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
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Kasparov v Deeper Blue by Daniel King, chess book review
  • Kasparov v Deeper Blue
  • Daniel King
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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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: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
1 review
Chess book review, Turbo-Charge Your Tactics 2, Vladimir Grabinsky
  • Turbo-Charge Your Tactics 2
  • Mykhaylo Oleksiyenko, Vladimir Grabinsky
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The Middlegame, Book 2: Dynamic and Subjective Features by Max Euwe, Haije Kramer, chess book review
  • The Middlegame, Book 2: Dynamic and Subjective Features
  • Haije Kramer, Max Euwe
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Chess book review, Liquidation on the Chess Board - New and Extended Edition, Joel Benjamin
  • Liquidation on the Chess Board – New and Extended Edition
  • Joel Benjamin
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Secrets: Heroes of Classical Chess by Craig Pritchett, chess book review
  • Chess Secrets: Heroes of Classical Chess
  • Craig Pritchett
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations - 6th Edition by Chess Informant, chess book review
  • Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations – 6th Edition
  • Chess Informant
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of Alekhine’s Odessa Secrets: Chess, War and Revolution by Sergei Tkachenko, chess book review
  • Alekhine’s Odessa Secrets: Chess, War and Revolution
  • Sergei Tkachenko
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The English by David Cummings, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The English
  • David Cummings
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Opening Repertoire: The Modern Defence by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • Opening Repertoire: The Modern Defence
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • For any rating
1 review
Book cover of A Parent's Guide to Chess by Dan Heisman, chess book review
  • A Parent’s Guide to Chess
  • Dan Heisman
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
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  • Chess DNA Test
  • Chessiverse
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The Double Queen's Gambit, Alexey Bezgodov
  • The Double Queen’s Gambit
  • Alexey Bezgodov
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of Nunn's Chess Endings Volume 1 by John Nunn, chess book review
  • Nunn’s Chess Endings Volume 1
  • John Nunn
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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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Rating: 2000-2200
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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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