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
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, First Chess Openings, Eric Schiller
  • First Chess Openings
  • Eric Schiller
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of Starting Out: The French by Byron Jacobs, chess book review
  • Starting Out: The French
  • Byron Jacobs
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Winning with the King's Gambit by Joe Gallagher, chess book review
  • Winning with the King’s Gambit
  • Joe Gallagher
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Best Lessons of a Chess Coach, Sunil Weeramantry
  • Best Lessons of a Chess Coach
  • Ed Eusebi, Sunil Weeramantry
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  • ELO: 2200
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Calculation! by Sam Shankland, chess book review
  • Calculation!
  • Sam Shankland
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 2: 1985-1993 by Garry Kasparov, chess book review
  • Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 2: 1985-1993
  • Garry Kasparov
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer by John Donaldson, chess book review
  • Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer
  • John Donaldson
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Modernized London System, Milos Pavlovic
  • The Modernized London System
  • Milos Pavlovic
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames by Nikolay Minev, chess book review
  • A Practical Guide to Rook Endgames
  • Nikolay Minev
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  • For any rating
1 review
Chess book review, Magnus Carlsen: A Life In Pictures, Jonathan Tisdall
  • Magnus Carlsen: A Life In Pictures
  • Jonathan Tisdall
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Grandmaster Repertoire 2: 1.d4 Volume Two by Boris Avrukh, chess book review
  • Grandmaster Repertoire 2: 1.d4 Volume Two
  • Boris Avrukh
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
600 of the world's most realistc chess bots
  • 600 Chess Bots
  • IM John Bartholomew
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of My Chess Career by José Raúl Capablanca, chess book review
  • My Chess Career
  • Jose Capablanca
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Opening Repertoire 1.e4, Cyrus Lakdawala
  • Opening Repertoire 1.e4
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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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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Openings
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Rating: Below 800
Rating: 800-1000
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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.

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