Books on Strategy. Help me pick the right one.

From the other thread about strategy I got a few tips on what books to get. Now I need some help picking the right one of those options.

Ok I'll start off with what I have:

-An Attacking Repertoir for White by Sam Collins

-Modern Defence by Speelman

-Various tactical puzzles/checkmate books

I plan on buying

-Silman's Complete Endgame Course for my endgame needs

-Winning Chess Tactics for my tactical theory needs

-Chess 5334 puzzles to train tactical vision for months to come

So we got openings, endgame and tactics covered as far as I can tell. Let's move on to strategy and middle game.

What do I need to get as a first book on this. Will one of these following be enough for a start or do I need a combination of them?

Wich of these and why?

-Modern Chess Strategy

-Winning Chess Strategies

-The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery

-How to Reassess Your Chess: The Complete Chess-Mastery Course

Help me choose? Thx.

I like the Silman books ( I have not seen Amateurs MInd) as his explanations on how to think and evaluate positions are quite good and really do work

The Pachman book is excellent though there are others that are similar such as Fine's book on the Middle Game, or Euwe and Kramer's two volume set. These books require more work but give good examples of many middle game themes. There are quite a few excellent newer books as well.

Art of Attack may be a good bridge between tactics and strategy another classic.

I have never used the Seirawan series but have heard they are good

I like the Seirawan books, good for differant levels, Play winning chess is more for begginers, while Winning chess strategies is a little more intermetiate.

If possible, try find those books at a local bookstore and scan through them. I'm sure they are all good books so look for the one you feel most comfortable with.

I checked your chess.com ratings to get a rough idea of your level but I haven't looked at any of your games. I recommend going with "Modern Chess Strategy". I haven't seen the book but the reviews sound good and make it look similar to "Winning Chess Strategies" but less expensive. Either of those books should give you plenty of information on strategy while you spend most time on tactics.

The other two Silman books are both good but more involved. I'm not sure if they are any harder but there is more in them to go through. I think the other books will give you the basics of strategy more quickly and easily.

Modern Chess Strategy by Pachman is a abridged version of his 3 volume Complete Chess Strategy series. I haven't looked at it in depth, but I'd say it is probably much more detailed than Seirawan's Winning Chess Strategies, which is a basically a primer on strategy for newer players.

Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov's Art of the Middlegame has an important chapter on the strategies used for attacking when you and your opponent have castled opposite sides or on the same side.  Max Euwe's Judgment and Planning in Chess also has good advice on attack as well as bad bishops, strong squares and weak pawns.  Aron Nimzowitsch's My System is a classic on blockade, pawn chains and prophylaxis.  John Watson touches on a lot of these issues in Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy.

All sitting on the shelf waiting to be read. There is supposed to be a good chapter by Keres on defending difficult positions in the Art of the Middlegame as well. I also have Romanovsky's Middlegame Planning and Middlegame Combinations, and Lipnitsky's Questions of Modern Chess Theory waiting to be read.

Silman's Endgame is a must but if you want a strategy book one I can recommend is My System by Nimzowitsch.

Biggest tip: Make sure you read the books you buy.  Too many players get a book, read the introduction chapter and then buy another book1

Check them out on Amazon and forums to see if they are to your taste.

Hope this helps.

Aron Nimzowitsch's My System is a classic.  It's a little hard to get your head around, but the ideas about the endgame and prophylaxis are right-on.  Since it was first published (1925) though, there have been many improvements and clarifications on his ideas.  Watson's Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy expands and updates most of the ideas, so that would be a good choice if you had to "pick only one".

Yeah, I can vouch for My System and How to Reassess Your Chess -- those are the best middlegame books I've seen.  I haven't seen all the ones discussed in this thread, though, so some of them might be excellent as well.

Also resist the temptation to jump around between books. Work all the way through a book on a topic, and then start on another one. I tend to have one strategy/instruction book I am working on at a time, and 1 game collection that I am working through.

anything by silman is great imo :)

I'd go with reassess your chess. Silman's endgame book is an excellent choice. I also have that rather large book of tactics you mentioned by Laszlo Polgar. I think you should stick with these books for now and the other ones your buying. There are alot of other fine strategy books mentioned here. You might consider getting them after you've been through the books your getting for a year or two. (Perhaps longer)

If you buy all those books you will have plenty to keep you busy. I have found it helpful to find one book that will help me work on one part of my game and in addition, play over the games of selected past and present masters to open my vision as to what is possible. For me this is both manageable and productive learning. This may mean,for example,  having a book on endgames that I am working through and playing over the masters games in an effort to try and keep me sharp. I get bogged down if i have my head into too many books.

I think Simple Chess by Michael Stean might be the best first book on strategy out there.  I tried My System was not ready for it.  Simple Chess opened my eyes to a lot of things!  I highly recommend it!

I play at an Online Elo of around 1400. Tommygdrums appears to be giving good advice on Simple Chess. I am getting the feeling you could be trying to run before you can walk.If you are not losing a lot of games because of endgame weakness buy your book on tactics. Then one on endgames when you recognise your need for it. As you advance in one area you will understand better your needs in another. That is when you should purchase another book.

I love Simple Chess. I have read it twice in the past year. I have another book, Positional Ideas in Chess, on the way right now that is supposed to be good as well.

I've read through the introduction to Pawn Structure Chess and it is next on my reading list.

Thanks everyone. I've looked up all the suggestions. I think Modern Chess Strategy is the one I'm looking for. Good intermediate book that is not too overkill but covers everything needed, if I judged it right.

Is anyone else who has looked at or read the Dover edition of Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy annoyed by the fact that the person who did the translation/abridgement decided to haphazardly use algebraic throughout the text while leaving most of it in descriptive? I wouldn't mind all algebraic or all descriptive, but the mixing of the two is an eye sore and I can't believe it was published like that.

 Is there any other book on strategy that is as thorough as Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy? Winning Chess Strategies and HTRYC don't seem to cover as much material.

Are all the new version of Pachman's Modern Chess Strategy in mixed description?