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+
  • Promoted
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Chess book review, Defend Like Petrosian, Alexey Bezgodov
  • Defend Like Petrosian
  • Alexey Bezgodov
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, How Ulf Beats Black, Cyrus Lakdawala
  • How Ulf Beats Black
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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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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  • For any rating
1 review
Book cover of The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein by Genna Sosonko, chess book review
  • The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein
  • Genna Sosonko
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Mastering the Endgame by Glenn Flear, chess book review
  • Mastering the Endgame
  • Glenn Flear
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Zwischenzug!, Natasha Regan
  • Zwischenzug!
  • Matt Ball, Natasha Regan
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso by Vasily Smyslov, chess book review
  • Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso
  • Vasily Smyslov
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Rossolimo for Club Players, Victor Bologan
  • The Rossolimo for Club Players
  • Victor Bologan
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Boris Spassky's 300 Wins by Sergei Soloviev, chess book review
  • Boris Spassky’s 300 Wins
  • Sergei Soloviev
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  • ELO: -800
  • -
  • 1000
1 review
Book cover of Your Move, Grandpa! Chess for Kids by Alex Knight, chess book review
  • Your Move, Grandpa! Chess for Kids
  • Alex Knight
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of The Game of Chess by Siegbert Tarrasch, chess book review
  • The Game of Chess
  • Siegbert Tarrasch
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Mastering Positional Chess, Daniel Naroditsky
  • Mastering Positional Chess
  • Daniel Naroditsky
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Practical Endgame Bible, Guidelines for the Fundamentals of the Endgame, Boroljub Zlatanovic
  • The Practical Endgame Bible, Guidelines for the Fundamentals of the Endgame
  • Boroljub Zlatanovic
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
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  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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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
Rating: 800-1000
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Rating: 1600-1800
Rating: 1800-2000
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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