About what rating would Capablanca's Chess Fundamentals take me up to? Or is it all stuff I should already know by now?
Best books for 1400 player
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@ wewsson
What books would you recommend for such study? Either for endgames or openings?
Bang for the buck, I'd suggest getting a membership on chess.com and going through Chess mentor, it's essentially an interactive book.. The videos are an added bonus.
For books, "Silman's complete endgame course", "The amateur's mind", "Logical Chess Move by Move", "The complete Chess workout", and "Fundamental Chess openings" are all good, and together give a rather balanced chess education.
Wewsson wrote:
for openings, i guess i have to bite my tongue on this one, "complete book of chess strategy" by silman shows all the opening variations plus all their own particular varation, ( variation of a variation). or just study the best 60 games of fischer, learned ALOT.
Strange you mention "The complete book of chess strategy".. I am a huge Silman fan.. SQUEEEE... But that's probably my least favorite of his works. Which is doubly strange because it's essentially a reference book of chess principles and I just finished a post on how people should have a good grasp of chess principles before they embark on any particular area of study.
Don't get me wrong though, I still like it.. Just not as much as his other works. If I might ask, what didn't you like about "Amateur's mind". I felt it was the best introductory book on strategy and positional/structural concepts I've come across.
I like "my 60 memorable games" too, though I prefer chernev's "logical chess" and "most instructive games ever played more". I'm not sure I consider them the same type of book as "amateur's mind".. While strategic understanding does come from good annotated game books, it's rather implicit.. In contrast to a more directly instructive book like "amateur's mind", or "Winning Chess Strategies". I personally feel annotated games serve best to sort of cement all the different concepts together by seeing them as they play out.
Build Up Your Chess by Yusupov. It's a complete course (9 books in total).
Details here: http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/docs/14/artur_yusupovs_awardwinning_training_course/
Enid Blyton '' Five go on an Adventure ''.
Jul 2, 2012
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#8
@Wewsson,
With all due respect, I think you under-estimate how beneficial such a book may be, as well as over-estimate your own ability to formulate plans (do you honestly believe the book is below your level?). The book is aimed for 1200-1800 OTB players, which is well within your playing ability.
With that said, Silman's books will be fine to try. The one thing to keep in mind though is exactly what JamesColeman said: "Any one single book in isolation isnt going to make a huge difference, but it's certainly worth reading and won't do you any harm that's for sure."
Outside of books, the single most important part of your study will be tactics. Either through books (more old-fashioned) or through automated sites (the tactics trainer here, or elsewhere). Tactics will almost always decide a game among club players (non-masters).
grand masters secrets by igor sminrov
I started my chess career with THE HANDBOOK FOR CHESS PLAYER'S by HOWARD STAUNTON. It's a pity that it is hard to find now!
Try and take a look at the chess books for beginning and intermediate players on this website, http://www.squidoo.com/chess-reference. They might offer you some valuable insight on to what you want to read.
Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond
This book COMPLETELY revolutionized my chess. The book "Sacrifice and Initiative" turned me from a passive player to someone far more aggressive. must read!
Jun 28, 2022
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#15
jontsef wrote:
Build Up Your Chess by Yusupov. It's a complete course (9 books in total).
Details here: http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/docs/14/artur_yusupovs_awardwinning_training_course/
I am a fan of the Yusupov books also. Someone who is 1400 would only need the orange ones for now (and probably only the first one). Here is a video I did, which gives an overview of how these books are structured: https://youtu.be/a9oeGBn1El0
Jun 28, 2022
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#16
Don't be thrown off by the title, but "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess" by Patrick Wolff would be good for you. Also "Winning Chess" by Chernev and Reinfeld is a good tactics introduction.
Jul 11, 2022
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#17
Any good tactics book will do. If you’re like most 1400 players, that will be your biggest weakness.
A few suggestions in the order I would study them:
Chess Tactics for Champions
Manual of Chess Combinations 1 and 2
Chess Training Pocket Book
Winning Chess Tactics
Also work on endings with Silman’s Complete Endgame Course.
Finally, much less important, study strategy with Amateur’s Mind, also by Silman.
If you’re still loosing games because of blunders, skip the above until you’ve read Everyone’s Second Chess Book.
A few suggestions in the order I would study them:
Chess Tactics for Champions
Manual of Chess Combinations 1 and 2
Chess Training Pocket Book
Winning Chess Tactics
Also work on endings with Silman’s Complete Endgame Course.
Finally, much less important, study strategy with Amateur’s Mind, also by Silman.
If you’re still loosing games because of blunders, skip the above until you’ve read Everyone’s Second Chess Book.
Jul 11, 2022
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#18
For tactics I like "Winning Chess" by Chernev, and for endgames I like "How to Win in the Chess Endings" by Horowitz. Those books got me to 2100 OTB back in the 1980s (I'm older and slower now).
Jul 15, 2022
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#20
If your interested in openings FCO - fundimental chess openings is something you can look at. ( or you can watch youtube videos, the book is quite costly) ( mostly I look at it to get a general gist of the opening I want to learn, then I look it up online)
there are also various endgame books that you can find on amazon- most are in english notion though.
Hello
As the title suggests, I am interested in what books you would recommend to a 1400-ish player looking to improve.
Thanks