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The Best Chess Books Ever
MI Silman
| 13/01/2015
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Lately Ive gotten several letters from chess fans who want to know what kind of c
hess books I like, and what books I consider to be the best of all time.
That kind of best-ever list is very much a matter of taste, and a small list is im
possible due to the enormous number of books that are written every year.
Keep in mind that more chess books have been written than books about all other
sports and games combined! And though I have around 4,000 chess books, a couple
of my friends have far more than that!
In fact, my collection is considered to be nothing more than a good working librar
y.
I asked a few chess friends to chime in about their favorite chess books, and Ill
give their lists before sharing my views on the subject.
Youll notice that some books are in just about everyones list, which tells you a l
ot about those particular tomes.

YASSER SEIRAWAN
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A grandmaster and four-time U.S. chess champion, Yasser is also a fantastic ches
s writer and has written many fine chess books.
His Play Winning Chess series is highly thought of, and is a favorite of players
from beginner to 1800. His book (with co-author George Stefanovic) on the 1992
rematch between Fischer and Spassky (No Regrets: Fischer-Spassky 1992) is one of
the finest match books ever written. His latest book, Chess Duels: My Games Wit
h the World Champions is a fantastic read.
Yasser pointed out that any list is very subjective, but he listed the following
as personal favorites:
TAL-BOTVINNIK, 1960 by Mikhail Tal
MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES by Robert Fischer
THE LIFE & GAMES OF MIKHAIL TAL by Tal
ZURICH INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1953 by David Bronstein (the original
title was The Chess Struggle in Practice)
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO by Alexander Alekhine
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE EARLY GAMES OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE MIDDLE YEARS OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE LATER YEARS OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
GRANDMASTER PREPARATION by Lev Polugaevsky
Seirawan said: All these books have held me in endless fascination. Indeed, I fee
l like Ive read them many times. Instead of simply naming titles, I prefer to men

tion authors. I enjoy the works of Larsen, Bronstein, Tal, Kasparov, Karpov, Sil
man, Nunn, Watson, and Christiansen, among others. Their works stand out against
other very worthy authors. We will have to wait for the autobiographies of Carl
sen, Caruana, Aronian, Nakamura

JOHN DONALDSON
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John is an international master, six-time captain of the U.S. Chess Olympic team
, chess historian, and author of many chess books, including his two-book master
piece on Akiba Rubinstein (co-authored by Nikolay Minev). John is currently work
ing on the ultimate book about Fischer. Ive been following his progress on this b
ook for quite some time, and when I say its the ultimate book on Fischer, I mean
it.
Knowing John was completely immersed in his Fischer project, I didnt expect him t
o give me any feedback about the best books. However, he innocently mentioned one
and I grabbed it since its also a favorite of mine!
SECOND PIATIGORSKY CUP by Gregor Piatigorsky and Isaac Kashdan
He had this to say about this particular book: I would go with the Second Piatigo
rsky Cup where eight of the participants annotated all of their games (Donner di
d nine and Bobby sadly only one). Ive always been fond of games annotated by both
players.

ANTHONY SAIDY
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Dr. Anthony Saidy (the real star of the HBO Fischer movie) is a legendary IM who
played Fischer (a close friend of his) many times, and beat many big names (Kor
chnoi, for example). He also happens to have a magnificent chess library that dw
arfs mine. His book, The Battle of Chess Ideas (written in Retis tradition), is a
classic (available in paper and in e-book format for iOS), and his coffee table
book, The World of Chess, is something all chess fans should own. His novel, 19
83, a Dialectical Novel, was given high marks by Harrison Salisbury, the Pulitze
r Prize-winning Moscow correspondent of the New York Times.
His list:
RETIS MODERN IDEAS IN CHESS by Richard Reti (poetically written)
MASTERS OF THE CHESSBOARD by Richard Reti
THE GAME OF CHESS by Siegbert Tarrasch (Generations learned how to play from
this book!)
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO by Alexander Alekhine
THE HYPERMODERN CHESS GAME by Savielly Tartakower (Unfortunately its only in
German.)
MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES by Robert Fischer
ZURICH INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1953 by David Bronstein
SOVIET CHESS 1917-1991 by Andy Soltis

THE HUMAN SIDE OF CHESS: THE GREAT MASTERS AND THEIR GAMES by Fred Reinfeld
THE DEFENSE by Vladimir Nabokov (best chess novel)
MY SYSTEM by Aron Nimzowitsch
MIKHAIL BOTVINNIK: THE LIFE AND GAMES OF A WORLD CHESS CHAMPION by Andrew So
ltis

DANIEL RENSCH
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Rensch is an international master and supreme ruler of Chess.com.
His list, not necessarily in that order of course:
ZURICH INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1953 by David Bronstein
DYNAMIC CHESS STRATEGY by Mihai Suba
TAL-BOTVINNIK, 1960 by Mikhail Tal
HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS by Jeremy Silman
UNDERSTANDING CHESS MOVE BY MOVE by John Nunn
ROAD TO CHESS IMPROVEMENT by Alex Yermolinsky
Here is Renschs chess book list for students:
RUSSIAN CHESS COURSE, VOLUMES 1 AND 2 by Lev Alburt
MY SYSTEM by Aron Nimzowitsch
ZURICH INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1953 by David Bronstein
CAPABLANCAS BEST CHESS ENDINGS by Irving Chernov
MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES by Robert Fischer
PAWN STRUCTURE CHESS by Andy Soltis
PAWN POWER IN CHESS by Hans Kmoch
WINNING PAWN STRUCTURES by Alexander Baburin
THE INNER GAME OF CHESS by Andy Soltis
ESSENTIAL CHESS ENDINGS VOLUME 1 by Jeremy Silman
HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS by Jeremy Silman
DYNAMIC CHESS STRATEGY by Mihai Suba
UNDERSTANDING CHESS MOVE BY MOVE by John Nunn
DVORETSKYS ENDGAME MANUAL by Mark Dvoretsky
FUNDAMENTAL CHESS ENDINGS by Karsten Muller and Frank Lamprecht
ENDGAME VIRTUOSO by Vassily Smyslov
CHESS PUZZLE BOOK by John Nunn
CHESS TRAINING POCKET BOOK by Lev Alburt
BEST GAMES OF SELF-AUTHORED WORLD CHAMPION by any world champion.
PRACTICAL CHESS ENDINGS by Paul Keres
SCHOOL OF CHESS EXCELLENCE SERIES by Mark Dvoretsky
ROAD TO CHESS IMPROVEMENT by Alex Yermolinsky
[Note added by IM Rensch: "I feel like an a** for not mentioning the Great Prede
cessor series by Kasparov. Of course, those books are simply phenomenal and monu
mental works of art, and in my opinion, might be Kasparov s biggest contributio
n to the chess community (which is really saying something). Also, my top-six li
st was definitely given under the guidelines of my favorites for enjoyment and
not necessarily the best books for both a 1200 and 2400 to read."]
JACK PETERS
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image via wikipedia

IM Jack Peters ruled Southern California chess for over two decades and authored
several chess books. He wrote the chess column for the Los Angeles Times newspa
per from 1982 to 2011, and now teaches chess at the University of Southern Calif
ornia.
Peters said: I dont believe in the idea of best books. Almost any good-quality book
can seem terrific if you encounter it at the moment you are ready to learn what
the author is explaining. My list is composed of books that made a strong impres
sion on me. In no particular order:
CHESS PRAXIS by Aron Nimzowitsch
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO by Alexander Alekhine
MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES by Robert Fischer
100 SELECTED GAMES OF CHESS by Mikhail Botvinnik
MARSHALL S BEST GAMES OF CHESS by Frank Marshall
BASIC CHESS ENDINGS by Reuben Fine
CHESS ENDINGS: ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE by Yuri Averbakh
THE WORLDS GREAT CHESS GAMES by Reuben Fine
THE SOVIET SCHOOL OF CHESS by Alexander Kotov and Mikhail Yudovich
CHESS INFORMANT #11

CYRUS LAKDAWALA
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Cyrus is an international master, a highly sought-after chess teacher, and one o
f the hottest chess writers in the world today.
His list:
HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS by Jeremy Silman
CHESS SECRETS I LEARNED FROM THE MASTERS by Edward Lasker
CAPABLANCA S BEST CHESS ENDINGS by Irving Chernev
ENDGAME STRATEGY by Mikhail Shereshevsky
MASTERING THE ENDGAME, VOLUME 1 by Mikhail Shereshevsky
MASTERING THE ENDGAME, VOLUME 2 by Mikhail Shereshevsky
CHESS IS MY LIFE by Victor Korchnoi
MY 60 MEMORABLE GAMES by Robert Fischer
ZURICH INTERNATIONAL CHESS TOURNAMENT 1953 by David Bronstein
TAL-BOTVINNIK, 1960 by Mikhail Tal
DVORETSKYS ANALYTICAL MANUAL by Mark Dvoretsky
THINK LIKE A GRANDMASTER by Alexander Kotov

DAVID PRUESS
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David Pruess, a strong international master, helped to make Chess.com what it is
today. He is also Chess.coms most famous rapper.

David said: My choices depend on what is meant by best, most enjoyable, or most edu
cational? Good for a 1200 or good for a 2400? Im not sure, so Ill just share with
you the books that have contributed most to my chess development, by being enjoy
able, inspiring, and educational. This is in approximate chronological order, so
#1 was one of the first books Ive read, and #12 is something Im still reading tod
ay!
David s list:
WINNING CHESS STRATEGY by Seirawan and Silman
CHESS PRAXIS by Aron Nimzowitsch
MODERN IDEAS IN CHESS by Richard Reti
NEW YORK 1924, game annotated by Alexander Alekhine
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO by Alexander Alekhine
GRANDMASTER PREPARATION by Lev Polugaevsky
CHILD OF CHANGE by Garry Kasparov
ENDGAME STRATEGY by Mikhail Shereshevsky
TAL-BOTVINNIK, 1960 by Mikhail Tal
THE ART OF THE MIDDLEGAME by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov (mainly the Kere
s sections)
THE SORCERER S APPRENTICE by David Bronstein
MY GREAT PREDECESSORS VOLUMES 1-5 by Garry Kasparov (have only read parts of
this series, but its reallllly good).
My overall #1 is definitely Grandmaster Preparation by Polugaevsky, who along wit
h Kasparov I consider my favorite chess writers, said Pruess.

JOHN WATSON
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An international master and one of the worlds best chess coaches, Watson has an a
lmost legendary stature as an opening theoretician and chess thinker. He gives w
eekly opening repertoire lectures on the ICC, and monthly opening columns for Ch
essPublishing.com.
Hes written more than 30 books on chess, the most well known being his revolution
ary series on the English Opening, his books on the French Defense, his four vol
ume series titled, Mastering the Chess Openings, and his award-winning duo, Secr
ets of Modern Chess Strategy: Advances since Nimzowitsch and Chess Strategy in A
ction. His latest book (with Eric Schiller) is a revised edition of Taming the W
ild Chess Openings, due out in late spring from New in Chess.
Watson s list:
MY SYSTEM by Aron Nimzowitsch
SOVIET CHESS 1917-1991 by Andy Soltis
EMINENT VICTORIAN CHESS PLAYERS by Tim Harding
THE LIFE & GAMES OF MIKHAIL TAL by Mikhail Tal
SEVEN DEADLY CHESS SINS by Jonathan Rowson
VAN PERLOS ENDGAME TACTICS by Van Perlo
FIRE ON BOARD: SHIROVS BEST GAMES (Volumes 1 and 2) by Alexei Shirov
THE KING: CHESS PIECES by Jan Hein Donner
Genna Sosonkos collections of essays, especially RUSSIAN SILHOUETTES, THE REL
IABLE PAST, and SMART CHIP FROM ST PETERBURG

CHESS DUELS by Yasser Seirawan

HOW TO REASSESS YOUR CHESS 4th edition by Jeremy Silman

JEREMY SILMAN
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Okay, we finally come to my favorite books. Of course, there are a huge number o
f chess books that I really like, but I will only mention a few here.
Best Game Collections
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TAL-BOTVINNIK, 1960 by Mikhail Tal
THE LIFE & GAMES OF MIKHAIL TAL by Mikhail Tal
100 SELECTED GAMES OF CHESS by Mikhail Botvinnik
Everyone should get this book and play though all of Botvinniks games and notes.
SECOND PIATIGORSKY CUP by Gregor Piatigorsky and Isaac Kashdan
NO REGRETS: FISCHER-SPASSKY 1992 by Yasser Seirawan and George Stefanovic
MARSHALL S BEST GAMES OF CHESS by Frank Marshall
So much fun!
CHESS PRAXIS by Aron Nimzowitsch
I was never high on My System, but I love Chess Praxis!
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS, VOLUMES ONE AND TWO by Alexander Alekhine
Youre not a chess player until youve read both these books.
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE EARLY GAMES OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE MIDDLE YEARS OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
GRANDMASTER OF CHESS: THE LATER YEARS OF PAUL KERES by Paul Keres
BENT LARSENS BEST GAMES by Bent Larsen
I considered the older edition to be one of the best chess books ever, but this
new edition (from New in Chess) is even better.
THE LIFE AND GAMES OF AKIVA RUBINSTEIN, Volumes 1 & 2 by John Donaldson and
Nikolay Minev
If youre a Rubinstein fan, these two books are as good as it gets.
MY BEST GAMES OF CHESS 1935-1957 by Vasily Smyslov
The games are sublime, and the notes are crystal clear.
TIGRAN PETROSIAN HIS LIFE AND GAMES by Vik Vasiliev
I have several books on Petrosian, but this is my favorite.
KARPOVS STRATEGIC WINS VOLUMES 1 & 2 by Tibor Karolyi

Mr. Karolyi cranks out one fine book after another. As a Karpov fan, I found the
se to be particularly enjoyable.
JUDIT POLGAR TEACHES CHESS, VOLUMES 1-3 by Judit Polgar
Well-written and very personal, these books are deeply autobiographical, and als
o filled with world-class notes. Lots of great photos make these three great boo
ks even better.

Middlegame Instruction
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THE ART OF THE MIDDLEGAME by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov
Simple, clear, instructive. Im very fond of it!
THINK LIKE A GRANDMASTER by Alexander Kotov
A classic.
FISCHER: HIS APPROACH TO CHESS by Elie Agur
Another book that never got its due. The author breaks down Fischers games into c
ommon themes, showing you how Fischer handled various kinds of positions. So, in
stead of just another game collection, we have a middlegame textbook using only
Fischer games.

Endgame
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CAPABLANCA S BEST CHESS ENDINGS by Irving Chernev
A delight.
ENDGAME STRATEGY by Mikhail Shereshevsky
Very instructive.

Tactics
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CHESS GEMS: 1,000 COMBINATIONS YOU SHOULD KNOW by Igor Sukhin
This little-known book deserves much more attention than it got. Other than the
incredible games, wonderful puzzles, and very nice notes, its also a lesson in ch
ess history taking you step-by-step through the tactical timeline from the 12th
century to Greco and onwards. The author put a lot of love into this book, and i
f you want to study tactics, then you cant do better than this!
THE ART OF THE CHESS COMBINATION by Eugene Znosko-Borovsky

When I was 14 my tactics were pathetic. I read this book from start to finish an
d went from 1300-strength tactics to 2100.

History
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PACHMANS DECISIVE GAMES by Ludek Pachman
I lost count on how many times Ive read this. No, its not about Pachmans games. Its
about key moments in famous tournaments. He first builds up a critical situation
, then presents the all-important game with great notes. A tournament table is g
iven afterwards. You learn a lot from the games, and you learn a lot about chess
history too.
SOVIET CHESS 1917-1991 by Andy Soltis
When Andy is on, hes capable of great things. This is one of his masterpieces.
MIKHAIL BOTVINNIK: THE LIFE AND GAMES OF A WORLD CHESS CHAMPION by Andy Solt
is
Yet another Soltis tour-de-force.
FRANK MARSHALL, UNITED STATES CHESS CHAMPION by Andy Soltis
Three strikes and youre out if you dont buy all three of these Soltis books.
THE HUMAN SIDE OF CHESS: THE GREAT MASTERS AND THEIR GAMES by Fred Reinfeld
A wonderful read. The fact is, Reinfeld, Chernev, and Edward Lasker wrote many,
many really excellent books.
BLINDFOLD CHESS by Eliot Hearst and John Knott
If you have any interest in blindfold chess or chess history then this book is f
or you. Its fantastic!
THE KING: CHESS PIECES by Jan Hein Donner
Mixing a sharp tongue with humor and fascinating insights, this book is somethin
g that deserves a rereading every couple of years.
A. ALEKHINE: AGONY OF A CHESS GENIUS by Pablo Moran
Beautifully researched, emotionally moving.
ARON NIMZOWITSCH: ON THE ROAD TO CHESS MASTERY, 1886-1924 by Per Skjoldager
and Jorn Erik Nielsen
An epic piece of work. Games, crosstables, and a complete biography of the man,
and it shows you Nimzowitsch as youve never seen him before.
THE TURK, CHESS AUTOMATON by Gerald M. Levitt

The definitive work on this subject. Absolutely fascinating.

MY GREAT PREDECESSORS VOLUMES 1-5 by Garry Kasparov
Many reviewers criticized these books, but they are as wrong as wrong can be. Th
is five-volume set not only has tons of well-analyzed games, but its a complete,
easy-to-digest course on chess history from the first world champion onwards.
To finish up, I have to admit that Seirawan was right. You should look for depen
dable chess authors that never let you down:
Genna Sosonkos intimate stories about various chess greats (The World Champio
ns I Knew, Russian Silhouettes, Smart Chip From St. Petersburg, etc.).
Edward Winters historical discoveries which are candy for lovers of chess his
tory (Chess Explorations, Capablanca, Chess Facts and Fables, etc.).
Tibor Karolyis tidal wave of superb publications (Mikhail Tals Best Games, End
game Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov, etc.).
All of Nunns books are excellent.
Lakdawala specializes in game collections and opening books, but all of his
work is always extremely instructive and fun.
John Watson is a monster theoretician and also a thinker, so if you like ser
ious opening information and/or deeply considered strategic chess musings, hes yo
ur man.
And on and on it goes, since nowadays there are dozens of really good chess writ
ers (Boris Avrukh, Jacob Aagaard, David Vigorito, Mihail Marin, etc.).
To wend his way through the mass of books, a chess player needs to know exactly
what hes looking for. If youre looking for an opening book, you should seek out we
ll-known opening theoreticians. If its instruction, you look for an author that a
ddresses players at your level (buying something thats too advanced wont help you
at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not
be useful for you.
Thats why, when I inherited the original five My System pamphlets (they eventuall
y were made into the one book you see today), which were actually signed by Nimz
owitsch (perhaps the only signed copies in existence?), I gave them to a chess h
istorian since my library is utilitarian, and treasures like those need to be ow
ned by someone who can take proper care of them. Thus, buying an expensive, crit
ically acclaimed book is heaven for one player but might well be a waste of mone
y for you.
When all is said and done, the chess book experience is a very personal one. It
can be extremely frustrating (you read a few pages, realize youre bored to tears,
and place it on the shelf, never to touch it again), or it can be transformativ
e (the book happens to address all your weaknesses and misunderstandings).
So choose carefully, and your chess library will give you a lifetime of pleasure
.