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: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
2 reviews
Chess book review, My System & Chess Praxis, Aron Nimzowitsch
  • My System & Chess Praxis
  • Aron Nimzowitsch
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Development Of A Chess Master by Eric Schiller, chess book review
  • Development Of A Chess Master
  • Eric Schiller
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Reform Chess by László Polgár, chess book review
  • Reform Chess
  • Laszlo Polgar
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Kotronias on the King's Indian, Volume 5, Sämisch & the Rest by Vassilios Kotronias, chess book review
  • Kotronias on the King’s Indian, Volume 5, Sämisch & the Rest
  • Vassilios Kotronias
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The French Defense... Properly Played by Wolfgang Uhlmann, chess book review
  • The French Defense… Properly Played
  • Wolfgang Uhlmann
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Planning: Move by Move by Zenon Franco, chess book review
  • Planning: Move by Move
  • Zenon Franco
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Dangerous Weapons: The French by John Watson, chess book review
  • Dangerous Weapons: The French
  • John Watson
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Amateur to IM, Proven Ideas and Training Methods, Jonathan Hawkins
  • Amateur to IM, Proven Ideas and Training Methods
  • Jonathan Hawkins
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Tal Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Tal Move by Move
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid, Evgeny Sveshnikov
  • A Chess Opening Repertoire for Blitz and Rapid
  • Evgeny Sveshnikov, Vladimir Sveshnikov
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Unknown Bobby Fischer by Eric Tangborn, John Donaldson, chess book review
  • The Unknown Bobby Fischer
  • Eric Tangborn, John Donaldson
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Grandmaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs Minor Defences by Parimarjan Negi, chess book review
  • Grandmaster Repertoire: 1.e4 vs Minor Defences
  • Parimarjan Negi
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Chess book review, Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov, Tibor Karolyi
  • Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov
  • Nick Aplin, Tibor Karolyi
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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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Everything You Need to Know About Reading Chess Books
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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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