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Chess Improvement: 5 Best Books

If you are looking to improve at Chess, these are the 5 Best Books for accomplishing that goal!

By Mackenzie TittlePublished 2 years ago 4 min read
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There are a lot of excellent Chess Books out there! I’ve read many of them, but certainly nowhere close to all of them. However, I have read all of the books that made it on this list and I clearly thought very highly of each of them. For each of these books, I will discuss their target audiences, the focus on their content and my overall ratings/thoughts on the books.

#5 — Chess Target Practice by Bruce Pandolfini

Wait what? This is just a puzzle book! Sort of… It’s a puzzle book, grouped by themes, where the significance and concepts behind those themes is explained by one of the greatest Chess teachers of all time. Sure, you can find puzzles and even themed puzzles online by the thousands, but I don’t think there’s any replacement for this solid and intentional Beginner-Intermediate Puzzle Book.

Audience: Players rated 400–1700 (USCF/Chess.com)

Content: Puzzles/Tactics Teaching & Training

Overall Rating: B (It’s ultimately still just a puzzle book, but it’s an exceptionally good one for players of this rating range).

#4 — Chess Fundamentals by Jose Raul Capablanca

One of the greatest Chess players of all time wrote a book specifically focused on everything that he thought you needed to know in order to go from a novice to advanced player. I think we should read it. The content, difficulty and focus of this book varies wildly, but the vast majority of lessons covered are relevant and very helpful for those looking to improve at Chess.

Audience: Players rated 400–1900 (USCF/Chess.com)

Content: Mostly Endgames, with some discussion of Middle-game Strategy/Concepts

Overall Rating: B+ (It’s a little too broad/unfocused for me personally, but otherwise it’s a fantastic book).

#3 — The Power of Pawns by Jorg Hickl

Pawn structures are complicated! Every time that I try to learn about pawns, it usually just ends in a massive headache. Admittedly, I had several headaches while reading this book too — but I blame that on my own lack of mental faculties rather than the exceptional explanations made by Jorg Hickl. Thanks to this book, I was almost able to feel less than incompetent about my knowledge of Pawn Structures. Seriously though, it has helped and will hopefully enable me to start understanding some of the more complex books out there on Pawn Structures.

Audience: Players rated 1200–2000 (USCF/Chess.com)

Content: Pawn Structures (Wide variety of Openings/Structures)

Overall Rating: A- (I don’t know if my simpleton brain can rate a Pawn Structure book higher than A-, so well done Hickl!)

#2 — Weapons of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini

“You picked two books by the same author? Seriously?” Yes, I chose two books by the greatest Chess teacher of all time on a story that is focusing on Chess Improvement (And I don’t apologize for doing so). If you are an Intermediate player and you feel out of place listening to those 1600 players sitting around talking about Light Square Advantages, Rooks on Open Files, Knights vs. Bishops in the Endgame, Backwards Pawns, Isolated Pawns, etc. then I highly recommend this book. The cover reads “An Omnibus of Chess Strategy” and that’s exactly what this book is. It’s not a Grandmaster’s evaluation of Slav Defense. It’s a very specific overview of many of the strategies that are pivotal to understanding Chess at the next level.

Audience: Players rated 800–1800 (USCF/Chess.com)

Content: Middle-game Strategy (Which is a massive topic)

Overall Rating: A (When my high school chess club students ask me, “What book would you recommend that I get to help me improve at Chess?” I almost always recommend this book — it’s so good for where so many of my students are at in their Chess Improvement journeys).

#1 — Silman’s Complete Endgame Course by Jeremy Silman

If you (or I) truly understood everything that is covered in the top 3 books on this list — then I believe we would be titled players. Pawn Structures, Middle-game strategy & Endgames — I wish I understood those concepts like Hickl, Pandolfini & Silman all do. When this book says “From Beginner to Master,” Silman really means it. This Endgame Course starts with the basics — Ladder Mates, Direct Opposition, Passed Pawns and it builds all the way up to… well I can’t even understand what the last two chapters are about yet… but let’s just call those “Endgames for Titled Players.” This book is massive and its a textbook, but it’s a fantastically well written textbook. My version is underlined, highlighted, full of sticky notes and several chapters have been re-read and taught to students over and over again. I love it, I need it and it’s consistently been the only reason that I can still beat my little brother at Chess.

Audience: Everyone Rated below 2200 (USCF/Chess.com)

Content: Endgames (Concepts & Applications)

Overall Rating: A+(I would choose this book over all the rest combined — I’m that fond of it).

Want to improve at Chess? Check out these articles:

5 Phone Apps for Chess Improvement

Chess Improvement & YouTube/Twitch

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About the Creator

Mackenzie Tittle

www.mackenzietittle.com - Creator & Writer

I write about Chess, Dungeons & Dragons, Lord of the Rings, Gloomhaven & Soccer.

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