Books on strategy

So basically I got to my current level through playing while reading tactics books, sheer luck and doing drills here and elsewhere. I'd read quite a few books on chess theory when I was a child, but they didn't cover the strategy of the chess masters that made their positions great, even being in a material disadvantage. I would like to improve very much, so if you got any advice on chess strategy or books that I could read to learn from the masters, I'd really appreciate that. For instance, I can understand stunts like the Marshall's Swindler or Die Weltminute von Waterloo, but fat chance I'd ever come up with something like that on my own.

Possibilities for middlegame help:

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-play-positional-chess

https://www.chess.com/article/view/test-your-positional-chess

https://www.chess.com/article/view/do-you-really-understand-positional-chess

https://www.chess.com/article/view/get-ready-to-test-your-positional-chess-again

https://www.chess.com/article/view/can-you-pass-this-positional-chess-test

https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-calculate-long-term-advantages-in-chess

https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-basic-pawn-structures

https://www.chess.com/article/view/learning-pawn-structure-for-chess-players-under-2000

https://www.chess.com/article/view/your-pawn-structure-is-your-friend

https://www.chess.com/article/view/more-pawn-structures

The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Irving Chernev (1965)
https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/most-instructive-games-of-chess-ever-played/
Seirawan stuff:
http://seagaard.dk/review/eng/bo_beginner/ev_winning_chess.asp?KATID=BO&ID=BO-Beginner
http://www.nystar.com/tamarkin/review1.htm
50 Essential Chess Lessons by Steve Giddins
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708100833/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review534.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/50_Essential_Chess_Lessons.pdf

Amateur's Mind by Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf
https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/amateurs-mind-the-2nd-edition/

Simple Chess by Stean

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708104258/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review400.pdf

http://store.doverpublications.com/0486424200.html

Chess Secrets: The Giants of Chess Strategy by Neil McDonald
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708092313/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review620.pdf
Chess Strategy for Club Players by Herman Grooten
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101926/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review696.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9042.pdf

Attacking Chess for Club Players by Herman Grooten
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9032.pdf

Chess for Hawks

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9041.pdf

Chess Strategy: Move by Move by Adam Hunt

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093249/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review890.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

Masters of the Chessboard by Richard Reti

http://www.thechessmind.net/blog/2012/4/1/book-notice-richard-retis-masters-of-the-chessboard.html

Looks like that is exactly what I needed! Thank you so much. I've read some of the Chess.com articles on strategy but mostly struggled with working through those. These books will surely come at handy. Also recently I've watched Kasparov answering Twitter questions on YouTube and among other things he'd recommended a book called "Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual" by Mark Dvoretsky.

"... before discussing the specifics of Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual [henceforth 'DEM'], a word of warning is in order. I must emphasize that this is a terribly advanced work that I don't think is a very good way for the average player to study the endgame. The majority of the examples are complex and position-specific, and neither the average student nor even strong masters will follow or play over most of the hundreds of positions that are given extensive analysis, not to mention the subvariations derived from those positions. Even when introducing 'the basics', Dvoretsky's approach is often more complex than is necessary for an average student, and in any case such a thick book will seldom be used for the sake of elementary instruction. The majority of the other material is frankly very difficult. So take note: I don't want to be blamed, in praising this book, for your purchasing something that you find intimidating, relatively dull, or otherwise unsatisfying. That said, if you are up to a real challenge and have a great deal of time to devote to reading and playing over examples you will inevitably derive great value from this work. ..." - IM John Watson (2005)

https://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it

http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/Dvoretskys-Endgame-Manual-3rd-Edition-78p3502.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708233815/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review399.pdf

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/2703.pdf

Various endgame study possibilities discussed at:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708103149/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review594.pdf

https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/silmans-complete-endgame-course/

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/chess-endgames-for-kids/
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Chess_Endgames_for_Kids.pdf

https://chessbookreviews.wordpress.com/tag/mikhalchishin-and-stetsko/

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7742.pdf

https://www.chess.com/article/view/book-review-winning-chess-endings
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708105702/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review645.pdf

http://www.jeremysilman.com/shop/pc/100-Endgames-You-Must-Know-78p3863.htm

https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9026.pdf

http://chessimprover.com/averbakhs-chess-endings-essential-knowledge/

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101138/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review373.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708234309/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review704.pdf
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/Understanding_Chess_Endgames.pdf
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/endings-endings-endings
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/the-end-game-comes-before-we-know-it
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/theres-an-end-to-it-all
Before buying any particular book, I suggest going to the publisher site to see if it is possible to view a sample.

"... I believe that Jeremy Silman's Silman’s Complete Endgame Course ... deserved strong consideration for the 2007 ECF Book of the Year award; see the two books above. ... I'm convinced that Silman's book will take its place in history as one of the most popular endgame books ever. It has already caught on with the average player in a big way, confirming Silman's status as the king of instructional writers. He writes in a clear and casual style, and time and again has shown the ability to reach those who feel intimidated by the lofty approach that a grandmaster will often take. ... Silman ... defines what he thinks is necessary to know at specific rating levels. For example, the beginner or unrated player needs to know ... Silman's idea is to wait until you climb in strength before you worry about more advanced material. Then, as a Class 'E' player (that's 1000-1199), one must learn ... Silman's book emphasizes to the student that the important thing is to master the strictly limited material at hand, rather than get confused by endings that won't help your results at that level. Perhaps even more importantly, Silman is able to use his teaching experience and talk to his readers in a way that they can handle, in a friendly manner and without condescension. …" - IM John Watson (2007)

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

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

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

Also, from your profile you play exclusively rapid games. Try to play mostly longer time controls, including "daily" chess, so you have time to think about what you should be doing.

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

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

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

By Dan Heisman, famous chess teacher…
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

50 стратегических приемов читни. Терехина

Thanks for all the useful advice here! I'm sure it will be to great benefit for many players who'll stumble upon this topic. Mittelspiel stage is the most fascinating to study, in my opinion, so I picked up the Masters of the Chessboard by R. Reti, so far it's really helpful if your imagination is in tact. The problem with Dvoretsky's book is that it requires even bigger deal of it, throwing a bunch of moves at you at once, so in case your motivation doesn't suffer too much from the effort, you could try some parts of it along with simpler material. Now when I'm better-equipped, I feel more confident about position analysis and creating my own combinations.

Terekhin's book also seems legit, I've found it in Russian and French languages: https://www.amazon.com/id%C3%A9es-strat%C3%A9giques-pour-gagner-%C3%A9checs/dp/2916340580?SubscriptionId=AKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q&tag=duckduckgo-d-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=2916340580
http://www.chesszone.net.ru/bases/training/training.html

Thank you for putting that together.