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: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Speed Demon, Dmitry Kryakvin
  • Speed Demon
  • Dmitry Kryakvin
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
Discover your chss personality
  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, World Chess Champion Strategy Training for Club Players, Thomas Willemze
  • World Chess Champion Strategy Training for Club Players
  • Thomas Willemze
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of The Chess Opening for You: A Complete System for White and Black by Larry Evans, chess book review
  • The Chess Opening for You: A Complete System for White and Black
  • Larry Evans
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
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
  • -
  • 1800
4 reviews
Chess book review, Logical Chess - Move By Move, Irving Chernev
  • Logical Chess – Move By Move
  • Irving Chernev
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
1 review
Book cover of Lasker's Manual of Chess by Emanuel Lasker, chess book review
  • Lasker’s Manual of Chess
  • Emanuel Lasker
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of "King's Indian Defence: Mar Del Plata Variation" by Svetozar Gligoric, chess book review
  • King’s Indian Defence: Mar Del Plata Variation
  • Svetozar Gligoric
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
1 review
Book cover of Hübner Year by Year: Volume I (1959-1979) by Tibor Karolyi, Hans Renette, chess book review
  • Hübner Year by Year: Volume I (1959-1979)
  • Hans Renette, Tibor Karolyi
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
1 review
Book cover of The Meran and Anti-Meran Variations by Alexey Dreev, chess book review
  • The Meran and Anti-Meran Variations
  • Alexey Dreev
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
3 reviews
Chess book review, Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games, László Polgár
  • Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games
  • Laszlo Polgar
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Practical Rook Endings by Victor Korchnoi, chess book review
  • Practical Rook Endings
  • Victor Korchnoi
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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
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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