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+
  • Promoted
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  • ELO: 800
  • -
  • 1000
4 reviews
Chess book review, Simple Chess, Michael Stean
  • Simple Chess
  • Michael Stean
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of Opening Repertoire, The Ruy Lopez by Joshua Doknjas, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire, The Ruy Lopez
  • Joshua Doknjas
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
1 review
Chess book review, Improve Your Chess Tactics, Yakov Neishtadt
  • Improve Your Chess Tactics
  • Iakov Neishtadt
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, Fasttrack Edition, Mark Dvoretsky
  • Dvoretsky’s Endgame Manual, Fasttrack Edition
  • Alex Fishbein, Karsten Müller, Mark Dvoretsky
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves by Bruce Pandolfini, chess book review
  • Bobby Fischer’s Outrageous Chess Moves
  • Bruce Pandolfini
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Carlsbad International Chess Tournament 1929 by Aron Nimzowitsch, chess book review
  • Carlsbad International Chess Tournament 1929
  • Aron Nimzowitsch
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire, 1.d4 with 2.c4 by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire, 1.d4 with 2.c4
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
1 review
Chess book review, The Soviet Chess Primer, Ilya Maizelis
  • The Soviet Chess Primer
  • Ilya Maizelis
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • For any rating
0 reviews
Book cover of The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Again by Brin-Jonathan Butler, chess book review
  • The Grandmaster: Magnus Carlsen and the Match That Made Chess Great Again
  • Brin-jonathan Butler
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
2 reviews
Book cover of The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy by Irving Chernev, chess book review
  • The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy
  • Irving Chernev
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Dynamic English by Tony Kosten, chess book review
  • The Dynamic English
  • Tony Kosten
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
1 review
Cover image of the book The Ultimate King's Indian Attack by Angus Dunnington, reviewed on Chessreads.
  • The Ultimate King’s Indian Attack
  • Angus Dunnington
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Meets of the Century by Bobby Fischer, Dimitrije Bjelica, chess book review
  • Chess Meets of the Century
  • Bobby Fischer, Dimitrije Bjelica
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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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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.

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