Chess books
Chess books to start from. Open one to see books like it, or tell BookSense what you loved for four picks made for you.
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New to the genre? These 5 are the books to read first.
Chess Fundamentals
José Raúl CapablancaA short, clear account of basic principles and endgames by a world champion; still a common first book for beginners.
Logical Chess, Move by Move
Irving ChernevAnnotates complete games move by move to explain the reasoning behind each choice, a method many later instructional books follow.
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess
Bobby FischerFischer's introduction to the game for beginners, widely read in the United States during his rise to the world title.
Win at Chess
Fred ReinfeldA tactics book built around problem positions that train players to spot combinations.
My System
Aron NimzowitschSets out ideas about positional play, prophylaxis and blockade that shaped twentieth-century thinking about strategy.
Chosen and described with AI from our notes on the genre.
More chess books
- The Art of Attack in Chess
The Art of Attack in ChessVladimir Vuković - Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual
Dvoretsky's Endgame ManualMark Dvoretsky - Chess for Zebras
Chess for ZebrasJonathan Rowson - ChessChessFlame Tree Studio2018
- Chess
ChessLaszlo Polgar1995 - Modern chess openings
Modern chess openingsJohn Herbert White1972 - The Soviet Chess Primer
The Soviet Chess PrimerIlya Maizelis2014 - Chess for dummies
Chess for dummiesJames Eade1996 - The breathing method
The breathing methodStephen King1984 - My 60 memorable games
My 60 memorable gamesRobert J. Fischer1969 - How to reassess your chess
How to reassess your chessJeremy Silman1991 - Silman's complete endgame course
Silman's complete endgame courseJeremy Silman2007