Beginner Books

Can anyone recommend some good entry level instruction books? I have one authored by Jeffrey Silman titled "Reassess Your Chess". It's a good book, but I question if I'm ready to Reassess just yet. I am gratefull for any suggestion's. Also, please share your thought, I have been told that the best way to improve is to play alot of games? Thank You.

The current edition of Silman's book - a great one, I might add - actually suggests that it serves players with ratings of 1400+ best. So, I believe you may have assessed this correctly: it might be your NEXT book, after you've strengthened your game some.

You might try Amazon for a good list. Here's one I found there:

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Chess-Books-for-Beginners/lm/R3T0KSLGYJ5LL2

Best ways to improve ... good question, of course. Playing a lot is great. Play slower games if you can manage that ... slower games allow you to spend some time thinking and not simply reacting. But the best way to improve in a general sense is to go over your losses and try to identify where you went wrong, what kind of error you made, and develop a plan to try to correct that error.

This stategy is outlined very well by GM Kaidanov in his video series here, beginning with this title:

http://www.chess.com/video/player/how-to-improve-your-chess

Best wishes.

someone posted their list here:

i think it is a good one.

http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Books-to-Actually-Read/lm/R2EBB9BKRK87P5

Hey, ketchup ... we are all certainly entitled to our opinions. However, making such a strong statement without adding even a scintilla of support for it, does not contribute to a good discussion. Perhaps you want to opine regarding a specific weakness of one or more of Snyder's books. (I have one of his books and - in my view - it certainly doesn't deserve to be dismissed out of hand.) Again, you mileage may vary.

Snyder is a convicted child molester so I am guessing that is why ketchup made his strong statement

I want to comment that being a child molester does not mean that the person cannot write good chess books. Now, if you want to buy a book and give him some money is another question, though.

Books with the publisher "Quality Chess" are very good books to study from.

I'm not sure what level the books are, but many masters i know use them for teaching beginners.

I think you nailed it there... he said "buy", not "read", so... maybe just download them illegally? :P

Secrets of the Russian Chess Masters volumes 1&2 by Lev Alburt and Larry Parr is very good and so the Game of Chess by Siegbert Tarrasch. 

Yes playing a lot will help you improve but you must keep a healthy balance between the amount of fast and very slow games you play most people on the Internet only play 3.0 or 15 minute games they never or rarely play 60 or 48 minute games which in my opinion is a mistake.

Playing lots of slow games will help you to become a disciplined and very patient player who plans his moves out carefully and doesn't rush.