Advice for good chess books

in regard to openings, I am merely saying you don't need to memorize numerous lines. Choose an opening, grab mco and learn the major variations, and try to figure out why other moves are bad. Basically figure out the general ideas. From there use it a lot and don't repeat your mistakes! Do this and shortly you will start getting safely to middlegames which you recognize. For the most part it doesn't even require a book, and at most it takes a couple hours of study. Tactics and middlegame ideas on the other hand are worth studying for years.

Originally posted by zebano
in regard to openings, I am merely saying you don't need to memorize numerous lines. Choose an opening, grab mco and learn the major variations, and try to figure out why other moves are bad. Basically figure out the general ideas. From there use it a lot and don't repeat your mistakes! Do this and shortly you will start getting safely to middlegames which ...[text shortened]... ple hours of study. Tactics and middlegame ideas on the other hand are worth studying for years.

Originally posted by no1marauder
I'll tell you straight; good players don't study tactics per se. They study their own games and where they might have missed tactical opportunities, but they just don't spend time on tactics training. Most tactics are obvious to a good player; it's how to get to a position where there are tactical opportunities that is the hard part. That's really w ...[text shortened]... ning are invaluable in getting you to favorable positions from whch tactical opportunities flow.

here's what I think. when you're a beginner, the reason to study tactics is not to be able to do some deep & complex combination. those opportunities will not arise often. the real reason is when you're 1100, you're as blind as a bat. you could stare at the position for ages and still not really see what's going on. it's like you had tunnel vision, and could see only a small part of the board at a time. furthermore, your visual memory is so untrained that you can't retain what you just saw with your tunnel vision. the main challenge for a player under 1400 (maybe even 1600) is learning to see. fast, completely and accurately, and keeping what you see in your memory. until that, you will drop pieces.

Originally posted by wormwood
here's what I think. when you're a beginner, the reason to study tactics is not to be able to do some deep & complex combination. those opportunities will not arise often. the real reason is [b]when you're 1100, you're as blind as a bat. you could stare at the position for ages and still not really see what's going on. it's like you had tun ...[text shortened]... nd accurately, and keeping what you see in your memory. until that, you will drop pieces.[/b]

I think the best thing for a real beginner to do initially is to simply play a lot of chess games. This will increase their vision which is what they need the most. To win a lower rated game, all you must do is capture what your opponent gives you to capture.

At the point when you've improved enough that you're not dropping pieces obviously, then it's probably time for a chess book or specific training. At that point, simply playing the game is not going to teach you all that you need to know.

If real beginners are learning openings, they should surely also be aware of the principles of good opening play - i.e. be aware why they are learning what they are learning.

Study endgames. That way even if you do find yourself in an inferior position from the opening you have a good chance of evening the score at the end of the game. Of course you should also learn basic tactics (note: learn, not study intensively, just till you stop dropping pieces, missing mate in 1, etc...) because it won't matter if you are the greatest end-gamer ever if you get mated on move 12. Most beginning and intermediate players have little or no knowledge of the endamge, and even if you are down material you still have good chances against one of these people. It also helps you learn about the basic "needs" of every piece; when it's strong, when it's weak, what it likes to do on holiday, etc...

Tactics: Get 303 Tricky Chess Tactics by Wilson and Alberston, or Chess Target Practice by Pandolfini. Go through the books a few times and you'll get the idea.

Endgame: Pandolfini's Endgame Course will teach you enough basic material to begin to understand this phase of the game.

Openings/Strategy: The best first book for learning the pricniples is Logical Chess Move by Move (Chernev). As a previous poster stated, this book explains each move in layman terms. It is a must read for anyone who is beginning to study chess. You can get into the memorization of lines, and the MCO's of the world later. For now, get this book and read it. It will begin to sound redundant by the end of the book, but it's the repetition of the principles that will give you the most benefit starting out.

When you have done the above steps, you will see a definite and rapid increase in your play strength and your understanding. These tips won't make you an 1800+ player, but will get you to a solid 1500-1600 ish, which is a good start. Best of luck.

If I were starting from scratch I'd begin with something like "Chess for Dummies" or one of dozens of the well written alternatives. I'd follow up with Seirwan's "Winning Chess Tactics" and when you finish pick up a chess puzzle book. The ideal puzzle book to me has a great deal of basic puzzles, a good mix of mate and win material solutions with as little "hints" as possible (i.e. you shouldn't know you the solution involves a certain tactical theme.) The idea is simply to build tactical recognition so that you see the simple things that could win or lose the game in a hurry. That's why you need to do the puzzles over and over until you know them cold. The thing to remember is that this will be an ongoing process, so don't wait until you have finished this to start reading other books.
These books should include:
1. A basic endgame manual- As basic as you need it to be. Hopefully you already know stuff like K R vs. K, but if you don't make sure it covers these. I got Howell's "Essential Chess Endings", but there's lots of others that come highly recomended.
2. Annotated game compilations of the great players- Expose yourself to the moves of the greats and you will greats and you'll gradually absorb their thinking. That's the theory anyway, and since the method has been an important part of the development of many strong players I see no reason to question it. Those who know more than me usually suggest starting with the games of earlier greats such as Morphy or Steinitz and working forward in time.
3. An opening encyclopedia- Once you've been burned by a mis-step on the third or fourth move the old chestnut about not studying openings sounds pretty hollow. On the other hand, you truly can waste a lot of time reading opening books when your understanding of the game is still pretty limited. My suggestion, once you have learned opening principles, is to pick an opening as white, a way to answer 1. e4 and 1. d4 as black, and some ideas about what to do when your opponent goes with something less usual (such as steering things towards an opening you understand more). Understand what your opening is about, find the lines you like best and understand the places where both you and your oponent can go wrong. Now use your own games to learn- if you blow it, find out why.
4. Such "Middle Game" books as may strike your fancy and are appropriate to your level- In the catchall category, I'd start, as I in fact did, with an intoduction to positional play like Seirawan's "Winning Chess Strategies". After that, if it interests you and it isn't over your head, why not. A good book that nearly everyone should get something out of is "How Not to Play Chess" by Borovsky. I liked Silman's "The Amatuer's Mind", which is similar to his more popular "How to Reassess Your Chess". In either case you need to have chess before you can reassessing it. It's alarming to see these books recomended to rank beginners as they often are. You'll also hear Nimzovich's "My System" recommended quite often. I can't comment on the book as I haven't read it, but those I have heard from that didn't absolutely love it were completely at a loss to understand why anyone would think it was a great book. I wonder if you would hear this more if instead of asking for recommended reading people were asked which book they recommended avoiding. Somebody should start a post.

Originally posted by Skorj
You'll also hear Nimzovich's "My System" recommended quite often. I can't comment on the book as I haven't read it, but those I have heard from that didn't absolutely love it were completely at a loss to understand why anyone would think it was a great book.

Originally posted by Ravello
Are you sure your friends actually read it?

I bet they love dull opening books with lots of variations without a single comment or word on them.......

I'm a big fan of Rueben Fine's "Ideas Behind the Chess Openings"

It's kind of old but it puts forth the usual strategies in all of the openings. Those never get old, and the material in that book sets the table for all of the middle game and endgame treatises.

I haven't seen anything that improves on that old classic.

Originally posted by irishhebrew82
What about a sub 1100 player like myself? I understandthe basics of tactics and a few openings, but not in any great detail, nor do i have enough chess knowledge to see advantages of certain squares or how to develope my pieces early on. What would anyone suggest to better understand these points?

Originally posted by powershaker
1100 player needs Lev Alburt's Comprehensive Chess Course Volumes I, II, III (Tactics of the Tournament player). Master those three volumes and you'll be 1800.