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: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
1 review
Chess book review, Perfect Your Chess, Andrei Volokitin
  • Perfect Your Chess
  • Andrei Volokitin, Vladimir Grabinsky
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
  • Promoted
600 of the world's most realistc chess bots
  • 600 Chess Bots
  • IM John Bartholomew
Play for free
  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
2 reviews
Book cover of Analyzing the Chess Mind by Boris Gulko and Joel Sneed, chess book review
  • Analyzing the Chess Mind
  • Boris Gulko, Joel Sneed
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Grandmaster Repertoire: The Sicilian Taimanov by Antonios Pavlidis, chess book review
  • Grandmaster Repertoire: The Sicilian Taimanov
  • Antonios Pavlidis
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Declining the Queen's Gambit by John Cox, chess book review
  • Declining the Queen’s Gambit
  • John Cox
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Chess book review, Mayhem in the Morra, Marc Esserman
  • Mayhem in the Morra
  • Marc Esserman
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
Try for Free
  • For any rating
1 review
Book cover of A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario, chess book review
  • A First Book of Morphy
  • Frisco Del Rosario
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, The English Attack Against the Taimanov Sicilian, Zaven Andriasyan
  • The English Attack Against the Taimanov Sicilian
  • Zaven Andriasyan
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, My Great Predecessors Part 3, Garry Kasparov
  • My Great Predecessors Part 3
  • Garry Kasparov
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Beating 1.e4 e5, A Repertoire for White in the Open Games, John Emms
  • Beating 1.e4 e5, A Repertoire for White in the Open Games
  • John Emms
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
0 reviews
Book cover of Chess Lessons, Solving Problems & Avoiding Mistakes by Mark Dvoretsky, chess book review
  • Chess Lessons, Solving Problems & Avoiding Mistakes
  • Mark Dvoretsky
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  • For any rating
1 review
Book cover of Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life by Danny Rensch, chess book review
  • Dark Squares: How Chess Saved My Life
  • Danny Rensch
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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: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Dutch Defense Leningrad Variation by Massimo Luccioni, chess book review
  • Dutch Defense Leningrad Variation
  • Massimo Luccioni
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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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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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