Need a book recommendation- Games collection

Hi, I am an advanced beginner and looking for a book of annotated/analyzed games. Unsure if picking a specific player (Alehkine, Karpov, et. al) is a wise choice or perhaps some type of compendium of best games would be better. My plan is to follow along with a physical board and, since I’m quite novice, really want one with some analysis or commentary. I’m sure there are other ways to do this (online databases, chess courses, etc) but I really want a physical book. Ideally one that demonstrates many different positions and openings - I’d really like to see the game play that arises from classical openings, hyper modern, open vs closed, etc. Thank you in advance for any on-topic responses.

search 'collection' here.....several excellent games collection books are recommended...

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

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

Thanks Russ - that Logical Chess book looks like exactly what I’m looking for

A couple of additional suggestions. The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess games by Burgess, Nunn and Emms is an instructive collection of 125 games, with key points highlighted at the end of each game. Perhaps only drawback is bias towards modern era; over 50 games are post 1980 with the first 73 covering 1834 onwards. It isn't organised by openings but a wide range is covered. Also excellent is 500.Master Games of Chess by Tartakower and du Mont. I think it is out of print but easy to find second hand. It is in descriptive notation but that is easy to learn. It covers games to 1938 with the follow up 100 Master Games of Modern Chess covering 1938-1952. Good notes and it is ordered by opening, so serves as a good introduction to an opening if you want to use it that way.

Also worth considering is John Nunn's Understanding Chess Move by Move. Nunn wrote it partly as a response to the Chernev book of which he was no great fan. Thirty games, deeply annotated in algebraic notation, all from the decade before publication (2001). . It is arranged by theme; opening, middlegame (attacking, defence, positional) and endings. It is excellent.

I’ll definitely check that one out and deep dive the Amazon reviews - probably pick between the Nunn or Chernev book. Thanks guys, appreciate the time you’ve both taken to provide some free advice

Start with Chernev. The Nunn book is not an easy read for even intermediate players.

Welcome.  It's a Chernev classic!  A good one to begin with.

Also, FYI, for first annotated games collections, I generally recommend to start with A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario, since, of the 69 games, 64 begin with 1.e4. Then follow with Logical Chess Move By Move by Irving Chernev where, of the 33 games, 20 of them begin with moves other than 1.e4, primarily 1.d4.  Both books are very instructive and appropriate for the beginner-novice.

Regarding John Nunn's book.  His books, while generally excellent, typically contain lots of dense analysis and are written for a more advanced audience, IMO players rated Elo 1500-1600 and beyond.

I'll suggest in a sort of order 1. Chernev's Capablanca's Greatest Endgames, (I like it better than Logical Chess...) 2. Sunil W.(long name) Best lessons of a chess coach (this is good for a lot of reasons including he gives questions students have asked and answers them).  3. Chernev, Logical chess ... (good but he picks games where the losing side doesnt pit up much of a fight). 4. Pandolfini, Russian Chess (highly under appreciated--really excellent explanations for beginning tournament players).  The old Dover books of 5. Euwe's and 6. Smyslov's greatest games are really good if you can do descriptive notation. Euwe had a very direct and active style and Smyslov put his pieces on the right squares and from there seemed to dominate the whole board. Then the next step up is (all IMO) 7. Botvinnik's best games & Fischer's 60 MGs.  --Bill

Hey Bill- great recommendations. Sunil W. is Hikaru’s stepdad (I think) and the book you mentioned was also recommended by Andras Toth on a recent podcast I listened to and was already in my Amazon wish list. I don’t want to be the guy who buys more books than I can read so I’m leaning on starting with Chernev. Thank you for your thoughtful reply.

Also - I really like ur description of Smyslov. I am always amazed at how GMs always seem to put their pieces on great squares all coordinating each other and primed for both defense & attack - meanwhile, I am over here rearranging my whole opening for a 1 or 2 move tactic that inevitably fails (lol). The road for the adult beginner is a tough one!

Chess Praxis by Nimzovich

Alekhine’s Best Games

Karlsbad 1907 by Marco and Schlechter

The Life and Games of Milkhail Tal

I just found Chess Praxis used on Amazon for $3.49 - just snagged it but will likely get to it as my second complete games book. Appreciate the rec

Some people may disagree with me but the book I'd recommend is "The Complete Manual of Positional Chess" Volume 1 Opening and middle game. The reason I recommend it is because a beginner can learn a lot from part one of the book which is exclusively about the opening.

Opening chapters covering advantage in development, center significance, unnecessary pawn moves, leaving kings in the center, opening the board, early queen development etc. If you go through these chapters over the board they're easy to follow for a beginner and you'll learn A LOT in my opinion. Then you always have the other 3/4 of the book with advanced topics you can always come to when you're around 1500 plus. Which I'll say are very good topics. The book is great and very well written.

 

Hey Casey - it looks like there’s a free Kindle sample I may check out. Many reviews seem to indicate this book is more for 1600+ rated players and I’m more….well let’s just say I’m still in the “blunder my queen from time-to-time” stage. Appreciate the rec…might see what the sample can offer because I like those early chapter topics you’ve mentioned which are on-point for me.

I think the Chernev book is a good recommendation.  I also liked Euwe's Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur, an oldie but a goodie.  I got a lot out of this book in terms of how stronger players think.

@CheekWeld -

"The Complete Manual of Positional Chess" is another of those (many) "good" chess books that are written for an advanced audience.  (Yes, Elo 1600+)

Nimzowitsch's "Chess Praxis" was intended as a companion to the author's "My System".   I believe you will find, at your current level, that both books would be challenging.  This is because the focus of these books is to teach positional-strategic chess concepts (as opposed to a primarily tactics-based approach to the game).

For resources focusing on positional-strategic chess, you might check out my blog article...

Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy

My point is that lower level amateurs need to learn to walk before they can run.  That is, focusing on gaining a solid grounding in fundamental principles, beginning with tactics, opening principles and endgame basics.  For the beginner-novice, trying to read the "good' chess books which more advanced players tend to recommend with little-to-no regard for the skill level of those to whom they are making the recommendation, is like attempting to read a book on calculus as a first mathematics book when you have not yet mastered arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, etc.

As I had mentioned earlier.  John Nunn's books, while good, are written for an advanced audience.  Elo 1600+, IMO.

I agree with RussBell - some of the books being suggested are too advanced

Just to add to the confusion- Dan Heisman’s “world’s most instructive amateur game book” should be on the shortlist. Lots of stuff in there about the practical side of improving as a keen learner. Eg using all your time, blunder checking etc