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
Chess book review, Amateur to IM, Proven Ideas and Training Methods, Jonathan Hawkins
  • Amateur to IM, Proven Ideas and Training Methods
  • Jonathan Hawkins
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Fabulous Budapest Gambit, Viktor Moskalenko
  • The Fabulous Budapest Gambit
  • Viktor Moskalenko
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The Modern Sämisch by Eric Montany, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The Modern Sämisch
  • Eric Montany
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Excelling at Technical Chess, Jacob Aagaard
  • Excelling at Technical Chess
  • Jacob Aagaard
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of The Wizard of Warsaw: A Chess Biography of Szymon Winawer by Tomasz Lissowski, Grigory Bogdanovich, chess book review
  • The Wizard of Warsaw: A Chess Biography of Szymon Winawer
  • Grigory Bogdanovich, Tomasz Lissowski
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, Opening Repertoire, the Open Games with Black, Martin Lokander
  • Opening Repertoire, the Open Games with Black
  • Martin Lokander
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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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: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening For White According To Kramnik 1.Nf3, Volume 2 by Alexander Khalifman, chess book review
  • Opening For White According To Kramnik 1.Nf3, Volume 2
  • Alexander Khalifman
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Playing 1.d4 d5 by Nikolaos Ntirlis, chess book review
  • Playing 1.d4 d5
  • Nikolaos Ntirlis
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  • For any rating
0 reviews
Book cover of The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine by Tom Standage, chess book review
  • The Turk: The Life and Times of the Famous Eighteenth-Century Chess-Playing Machine
  • Tom Standage
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  • For any rating
0 reviews
Chess book review, The King, J.H.Donner
  • The King
  • J.H. Donner
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Queen's Indian: Move by Move by Lorin D'Costa, chess book review
  • The Queen’s Indian: Move by Move
  • Lorin D'Costa
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Rossolimo for Club Players, Victor Bologan
  • The Rossolimo for Club Players
  • Victor Bologan
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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: 2000-2200
Rating: Above 2200
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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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