The number of books written about chess is tremendous. While that can be great for the chess world, it poses practical issues for many fans. Most chess players have their own favorites, but how do you know which books belong on your shelf? Best Chess Book ....
Here are the top classic chess books that every fan should know.
- Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer
- How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman
- My System by Aron Nimzowitsch
- Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 by David Bronstein
- My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer
- Think Like a Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov
- Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master by Jeremy Silman
- The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal by Mikhail Tal
- Karpov's Strategic Wins (two volumes) by Tibor Karolyi
- My Great Predecessors (five volumes) by Garry Kasparov
Whether you are new to chess, or an experienced chess amateur looking for some books to help you improve, this list is for you. The emphasis here is on fundamentals and instructional value - for the improving chess player. These are some of the better books (IMO), elucidating the essential elements which every chess player whose goal is to play better chess should aspire to learn, or become acquainted with.
While many of the books in the list are targeted primarily to the beginner-intermediate audience, there are also selections for more advanced players, up to and including expert level. So there should be something of interest here for every amateur chess player - especially those who haven't yet added "Master" to their chess title!
The list is divided roughly into the following groups: general chess coverage, tactics, attacking/checkmating technique, the opening, the endgame, positional-strategic concepts and techniques, and instructive game collections. In a few instances I have recommended that books be read in a certain order. This because the follow-on or later book(s) may assume a familiarity or knowledge of principles or ideas introduced in the previous book(s), which in that sense could be considered as containing prerequisite information. The books toward the top of the list tend to be basic and targeted more to the beginner-novice. Most of the more "advanced" books appear further down the list (for example books which feature or emphasize positional-strategic ideas, and select games collections).
