Suggested Readings
Openings
Modern Chess Openings: 15th Edition
4/5 Stars: This book by Grandmaster Nick DeFirmian is the 15th Edition of a series of great books on opening lines for the game of chess. If you are looking to improve your opening play and learn some lines, this book is definitely for you. There are lines on the opening provided that run 25+ moves deep, and the analysis is very thorough, taking some of the lines from the greatest Grandmasters and chess machines of today. The one downside of this book is the content can sometimes run dry, and there is little explanation behind the meaning of the lines. However, this serves as an excellent reference and a great tool to improve your opening play.
Endgames
Silman's Complete Endgame Course
4.75/5 Stars: This book by International Master Jeremy Silman is one of the greatest chess books you will ever invest in. From the start, Silman makes studying the endgame of chess a much easier and enjoyable process. He takes the player through the different classes in chess, starting with the unrated player, all the way to the master, and touches base on nearly every endgame situation. This book appears to be a tome, but there is a lot of white space and diagrams to make the studying for the player much more enjoyable. There are really no downsides to this book, other than the fact that there are some very advanced situations Silman does not touch basis on, but he will likely make a more advanced second edition.
Overall Game Play
How to Reassess Your Chess: Expanded 3rd Edition
4.75/5 Stars: This book by International Master Jeremy Silman yet another great book that touches base on nearly every aspect of the game of chess. It covers such subjects as strategy, tactics, endgames, openings, the middle game, and much more. Reading a book by Silman is nearly the equivalent of having a personal coach teaching you, because the way he writes makes even the most difficult situations to explain seem easy. This is likely Silman's greatest book, although all of his other books are some of the greatest chess books one can invest in. Overall, this is a great read, and has very clear instruction that gives the player a sense of direction. The only downside of this book is that it doesn't have much information on the endings, but Silman's Complete Endgame Course more than makes up for that loss.
Tactics
Combination challenge!
4.5/5 Stars: This book by Lou Hays and USCF Senior Master John Hall is one of the greatest tactics books you can get your hands on. It has thousands of tactics by category, such as pins, back rank, and the notorious queen sacrifice. The tactics touch on nearly every ability level, but are better suited for the stronger tournament player, since some of the combinations reach 7+ moves in length. One of the downsides of this book is that the solutions provided for the combinations are sometimes incorrect, or there are alternate solutions that are better than the one provided. However, this is only for a few problems, so it is not a big issue for this book.
| Subject | Skill Levels | |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Intermediate/Advanced | |
| Openings | Winning Chess Openings | Mastering the Najdorf |
| Endgames | Winning Chess Endings | Endgame Challenge! |
| Tactics | Winning Chess Tactics | Chess Tactics for Advanced Players |
| Miscellaneous/Strategy | Winning Chess Strategies | The Seven Deadly Chess Sins |