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
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
Try for Free
  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The Grünfeld Defence by Nigel Davies, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The Grünfeld Defence
  • Nigel Davies
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Practical Endgame Bible, Guidelines for the Fundamentals of the Endgame, Boroljub Zlatanovic
  • The Practical Endgame Bible, Guidelines for the Fundamentals of the Endgame
  • Boroljub Zlatanovic
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Pawn Power in Chess, Hans Kmoch
  • Pawn Power in Chess
  • Hans Kmoch
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of Learn Chess the Right Way: Book 2: Winning Material by Susan Polgar, Paul Truong, chess book review
  • Learn Chess the Right Way: Book 2: Winning Material
  • Paul Truong, Susan Polgar
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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
1 review
Book cover of The Modern Spanish: Breyer and Zaitsev Systems by Vassilios Kotronias, chess book review
  • The Modern Spanish: Breyer and Zaitsev Systems
  • Vassilios Kotronias
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Giuoco Piano by Eduard Gufeld, Oleg Stetsko, chess book review
  • The Giuoco Piano
  • Eduard Gufeld, Oleg Stetsko
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Boris Spassky's 300 Wins by Sergei Soloviev, chess book review
  • Boris Spassky’s 300 Wins
  • Sergei Soloviev
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, World Chess Champion Strategy Training for Club Players, Thomas Willemze
  • World Chess Champion Strategy Training for Club Players
  • Thomas Willemze
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Bird's Opening: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Bird’s Opening: Move by Move
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, My Great Predecessors Part 3, Garry Kasparov
  • My Great Predecessors Part 3
  • Garry Kasparov
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of A Guide to Chess Endings by Max Euwe, David Hooper, chess book review
  • A Guide to Chess Endings
  • David Hooper, Max Euwe
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Mating the Castled King by Daniel Gormally, chess book review
  • Mating the Castled King
  • Daniel Gormally
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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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Read the Book
  • 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
Christmas Gifts for Chess Players
Best Chess Books of 2025
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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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