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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Classical King's Indian Uncovered by Krzysztof Panczyk, Jacek Ilczuk, chess book review
  • The Classical King’s Indian Uncovered
  • Jacek Ilczuk, Krzysztof Panczyk
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
2 reviews
Chess book review, Bologan's Caro-Kann, Victor Bologan
  • Bologan’s Caro-Kann
  • Victor Bologan
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Play Winning Chess, Yasser Seirawan
  • Play Winning Chess
  • Jeremy Silman, Yasser Seirawan
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Hedgehog by Sergey Kasparov, chess book review
  • The Hedgehog
  • Sergey Kasparov
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of The Caro-Kann the Easy Way by Thomas Engqvist, chess book review
  • The Caro-Kann the Easy Way
  • Thomas Engqvist
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The Middlegame, Book 1: Static Features by Max Euwe, Haije Kramer, chess book review
  • The Middlegame, Book 1: Static Features
  • Haije Kramer, Max Euwe
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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
0 reviews
Book cover of Queen's Gambit Declined by Matthew Sadler, chess book review
  • Queen’s Gambit Declined
  • Matthew Sadler
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Chess book review, A complete Opening Repertoire for Black after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6! 2, Ragozin & Anti-Catalan, Dariusz Swiercz
  • A complete Opening Repertoire for Black after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6! 2, Ragozin & Anti-Catalan
  • Dariusz Swiercz
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
7 reviews
Chess book review, Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide, Mauricio Flores Rios
  • Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Improve Your Chess Pattern Recognition, Arthur van de Oudeweetering
  • Improve Your Chess Pattern Recognition
  • Arthur van de Oudeweetering
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Old Indian: Move by Move by Junior Tay, chess book review
  • The Old Indian: Move by Move
  • Junior Tay
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Explained: The English Opening by Zenon Franco, chess book review
  • Chess Explained: The English Opening
  • Zenon Franco
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Chess Evolution 3, Mastery, Artur Yusupov
  • Chess Evolution 3, Mastery
  • Artur Yusupov
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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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Everything You Need to Know About Reading Chess Books
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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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