ten is difficult because it necessarily means I must limit it to a narrow range of difficulty. I've already created a similar list for beginner-to-expert books here. So, for this list, I will keep it in a narrow range of beginner to the edge of intermediate and leave it at that. Here goes:

General Intro: Jeff Coakley, Winning Chess Strategy for Kids

The best first book that covers all the parts of the game. It's not just for kids, but for adults too! Be sure to also check out the other books in this series, Winning Chess Puzzles for Kids Volumes 1 and 2, and Winning Chess Exercises for Kids.

Intro to Tactics: Susan Polgar, Chess Tactics for Champions

There are plenty of good alternatives for introductions to tactics, such as Josh Watizkin's Attacking Chess or Peter Giannatos's Everyone's First Chess Workbook, but I like this one  because there are lots of examples push you a little harder. Here is a list of other beginner puzzle books I recommend.

Basic Strategy: Yasser Seirawan, Play Winning Chess

An excellent easy overview of the fundamental concepts of the game written in an entertaining style.

First Game Collection: Irving Chernev, Logical Chess Move by Move

Probably the best book to start with in the genre of game collections. Can be somewhat repetitive and cheesy, but that's perfect for the beginner. The selection of games is excellent. For other instructive game collections, you can also check out Reti's Modern Ideas in Chess, Alper Efe Ataman's Instructive Chess Miniatures, or various books by Neil McDonald.

Mating Patterns: Murray Chandler, How to Beat Your Dad at Chess

Recognizing checkmate patterns is a key skill to get to the next level. This book lays out 50 must-know patterns. Read this book several times until you recognize them quickly. Another good book on checkmate patterns is Renaud and Kahn's The Art of the Checkmate.

Endgames: Jeremy Silman, Silman's Complete Endgame Course

All strong players will tell you that knowing endgames is one of the most important things for becoming a strong player. This is the best book for beginners to intermediate players for learning endgames. You can get lots of more practice with Pandolfini's Endgame Course and Chernev's Practical Chess Endings.

Opening Reference: Paul van der Sterren, Fundamental Chess Openings

I would advise against spending too much time memorizing opening theory until you're much stronger, but this book acts as a good reference - sort of like a buffet table where you can sample what's available.

Intermediate Strategy: Jeremy Silman, The Amateur's Mind 2nd Edition

Yes, tactics comes before strategy, but at a certain point, every player needs to learn some positional concepts to advance to the next level. This book is one of the best. There are other fairly gentle introductions to strategy, such as Michael Stean's Simple Chess and Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Strategies, but I think this one is a bit more comprehensive. Silman's own How to Reassess Your Chess is also very good, but I'd start with this one first.

Intermediate Chess Puzzle Book: Lev Alburt, Chess Training Pocket Book

I've somewhat neglected puzzle books in this list, because I have more comprehensive lists here and here, but I must include at least on on this "top ten" list, and I chose this one because the positions are extremely instructive, and they will take you to the next level.

Intermediate Game Collection: Judith Polgar, How I Beat Fischer's Record

I could have chosen a hundred other game collections/chess biographies to put on this list (and I mentioned some earlier - Logical Chess Move by Move, Reti's Modern Ideas in Chess, etc.), but I chose this one by the youngest Polgar sister (Susan, the eldest, is featured above) because it's quite accessible to most intermediate players. The stories are great, and there are lots of diagrams if you want to follow along without a board. 

In conclusion, there are many other books I could have put on this list, but if I have to narrow it down to ten, and to cover a wide range of topics and styles, I think this list hits all the main points.