suggestions for Books for Beginners

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terry85

Dec 1, 2009

Hello,

I was wondering whether anyone could suggest any good chess books that aren't too heavy and will help my game. I would like a book that covers positional tactics, but i'm really open to any suggestions? thanks

Niven42

Dec 1, 2009

Susan Polgar's Chess Tactics for Champions is really not that hard to digest, but may be slightly ahead of the beginner level. I have it, and I believe it improved my game considerably. She offers some great examples and advice in it.

To get better from a psychological standpoint, I really like Josh Waitzkin's and Bruce Pandolfini's books (there are many). They share much of the same philosophy about sacrifices and knowing how to get into the opponent's head.

For children and complete beginners, I recommend How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler. It covers about 50 different mate patterns, which will help anyone (not just kids) who has trouble "making it stick".

Lousy

Dec 1, 2009

Actually for a beginner, there is no need to read any books at all. Just make sure you are able to do this

1) mate with Queen + King vs lone King

2) mate with 2 rooks + king vs lone king

3) mate with a rook + king vs lone king

and most importantly at all,when you play

4) before you make a move, check to see whether your opponent cannot take any of your pieces or vice versa.

5) basic 1-2 move mates or tactics.

You have a rating of over 1300 in chess.com so maybe you should call yourself a novice rather than a beginner.

For a novice

1) Silman "Complete endgame course"

2) Lou Hays "Chess tactics for juniors"

3) Capablanca "Chess fundamentals"

These 3 books should be enough to get you going till 1800+ (chess.com) when you can decide to specialise in some openings and read some advance middlegames concepts.

JonathanR

Dec 1, 2009

I would rather go a bit basic than over the top ensuring that I cover my basics. That being said, I would suggest everyone's second chess book by Dan Heismann followed by a simple tactics book.

Tricklev

Dec 1, 2009

Susan polgars Chess tactics for champions is the ideal tactics book for beginners, a decent sum of tactics that covers most tactical ideas aswell as reigning from really simple to hard enough for a beginner to have to struggle with them.

As for a book full of ideas Chernevs Logical chess move by move is a great book that I found helped me alot in my development.

These two books took me from beginner to beginner, but a slightly better one.

Ziryab

Dec 1, 2009

Niven42 wrote:

For children and complete beginners, I recommend How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler. It covers about 50 different mate patterns, which will help anyone (not just kids) who has trouble "making it stick".

I have this book, and have read it. Despite its claims, it does not cover fifty checkmate patterns. It has fifty two-page units. Most are checkmate patterns, but not all basic patterns are represented, and several are repeated. It is a good book, and kid-friendly nonetheless.

Logical Chess: Move by Move by Irving Chernev was among the best beginner's books, if serious chess is the objective, when it was first published in 1957, and it remains so today.

noodleFueled

Dec 1, 2009

I would suggest Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan and Jeremy Silman. It covers a lot of basic concepts but also provides plenty of meat to make it a useful book for a long while.

Carocam

Dec 16, 2021

"Sum Up Chess" a very recent booklet that takes beginners one step further.
(free on Kindle unlimited)

Ziryab

Dec 16, 2021

Best advice I've read anywhere:

I recommend starting with Jose Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1921).** This book was first published one hundred years ago, but in my opinion remains the single best book for a new player. It covers all aspects of the game, and does so in the sequence that offers the best chance of success.

Chess Fundamentals was published after Jose R. Capablanca became World Champion as a consequence of defeating Emanuel Lasker in a championship match. He followed this book with A Primer of Chess (1935), which some readers have considered as an improvement. The two books follow a similar pattern, and in some cases repeat the same information, especially in the beginning. A Primer of Chess offers instruction on the basic rules, which is absent from Chess Fundamentals.

Chess Fundamentals begins with some elementary checkmates--rook and king, two bishops and king, and queen and king. A Primer of Chess has these plus checkmate with two rooks. After these simple checkmates, both books offer the foundation of understanding of pawn promotion with clear analysis of two positions with a single pawn and the two kings. Capablanca then moves on to pawn endings with two pawns against one. It is at this point that Primer and Fundamentals diverge. Capablanca saw them as companion volumes.

After pawn endings, Capablanca offers middlegame positions. In Chess Fundamentals, these first middle game positions are checkmate exercises. One side can force checkmate through a combination, often requiring an initial sacrifice of material. The middlegame positions at this point in A Primer of Chess are not forced checkmates, but emphasize gaining a material advantage. Chess Fundamentals offers general principles of the opening with some illustrations of simple opening systems at the end of the first chapter. A Primer of Chess restates these principles, offering different examples.

The beginning of the second chapter of Chess Fundamentals explains the author's program, which also expresses the main reason for my enthusiasm for the book.

We shall now go back to the endings in search of a few more principles, then again to the middle-game, and finally to the openings once more, so that the advance may not only be gradual but homogeneous. In this way the foundation on which we expect to build the structure will be firm and solid.
Capablanca, Chess Fundamentals (1921), 35.

He develops his explanation in the later A Primer of Chess, explaining, "handling of a few pieces is easier than the of a larger number", as rationale for starting with simple checkmates and endings (25). He suggests that the student should create similar endings and try to solve them using the principles discussed. These days, it is possible to play these positions against a chess engine, which assures that the line you have worked out to be winning does, in fact, win. Moreover, Capablanca's book is not perfect. In a few cases, he might have missed a nuance because he had no option to check his analysis with software. I note one such error in "A Capablanca Error".

I see the principal benefit of Chess Fundamentals as starting players on a path that constantly cycles through a process of endings, then middlegames (both tactics and planning), and then openings. Whole games, miniatures and longer games complete this process. Checkmate is the foundation, as that is the object of the game.

http://chessskill.blogspot.com/2021/01/advice-for-beginners.html

tygxc

Dec 16, 2021

#10

"Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess' - Fischer

KevinOSh