Seeking Book Recommendations....

About 15 or 20 years ago I read a couple of books on chess—one was written by Benjamin Franklin.  I’d found it in the stacks in the Michigan Tech. Library.   As I recall, it was as much about attitude and enjoying chess, as it was about winning chess.  I’m sorry that I don’t remember its name because it was very enjoyable.  I believe it has encouraged me to stick with the game long enough to learn a few simple combinations and to eventually be able to engage enough to enjoy the thrill of the battle.  Ben Franklin is renowned for his wit, and I recall an example of this in a passage in which he talks about an early player (Ruy Lopez?) whose philosophy was to “position your opponent so the sun is in his eyes.”  This wasn’t Ben Franklin’s advice, of course, but it was a little illustrative of the book.  Of course it was loaded with good advice for playing chess:  we all know that Ben Franklin was a very clever individual; it would have been a real honor to be checkmated by him.  If you recall the title, please remind me—I’d love to find a copy of it someday.

The other “The Complete Chess Course”, a gift from my wife, written by Fred Reinfeld, was also an enjoyable book that I learned a lot from (I was, and still am an absolute beginner).   It included a chapter called “The Nine Bad Moves of Chess.”  Unfortunately, I was in a hurry when I read the title, and I thought it was “The Nine Good Moves of Chess”—this misunderstanding caused me no small amount of consternation, and pains me even to this day.   These two tomes basically sum up my chess education, (besides getting soundly schooled on the 8x8 battlefield on a daily basis.)

My ratings here at Chess.com has only been as high as the mid 1400’s, so I’m sure I would benefit from each and every book ever written on the topic—I need lots of advice in every aspect of chess: from the opening through the last move in the end-game.  But I am looking for is books which you have found to be particularly valuable in adding to your own chess enjoyment, in hopes that I will find some real gems that I couldn’t bear to put down until I’d gleaned every bit of meaning that will ever be available to me.

I would be grateful if you would please include a short review of the book(s) you recommend, so as to make the choices easier.

Thank you sincerely,

Ross Ylitalo

Anything from Silman is great, especially

How to Reassess your Chess

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

Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner To Master, 2007

I recently finished Silman's "Complete Book of Chess Strategy: Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z". Don't let the title scare you, it's not a grandmaster level book. It might be a good fit for you because it covers a wide range of topics without getting into too much depth. It gives basic introductions to about 40 openings, covers many aspects of the middlegame and explains a number of mates and endgame strategies. It also touches on some of the psychological aspects of playing chess. It's not a book for experts but I think it would be a good book for most "average" players, say 1200 - 1800 range. The other Silman books I've seen usually go into more depth on particular aspects of a game where this one gives good introductions into a wider range of material.

There are some suggestions in this thread:

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/books2

One of the books recommended is called "Logical Chess Move By Move". I've never read it but several people here have endorsed it. It might be what you're looking for.

 Would it be Benjamin Franklin's "The Morals of Chess"? If you Google "books written by benjamin franklin about chess" you can probably find a copy. Check chessville.com.

 That has to be the one I was trying to remember--thank you very much!

Ross

 Great! Glad to be of service.

My favorite chess book is "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess". It is highly rated on Amazon.com with 58 reviews to support the rating.

I'm also reading "The Complete Chess Basics Book" which is endorsed by the U. S. Chess Federation.

Silman is too advanced for an online 1400ish player.

Go back to "The Complete Chess Course" and re-read it.

This time sit and analyse the positions that the book gives you.

Don't just play the moves and expect to learn...you have to look at the position.

Online 1400 = 1200 USCF so Fred Reinfelds "The Complete Chess Course" is perfect.

I'm assuming you use a chess set when you go through Reinfelds book?

Just reading it will do nothing.

I have spoken.

"Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master" is highly rated on Amazon.com and has 42 reviews supporting it. It has a complete section for each level of player.

Any chess problem/puzzle book would be the best boost for your strength. Tactics, tactics, tactics. I would suggest finding a book that has been written recently and checked by computer; the older problem books have errors. I have The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book by John Emms, though now I do my tactics practice on the computer.

Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev is a beloved classic. It annotates every move of 33 grandmaster games. Going through high level games has many benefits, but most game collections are written for advanced players. Chernev's book combines a small collection with a teaching perspective.

I do a lot of tactics practice on the computer.

Thank you very much (Everybody).  I'm reopening my Fred Reinfeld book, truly, most of it is still a mystery to me. :)

Thanks again!

http://tinyurl.com/nnlmlo

Next question?

By the way, don't make the mistake of buying both Silman strategy books (as I did!) unless the cash is burning a hole in your pocket.

At your rating Amateur's Mind is better.  At higher levels I'd suggest HTRYC.

I started my chess journey with Patrick Wolff's Complete Idiot's guide to chess. I own several chess books now, in fact a big library, but the ones I have gone through completely once are:

1) My great Predecessors - Garry Kasparov. Just for the sheer joy of reading what one of the greatest chess masters of all time, in my opinion, writes.

2) The Good move guide - Bent Larsen. It is my first puzzles book.

I can't say I have learnt all from these two gems, but they gave me a base. I am a regular follower of the articles on chess.com, tactics training and am a sucker for annotated grandmaster games. These have helped me elevate my rating from 1000 to ~1600 on chess.com in an year's time. Hope this helps.

I looked up the Silman books at Amazon, and the "Look Inside" feature is letting me read the entire first chapter of "Amateur's Mind" online, and I am really enjoying it.  I can buy a used copy for $6.95 + shipping, and that's definately a deal if my wife doesn't catch me.

I am also seriously thinking about buying Silman's "How to Reassess your Chess" as a companion book, as I definately would love to learn how to accurately read the board imbalances at a glance (how cool would that be?)

I really like Silman's writing voice, and just as soon as I can peel out my credit card I'm going to sneak in a couple of purchases here.  It's not really all that bad, I just like to tease her a bit, even if she's not looking.

I love my gal.

Ross

Before diving into a book, you might as well download "ALL" of Dan Heisman's Novice Nooks from chesscafe.com. They're free and they put 99% of all the chess books out there to shame.

I owe my climb from USCF 1300 to USCF 1600 completely to the gigantic ring binder of Novice Nooks on my shelf. I started reading grown-up books ONLY when I was sure my fundamentals had no holes in them.

Try them out ... it's free, it's invaluable and you won't have the "Oh my god! I accidentally bought a book by Schiller" nausea that many of us might have endured.

so true... i had to lol though

 Thank you for your recommendation--I've downloaded many years of articles, and am currently reading Dan Heisman's "The Five Ways to Make a Piece Safe", and "A Counting Primer."  Great stuff,

Thanks again!

Ross