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

4.73
11 ratings·5 reviews
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Table of Contents

  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Winning Chess Brilliancies, Yasser Seirawan
  • Winning Chess Brilliancies
  • Yasser Seirawan
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of King's Indian Warfare by Ilya Smirin, chess book review
  • King’s Indian Warfare
  • Ilya Smirin
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The Nimzo-Indian and Queen’s Indian Defences by Nigel Davies, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The Nimzo-Indian and Queen’s Indian Defences
  • Nigel Davies
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  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Book cover of Starting Out: the English by Neil McDonald, chess book review
  • Starting Out: the English
  • Neil McDonald
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Playing the French by Jacob Aagaard, Nikolaos Ntirlis, chess book review
  • Playing the French
  • Jacob Aagaard, Nikolaos Ntirlis
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Study Chess with Tal by Mikhail Tal, Alexander Koblencs, chess book review
  • Study Chess with Tal
  • Alexander Koblencs, Mikhail Tal
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Chess Blueprint, Daniel Redford
  • The Chess Blueprint
  • Daniel Redford
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Pandolfini's Ultimate Guide to Chess, Bruce Pandolfini
  • Pandolfini’s Ultimate Guide to Chess
  • Bruce Pandolfini
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • 600 Chess Bots
  • IM John Bartholomew
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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: 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: 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
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza, chess book review
  • Rapid Chess Improvement
  • Michael De La Maza
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Stress of Chess ... and its Infinite Finesse, Walter Browne
  • The Stress of Chess … and its Infinite Finesse
  • Walter Browne
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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+
0 reviews
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: 2000-2200
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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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