Picking between pawn structure books

I'm thinking of doing a pawn structure book over the next year and would like opinions as to which is best.  Assume by the time I'm doing this I'm about 1500.  I've heard good things about:

• Rios' Chess Structures: -- https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Structures-Mauricio-Flores-Rios/dp/1784830003  
• Soltis Pawn Structure Chess -- https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Structure-Chess-Andrew-Soltis/dp/1849940703/
• Grooten's Chess Strategy for Club Players -- https://www.amazon.com/Chess-Strategy-Club-Players-Positional/dp/9056917161/
• Kmoch's Pawn Power -- https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Power-Chess-Dover/dp/0486264866/

Is this at least the right short list or should other books be on it?  

I'm comfortable with descriptive notation so that isn't a deal breaker for Kmoch.  I've heard Soltis is dated so I'm a bit worried there.  Kmoch is even more dated but I haven't heard the same complaint.  Is that because Kmoch is so dated that people just figure everyone knows they are buying a classic?  Or is it because Kmoch's language is eternal and so dated does't matter?  

Rios' book gets great reviews but also seems to be one that many people think is too advanced for say a 1500.  

So for the people who have read one or something not on the list what would be your advice and why?  

 For what it's worth, you could add Baburin's Winning Pawn Structures to your list. Out of print now and over £1000 on Amazon, but you might get lucky on eBay or something.

More realistically, "The Power of Pawns: Chess Structure Fundamentals for Post-Beginners" by Hickl looks like a possibility. On Amazon, you can see a significant amount of this book on their "Look Inside" feature, so hopefully you'll be able to tell if it's the right level for you.

Since you're  a premium member here, presumably you've seen Danny Rensch's "Pawn Structure 101" series of videos? Danny's always entertaining IMO.

Sam Shankland’s Small Steps to Giant Improvement is quite readable (it is about pawn structures), even at my level.

Bruce Pandolfini’s Weapons of Chess is a good intro to pawn structures. Chess for Dummies has a couple chapters on pawn structures.

The rest of the books you mentioned above and that I am listing below (the authors anyway) are more difficult, though I do enjoy Marovic in general to the point of reading his some of his stuff without much understanding ...

Although the line can be blurry, Kmoch, Hickl, and Marovic’s books cover pawn play, whereas Soltis, Rios Flores, and Sokolov cover pawn structures.

Maybe consider:
Simple Chess by Michael Stean
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf

http://store.doverpublications.com/0486424200.html
Pawn Structure Chess by GM Andrew Soltis (2013)

"... Pawn Structure Chess can be a real 'game changer' for intermediate players looking to improve their play. …"
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101523/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review908.pdf
The Power of Pawns by GM Jörg Hickl (2016)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/the-power-of-pawns/
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9034.pdf

"... Chess structures: A Grandmaster Guide is not a primer of positional play; for that, try Michael Stean's Simple Chess, Herman Grooten's Chess Strategy for Club Players, or Silman's ... How to Reassess Your Chess. Instead, you might think of Chess Structures as positional chess 'finishing school.' ..." - John Hartmann

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-structures-a-grandmaster-guide/

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7495.pdf

I champion Kmoch's Pawn Power in Chess with the fanatical fervor that a Christian Evangelist reserves for the Holy Bible.

Soltis is pretty good, too... but it's a watered-down version of the concepts, IMO.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101926/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review696.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9042.pdf

My all-time favorite book on pawn structure specialized in the Isolated Queen Pawn (IQP) structures, and was planned to be the first in a series. However, the publisher and the author had a falling out (I definitely side with the author in this case).

GM Alexander Baburin, who had an excellent column in the old American magazine, Inside Chess, wrote Winning Pawn Structures. It's not available due to the dispute between author and publisher, but still ranks as perhaps the single best book on the subject of IQPs, and one of the best books on pawn structure in general. 

https://www.amazon.com/Winning-Pawn-Structures-Alexander-Baburin/dp/0713480092/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536796597&sr=8-1&keywords=winning+pawns+structures&dpID=41GpgOG9zqL&preST=_SY344_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Andy Soltis' book, Pawn Structure Chess, is another absolute classic, and well worth the time and energy it takes to study this thoroughly. https://www.amazon.com/Pawn-Structure-Chess-Andrew-Soltis/dp/1849940703/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536796636&sr=1-1&keywords=soltis+pawn+structure&dpID=419C2M%252B1DdL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch

There are other good books out there. One set that deserves to be mentioned is Shereshevsky's Mastering the Endgame (two volumes). It covers the static features of pawn structures and their importance in the endgame. He focuses on how specific openings tend to lead to certain endgames. It's not normally mentioned when discussing middle games, but it is essential reading for those who are interested in the topic. 

I haven't yet read Shankland's work, but the early press is that it is also excellent.

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/sam-shankland/

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7804.pdf

 https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/2018/07/03/one-small-step/

 

Thanks for that review, @RussBell. I've seen the excerpts, and some reviews of course. But I can't claim to have read it based on excerpts. It's been shortlisted for the ECF's book of the year. 

In a previous discussion, someone reported a passage from Pawn Power in Chess by Kmoch: "The lengthening of the rearspan is often favorable, inasmuch as the expansion of territory behind the pawn increases the freedom of the pieces. By the same token, the shortening of the frontspan limits the freedom of the opposing pieces."
I'm not exactly a big fan of that sort of writing, but there nevertheless seems to be a widespread opinion that the Kmoch book is worthwhile.
"... [Pawn Power in Chess] should be on everyone's list [of favourites]. ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)
Another point of view:
"... Hans Kmoch’s Pawn Power in Chess is considered a classic by many. Nonetheless, most people found it daunting and confusing, given its weird terminology. Also the scope of the book was more theoretical than practical; not an easy book to read and study with. ... must be frustrating to read and study from for those rated below 1700. ..." - Stephen Ham (2000)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110136/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review249.pdf

One can see a sample at:

http://store.doverpublications.com/0486264866.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20140718055446/http://chesscafe.com/text/wps.txt

 

Understanding Pawn Play in Chess by GM Marovic

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708110136/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review249.pdf

Dynamic Pawn Play in Chess by GM Drazen Marovic (2001)

http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/books-of-many-flavours

Winning Chess Middlegames, An Essential Guide to Pawn Structures by GM Ivan Sokolov (2009)

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708091955/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review676.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/922.pdf

 

I want to thank everyone for the answers so far this conversation has been great!  I was able to find Baburin's book.

 

   Danny are you able to elaborate on the distinction you are making between a pawn structures book and a pawn play book?  Is the distinction that pawn structures books cover what to do with pieces relative to structures while pawn play discuss what the pawns will be doing.  So for example in an e5 chain a pawn structure book would cover rook lifts while a pawn play book would not?  

Dan Heisman's comment on Kmoch's Pawn Power....

"Pawn Power in Chess – Kmoch [.....] – How to use pawns in chess. This subject is a must for any serious player. Don't worry about the arcane definitions! It's a great book!"

Search "Kmoch"...

https://www.danheisman.com/recommended-books.html

jbolden,

I would defer to a more advanced player who has actively read and studied these books than myself for the distinctions, since I am low level and only read through the pawn PLAY books once without in depth study (had to satisfy my psychological itch, even though tactics and endgames are where it is at for a long time). I have never read any of the famous pawn STRUCTURE books, but here is my take on the distinction ...

Pawn PLAY seems to cover the elemental features of pawn configurations and pawn moves (undermining, ramming, etc) at a more basic level. Pawn configurations include blocked pawns, isolated pawns, doubled pawns, backward pawns, hanging pawns, etc. Several of the above books will also describe the relationship between pawns and the individual pieces. For instance, Kmoch and Hickl each have chapters titled along the lines of “bishop and pawn”, “knight and pawn”, and “rook and pawn.”

Pawn STRUCTURE seems to refer to the entire configuration of pawns on the chessboard following the opening, and so discusses the middlegame approaches/plans for each side with respect to such configurations, and these will necessarily contain combinations of the various elemental pawn configurations. Thus you have pawn structures that belong to various families of openings (for instance, the Caro-Slav family, etc.).

As such, the pawn play books seem more universal conceptually and less beholden to the middlegame whereas the pawn structure books tend to have a heavy middlegame emphasis).

Go first with Simple Chess  by GM Stean.

Pawn Structure Chess by Soltis worked well for me. I'd recommend it. I studied it when I was already above 1800 rating though, but I think it would work out for someone who was 1500.