Top 4 Most Overrated Chess Books (and what you should read instead) 

Recommended books: 1:29 The Soviet Chess Primer 2:18 Learn Chess the right way 3:42 Secret to modern Chess stratergy 5:28 Mastering Chess stratergy 6:09 Positional Chess Handbook 7:29 Silmam's complete endgame course 7:42 100 Endgames you must know 8:26 Endgame stratergy 8:41 Mastering Endgame stratergy

My mom bought me Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess when I was 9. I worked through the book within a few days and never lost to my father again... so satisfying. It’s a very basic book on tactics, but going from never reading a chess book to working through this book was bound to help me. Take that for what it’s worth,

Very nice set of recommendations, young man (I'm in my 60s and still learning the game, so I can call you that). Thank you for these. When I was your age, I think I probably wanted to be you, so congratulations on your achievements to date. I wish you much success and growth in the future. When I was a young player, I have to say that "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" exposed me to back-rank mates, which we all need to learn. I was in high school during the '72 World Championship, and while my family was on vacation, camping in the American West, I insisted on getting a New York Times every day so I could play through the games with the set I brought along. There are places in Montana and Wyoming where the NYT was hard to come by. The book that gave me the greatest gain as a club player was Averbakh's "Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge." I really need to bone up on Endgames so I'll get the Silman, thanks for the recommendation. If I learned anything from my encounter with Averbakh, it's that you learn a ton about chess from studying endings. I picked up over 200 rating points in two weekend tournaments (um, starting at 1100, so there was nowhere to go but up) after I spent a week absorbing the book. I took a long break from competitive play, and I broke back in with Lev Alburt's Comprehensive Chess Course vol. 2. After going through it, the 12-year-olds at the library couldn't beat me anymore :). As an old gaffer now, it's fun to reenter the sport and keep learning. While in a Border's Bookstore (remember them)? I came randomly across De La Maza's "Rapid Chess Improvement." Basically, it was "do lots of problems and learn tactics," with the suggestion of getting a particular instructional program I won't name here. I bought it and used it did help me see a lot. I now trade wins and draws with players in the 1500-1800 range, so even though I'm not doing rated tournaments, I've obviously gotten better. Happy to subscribe. My physicians, my pastor, and my therapist are all younger than I am. Why not my chess instructor? Keep it up, lad, keep it up.

My favorite book is Simple Chess, by Michael Stean. It's short, sweet, easy to read, and meant for beginner/intermediate players, but really does teach you how to have a plan: get a good pawn structure, get an open file, get an outpost knight, get control of a diagonal, etc. No memorizing, no endless variations, no risky calculations--just solid, positional advantages. And I love that you can practically read it like a normal book.

Thank you M. Kavutskiy. I really appreciate your suggestions. Even from the first suggestion, I am realising the depth and usefulness of these recommendations. Thanks a million.

The youtube chess community needs more vids like this one.

I appreciate these insights. I'm glad you still like Reasses, but the suggestion that it isn't the be-all end-all of chess books is probably correct. I think it just has the coolest cover and the most systematic and readable material for middlegame instruction. Thoughts on Pawn Structure Chess/Soltis in general?

For learning strategy i would recommend to read "Chess Strategy for Club Players" from Herman Grooten. Just a personal taste. It's not that oversimplified,it's shorter but it's more work. And i forgot Silman recommends it.

Dvoretsky's endgame manual was recommended to me by Gary Kasparov.

On Endings,I have used "A Guide to the Chess Endings", by Dr. Max Euwe and David Hooper. I have used it since the mid 1980's. Each section (Pawn endings, Rook Endings,etc.) are well written and focus on technique for each section.

I think that you really missed out on mentioning Logical Chess by Irving Chernev. Really helped me to understand the game when starting out

Very instructive. I've started to play chess 1.5 years ago. I went from 800 to 2100 reading a lot of chess books. I read: -My 60 memorable games -Play like a grandmaster -My great predecessors part I (I have the other parts as well, but I prefer to analyse the book really deeply and so I've spent over 150h just on this one book. -Mastering chess strategy -Secrets of modern chess strategy -Silman's complete endgame course -Fire on board -Pump up your rating I'm currently reading: -My great Predecessors part 2 -Dvoretsky's endgame manual -the woodpecker method -forcing chess moves -life and games of Mikhail Tal -new art of defense in chess --Mastering chess strategy Let me know if you have any questions about these books

I bought a copy of Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess a few years ago. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it did teach me a lot about checkmates, but it definitely had a lot of limitations. For instance, all the mating sequences in the book are ones that begin with checks!

One book I really like, though aimed at a lower level than what you were describing, is Tarrasch's "The Game of Chess". Generally I felt, especially compared to Nimzovich, that Tarrasch's ideas have aged better. Another old (but not quite so old) book that helped me develop was Hans Müller's "Angriff und Verteidigung" (attack and defense), not sure this is available in English. Müller's book is less about positional play and more about that bridge between tactics and strategy, e.g. it has a good analysis of the Greek gift.

Netflix's Queen's Gambit + this video = Soviet Chess Primer now out of stock everywhere lol

Very useful information, thank you sir✌️👍

In Ben Finegold's "Cry like a grandmaster" i learned more jokes than chess xD

I have found that nearly any chess book is valuable. I went from a C player to B player with the simple 1001 Brilliant Checkmates by Fred Reinfeld.

You shared.wonderful advice . Thanks.

Great video, mate, really helpful!

Thanks! Found this video late. My impression is that some chess books are more harmful than helpful. My game has suffered from reading bad chess books. It's a very hard process to unlearn. One of my (personal) favorites is Pandolfini's Endgame Course. The good thing about this book is that it is all about pattern recognition. Not the optimal way to solve the problem, but instead a standard method that can be used in any game. Also agree on "Think like a grandmaster", not good, I never got better and still don't understand how to calculate :-)

Levy Rozman aka Gothamchess sent me here!

Thank you for your review and recommendations. Subscribed :) Keep it up !

To keep the book circle theme going in the comments, I like Tune your chess tactics antenna quite a lot!

Just to add another book on endgames in your list: Basic Endgames, available for free in Chessable ( a coach did it for his students and made it available for everyone!). Very good if you want to start with the basic stuff, including checkmates Q + K vs K or R + K vs K for the really beginners.

He has his FIDE diploma in the background so you know he is serious

Hiii! Im here again 😅 Any suggestions on Tactics books? I'm currently reading: -Learn Chess Tactics by John Nunn -Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn -100 Endgames by Jesus Devilla But I'm almost done with Learn Chess Tactics, which should I get next? 😃 (also I'm planning to read Secrets to Modern Cheds Strategies after graduating from Nunns move by move and the Silman one afer 100 Endgames but I can't think for my next Tactics book 😃

What would recommend a intermediate player improve his chess playing fills his gaps in his overall chess knowledge? I have not played in many rated tournaments and my raring on lichess hovers around ~1500. P.S - What do you think about Ghenrikh Kasparyan's endgame studies? I already have the book your opinion would help me understand if it's fine for me or a bit too advanced.

Good stuff!!! Am 2100 and still think Dvoretsky’s is a bit on the tough side but yet a good challenge!

It's been a long time, but when I was playing tournaments I would always review I.A. Horowitz's "How to win in the Chess Endings" before a tournament and I think it pushed my rating up about 50 points each time. I didn't like the Bobbie Fisher book either. For those of us old enough to remember Sullivan learning books, that's the kind of thing it was.

De La Villa's endgame course helped me so much. However, only after I learned how to actually use it. He states in the preface (or introductory chapter) that you only need to learn a few chapters before FIDE 1900-2000. Namely, all king + pawn endings, some rook endings, and bishop + rook (i.e., wrong corner). Where you might notice a difference (if you're an under 2000 noob like me) is you will begin to lose less, even under time trouble, concerning endgames where you have a clear advantage but struggle to exploit it.

Good content. I'm finally trying to seriously improve at chess. I would love to have a little library of chess books (and other books) eventually.

how do you feel about Capablanca's 'Chess Fundamentals'?

Daniel Naroditsky's books are my top recommendations for beginners/ intermediates. Although there won't be many tactical moves/puzzles, they are more about a principled game and middle/endgame positional advantages. Really opens up your mind. A lot of amazing concepts and principals that not many people teach you

Great information.. thank you..

Thanks, I really enjoyed the video. The Soviet Chess Primer seems to be out of print, I'm sure it'll be available eventually again, but in the meantime are there any alternate recommendations for beginners that come out the top of your head? Perhaps a mix of opening, midgame and endgame books, or working through the puzzle books in the meantime?

Good video! I got the biggest grin when the first book you pulled out was Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, that was the first chess book I ever bought, and I smiled because you are absolutely correct! Don't get me wrong it is a good book, almost all chess books are good especially in value terms but, yeah that one was pretty much a tactics book. Thank you for the recommendations I have a much bigger Amazon wishlist now, sad wallet but hey happy brain!

My first chess book was Attacking Chess by Josh Waitzkin. Still one of my favorites and I still recommend it to beginners looking to get an understanding of what it's like to play competent chess.

Nice summary. I appreciate your honesty. Very helpful.

Great content!

Love the video format and the recommendations. On the "overrated books", I have had people offer so many different opinions on them especially My System. I personally like the 100 endgames you must know plus the workbook that came after.

Thanks for tour opinion. What do you think about imagination in chess by Gaprindhashvili?

My first book on strategy was Modern Chess Strategy by Ludek Pachman and I believe that it is very instructive. Also the there are some nice videos by A.Mikhalchishin on middle game that are worth watching. I would also recommend the modern classics of Aagard, The Attacking manual Vol 1 & 2.

What do you think about Artur Yusupov's book training course books? I'm a beginner and I'm looking for a more structured approach and uniform method of teaching chess. Also, should I focus on tactics books or doing exercises in sites like chesstempo?

the thing with jeremy silmans how to reassess your chess is that the way he writes is really comforting, really friendly and it sounds like a real person wrote it, compared to a book like chess tactics for the tournament player. Its keeping me want to continue going through the book and working through it to see what he says about it, and when its the first chess book you read after playing the game for a long time, which in my case 9 years, the way this book transformed my thinking style is really making me feel comfortable to approach it. When it comes to "mastering chess strategy", which i do not have so i cant confirm, but if the main selling point is more chess content then id still stick to how to reassess your chess, as it is, like i already said, really approachable and fun to go through!

Kostya, what do you think of Mayer's "Bishop versus Knight - The Verdict"?

Hey Kostya, thanks for your great video, that was informative. I have a question: I am currently between 1300-1400 ELO and I decided to start reading a few books. Following your advice, I decided to get mastering chess strategy, silman's endgame book and possibly Susan Polgar's tactics for champions book. Would you recommend that last book for a 1400 ELO player? What kind of tactics book should I read? Any other books that you would recommend (an opening book maybe)? Thanks for the amazing content you're putting out, it's refreshing.

What do you think of the mammoth book of chess or what book do you recommend that covers everything(well - rounded book)?

This is a great video and I agree. Overload of useless chess information is a big problem for lower rated players!

thank you Kostya, would you restream your training sessions

Great video! Really enjoyed hearing your opinion on these popular books... And I'm sure most people would agree with your opinion of Think Like a Grandmaster...

You are a great communicator. Thanks for the advice. I ordered the handbook. Can't wait to get it.

Hey, would you recommend John Nunn's Understanding Chess Middlegames?

I purchased the Soviet Chess Primer and love the book. It has a textbook format. Great book. Thanks for the recommendations.

Hey Kostya! I really like your approach and your explanation. The biggest thanks for your work. I really would like to see more videos from you. And one question: what do you think of Artur Yusupovs 9 books series?

very insightful thanks

I was thinking about getting "positional chess handbook" after I finish reading "Winning chess strategy" how good is the handbook and what rating level is it for?

10:15 That's how I just so happen to play my Correspondence games. xD

Thank you very much, I wish I took your advice...I instead bought the Mammoth book of Chess and a tactics book and an endgame book and another book but I think if I had taken your advice it may have helped me more.

First time coming across this channel on RU-vid. I sense that I can learn a lot from you. I've subscribed to your channel. My rating is approximately 1500. I bought Think like a Grandmaster a week ago because I am a lazy person when it comes to analyzing variations. Which book instead of Kotov's would you recommend, I read the 1st chapter of the book and I found the tree of analysis very interesting.

Bobby fischer teaches chess really helped me with discovering mating patterns

When dealing with beginners who have trouble with developing any pattern recognition, I recommend Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. They have to start somewhere.

Thanks for the recommendations man! Sadly all copies of the Soviet book are sold out, so i'll have to keep my eye out for it.

Always hard to pick a best but Baburin's "Winning Pawn Structures" taught me the immense number of ways to transpose into an Isolated Queen's Pawn structure and how to play that opening from either side. Allows me to get very playable Middleware positions even against masters as a Class B player.

Can u suggest me a chess book for intermediate players ,which consists of all traps .etc??

I started playing chess back in the 'late 70s, and found that the best chess books to use were the ones that did not require the use of a chess board. That book " Bobby Fischer teaches chess" was excellent for those just getting started. And probably the best book series I've ever seen was written by GM Lev Albert. And for chess software probably the best program was" Chessmaster" and later on a program called Chess mentor comprehensive chess course. Unfortunately, in my opinion Chess has gotten a little dry. It's mainly just theory nowadays steeped in memorization. Studying classical games of previous chess masters shows they played from their creativity.

Hi Kostya, which book is best in your mind: Pawn Structure Chess by Andrew Soltis OR Chess Structures by Mauricio Flores Rios?

Thanks for the tips on books.

Thanks man, saved me a lot of time

What would you recommend for a 800 player that wants to improve and arrive to 1500 level ?! (I’m a beginner )

Hello Kostya! Thank you for your channel. What do you think of Yusupov series of 9 books?

thanks for the references, do you mind making videos on how to practice chess independently (without trainers)? I am a players rated 1300 ELO and looking forward to improving my chess skills on my own.

Great to see that you recommend the Positional Chess Handbook it took me 7 weeks to get and it is one of the best books that I have bought and it is very cheap for a chess book. The Master Chess Strategy book is well known to be excellent what I like about that book is that it has very good tests. Silman has a great reputation, but I think his books are better suited for 2000 and up players while most think it is the right book for 1400 and up. I think that one of the best positional primer books is Stean's Simple Chess. Great video enjoyed it a lot and you didn't shy away from taking down some great names in a respectful manner that is.

Liquidation on the Chess Board New & Extended: Mastering the Transition into the Pawn Endgame is a monster and is a must read !

Very good review. Without unnecessary aphorisms but using clear and only arguments concerning the educational value of these books. You refer very aptly to the purpose of each book and very, very nicely list alternative options that focus more appropriately on the needs of the reader. I'm very happy that I happened to watch a really useful video on chess literature. It would be very interesting to see more. Thank you.

Hey! I have awtched this video many times and i really like it. I am a 13 year old and just started playing. I am learning fast and i decided to buy the secrets of modern chess strategy. Im just got it few days ago and im not to far in it. I am trying to get ready for tournaments and be a grandmaster. I might also get a book from the suzan writer. Thx for the suggestions

We really need videos like this which covers new books, which are readily available. Some old books people recommend are no where to be seen. This is a good step, please make more videos of book reviews.

I have seen a book Chess lessons by Mark dvoretsky . It is a great book should I take it or not .

It would be really awesome if you could provide us with a chess book reading progression. Start at beginner and then after we read this book then read that book and so on. I would love if you could give a chess book progression guide so we know how to progress from beginner to master. Thanks!

Well spoken!! Books I am currently reading and would recommend for beginner to intermediate in no particular order are: 1. Teach yourself better chess - William R 2. Win at chess - Ron C 3. How to beat your dad at chess (You will be surprised!) - Murray C 4. Weapons of chess

I'm waiting for "hello everyone" by Antonio radic. Gonna wipe the competition clean when it comes out.

So should i read how to think like a GM or not

Kostya, if you had to choose between Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master and Jesus de Villa's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master to study/learn endgames, which would you choose?

I learned a ton from "Golombek's Encyclopedia of Chess " by Harry Golombek, it's old and dated but he covers everything thoroughly and you can get the book for $5 hardcover and it makes a great coffee table book, it's HUGE

Thanks for sharing this video, Kostya. It's very interesting information. The books you describe are about the technical parts of chess. I am curious of your opinion about non-technical chess books. I am thinking of "Psychology in Chess" (Krogius), "The 7 Chess Sins" and " Chess for Zebra's (Rowson).....or other books.

I totally agree with your list. I would add two books that I consider innovative in teaching: 1 - Axel Smith & Hans Tikkanen - The Woodpecker Method (Quality Chess) 2 - Jonathan Hawkins - Amateur to IM (Mongoose Press)

Hi Kotsya - I am a beginner (800) and was inspired by your video to check Soviet Chess Primer but its sold out everywhere. Is there any other book or books you can recommend similar to the primer that gives a well rounded understanding of chess before delving deeper? Thanks.

Great video. ChessBase software; do we need to purchase a games database? Which databases to consider?

Kotov's book must be great when you are playing correspondence chess! You just spend 2 days thinking on your next move by analyzing candidate moves and then you win.

How to become a deadly chess tactician is a great book on sacrifices and just general tactical play.

Great realistic and honest advice for someone below 2000 rating. What would you recommend as far as tactics training for the same audience? I have many books and Chessable titles, but would like to maximize my learning efforts. Any advice would be much appreciated. Love your channel.

It's been a year or so since you made this video, but only just saw it. Sounded interesting so bought all the books you recommended. I'll let you know how it works out :)

Great video, the way you changed from book to book was comprehensive and knowable. I likey!

Being good at chess comes down to what you do at the board, how good is your concentration, how good is your stamina, can you visualize deep tactical sequences? Knowledge is gained through the experience of having played a lot of games. So instead of reading books the best way of getting better at chess is learning through experience by having the discipline to analyse all your games with an engine to spot your tactical and strategical mistakes. You can build an opening repertoire through online opening trees and train tactics at various websites. The only chess books i find useful are about improving the mental process of finding the right move like "The inner game of chess", unfortunately there is little written about this. I have a fide rating of 2000 and chess books although i enjoyed reading them have helped me very little.

I’m too late to this video, I have read bobby fischer teaches chess and Chess Fundamentals by Capablanca and bought every Jeremy Silman book (completed Amateur’s mind and working through Reassess your chess currently). Now i have to go through all the good books you mentioned .

Can you recommend a book on Rook endgames? And maybe a more important question is... Will a book on only Rook endgames cover any more material on R endgames than endgame book that covers all types of endgames? I've been interested in learning R endgames specifically, and maybe Silman's book will cover just as much R endgames as a book dedicated to R endgames.

This is an amazing video. This kind of advice is sooo important. I reached about 1800 in playing strength, certainly 1700, when I was 12. (Based on beating rated players in leagues, though I rarely entered tournaments back then. I was very shy!) That was in 1991. There was no internet and very few systematic approaches to learn chess from, at least from my library and the chess club library. I was in Ireland and used to wish I was born Russian! I eventually stopped playing, for various reasons due to AI, but now, many years later, I’d like to take it up again. Your video is an essential guide. I’d like to one day reach expert and, who knows, maybe reach master at a hoary age! :-) I did love Nimzowitsch, though, but I think I didn’t really know how to study chess properly other than playing it over the board and hoping the idea stuck. It was, unlike learning music, a bit of a mystery. I recall also liking Max Euwe’s The Logical Approach to Chess. Years later I read an author suggest that one should draw key positions. I did eventually get hold of Kotov’s books, Think (and Play...) Like A Grandmaster. All those books did was make me think that my own thought process was chaotic! :-) Now, I think young players have so many tools to get better. I envy them! But I shall emulate them now that I’m getting back into the game! Your video is key for cutting through the noise of chess literature. A series or video on how to use chess computers would be interesting. Should one play timed games, or not, and see how it rates your play? How to use them for analysis, too. (My preference is to ignore them for now, except to use as an opponent. I might play without timed controls.)

"Mate in Juan"

Can u give some review about Fundamental Chess Endings. How good it is for a beginner

Which Book do you recommend I'm around 1850 Rated Player on Lichess in all time formats.& I really want to learn