Best Chess Book For Beginner/Intermediate Player?

I don't know if I am on the high side of beginning, or the low side of intermediate, but I know I am not an advanced chess player!

I own a few books that contain a chapter on pawns, with the typical stuff covered, I.e., backwards, doubled, isolated, passed, fried, baked, and even deep fried. 😏 Again, just one chapter devoted to all of the above.

I do own My System, which contains several chapters on pawns. Should I just stick with that book, or would you suggest a different book?

I also purchased Pawn Structure Chess by Andrew Soltis (algebraic notation), but didn't pay attention to the Random House Chess Meter, which places the slider almost all the way to the right, for advanced. Buying this book was a mistake, even though Danny Rensch recommends it as a companion to his Pawn 101 video lectures. I quit watching that series because Mr. Rensch assumes the viewer already knows some things about pawns, which I don't.

Here is be an example question I often face. "Do I trade using my pawn, or my knight? I suppose one consideration would be the resulting pawn structure, which Mr. Soltis covers, but it is a ton of information.

I find pawns to be a big mystery. Forgetting pawns and just looking for checkmate is much easier to figure out, especially when I have an overwhelming force directed at the enemy king.

Pawns...pawns...pawns...really tricky little guys to try and understand.

Have you read Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca? If you have an iOS device, it is free with the e+Chess reader.

Ziryab wrote:

Have you read Chess Fundamentals by Jose Capablanca? If you have an iOS device, it is free with the e+Chess reader.

My post was done on my very own iPad mini. 😊 I will download the book and start reading it. Thank you!

In Chess Fundamentals, are you referring to chapter 6, 31. "Some Salient Points About Pawns" ?

I see you are a diamond member. Have you considered simply using the vast resources on this site?

You can play positions against the computer, study with chess mentor, watch hundreds of videos, practice on tactics trainer, etc. If you spent 3 hours a day on here, you couldn't exhaust the offerings that you've already paid for.

Just my 2 cents.

MSteen wrote:

I see you are a diamond member. Have you considered simply using the vast resources on this site?

You can play positions against the computer, study with chess mentor, watch hundreds of videos, practice on tactics trainer, etc. If you spent 3 hours a day on here, you couldn't exhaust the offerings that you've already paid for.

Just my 2 cents.

A good 2 cents. 😊

Chess Mentor is an excellent resource for targeted study. There is still something quite nice about sitting down with a good book, even a good e-book.

Somewhere recently I read or heard a GM say that pawn play is the most difficult part of chess, hence understanding even on a basic level only comes through playing and going over lots and lots of games. 

Considerations include the resulting pawn structure with consideration of endgame prospects, opening of lines for your or your opponent's pieces, control of squares for security of your own pieces or exclusion of your opponent's, tactical opportunities, etc. One pawn move or exchange can alter the entire position, and such decisions and changes in position can occur multiple times in a single game.  General rules like capture towards the center only have utility in specific situations, so you have to be aware of when they apply.

Capablanca seems to have seen all this very naturally, and Chess Fundamentals demonstrates this very well, not just in a single chapter but throughout the book.  Other game collections in the "move by move" style will help you, but you will need to play over lots of games while keeping in mind how the changes in pawn structure alter the position.

Pawn Power in Chess by Hans Kmoch is devoted to the very subject you bring up, but is in descriptive notation and uses some peculiar terminology of the author's own devising.  Besides being somewhat arcane, it may be a bit advanced.  You could have a look at it.

I was referring to Capablanca's approach throughout the book. Simple endings, then tactics, then openings. Endgames that build on the earlier foundation, more middlegame tactics, more openings. More advanced endings, ...

Learning the why of pawn moves by viewing lots of games? Hmm...

I've read some basic strategy behind the Sicilian Defense. Black wants a center pawn majority with e6 and d6. The majority of the time, d6 is played before e6. Why?

I've seen lots of games with the move order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6, and fewer games with 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6. What is the idea behind playing e6 before d6? Does it really matter which pawn is pushed first, if the goal is to achieve a center pawn majority?

I play the Black side of 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 c5 often enough that I'll play 2...e6 to remain on familiar ground.

Why not ...d6? It looks like you get a nice little pawn chain, at least in the first few moves. I wonder why anyone plays e6 first? Maybe it's for those who are familiar with the Black side of the French Defense, and are looking to play ...d7-d5 in one tempo, instead of playing ...d6, e6, followed by a well timed d5 or e5 break? These tiny little pawn moves are very subtle little moves, and not easy to understand.

I believe that the reason for playing ...d6 first is to allow Black to play Nf6 soon, avoiding that knight from being kicked by an e4-e5 advance by White. That's my best guess.

Chess Mentor gives a nice explanation for Black's c7-c5 push in the Advanced French. Maybe I will find a chess mentor explanation for the e6 vs. d6 move.

1...c5 gains queenside space and allows Black, by a later ...cxd4, to create a new attackable base on d4. Also note that the Black b8-knight will fit very nicely behind the c-pawn (on c6) where it helps to place pressure on d4.

i have personalized book to offer. i mean i should know your skills then,, i will make book for u. exclusively. from oppening to endgame. it is lessons that is good of 15 sessions

I do not want a book with more errors of grammar, spelling, and syntax than the horrid Breaking Through. http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Through-Sisters-Changed-Everyman/dp/1857443810

ofcourse no wrong grammar or syntax error

ofcourse knot...

Right. You've been spamming the forums with advertisements for your services. So far, you have zero error free sentences.

sir, that is what i can offer. we have a lot of books but how can we use them all. we have to do a research that will be suited for our strength. from oppening to endgame. you can but a lot of books but studying all of that is really hard. u don't know what to start.

I have one favor to ask of you. Could you please let me know if you sell any of your books here? I'd really like to know if this marketing approach pays off for unethical spammers such as yourself.

Actually, I do know where to start, offer free advice in these forums, and offer coaching services. Go ahead and send me a challenge for a correspondence game so that I can assess your strengths and weaknesses and give you some guidance.