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
Read The Book
Read Reviews

Table of Contents

  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
Try for Free
  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Rossolimo Sicilian, Victor Bologan
  • The Rossolimo Sicilian
  • Victor Bologan
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • 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
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Master Your Chess with Judit Polgar, Judit Polgar
  • Master Your Chess with Judit Polgar
  • Andras Toth, Judit Polgar
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of The Immortal Games of Capablanca by Fred Reinfeld, chess book review
  • The Immortal Games of Capablanca
  • Fred Reinfeld
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Pump up your Rating, Axel Smith
  • Pump up your Rating
  • Axel Smith
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
Try for Free
  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
600 of the world's most realistc chess bots
  • 600 Chess Bots
  • IM John Bartholomew
Play for free
  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Build up your Chess 2, Beyond the basics, Artur Yusupov
  • Build up your Chess 2, Beyond the basics
  • Artur Yusupov
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of Panov Attack in Chess by Eric Schiller, chess book review
  • Panov Attack in Chess
  • Eric Schiller
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Double Queen's Gambit, Alexey Bezgodov
  • The Double Queen’s Gambit
  • Alexey Bezgodov
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Test Your Chess IQ: First Challenge by August Livshitz, chess book review
  • Test Your Chess IQ: First Challenge
  • August Livshitz
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Play the French, John Watson
  • Play the French
  • John Watson
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Chess Evolution 1, The Fundamentals, Artur Yusupov
  • Chess Evolution 1, The Fundamentals
  • Artur Yusupov
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, London 2.Bf4 Tactics, Tim Sawyer
  • London 2.Bf4 Tactics
  • Tim Sawyer
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Magnus Method, Emmanuel Neiman
  • The Magnus Method
  • Emmanuel Neiman
Read Reviews
Read the Book

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
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2200+
1 review
Book cover of The Modern Scandinavian by Matthias Wahls, chess book review
  • The Modern Scandinavian
  • Matthias Wahls
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Zaitsev System, Alexey Kuzmin
  • The Zaitsev System
  • Alexey Kuzmin
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, Chess Fundamentals, Jose Capablanca
  • Chess Fundamentals
  • Jose Capablanca
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Original Arkhangelsk by Tibor Karolyi, chess book review
  • The Original Arkhangelsk
  • Tibor Karolyi
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • 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
Read Reviews
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
Read Reviews
Read the Book
  • 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
Read Reviews
Read the Book

Latest YouTube video

Browse Reviews

Openings
Strategy
Tactics and Calculation
Positional Play
Puzzle Books
Complex Endgames
Theoretical Endgames
Puzzles and Studies
Thinking Processes
Game Collections
Textbooks
Novels and Miscellaneous
Children's Books
Biographies and Players
Book Authors
Reviews in Alphabetical Order
All reviews
Rating: Below 800
Rating: 800-1000
Rating: 1000-1200
Rating: 1200-1400
Rating: 1400-1600
Rating: 1600-1800
Rating: 1800-2000
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.

Want to get notified when a new review is published?

Youtube X-twitter Instagram Discord Whatsapp Facebook