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: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening For White According To Anand 1.e4, Volume 7 by Alexander Khalifman, chess book review
  • Opening For White According To Anand 1.e4, Volume 7
  • Alexander Khalifman
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Complete French Advance, Evgeny and Vladimir Sveshnikov
  • The Complete French Advance
  • Evgeny Sveshnikov, Vladimir Sveshnikov
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Hedgehog by Sergey Kasparov, chess book review
  • The Hedgehog
  • Sergey Kasparov
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Steamrolling the Sicilian: Play for a Win with 5.f3! by Sergey Kasparov, chess book review
  • Steamrolling the Sicilian: Play for a Win with 5.f3!
  • Sergey Kasparov
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening For White According To Kramnik 1.Nf3, Volume 2 by Alexander Khalifman, chess book review
  • Opening For White According To Kramnik 1.Nf3, Volume 2
  • Alexander Khalifman
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, French Winawer, Neil McDonald
  • French Winawer
  • Neil McDonald
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Arkell's Endings by Keith Arkell, chess book review
  • Arkell’s Endings
  • Keith Arkell
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Queen's Indian: Move by Move by Lorin D'Costa, chess book review
  • The Queen’s Indian: Move by Move
  • Lorin D'Costa
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, What Would You Play?, Thomas Willemze
  • What Would You Play?
  • Thomas Willemze
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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: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
4 reviews
Chess book review, 100 Endgames You Must Know, Jesus de la Villa
  • 100 Endgames You Must Know
  • Jesus de la Villa
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Grand Prix Attack, Evgeny Sveshnikov
  • The Grand Prix Attack
  • Evgeny Sveshnikov
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, In the Zone, Cyrus Lakdawala
  • In the Zone
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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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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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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