Great question! The best book is Andy Soltis' How to Choose a Chess Move. There's just no way to get around "choosing candidates" and "building trees".
A bit harder, but still excellent, is his The Inner Game of Chess: How to Calculate and Win.
I find Silman's books to be overly simplistic, esp. since some of his exercises meander into deeper, darker territory that are outside of the scope of his little "strategy lessons".
Kotov's Think Like a Grandmaster, Chess for Zebras, and Heisman's Improving Chess Thinker are books I have experience with. Kotov has a captivating writing style I like. It's most famous for its tree of variations but also covers a middlegame planning and endgame and pawn structure overviews as well. In addition to that he has a chapter called Diziness Due to Success that teaches the superior side to watch for swindles, not get too greedy, and reduce counterplay to the maximum.
"Practical Chess Analysis" by Mark Buckley. One of the most unknown great chess books. You'll be happy you bought it.
Axel Smith's Pump Up Your Rating (how many times have I plugged this book already?) has an interesting discussion of the thought process in chess.
As for chess psychology, although this isn't a particularly helpful suggestion, one little-known gem of chess literature is Jiří Veselý's book Psychologický průvodce šachovou partií (literally "A Psychological Guide to the Game of Chess"). David Navara once named it one of his three favourite chess books, mentioning it in the same breath as Bronstein's magnum opus on the 1953 Candidates Tournament. I don't think it has ever been translated into English, though.
I second "Practical Chess Analysis" by Mark Buckley - one of the best chess books out of my 500 or so.
I second "Practical Chess Analysis" by Mark Buckley - one of the best chess books out of my 500 or so.
Amazon has a used copy for a resonable price. Others are getting north of $80.00 for new copies.
You can always go right to the publisher Thinkers Press (Bob Long) who can be reached at info@chessbutler.com He no longer has a web site but is selling his books and most new books through email. I can honestly say he has the best customer service and the most knowledge of any publisher out htere and is not afraid to give a book a bad review.
He also puts out a blog , ususally every other day he blogs.
https://bobthechesser.wordpress.com/author/freddyandthebutler/
I have no monetary interest in his business nor does he give me perks just in case people think that. This guy puts out the chess material that others do not.
At Amazon you can get the 1987? edition of Practical Chess Analysis for 2-3 dollars. I believe the 1999? edition came out when Buckley made senior master which no doubt helped the book's sale.
"Improve your chess now" by Jonathan Tisdall and "Secrets of Practical Chess" of Nunn where a real surprise for me
"Practical Chess Analysis" by Mark Buckley. One of the most unknown great chess books. You'll be happy you bought it.
I remember Mark back in the day when he, and Matthew Beelby where the two best players in Sacramento.
This might help:
What are, in your opinion, the best books about thinking methods or chess psychology? I mean, not book about knowledge, but those that aim the reader to put effor in how to choose the best moves.
thanks.