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Can you recommend chess books to read just for enjoyment
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Nov 14, 2012
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#63
I just finished two books with somewhat different impact. The Stress of Chess by Walter Browne was awful except for the games themselves, which we amazing and worth the price of the book, expecially for somewhat advance players. Even GM's didn't always follow Walter's thinking. I'm working my way through the games quickly. The writing is terrible. Interesting but hard to follow. Like his shorthand from a journal.
The other book The Queen of Katwe is amazing. I am totally inspired. Well written - pretty hard to put down. That Phiona could end up at the 2010 Olympiad in Russia at the age of 14 from the worst slums of Uganda defies my believe system and tells me I need to set my goals a lot higher!
Novels and other books written ABOUT chess are not really chess books. But there are chess books written for pure chess entertainment. These are books which you can dip into at random and immerse yourself in the magic of chess. There are no better books for bedside reading or to spend time at the airport. Here is a list of such books, off the top of my head. These books are not pedantic instruction or mind-numbing dry-as-gravel analysis or variation-mongering exercises, but pure chess enjoyment. Any learning you do is just bonus.
All About Chess- Al Horowitz
Fireside book of chess- Fred Reinfeld & Irvin Chernev
Chess Companion- Irvin Chernev
Oxford Companion to Chess- Hooper & Whyld
Chessboard Magic!- Irvin Chernev
Van Perlo's Endgame Tactics- Van Perlo
The Joys of Chess- Christian Hesse
The Joys of Chess- Fred Reinfeld
The Tactics of Endgames- Jano Ban
Miniature Chess Problems- Colin Russ
The (Even More) Complete Chess Addict- Fox & James
Tactical Chess Endings- John Nunn
Chess Secrets I Learned from the Masters- Edward Lasker
Best of Chess Life & Review (2 volumes)- Bruce Pandolfini (Editor)
These books are the type you can dip into at random and lose yourself in marvellous world of imaginative chess, the magic possible in chess.
Jan 14, 2018
0
#65
Daniel Gormally's book Insanity etc . S. Reshewsky's autobiography, Milan Vidmar's autobiography, A. Kotov's book on his chess career. The first and second were published in English, the third in German, the fourth in Russian and Spanish.
Searching for Bobby Fischer (the book)
Move First, Think Later
Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
Jan 14, 2018
0
#67
Even Dead Men Play Chess
The Grandmaster's King
Till Tomorrow
a mystery series by Michael Weitz featuring a chess teacher and real games
I enjoyed Chess Bitch by Jennifer Shahade. But that's probably not going to be to everyone's taste. I also second the recommendation of Endgame by Frank Brady.
Also by Reinfeld:
The Fireside Book of Chess
The Great Chess Masters and Their Games
Jenium wrote:
Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
I came here to say this.
Masters of the chessboard - Reti
Modern ideas in chess - Reti
Rampant chess - Chandler and Ruxton
Search for chess perfection - Purdy
Michael Stean - Simple chess
captaintugwash wrote:
Jenium wrote:
Life and Games of Mikhail Tal
I came here to say this.
Yes, very entertaining book.
Bobby Fischer Goes to War - Edmonds & Eidinow (Can also listen to it free on Hoopla)
How Life Imitates Chess. by Garry Kasparov with MIG Greengard (also listen free on Hoopla)
Bobby Fischer's Conquest of the World’s Chess Championship - Fine, Reuben
Raise a Genius! - Laszlo Polgar
The 400 Best Chess and Strategy Quotes
Grandmasters of Chess (Revised and Updated - 1981) Harold C. Schonberg
kco wrote:
Mike Fox played for my club and died before his time. He did a lot of work for junior chess....Good book
Chernev's Chess Companion is also worth it...
If it hasn't been mentioned, for pure enjoyment, "The Fireside Book of Chess" selected and edited by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld. There's a litte bit of everything from jokes and cartoons to games.
Maybe try:
The Big Book of World Chess Championships by Andre Schulz
http://theweekinchess.com/john-watson-reviews/john-watson-book-review-115-kings-of-chess
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9030.pdf
The Genius and the Misery of Chess
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708101906/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review661.pdf
The Psychology of the Chess Player by Reuben Fine
A Short History of Chess by H. J. R. Murray
The Development of Chess Style by Dr. Max Euwe
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708095110/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/chestyle.txt
The World's Great Chess Games by Reuben Fine
Kings of Chess by William Winter
Golden Treasury of Chess by Francis J. Wellmuth
The History of Chess in Fifty Moves by Bill Price
The Personality of Chess
Tigranwannabe, I have an old paperback copy of The Dragon Variation which I had forgotten about until I saw your input. The copy is so old the paperback pages are all unglued and loose. But I agree with you I enjoyed that book and after all these years have started reading it again. Thanks for jogging the memory.