How to impove your chess

That is so true.. everything there.. that's basically what I did.. I didn't call it studying though.. it was just fun! I did it online using www.chessgames.com but still.. same difference.

Originally posted by wittywonka
After rereading this post a second time, I'm definitely interested in purchasing a collection book of games, but where should I start? Does anyone have any suggestions?

These are game collections I would like to own:

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Mikhail Tal.
My Best Games of Chess, Alexander Alekhine.
My 60 Memorable Games, Bobby Fischer.
Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953, David Bronstein.

I'm going through Pandolfini's Solitaire Chess at the moment and as the first post says its probably the most productive way to learn. You're really forced to think about every move, unlike most chess books which allow you to read very passively.

Originally posted by Green Paladin
These are game collections I would like to own:

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Mikhail Tal.
My Best Games of Chess, Alexander Alekhine.
My 60 Memorable Games, Bobby Fischer.
Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953, David Bronstein.

I'm going through Pandolfini's Solitaire Chess at the moment and as the first post says its probably the ...[text shortened]... ed to think about every move, unlike most chess books which allow you to read very passively.

I have Zurich 1953. Its an excellent book for learning the middle game plans of openings like the KID and Nimzo, as those openings came up again and again. Great games, well annotated. I just wish I could discipline myself to work through it as the book is a treasure trove of chess.

Originally posted by wittywonka
After rereading this post a second time, I'm definitely interested in purchasing a collection book of games, but where should I start? Does anyone have any suggestions?

I can certainly recommend Paul Morphy: A Modern Perspective by Valeri Beim.
Very well-written annotations.

Originally posted by scandium
I have Zurich 1953. Its an excellent book for learning the middle game plans of openings like the KID and Nimzo, as those openings came up again and again. Great games, well annotated. I just wish I could discipline myself to work through it as the book is a treasure trove of chess.

I have the Zurich book too, and haven't read it through, yet. But I'm currently working through The Mammoth Book of the World's Greates Chess Games. Its publication is very cheap paper-back-novel like, but the contect is very enjoyable. What I love about it is that before every game, it give a nice paragraph biography of each player. So I'm learning a lot about all these names I've heard but never knew much about. Then there's a paragraph talking about the game, explaining the situations and environments of the game.

Originally posted by Green Paladin
These are game collections I would like to own:

The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, Mikhail Tal.
My Best Games of Chess, Alexander Alekhine.
My 60 Memorable Games, Bobby Fischer.
Zurich International Chess Tournament 1953, David Bronstein.

I'm going through Pandolfini's Solitaire Chess at the moment and as the first post says its probably the ...[text shortened]... ed to think about every move, unlike most chess books which allow you to read very passively.

I have all 5 books, actually, though the games collections are by far some of the best ever collected and annotated. Tal and Bronstein are great writers, both for insight as well as style. Fischer was just on a whole other level (or planet!). Bronstein has an incredible way of getting to the heart of the matter, without the pages of computer analysis and game references that seems to clutter books today.