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
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of Modern Chess Analysis by Robin Smith, chess book review
  • Modern Chess Analysis
  • Robin Smith
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Winning in the Chess Opening, Nikolai Kalinichenko
  • Winning in the Chess Opening
  • Nikolai Kalinichenko
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The King's Indian Defence, Move by Move by Sam Collins, chess book review
  • The King’s Indian Defence, Move by Move
  • Sam Collins
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Test Your Endgame Ability by August Livshits, Jon Speelman, chess book review
  • Test Your Endgame Ability
  • August Livshits, Jon Speelman
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
600 of the world's most realistc chess bots
  • 600 Chess Bots
  • IM John Bartholomew
Play for free
  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Beating the King's Indian and Grünfeld by Timothy Taylor, chess book review
  • Beating the King’s Indian and Grünfeld
  • Timothy Taylor
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Open Games for Black by Igor Lysyj, Roman Ovetchkin, chess book review
  • The Open Games for Black
  • Igor Lysyj, Roman Ovetchkin
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Grandmaster Repertoire: The Grünfeld Defence Volume One by Boris Avrukh, chess book review
  • Grandmaster Repertoire: The Grünfeld Defence Volume One
  • Boris Avrukh
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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: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Kotronias on the King's Indian, Volume 2, Mar del Plata 1 by Vassilios Kotronias, chess book review
  • Kotronias on the King’s Indian, Volume 2, Mar del Plata 1
  • Vassilios Kotronias
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Bent Larsen's Best Games, Bent Larsen
  • Bent Larsen’s Best Games
  • Bent Larsen
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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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, 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players, Frank Erwich
  • 1001 Chess Exercises for Advanced Club Players
  • Frank Erwich
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of Starting Out: Slav & Semi-Slav by Glenn Flear, chess book review
  • Starting Out: Slav & Semi-Slav
  • Glenn Flear
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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
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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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