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c
Grammar Nazi

Auschwitz

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Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Chess Openening Traps, by Steve Giddins
Ponziani Opening, by Tim Harding
Taming the Sicilian, by Nigel Davies
Starting Out: the sicilian, by John Emms
Starting Out: The Sicilian Dragon, by Andrew Martin
Starting Out: Sicilain Najdorf, by Richard Palliser
Starting Out: The Scotch Game, by John Emms.

Oh, and please only suggest books that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.

h

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You have a gift certificate and you're going to waste it on chess books?

rc

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Ch ...[text shortened]... that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.
the book on the Scotch game is a great book, i have it, you shall dig it immensely my man.

h

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The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, the best chess book I have read (apart from its chess content).

c
Grammar Nazi

Auschwitz

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Originally posted by heinzkat
You have a gift certificate and you're going to waste it on chess books?
I won the gift certificate by playing chess, so yes.

e

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The flexible french is pretty good (although there are no move order issues discussed). Play the french by watson is supposed to be very good(but is probably slightly dated.

Don't know what your endgames look like but if you are like I was then secrets of pawn endgames is a pretty good one. Fairly advanced but if you put in the work is fantastic.

pawn structure chess by soltis is a pretty good book on the middlegame.

Paul Leggett
Chess Librarian

The Stacks

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GM Glenn Flear has written 3 great endgame books, and you can look them up at Amazon just by searching his name. "Improve Your Endgame Play" is the starting point, "Mastering the Endgame" is his second, and "Practical Chess Endings: Beyond the Basics" is a textbook/catalog of very practical chess endings that occur frequently in endgame play. They are all good, but the last one is one of my favorite chess books. It makes you rethink how to study endings.

Paul Leggett

b
Enigma

Seattle

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Ch ...[text shortened]... that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.
Just my opinion, but you'll get more instructional material for your money by investing in some used Informants. The middle and endgame problems they have near the back of the book are very instructional (solutions are included), and you'll have the added bonus of hundreds...if not thousands of the highest quality games you could ask for, including the French and the Scotch.😏

ptobler
Patzer

Canberra

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Ch ...[text shortened]... that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.
I recommend "Play the French" by Watson over Moskalenko's book, and if you play d-pawn openings as White get Sokolov's middlegame book. My favourite endgame book is "Fundamental Chess Endings" by Lamprecht and Mueller.

o
Art is hard

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Ch ...[text shortened]... that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.
if your rating on this site is something to go by I would recomend Silman's Complete endgame course, it has all a 1500-2000 player needs on endgames.

Also seirawan's winning chess series is very good and recomended

B

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Originally posted by clandarkfire
Yesterday I won a $50 gift certificate for Amazon.com, and I'm looking to get a few chess books. Specifically, I'm looking for a good middlegame book, a good endgame book, and a book on the French. What do you guys suggest? Here is my chess libary so far:

How to Reassess your chess, by Jeremy Silman
Winning Chess Openings, by Yasser Seirawan
101 Ch ...[text shortened]... that are available in agebraic notation. I can't make heads or tails of descriptive notation.
Jeremy Silman's complete Endgame Course is a fantastic book. It made a huge difference to my games.

N
10. O-O

Kalispell, MT

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http://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255393504&sr=8-1

5334 Problems, Combinations and Games Laszlo Polgar


http://www.amazon.com/Tarraschs-best-games-chess-annotated/dp/B0007HACMW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255393627&sr=8-13

Tarrasch's best games Fred Reinfeld


http://www.amazon.com/500-Master-Games-Chess-Books/dp/0486232085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255394131&sr=8-1

500 Master Games of Chess Dr. Tartakower & J du Mont


http://www.amazon.com/Most-Instructive-Games-Chess-Played/dp/0486273024/ref=pd_sim_b_3

The most instructive Games of Chess ever Played: 62 Masterpieces of Chess Strategy Irving Chernev


http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Chess-Exercises-Lessons-Strategy/dp/1587368013/ref=pd_cp_b_3

Practical Chess Exercises: 600 Lessons from Tactics to Strategy Ray cheng



Thats how I'd spend my money on Amazon.
Good luck friend.

-GIN

k

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Originally posted by Nowakowski
http://www.amazon.com/Chess-5334-Problems-Combinations-Games/dp/1579125549/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255393504&sr=8-1

5334 Problems, Combinations and Games [b]Laszlo Polgar



http://www.amazon.com/Tarraschs-best-games-chess-annotated/dp/B0007HACMW/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255393627&sr=8-13

Tarrasch's best games Fred Reinfeld[ ...[text shortened]... egy [b]Ray cheng



Thats how I'd spend my money on Amazon.
Good luck friend.

-GIN[/b]
To clandarkfire:

All of Nowakowski's recommendations are excellent save for the Chernev and I am unfamiliar with the Cheng, so the sole addition would be "Chess Endings: essential knowledge" by Y. Averbakh. A slim volume which describes many if not all of the endgame motifs a first year might need.

And one last bit, when buying from Amazon buy from one seller if possible, to take advantage of multiple mailing discounts and buy used the titles of which may be "remainders" and so in "like new" condition. Stretch those "gift certificate" dollars.

k.

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