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
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, The Real Paul Morphy, Charles Hertan
  • The Real Paul Morphy
  • Charles Hertan
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The Modern Defence by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The Modern Defence
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Agile London System, Alfonso Romero
  • The Agile London System
  • Alfonso Romero, Oscar de Prado
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Strike Like Judit!, Charles Hertan
  • Strike Like Judit!
  • Charles Hertan
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Complete Chess Swindler, David Smerdon
  • The Complete Chess Swindler
  • David Smerdon
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of 1234 Modern End-Game Studies by Melissa A. Sutherland, H. M. Lommer, chess book review
  • 1234 Modern End-Game Studies
  • H. M. Lommer, Melissa A. Sutherland
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Réti: Move by Move by Sam Collins, chess book review
  • The Réti: Move by Move
  • Sam Collins
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  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, My First Chess Opening Repertoire for Black, Vincent Moret
  • My First Chess Opening Repertoire for Black
  • Vincent Moret
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Play the Orangutan: 1.b4! by Carsten Hansen, chess book review
  • Play the Orangutan: 1.b4!
  • Carsten Hansen
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Street Smart Chess by Axel Smith, chess book review
  • Street Smart Chess
  • Axel Smith
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of The Panov-Botvinnik Attack by Lorin D'Costa, chess book review
  • The Panov-Botvinnik Attack
  • Lorin D'Costa
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, Main Line Caro-Kann, Neil McDonald
  • Main Line Caro-Kann
  • Neil McDonald
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Hedgehog System against the English Opening by Jozsef Palkovi, chess book review
  • Hedgehog System against the English Opening
  • Jozsef Palkovi
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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: Below 800
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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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