Logical Chess – Move By Move

Logical Chess Move by Move is a fantastic introduction to playing principled chess. I would recommend this book to anyone from beginner to intermediate level. Structured as a collection of annotated games, Chernev introduces the player to principled opening play, strategic ideas like creating and occupying outposts, how to attack weak squares around the castled king, etc. Chernev is committed to annotating every move in every game – right from 1.e4 or 1.d4 – providing insight into all phases of play. The games are mainly drawn from the late 1800's and early 1900's, and are usually less than 30 moves. Chernev highlights how positional mistakes lead to attacking opportunities and shows how great players of the past exploited their opponent's mistakes.

The writing is a bit dated and the games do not necessarily show modern top-level opening theory. But for a player who wants to become a serious club-level improver, this is a great resource to learn foundations of opening play, strategy, and pawn play.

It was my first chess book I ever read. Had some trouble with the annotations at that time. But luckily there are a few playlists on youtube, which go through each game. Really helped as a beginner to understand a few concepts in practical games.

A bit dated, but Chernev provides a solid foundation for any beginning player by providing thorough analysis of literally every move played in a great selection of grandmaster games.

Logical Chess Move by Move is a timeless classic. Irving Chernev has annotated 33 games move by move. The book is incredibly informative and oozes enthusiasm for chess. I personally feel Logical Chess Move by Move is the best introduction game collection. Irving Chernev imparts chess wisdom in a easily digestible manner. I believe a player can start gleaning information from this game collection around 1000-1100 elo. To address the naysayer of the book, Logical Chess Move by Move was written pre-engines and would have the usual criticism of modern masters looking at dated opening/analysis. In any case, I look forward to the day when I can walk my kids through this timeless classic. Other books that fit a similar rating bracket role are “The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played” also by Irving Chernev and to a lesser extent “The First Book of Morphy” by Frisco Del Rosario.