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: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Chess book review, Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna, Emmanuel Neiman
  • Tune Your Chess Tactics Antenna
  • Emmanuel Neiman
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
Discover your chss personality
  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
Take the Test
  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Critical Moments in Chess by Paata Gaprindashvili, chess book review
  • Critical Moments in Chess
  • Paata Gaprindashvili
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
Try for Free
  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Traps by I. A. Horowitz, Fred Reinfeld, chess book review
  • Chess Traps
  • Fred Reinfeld, I. A. Horowitz
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Chess Toolbox, Thomas Willemze
  • The Chess Toolbox
  • Thomas Willemze
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Complete French by Lev Psakhis, chess book review
  • The Complete French
  • Lev Psakhis
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Read the Book
  • For any rating
1 review
Chess book review, The Sponsor, Fred Das
  • The Sponsor
  • Fred Das, Jeroen Terlingen
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 2: 1985-1993 by Garry Kasparov, chess book review
  • Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 2: 1985-1993
  • Garry Kasparov
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
0 reviews
Book cover of How to Play Chess like a Champion by Fred Reinfeld, chess book review
  • How to Play Chess like a Champion
  • Fred Reinfeld
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Exchange French Comes to Life by Alex Fishbein, chess book review
  • The Exchange French Comes to Life
  • Alex Fishbein
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Middlegames by Laszlo Polgar, chess book review
  • Chess Middlegames
  • Laszlo Polgar
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of French Defence: Steinitz, Classical And Other Systems by Lev Psakhis, chess book review
  • French Defence: Steinitz, Classical And Other Systems
  • Lev Psakhis
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Attacking Manual 1, Jacob Aagaard
  • Attacking Manual 1
  • Jacob Aagaard
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Complete Chess Strategy, Planning the Pieces by Ludek Pachman, chess book review
  • Complete Chess Strategy, Planning the Pieces
  • Ludek Pachman
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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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Openings
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Rating: Below 800
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Rating: 2000-2200
Rating: Above 2200
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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