Chess Books - Where Should I Start

Start with tactics. There's a option to customize the puzzles here. You can start with a specific theme. Wish you all the best. Have a good one 

I like chess books, but it isn't my "favorite" way to learn because it is so time consuming to read compared to more efficient ways of learning (chess lessons online, YouTube videos, analyzing your own games with an engine afterwards and so on).

If you do decide to get some books, there are many "classics" you can consider looking into. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is opening books. Do NOT buy chess books on a particular opening unless you want to use that opening in your repertoire. Perhaps it is worth it then. The reason to avoid opening books is because opening theory is constantly changing and the variations recommended in that book might be outdated, or outright refuted, a few years from now! The mainline openings experience a little less change sometimes, but even mainline openings are not safe from newer novelties and engine analysis revelations. 

If you do get chess book(s), then it is better to choose one which will always be applicable. That could be books on annotated master games, or books on theoretical endgames, or tactics books etc. as these aren't as susceptible to changing it's value as much. 

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

My biggest advice to you is library, my friend.  Even very good chess books might not jell with you, so it is really good to take some time reading them before you buy them. 

The only two books I've ever read (and even then, I'd say I only got through about 25% of each of them):

100 Endgames you must know - by Jesus De La Villa.
How to re-assess your chess - by Silman.

At your level, Id suggest studying Tactics, Endgames and watching youtube video series like "Climbing the Rating Ladder" by IM John Bartholomew and/or GM Daniel Naroditsky's speed-run series. Both are highly instructive in terms of thought-processes and explaining ideas.

@1

"where should I start?" ++ Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca

"Should I start studying openings?" ++ No, certainly not.

"Should I focus on tactics" ++ 'Chess is 99% tactics' - Teichmann. However, you cannot really study tactics, you have to practice it.  Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess - Fischer is good.

Practice puzzles every day, or at least a few days each week. Either by going through a puzzle book, or by doing puzzles on this or any other chess site.

Chess Fundamentals is a good book for learning tactics and endgames. A couple of other good books are Bruce Pandolfini's Weapons of Chess and Yasser Seirawan's Winning Chess Strategies.

Reaching 1000 is a good first goal. To get there you don't need to know much about openings or endgames, but you need to have enough tactical awareness and discipline to avoid making frequent blunders, and practicing puzzles can help with that.

Thanks! It seems like most people agree that tactics is the best way to start, so I’ll start with them. 

I would recommend to first pick up The Soviet Chess Primer. Than, I have heard good things about Learn Chess The Right Way series by Judit Polgar. I have heard that its a great way to get some good tactical sense. SIlmans Endgame Course is a good book to pick up after that

4th edition is the best as Silman literally re-wrote this edition with new examples and such based on the best of the first 3 editions. Great book, but a good author though

I would avoid books to start with as there is plenty of online reading, media such as YouTube, and interactive platforms like chess.com, chessable, and lichess that’ll provide you with a lot of opportunities to learn new concepts and techniques to improve your chess. 

I’d recommend starting light and vary to keep it all fun and interesting- you can always scale up or focus study a topic later if you want. 

1. Learn the tactic motifs (Pins, deflection, fork, skewer ect) first. Then practice them by solving chess puzzles routinely.

2. Learn opening principles and/or a few reliable openings like the Italian, Ruy Lopez, French defense- you want to achieve playable middle games consistently. 

3. Learn basic checkmates, how to promote pawns with king, and pawn theory like passed pawns. 

4. Practice by playing 15|10 games or longer. You want to review your games afterwards to spot mistakes and figure out why you made them- lack of knowledge of a tactical motif or other chess concept? Perhaps a miscalculation? This will help you hone areas to focus your future studies. 

Keep it fun and don’t sweat the losses- learn from them. 

-Jordan

Hi! Chess bibliography is so vast that I understand you feel overwhelmed about it. There are so many great books! But it is difficult to be a self-taught player even with a great book (btw Capablanca's "Chess Fundamentals" is a great one)... The way I learned chess had little to do with books until I reached a reasonable grasp of the game at a children's chess school . And it was also the case of many strong players there that eventually became masters. 

So if you like the game and want to improve, it would be best to learn from others not only books. For instance try to join your local chess club, play tournments, work with a teacher/coach.

Good luck!

All excellent advice. May I add Patrick Wolff's "The Complete Id**t's Guide to Chess"? It is filled with hundreds of diagrams and exercises that make it easy to read even without a chessboard. It provides instruction on the opening, tactics, strategy, and endgames, and does so in an engaging and entertaining manner. Silman and Capablanca are also terrific authors, but I think they might be a little advanced for a beginner. Happy playing!

Idk

I'm coming back to chess after quite a long break. I got 'Complete Book of Chess' published by Usborne. I suppose it's really for kids, but is pretty good, imo, for people of all ages. There are tons of puzzles in it. Another good one is 'Play like a Girl' by Jennifer Shahade. You don't need to be a girl to benefit from it. I've also got a coach, and that has been extremely helpful, and I really look forward to the weekly lessons with him! Good luck with your studies.

I hear how to beat your dad at chess is a fantastic book for beginners

Good evening. I am new to chess (started playing last week) and am looking for a general forum for beginners. Also, I noticed a variety of chess clubs. Are there any you would recommend for a beginner? Thanks. 

Yes, my coach recommended that one, I ordered it but it won't arrive until Jan.