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
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Dutch Defense Leningrad Variation by Massimo Luccioni, chess book review
  • Dutch Defense Leningrad Variation
  • Massimo Luccioni
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of Cognitive Chess: Improving Visualization and Calculation Skills by Konstantin Chernyshov, chess book review
  • Cognitive Chess: Improving Visualization and Calculation Skills
  • Konstantin Chernyshov
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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: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Conceptual Rook Endgames by Jacob Aagaard, chess book review
  • Conceptual Rook Endgames
  • Jacob Aagaard
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Play Like A Grandmaster by Alexander Kotov, chess book review
  • Play Like A Grandmaster
  • Alexander Kotov
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Chess book review, Chess Tactics for Champions, Susan Polgar
  • Chess Tactics for Champions
  • Paul Truong, Susan Polgar
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Chess book review, Lessons with a Grandmaster, Enhance Your Chess Strategy And Psychology With Boris Gulko, Boris Gulko
  • Lessons with a Grandmaster, Enhance Your Chess Strategy And Psychology With Boris Gulko
  • Boris Gulko, Joel Sneed
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
2 reviews
Chess book review, Endgame Corner, Karsten Müller
  • Endgame Corner
  • Alex Fishbein, Karsten Müller
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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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: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Alekhine Defence: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • The Alekhine Defence: Move by Move
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Attacking Chess: The King's Indian, Volume 2 by David Vigorito, chess book review
  • Attacking Chess: The King’s Indian, Volume 2
  • David Vigorito
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Opening Repertoire, Nimzo and Bogo Indian, Christof Sielecki
  • Opening Repertoire, Nimzo and Bogo Indian
  • Christof Sielecki
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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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Read the Book
  • 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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