| BEGINNER'S BOOKS - Just the
basics. |
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The
United States Chess Federation's Official Rules
of Chess, 4th ed., compiled by the
USCF - The comprehensive handbook and guide
sanctioned by the U.S. Chess Federation. For
players at all levels. A must for the tournament
player! |
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Chess:
5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games,
Laszlo Polgar - An indispensible volume for the
beginner to the seasoned vetran. The book
includes 306 mate in one, 3,412 mate in two and
744 mate in three problems; 600 miniatures games;
144 endgame studies and 128 tournament game
combinations. Over 2" thick! A great way to
learn tactics and combinational play. |
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| INTERMEDIATE BOOKS - Taking
it to the next level! |
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Modern
Chess Strategy, Edward Lasker - Only
one of two chess books that I've read cover to
cover (did it twice). This is the book that took
me from playing casual chess in high school to
playing competitively in college. A little of
everything here: opening theory, middlegame
stategy, middlegame tactics, endgame play,
positional play and on and on. A nice first book
to those who want to take it to the next level! |
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Strategy
and Tactics in Chess, Dr. M. Euwe
(fmr. World Chess Champion)- A nice intermediate
text on tactics and strategy, with more of an
emphasis on tactics. Combinations are discussed
in detail with clear and convincing comments on
each move sequence. Beneficial book for all
levels of play and compliments Modern Chess
Strategy (above) very well. |
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Chess
Openings: Theory and Practice, I.A.
Horowitz - A difinitive study of all the
important openings with over 2,500 fully analyzed
variations and over 400 complete illustrative
games. The analysis of each opening is
categorized into Idea Variations, Practical
Variations and Supplementary Variations which
allows for great flexibility when learning. |
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Winning
Chess Traps, Irving Chernev - An
extremely practical book. Not only does it
provide 300+ opening traps to take advantage of
and to avoid, it is a nice supplement to an
opening theory book. Plus the traps are set up so
that you must spot them, so it's a tactical
trainer as well. Nice combo of an opening book
and a tactical book. |
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Pandolfini's
Endgame Course, NM Bruce Pandolfini -
A nice book to explore basic endgame theory.
Pandolfini was Josh Waitzkin's (the kid
biographied in the movie Searching for Bobby
Fischer) chess coach in real life. An easy
to read, detailed treatment of the endgame. |
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Zurich
International Chess Festival 1953,
David Bronstein - A collection of games from what
many consider the greatest tournament of all
time, certainly by the strength of the players
involved. The annotations of the games allows the
reader to pick up on the middlegame strategic
plans in each game. A great collection of games
between great players. Universally
regarded as one of the ten books absolutely
essential to a serious chess player. |
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500
Master Games of Chess, Tartakower and
DuMont - A nice collection of games ranging over
150 years. All the great names in chess are
presented in one volume. The games are organized
by opening, so if the reader wants examples of an
opening they're studying, finding an example game
is easy. Tremendous annotations. |
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| ADVANCED BOOKS - Books for
serious study! |
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How to
Reassess Your Chess, IM Jeremy Silman
- Offers a step-by-step course designed to
improve anyone's game. Shows how to dissect a
position, recognize its individual parts and
ultimately find the one move that conforms to the
needs of any particular situation. Universally regarded as one of
the ten books absolutely essential to a serious
chess player. |
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My
System, Aron Nimzowitsch - One of the
most stimulating books ever written on chess.
Nimzo is often considered the father of modern
postional play. This book should be considered
required reading for all chess players. Only the
second chess book I've read cover to cover. Universally regarded as one of
the ten books absolutely essential to a serious
chess player. |
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The Art
of Positional Play, Samuel Reshevsky
- Reshevsky is regarded as a foremost exponent of
positional play and this is his major
instructional book on the subject. A good book in
its own rite; however, My System and Reassess
Your Chess (both above) are, in my opinion,
superior in their presentation when it comes to
positional play. |
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1001
Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations,
Fred Reinfeld - No single book can tell you
everything you need to know about chess tactics,
but this one gets you about 99.9% of the way
there. This book makes you WORK (and work
hard!) to find the right combination or move,
but it is for this reason it is so instructive.
You can't help but get better by reading this
one! Universally
regarded as one of the ten books absolutely
essential to a serious chess player |
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The Art
of Attack in Chess, Vladimir Vukovic
- One of the finest chess books ever written! The
text expounds on both the basic principles and
most complex forms of attack on the king. Study
of this masterpiece will add power and brilliance
to any chess enthusiast's play. Universally regarded as one of
the ten books absolutely essential to a serious
chess player |
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Play
the Nimzo-Indian Defence, GM Svetozar
Gligoric - A compendium on the Nimzo-Indian
Defense for black against 1. d4. A very popular
defense for black introduced in the 1920's by
Nimzowitsch. |
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Nunn's
Chess Openings, Nunn, Burgess, Emms,
Gallagher - "The Bible" of chess. A
thoroughly comprehensive guide to opening theory.
Be warned - it is a very difficult read and is
for serious study only! Chess Openings:
Theory and Practice (above) is presented in
a much easier format. With that said, this book
is still extremely useful. |
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