Two books that I recommend as outstanding examples of the kind of exposition of ideas that one should seek in an opening book are Alburt and Chernin's Pirc Alert and McDonald's Mastering the French.

There are excellent openings books, but it is difficult to recommend opening books if you aren't a player of the opening. Tadic's Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations - The most challenging and exhaustive (3001 problems!) tactical collection available. (800-1800)īlokh's The Art of Combination - This is a classic, and hard to acquire, work with many outstanding, thematically organized examples. Lein's Sharpen Your Tactics - Lein's collection of problems has no stated theme - thus - no hints. You will be adequately introduced to all the major themes with excellent explanations. Nunn's Learn Chess Tactics - This is a great collection of thematically organized tactical problems. However, reading a good collection of problems organized by theme is a great way to master that theme. 's Tactics Trainer is a great resource which doesn't provide 'hints' in the chapter title. There are many ways to build tactical strength. Tal and Khenkin's 1000 Checkmate Combinations - This is the gold standard of checkmate books with strikingly fresh, vibrant and well-organized examples.

Nunn's 1001 Deadly Checkmates - Nunn's examples are good, but intentionally recent (omitting classics) and have a low average difficulty. However, lots of talented players I know and work with struggle to identify even checkmates in one.Ĭhandler's How to Beat Your Dad at Chess - This slightly mistitled basic compendium of checkmate patterns is a great start for a novice young player or a shameless adult.

The following books are all ones that I enthusiastically recommend for the aspiring chess student.Įvery chess player should have an encyclopedic knowledge of checkmating patterns. Some are historically important (Nimzowitsch's My System) or a masterpiece of analysis and writing (Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games) or a depiction of a critical time in chess (Bronstein's Zurich 1953), but nothing produces as much raw improvement to chess strength as books which directly build one's mental library of chess patterns. There are countless outstanding chess books. No other medium is as widely available with such high standards for explanation and examples. I believe that the easiest way to systematically absorb chess patterns is by reading quality chess books.

Best chess books to study