Complete Book of Chess Strategy Silman

Hi
I’m getting back into Chess after a few years away. Not certain on my rating yet but can occasionally beat 1,500 bot but I probably sit slightly below that.
Looking for good chess books and got recommended ‘Complete Book of Chess Strategy’ by Jeremy Silman.
Has anyone read it? Wondering if user friendly and not too dry? I think one covering a bit of everything would be useful rather than very specific narrow focus.
Any recommendations would be great!
Many thanks in advance

I have the book although it's been some years since I looked at it. Aw heck, you made me go dig it out. Like other Silman books I've seen it doesn't get too dry or try to teach far advanced ideas. It stays with the basics of strategy but gives some detailed explanations. The first third of the book covers the first few moves of a number of openings, explaining the pros and cons of each. Overall, I think it's a pretty good book for explaining the ins and outs of basic strategy.

Another book you may want to consider is "Winning Chess Strategies" by Yasser Seirawan, with Jeremy Silman. It seems like a simplified version of Silman's book. It doesn't go into the same depth and omits the openings altogether but is a lighter, easier read. I think either would be a good first step into strategy.

Cool thanks! 👍

I loved it as a kid. It’s somewhat scattershot and reads like an encyclopedia… but I learned a number of concepts from it that stuck with me decades later. So if you find yourself learning from it, it’s probably good.

The stuff that stuck with me were checkmate patterns, how to draw and win certain endgames, and how to identify a few openings.

There are better books.

What are they? That's the point of this thread.

Silman’s Complete Book of Chess Strategy is intended for players rated less than 1400, so it is good as an introduction to chess strategy, as is the book Weapons of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini.

Silman’s book is divided into 3 parts: Opening, Middlegame, and Endgame. Similar to Pandolfini’s book (which was written first), each part consists of a short 1-2 page article covering a particular chess concept with a simplified example. The opening section is out of date. The Middlegame and Endgame sections are good for introductory level concepts.

Silman’s book is more like a global introduction to chess, rather than pure strategy in spite of the title. Pandolfini’s book is pure strategy. Together they make a great intro to chess, but this is more regarding learning the lingo and concepts … playing, analysis, and problem-solving are going to be by far the best ways to improve.

Winning Chess Strategy by Seirawan and Silman is a slight step higher than those books. Silman’s Inside the Amateur’s Mind is a step above that. Silman’s How to Reassess Your Chess and most of the oft-recommended famous strategy books will be a step above those.

Annotated game books by Chernev and McDonald are also good for “a little bit of everything” that reads fairly easily.

dannyhume's comments are spot-on.  

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond....

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond