Favourite chess book?

I'm currently reading L. Bo Hansen's Secrets of Chess Endgame Strategy, and so far it's my favorite chess book. It helps me understand how to play the middlegame/opening to get into winning endgames, which is much more important than tactics for a player with my style.

Originally posted by Brinsleleaf
I think that the book that single-handed improved my results is "The Seven Deadly Chess Sins" by Jonathan Rowson. Not only is it HUGELY entertaining book about chess psychology, but I would say that it's one of those very rare books that you can read through without a chessboard and learn a lot from just by reading the texts (and let's face it, don't we ...[text shortened]... en to be interested in (in no particular order ;-)...taoism, quantum physics, paradox...).

Agreed, although I think his follow up, Chess for Zebras, is even better (and gets my vote).

i think that in all the books that i have read this far,

KING POWER IN CHESS by EDMAR MEDNIS is the best.It doesn't overflow with annotations and gives you a chance to think for yourself...also it has the right amount of explanations

Originally posted by tomtom232
The Guide to Good Chess and On the Endgame both by C.J.S. Purdy.

The Guide to Good Chess is a neat little book, isn't it? I'm not sure it's my absolute favorite, but I think it is a very good one, with lots of basic positional principles. (Doesn't discuss tactics much, though.) I only skimmed it on my first reading; I intend to go through it a second time at a slower pace. Purdy's crystal-clear writing style amazes me. No wonder this book is in it's 12th edition. Too bad it's out of print, due to Thinkers' Press going out of business.

I haven't read his endgame book yet, but if the writing style is as clear as his GTGC, I'd think it would also be a good one to read.

Search for Chess Perfection by Purdy. His bio, games, and a collection his magazine articles.