Beginner Books on Kindle vs Print

Hello! I am a middle-aged beginner.
I remember being in a chess club in elementary school, and can play a basic game all of these years. But I forgot a lot of fundamentals. For example, I forget how and when to El passant and how to castle. So for my 2021 resolution, I want to be solid 800 by end of year. Is that realistic goal, I don’t know yet. I usually reach my goals when I put my mind to it.

I have seen RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond list.
And he lists good books. But I am overwhelmed where to start even after reading that. I guess I will start and refresh with Pandolfini or Nunn. And plan to practice about 5 games daily for the next 6 months.

Buying print books is always nicer then ebooks usually.
Buying print books costs about roughly 25-50% more $ then some kindle$.

So while I am asking which books to get me back to where I should be, what I also want to know is if anyone has explored what texts are better via an ebook on Kindle vs print copy?
I would like to know the answer for beginning texts through advanced texts.
Thank you.

@rexnoble -

Based on your comments, I would suggest you start with any of the books I suggested at the top of my article (below) as "good FIRST BOOKS".  For example "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess", "Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide To Chess" would be excellent choices to begin with.  In fact for those below a rating of 1400-1500, you can't go wrong with anything by Pandolfini.  I recommend to focus your initial acquisitions to any of the books starting from the very beginning/top of the article down to and including the books by Jeff Coakley (whose books are excellent for every beginner-novice, and not just for kids!).  All of those books are very instructive for the beginner-novice. 

As far as John Nunn's "Learn Chess", it is a very good general introduction to chess for the beginner, but any of his other books are relatively advanced, more appropriate for experienced players rated at least 1500-1600 and higher.

As for more advanced books, I would begin with "Play Winning Chess" by Yasser Seirawan (all of his books are good, particularly the Winning Strategy, Tactics and Endgame books).  Read my commentary on "Play Winning Chess" and consider the book recommendations/progression I have suggested from there on.  Particularly the books that I have identified as "Must-Reads".

One caveat.  In these forums you will invariably run across recommendations to beginners to read Jeremy Silman's "How To Reassess Your Chess".  I disagree with these recommendations.  This book, while "good", is advanced and appropriate primarily for players rated 1500-1600 and above.  For players rated below 1200, reading it would be analogous to starting your study of mathematics with a book on calculus.  There is a reason that mathematics curricula begin with arithmetic! Not every "good" book is appropriate for the beginner-novice.

Having said that, "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" is appropriate for all chess players.  And in the article I also recommend to eventually work with Silman's excellent "The Amateur's Mind" - but only after sufficient preparation.

As far as Kindle vs print books.  If you peruse the comments relating to Kindle chess books on Amazon, you will note the common complaint that the chess diagrams and the text referring to the diagrams are in many instances not on the same page, which means that you have to keep clicking back and forth between pages when reading the text and referring to the related diagram.  Because of this it can quickly become very frustrating/annoying to read Kindle chess books.  On that basis alone I would not recommend them.  Also if you want to find a particular section or item to read/study, it's not very easy to do - lots of clicking around, very inefficient, compared to the ease and speed with which you can flip through the pages of a print book to locate passages of interest.  Bottom line - Kindle chess books are a pain in the you-know-what to read!

Good luck!

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

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

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell

Digital books are cheaper and readily portable.

Paper books do not necessarily offer a better reading experience; it’s mostly a matter of taste. The higher price of print makes sense if you’re looking to fill empty spaces on your bookshelf.

Choose what you like/need.

Regarding the 5 games daily, this suggests fast games. Play slower games to improve. G30, 45|45 and Daily will give you more time to think. Plus allow time for a post match analysis. Fast is fun but dont make it the only format you play if you want to improve. I'm 44 and started chess in january. Frankly, a solid 1200 by the end of the month is entirely doable if you can study regularly, play longer games, analyse your games, and quickly identify and stop bad habits and implement good habits.

Good advice from @MarkGrubb !  Particularly regarding playing longer time controls...

Play Longer Time Controls...

For many at the beginner-novice level, speed chess tends to be primarily an exercise in moving pieces around faster than your opponent while avoiding checkmate, in hopes that his/her clock runs out sooner than yours.  Or being lucky enough notice and exploit your opponent's blunders before (s)he does it to you.

The point is, there is little time to think about what you should be doing.

It makes sense that taking more time to think about what you should be doing would promote improvement in your chess skills.

An effective way to improve your chess is therefore to play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing.

This is not to suggest that you should necessarily play exclusively slow time controls or daily games, but they should be a significant percentage of your games, at least as much, if not more so than speed games which, although they may be fun, do almost nothing to promote an understanding of how to play the game well.

Here's what IM Jeremy Silman, well-known chess book author, has to say on the topic...
https://www.chess.com/article/view/longer-time-controls-are-more-instructive

And Dan Heisman, well-known chess teacher and chess book author…..(the link may be slow to load)…
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627052239/http:/www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman16.pdf

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/dan-heisman-resources

and the experience of a FIDE Master...
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/how-blitz-and-bullet-rotted-my-brain-don-t-let-it-rot-yours

Thank you so much, RussBell and MarcGrub, I will slow down to 45 and daily. And I will start with Pandolfinni. And Nunn.
So let’s make this topic purely about books that seems to work well with Kindle/ ebook.
And yes the flipping pages makes reference easier.
But search function works well too.

Which specific books, at all stages, seem to be better as an ebook?

What are some recommended books to help improve my game?

Keep in mind that these books almost all require an in-depth knowledge of tactics before being able to put their material to good use (with the exception of the novice and 1200-1400 categories).

Novice (for absolute beginners)

1) Let's Play Chess: A Step by Step Guide for New Players by NM Bruce Pandolfini

2) Learn Chess by GM John Nunn

3) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess by GM Patrick Wolff

Rated: 1200-1400

1) Chess Tactics for Students by John Bain

2) Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev

3) Back to Basics: Tactics (ChessCafe Series) by NM Dan Heisman

4) Winning Chess Tactics, revised by GM Yasser Seirawan

5) Silman’s Complete Endgame Course by IM Jeremy Silman

6) A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario

7a) Chess Openings for White, Explained by GM Lev Alburt, GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, and GM Eugene Perelshteyn

7b) Chess Openings for Black, Explained by GM Lev Alburt, GM Roman Dzindzichashvili, and GM Eugene Perelshteyn

8) 1001 Tactics Time! From the Games of Everyday Chess Players by Tim Brennan and Anthea Carson

9) Build Up Your Chess 1: The Fundamentals, Boost Your Chess 1: The Fundamentals, Chess Evolution 1: The Fundamentals by GM Artur Yusupov

 

Rated: 1400-1600

1) Modern Chess Strategy by GM Luděk Pachman

2) The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev

3) Chess Training Pocket Book by GM Lev Alburt

4) Chess Exam and Training Guide by IM Igor Khmelnitsky

5) Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by FM Sunil Weeramantry

Rated: 1600-1700

1) The Amateur’s Mind by IM Jeremy Silman

2) My Best Games of Chess, 1908 - 1937 by GM Alexander Alekhine

3) Practical Chess Exercises by Ray Cheng

4) Capablanca’s Best Chess Endings by Irving Chernev

5) Chess Praxis by Aron Nimzowitsch

Rated: 1700-1800

1) Art of Attack in Chess by IM Vladimir Vukovic

2) My 60 Memorable Games by GM Bobby Fischer

3) One Hundred Selected Games by GM Mikhail Botvinnik

4) Understanding Chess Move by Move by GM John Nunn

5) Build Up Your Chess 2: Beyond the Basics, Boost Your Chess 2: Beyond the Basics, Chess Evolution 2: Beyond the Basics by GM Artur Yusupov

Rated: 1800-2000

1) How to Reassess Your Chess by IM Jeremy Silman

2) Fire On Board by GM Alexei Shirov

3) Fundamental Chess Endings by GM Karsten Müller

4) Improve your Chess Now by GM Johnathan Tisdall

5) Dvoretsky’s Analytical Manual by IM Mark Dvoretsky

6) Chess Strategy for Club Players by IM Herman Grooten

7) Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 by GM David Bronstein

8) Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual by IM Mark Dvoretsky

9) My System by Aron Nimzowitsch

10) Think Like a Grandmaster by GM Alexander Kotov

11) Build Up Your Chess 3: Mastery, Boost Your Chess 3: Mastery, Chess Evolution 3: Mastery by GM Artur Yusupov

Rated: 2000 and beyond 1

1) Secrets of Chess Training by IM Mark Dvoretsky & GM Artur Yusupov

2) Secrets of Positional Play by IM Mark Dvoretsky & GM Artur Yusupov

3) Chess Lessons by FM Vladimir Popov

4) Grandmaster Preparation: Strategic Play by GM Jacob Aagaard

i use a kindle but i purchase my chess books & fiction used or new on Thrifty Book.com . . .

They are reasonable and quick to deliver . . .

I will let others weigh in on that issue.  I have said all I want to or can say about the topic of eBooks, other than to observe that as far as substance and content is concerned, there should be no difference between the print and the eBook version, the only difference being the format and the user's experience with it.

One more commentary on the appropriateness of chess books vs player skill/rating level, which I have previously posted in other forum threads...

The problem for many beginner-novice players is that they act on a book recommendation from another person, buying the book on faith that it will be useful, only to discover that the book is not helpful or too difficult for them, typically because they were not sufficiently prepared for the level at which the material in the book is presented. As an analogy, the reader is attempting to read a book on algebra or calculus, when (s)he has not yet mastered arithmetic.

The point is that even though one person may find a particular book useful or appropriate for them at their level, another, less knowledgeable or experienced player may find that same book to be over their head. Just like school subjects, one has to prepare oneself for the level of material which you are about to learn.

To combat this kind of problem, in the blog article below for example, I've made an attempt to recommend books in a specific order such that the earlier recommendations serve as preparation, prerequisites, for the later recommended books. You will notice that both Silman's The Amateur's Mind and How To Reassess Your Chess appear later in the suggested order of study. Not because they are not good or useful books. They are - for the appropriate level of readership. One can expect to experience difficulty with either of these books without first having learned or at least been exposed to the preparatory material in the books recommended earlier in the list.

Master walking before attempting to run!

Good Positional Chess, Planning & Strategy Books for Beginners and Beyond...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/introduction-to-positional-chess-planning-strategy

800 is a very reasonable goal. You'll probably exceed it in that timeframe. I agree with you in being goal-oriented and setting realistic targets.

A book like Yasser Seirewan's play winning chess which give all the basics would get you to 800 no worries at all. That's what I did.

Regarding the question of books or kindle? The answer is actually neither. The best thing by far is to take everything in PGN files. You buy these direct from publisher's websites (such as Everyman) and then use them in your favourite chess software. You can just play the moves out and read everything very easily on the screen. That might sound difficult, but isn't at all and wish I'd have known about that sooner. It's a big quality of life improvement, and I probably couldn't read things from publishers who don't use the format now (such as quality chess).

Otherwise, it depends on whether you want to collect the physical books, or prefer using something smaller like your phone and kindle app.

I suggest you practice tactics and solve some more Puzzles so I sponsor you with a month of Platinum membership while you wait for your book if it's okay. ups for late already gifted, Your account has already been upgraded! Go ahead and login and enjoy your new features and perks! 

I wish you all good games ahead! and all the best- @ Top-Gifter

Writing this so I can come back to the list of books

 

im just restarting after not playing about 25 yrs. 800 is very reasonable, and easily achieved. I prefer print as well, I pulled out several of my old books to refresh. memory. the problem with most books is they don't show all of the moves graphicslly when they're discussing tactics.... you probably need a chess board set up to move through them. however, videos and such on YouTube will show you these things. If you pick a common opening and defense, learn a couple of counter move variations, dont blunder, follow basic guidelines for order of development......youll be there in no time. Most sub 800 players lack this. They bring queen out early and let development lag. If you succesfully counter the early queen without losing pieces.... you're better development will reap rewards in the middle and end game

I usually prefer ebooks but make sure you check the reviews of the ebook first.  I can't recall the title but the way the layout of the book was really bad on my Kindle (positions were cropped oddly, relevant text wasn't viewable with the position, etc).  It was useable but annoying and would have been worth the extra $5-$10 or whatever.  If you are concerned about the cost chess books are also extremely resellable so if you are on a budget I bet you could get a used copy and resell for almost nothing out of pocket (although I keep all of mine).

first of all, there are free pdfs of chess books available on pdfdrive.com.

iirc the books russbell lists are available to download off this website.

it doesn't give you a virus or anything - i've been using it for a while.

as for books, i would recommend yasser seirawan's books, they were my first books, and they were very instructive. here are their respective links for free download:

Winning Chess Strategy:

https://www.pdfdrive.com/winning-chess-strategies-fully-revised-and-updated-e175890688.html 

Winning Chess Openings

https://www.pdfdrive.com/winning-chess-openings-e158728865.html 

Winning Chess Tactics

https://www.pdfdrive.com/winning-chess-tactics-winning-chess-e163031737.html 

good luck

Thank you everyone for your ideas. This already seems like a great group of very helpful people.