Well, usually I go to the library and get frustrated over the lack, to none at all, chess selection, so what I did was reserve a copy of every single chess book within the city branch, and today alone, with more to come, I have 9 chess books. How I'm I going to read, study and analyze 9 chess books, with more to come, in 3 weeks? I never thought of this until I got frustrated and went on a mission to martyr and monopolize the chess libraries selection within a city of 300K ppl!
You'd better do a quality check on those b4 you bother reading the crap one first and run out of time to read the decent one. Don't know what the score is with ordering books through your library in the US is, but in the UK you can request a book to be bought by the library if they don't stock it. 😉
My experience with library chess selections has been for the most part, well, let me put it this way: my DOG could write better chess books than the stuff you get off those library shelves!
So, that is why I started my own personal chess library. It has dozens od chess books by the best authors, and is steadily growing every time I get a few bucks to spend.
I would have to say that I consider my library to be amoung my most treasured possesions.
The library obviously wouldn't appreciate it, or else why would they carry junk in their racks in the first place?* Besides after I go to the "Great tournament in the sky", my kids are getting all my chess books, all my boards and pieces, all my game scores, and all my notebooks. Then they are going to pass them onto my grandkids, and on down the line.
*"Cast not thy pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot"
Of course they carry junk. Did you ever see a librarian who could play chess? It's up to you, enlightened few, to point out the pearls to the pigs. Why would anyone throw pearls at pigs anyway? It's like saying, "Don't throw diamonds at chickens, lest they peck at them," or "Don't taunt the gorillas." It goes without saying, doesn't it? I like the one: "A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse." It has an animal in it and also makes no sense.
Originally posted by kingisdeadI think the good stuff gets stolen.😉
My experience with library chess selections has been for the most part, well, let me put it this way: my DOG could write better chess books than the stuff you get off those library shelves!
So, that is why I started my own personal chess library. It has dozens od chess books by the best authors, and is steadily growing every time I get a few bucks t ...[text shortened]... nd.
I would have to say that I consider my library to be amoung my most treasured possesions.
Buddy, I didn't invent the proverb. Christ did. It means basicly this. If someone doesn't or won't appreciate your best, (whatever that may be) it's best to keep it to yourself, because it will just end up being ruined, wrecked, denigrated, or what have you. In other words, you will end up wasting your valuable time and possesions. That is the meaning of the proverb in a nutshell.
I'd be glad to post my books, but I only have a few minutes here for my internet time today, then I have someplace I have to be. But maybe tommorow when I'm not in such a rush.
My book collection consists of a very old BCO (published when Kasparov was a young aspiring GM 😲 ). That's the only chess book I have. I did read My System by Nimzowich which I borrowed off my coach.
However my collection of chess software is much more impressive (or so I think). Along with Fritz and Chessbase 8 I have a large number of pdf documents from Chess Publishing, Chessbase Opening Encyclopedia, Tactics by Renko, Elementary Tactics and Endgame Training by Weteschnik, Technique Trainer by Scholsserner and a very long Strategy Course my coach wrote.
I find the whole lot useful. And they are much easier to access than books (well in my opinion anyway).
Paul's Book Collection
Owned:
Attack with Mikhail Tal -- Tal, Damsky (of course!)
The Inner Game of Chess -- Soltis
My System -- (duh)
Improve your Opening Play -- Chris Ward
Understanding Chess, Move by Move -- Nunn
and Chess the Easy Way -- Fine.
Long-Term Borrowed from a very loose chess club which doesn't care if you borrow books for years:
King's Gambit -- Korchnoi, Zak (of course!)
Winning with the King's Gambit, Vol II, Declined -- Soltis
The Dutch Leningrad -- McDonald
Beating the Sicilian with the Short-Nunn Attack -- Soltis
King is dead collection; (partial list)
Owned: Principles of the new chess (Pandolfini)
Best of chess life and review Vol 2 (Pandolfini)
639 essential endgame positions (schiller)
How To Play the sicilian Defense Levy, Oconnel
Weapons of chess (pandolfini)
Kasparov's winning chess tactics(Pandolfini)
200 Open Games (Bronstein)
Standard chess openings (Schiller)
How ToWin In The Chess endings (Horowitz)
Unorthodox Chess Openings (Schiller)
Chess 5334 Oroblems, Combinations, and Games (Polgar)
The Winning way(pandolfini0
Winning Chess Tactics (Silman)
Fundamental chess endings((Muller Lamprecht)
Attacking chess (Waitzkin)
Inside chess Openings (Gufeld, Kalinichenko)
Learn From Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games (Schiller)
The Chess Of Bobby fisher (Burger)
Bobby Fischer's Outrageous Chess Moves (Pandolfini)
Chess Opening Traps And Zaps (Pandolfini)
Bobby fischer teaches chess (Fischer, Margulies, Mosenfelder)
100 Easy Checkmates (Evans)
Master checkmate Strategy ( Robertie)
303 Tactical Chess Puzzles (Wilson, Albertson)
303 Tricky Checkmates Wilson, Albertson)
Modern Chess Openings 14 (de Firmian)
How To Play Better Chess
Pandolfini's Endgame Course(Pandolfini)
What's The Best Move
Capablanca's Chess Endings
Creatiive Chess
Chess Opening traps And Zaps 2 (Pandolfini)
How To PlayThe Chess Openings
Bright Side Of Chess (Chernov)
Simple Chess
The King's Gambit
Play Winning Chess
How To reacess Your Chess
Opening Reportoire For the Asttacking Player
The Right way To Play Chess
How To Beat Your chess Computer
Great Ganmes By Chess Prodigies
Gary Kasparov's Best games
Essentilal Chess Openings
Chess Problem Gems By 8 compiosers
Discover Your Chess Strength
500 master games
The chess doctor
Rapid chess Improvement
64 Things You need To Know In Chess
And I'm tired of typing so will stop there.
Somebody should start a thread on their game collections. I wonder which one or two Kingisdead (for example) in his large collection considers the most valuable to his understanding of the game? Whichones he would toss out if he hadn't spent good money getting? I know if i wanted to sell a book i would call it "How to Be a Tactical Genius Just Like Bobby Fischer in Seven Days or Less." I'm sure I'd make money.