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: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of The Modernized Marshall Attack by Milos Pavlovic, chess book review
  • The Modernized Marshall Attack
  • Milos Pavlovic
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Woodpecker Method, Axel Smith
  • The Woodpecker Method
  • Axel Smith, Hans Tikkanen
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of How to Choose a Chess Move by Andrew Soltis, chess book review
  • How to Choose a Chess Move
  • Andrew Soltis
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  • ELO: -800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Book cover of Learn Chess Quickly by I. A. Horowitz, chess book review
  • Learn Chess Quickly
  • I. A. Horowitz
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Easy Guide to the Classical Sicilian, Jouni Yrjola
  • Easy Guide to the Classical Sicilian
  • Jouni Yrjola
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, A Cunning Chess Opening for Black, Sergey Kasparov
  • A Cunning Chess Opening for Black
  • Sergey Kasparov
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: Strategic Play with 1.d4 by Milos Pavlovic, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: Strategic Play with 1.d4
  • Milos Pavlovic
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of Chess Exam And Training Guide: Rate Yourself And Learn How To Improve by Igor Khmelnitsky, chess book review
  • Chess Exam And Training Guide, Rate Yourself And Learn How To Improve
  • Igor Khmelnitsky
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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: 800
  • -
  • 1000
0 reviews
Chess book review, First Chess Openings, Eric Schiller
  • First Chess Openings
  • Eric Schiller
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Chess book review, Secrets of Attacking chess, Mihail Marin
  • Secrets of Attacking chess
  • Mihail Marin
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of Winning With the Modern London System by Nikola Sedlak, chess book review
  • Winning With the Modern London System
  • Nikola Sedlak
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Book cover of The Extreme Caro-Kann: Attacking Black with 3.f3 by Alexei Bezgodov, chess book review
  • The Extreme Caro-Kann: Attacking Black with 3.f3
  • Alexei Bezgodov
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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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Openings
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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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