Book Recommendation Thread

This thread idea crops up often enough that I need to start saving these reviews.

Reaccess Your Chess By Silman (strategy)
Intended Range (1200-2000, you should have your basic engames and simple tactics -pin, fork etc down).
Actual Range (as estimated by me) 1400-1800.
5/5 stars

I read this when I was an 1100, but I was in scholastic chess and my rating was still rising every tournament I played (My first tournament I went +2 -2 =1 for a provisional rating of 810). It took me to 14xx at which point I quit chess. When I started playing again 5 years latter I rose to 1600. I can't claim all of this is due to Silman, but it certainly changed my thinking process and how I formulate short term plans. Prior to this book I would occupy outposts if they were available. I now seek to create them.

This is a strategy book. Like most Silman books, the prose and author's enthusiasm makes it hard to put down (very unusual in a chess book). There is a logical breakdown of material and each chapter has a summary and quiz! If you can't answer the questions, you didn't read the chapter. There are few sidelines relative to heavier books like Art of the Attack, but you should read this book with a board (or 2) in front of you. Silman provides analysis in words which is why I like his writings so much.

If you're looking for a quick fix, or an instant improvement, this is not the book for you. It is well written, by an author who clearly teaches amateurs, but you must be willing to put in the work.



Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by Sunil Weeramantry and Edward V. Eusebi (strategy)
Intended Range ?
Actual Range 1400-1800
4/5 Stars

This book is by Nakamura's stepfather, and like Reaccess your Chess, is a strategy book. The style of the book is that each chapter is one annotated master game which revolves around a key strategic idea. While the annotations were good, I do not think they were as good as Silman's. However this book shines in the chapter on color complexes (better than Silman's coverage of the topic).

I don't think anyone has mentioned any of John Nunn's books.
I would suggest Secrets of Practical Chess and Understanding Chess Move by Move. Both of them will be books that you could read at an early stage in your chess career and then re-read them later as you progress. Each time you will take something new away.

Rating the books is something I don't think I'm in a position to do. At my level, I find it difficult to pass judgement as I still find them both very useful and am learning from them. There are lots of reviews available on the internet, and by much stronger players, so, like previous posters have suggested, a Google search is all that is needed to find them.

Originally posted by scandium
I read that article several years ago and it inspired me to buy (and read) several of the books on that list, including:

Pandolfini's Endgame Course
Best Lessons of a Chess Coach
Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player
Teach Yourself Better Chess (which I didn't finish, through no fault of the book's)

I'll post a review later of them. Of course you ...[text shortened]... by similar books that cover the same ground better. But its a good article and book list.

Is there a non-U.S. edition of Silman's Reassess Your Chess called Reaccess Your Chess? Because I keep seeing that spelling in this thread, and found some other posts by foreign Internet users spelling it that way. If not, be advised it is "Reassess".

Originally posted by Mark Adkins
I'm particularly interested in a review of Best Lessons Of A Chess Coach.