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

Table of Contents

  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
Chess book review, Tournament Battleplan, Daniel Gormally
  • Tournament Battleplan
  • Daniel Gormally
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
Book cover of Secrets of Pawn Endings by Karsten Müller, Frank Lamprecht, chess book review
  • Secrets of Pawn Endings
  • Karsten Müller, Frank Lamprecht
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
Chess book review, The Enigma of Chess Intuition, Valeri Beim
  • The Enigma of Chess Intuition
  • Valeri Beim
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
Chess book review, The Art of the Tarrasch Defence, Alexey Bezgodov
  • The Art of the Tarrasch Defence
  • Alexey Bezgodov
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
Book cover of The Game of Chess by Siegbert Tarrasch, chess book review
  • The Game of Chess
  • Siegbert Tarrasch
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
Chess book review, The Center Game, Arne Moll
  • The Center Game
  • Arne Moll
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
Book cover of 1234 Modern End-Game Studies by Melissa A. Sutherland, H. M. Lommer, chess book review
  • 1234 Modern End-Game Studies
  • Melissa A. Sutherland, H. M. Lommer
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
Chess book review, Chess Tactics for Advanced Players, Yuri Averbakh
  • Chess Tactics for Advanced Players
  • Yuri Averbakh
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  • For any rating
Chess book review, Garry Kasparov's Fighting Chess, Garry Kasparov
  • Garry Kasparov’s Fighting Chess
  • Garry Kasparov, Jon Speelman, Bob Wade
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  • For any rating
The Batsford Book Of Chess Records by Iakov Damsky – Chess Book Review
  • The Batsford Book Of Chess Records
  • Iakov Damsky
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
Chess book review, Positional Decision Making in Chess, Boris Gelfand
  • Positional Decision Making in Chess
  • Boris Gelfand
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  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
Book cover of How to Think Ahead in Chess by I. A. Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld, chess book review
  • How to Think Ahead in Chess
  • I. A. Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
Chess book review, Test Your Chess Skills, Sarhan Guliev
  • Test Your Chess Skills
  • Sarhan Guliev, Logman Guliev
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  • For any rating
Chess book review, The King, J.H.Donner
  • The King
  • J.H. Donner
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
Chess book review, After Magnus, Anish Giri
  • After Magnus
  • Anish Giri
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
Chess book review, Hein Donner: The Bigraphy, Alexander Münninghoff
  • Hein Donner: The Bigraphy
  • Alexander Münninghoff
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Latest reviews

  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
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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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
Book cover of Ruy Lopez Exchange by Krzysztof Panczyk, chess book review
  • Ruy Lopez Exchange
  • Krzysztof Panczyk
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
Book cover of A Spanish Repertoire for Black by Mihail Marin, chess book review
  • A Spanish Repertoire for Black
  • Mihail Marin
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
Book cover of Opening Repertoire, The Caro-Kann by Jovanka Houska, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire, The Caro-Kann
  • Jovanka Houska
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
Book cover of First Steps: Caro-Kann Defence by Andrew Martin, chess book review
  • First Steps: Caro-Kann Defence
  • Andrew Martin
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
Book cover of Caro-Kann: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Caro-Kann: Move by Move
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
Book cover of Grandmaster Repertoire: The Caro-Kann by Lars Schandorff, chess book review
  • Grandmaster Repertoire: The Caro-Kann
  • Lars Schandorff
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
Book cover of Playing the Caro-Kann: A Counter-attacking Repertoire by Lars Schandorff, chess book review
  • Playing the Caro-Kann: A Counter-attacking Repertoire
  • Lars Schandorff
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Openings
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Novels and Miscellaneous
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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.