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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  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, First Steps: The Colle and London Systems, Cyrus Lakdawala
  • First Steps: The Colle and London Systems
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of Nottingham 1936 by Alexander Alekhine, chess book review
  • Nottingham 1936
  • Alexander Alekhine
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Modernized Queen's Gambit Declined by Luis Rodi, chess book review
  • The Modernized Queen’s Gambit Declined
  • Luis Rodi
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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 How to Win in the Chess Endings by I.A. Horowitz, chess book review
  • How to Win in the Chess Endings
  • I.A. Horowitz
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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: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Korchnoi's 400 Best Games by Viktor Korchnoi, Robert Graham Wade, L. S. Blackstock, chess book review
  • Korchnoi’s 400 Best Games
  • L. S. Blackstock, Robert Graham Wade, Viktor Korchnoi
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
2 reviews
Chess book review, 50 Mistakes You Should Know, Jesus de la Villa
  • 50 Mistakes You Should Know
  • Jesus de la Villa
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
3 reviews
Chess book review, Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games, László Polgár
  • Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games
  • Laszlo Polgar
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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: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Play the French, John Watson
  • Play the French
  • John Watson
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Defence & Counter-Attack by Tibor Florian, chess book review
  • Defence & Counter-Attack
  • Tibor Florian
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  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
4 reviews
Chess book review, Simple Chess, Michael Stean
  • Simple Chess
  • Michael Stean
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
2 reviews
1001_Chess_Exercises_for_Club_Players
  • 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players
  • Frank Erwich
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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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Rating: Below 800
Rating: 800-1000
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Rating: 2000-2200
Rating: Above 2200
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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