Which chess books should you read?

Current rating?
Current rating? Any Below 800 800 - 1000 1000 - 1200 1200 - 1400 1400 - 1600 1600 - 1800 1800 - 2000 2000 - 2200 Above 2200
Playing style?
Playing style? any positional dynamic tactical theoretical
Biggest weakness?
Biggest weakness? any openings strategy tactics and calculation endgames
Target rating?
Target rating? Any 800 - 1000 1000 - 1200 1200 - 1400 1400 - 1600 1600 - 1800 1800 - 2000 2000 - 2200 Above 2200

Book of the week

silman's complete endgame course chessreads

Silman’s Complete Endgame Course

4.69
13 ratings·5 reviews
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Table of Contents

  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Book cover of The Complete Chess Course by Fred Reinfeld, chess book review
  • The Complete Chess Course
  • Fred Reinfeld
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Play the Orangutan: 1.b4! by Carsten Hansen, chess book review
  • Play the Orangutan: 1.b4!
  • Carsten Hansen
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, After Magnus, Anish Giri
  • After Magnus
  • Anish Giri
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
3 reviews
Chess book review, Caruana's Ruy Lopez, Fabiano Caruana
  • Caruana’s Ruy Lopez
  • Fabiano Caruana
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • Chessiverse
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
1 review
Book cover of Benko Bible Volume 1: The Gambit Accepted by Vassilios Kotronias, Mikhail Ivanov, chess book review
  • Benko Bible Volume 1: The Gambit Accepted
  • Mikhail Ivanov, Vassilios Kotronias
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Attacking Chess: The French by Simon Williams, chess book review
  • Attacking Chess: The French
  • Simon Williams
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Practical Bishop Endings by Edmar Mednis, chess book review
  • Practical Bishop Endings
  • Edmar Mednis
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
2 reviews
Chess book review, Endgame Strategy, Mikhail Shereshevsky
  • Endgame Strategy
  • Mikhail Shereshevsky
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess, Bruce Pandolfini
  • Pandolfini’s Ultimate Guide to Chess
  • Bruce Pandolfini
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
2 reviews
Book cover of New York 1927 by Alexander Alekhine, chess book review
  • New York 1927
  • Alexander Alekhine
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Judit Polgar: The Princess of Chess by Tibor Karolyi, chess book review
  • Judit Polgar: The Princess of Chess
  • Tibor Karolyi
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Sicilian Attacks: Powerful Charges & Typical Tactics by Yuri Yakovich, chess book review
  • Sicilian Attacks: Powerful Charges & Typical Tactics
  • Yuri Yakovich
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Lessons, Solving Problems & Avoiding Mistakes by Mark Dvoretsky, chess book review
  • Chess Lessons, Solving Problems & Avoiding Mistakes
  • Mark Dvoretsky
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Latest reviews

  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong by Daniel Lowinger, chess book review
  • The 3…Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong
  • Daniel Lowinger
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2200+
1 review
Book cover of The Modern Scandinavian by Matthias Wahls, chess book review
  • The Modern Scandinavian
  • Matthias Wahls
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Zaitsev System, Alexey Kuzmin
  • The Zaitsev System
  • Alexey Kuzmin
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, Chess Fundamentals, Jose Capablanca
  • Chess Fundamentals
  • Jose Capablanca
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Original Arkhangelsk by Tibor Karolyi, chess book review
  • The Original Arkhangelsk
  • Tibor Karolyi
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Archangel and New Archangel by Krzysztof Panczyk and John Emms, chess book review
  • Archangel and New Archangel
  • John Emms, Krzysztof Panczyk
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
2 reviews
Book cover of Bobby Fischer's Endgame Technique by Alex Colovic, chess book review
  • Bobby Fischer’s Endgame Technique
  • Alex Colovic
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  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
1 review
Book cover of Starting Out: The Ruy Lopez by John Shaw, chess book review
  • Starting Out: The Ruy Lopez
  • John Shaw
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Articles
Everything You Need to Know About Reading Chess Books
Christmas Gifts for Chess Players
Best Chess Books of 2025
Books for Ambitious Beginners

Chessreads is a collection of chess book reviews written by chess players of varying strength, from beginner to master. Our goal is to help every chess player find out which books they should read based on their rating, weaknesses and ambition.

Chessreads is accompanied by a YouTube channel where we post reviews in video format, interviewing authors, and recommending reading lists for players of different ratings.

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