For me it's The Game of Chess by Tarrasch. I've read some reviews describing as the Holy Bible of chess. It has some some useful bits but it's far from being the best guide. For one thing it's using very outdated opening variations. Even the foreword urges players to use more modern books on openings. The endgame section is fairly brief and players will really need to read more comprehensive endgame books. The part on the middlegame has some useful parts but it doesn't actually explain strategy, it's mostly dealing with tactics. On the plus side the essay on openings is well worth reading, even if the variations in the book are mostly outdated.

yeh thanks for sharing this analysis, very interesting stuff!

Thanks for the many years of help ! Mostly on the chess app.

6:51 This! Putting the book away for later. Thanks

Bobby Fischer teaches chess was written for children. For children playing with their first chess set, it is an excellent book.

Love Silman. Growing up years ago, you had to have Ruben Fine's Chess the Easy Way

The 1st Fischer book was basically a quick way of making money off the Fischer boom in America at that time but for complete beginners to learn basic mating patterns ( if I recall it was mostly back rank mate stuff ) it was ok , but I had to laugh when you said go from that to Fishers " my 60 memorable games " GM's at that time were gobbling that book up so you shouldn't even touch that book if you are not a strong club player yet . I have 2 hardcovers of that, one's a 3rd edition and I found a 1st edition at flea market in a pile of books which I couldn't believe ( great condition too) since I couldn't get Fischer to sign it before he died ( not that I could have ) I'm trying to get someone at least he played to make the value go up . Anyway yes I have the positional chess handbook and I loved that book . My choice for openings is the ideas behind chess openings by Ruben Fine , still one of my favs that I've worn out I read it so many times . For the middle game I'm biased because " strategy in the middle game " by Ludek Pakman ( I can't remember how to spell it ) was a book my father had before I bought my own but definitely a great book . He had some good ones but he was probably a 1700 elo so a lot of Fred Reinfeld and I.A. Horowitz stuff ( they co- authored a few books ) yes Reinfeld had like " how to beat your dad at chess " beginner book but he actually had a real in depth openings book which i forgot the name. Agreed on " How to think like a grandmaster " as far as practicality OTB . But I would recommend Lev Alberts course ( I can't remember the course name and the other 2 Russian GM's he co- authored it with ) but it's like 7 books basically was the old " Soviet system " . The endgame book in that course is one of the best I've read . I also have like 15 books from my local library I never returned from way back but can't remember which ones . ( Library is gone so hopefully I won't get a $4,000 22 year late fee lol ) But let's face it the days of reading chess books with a lil magnetic board and personal chess libraries ( unless as a collector) are kinda over . If I had to guess what I spent on chess books it would easily be over 2 grand over the years and today there are so many apps that save you time and money that honestly I don't even think it would be worth putting out a chess book ( unless it's downloadable and a lil board on the screen you can use , which I think there are apps like that im not sure )

Tarrasch's "The Game of Chess" remains the best book ever written about the subject.

Hi what do you think of Build up your chess with Artur Yusupov?

The amount of knowledge I got by stealing books on the internet in my teenage years was 100% worth it. As a side note... I don't care, Open-Source is king

Caruana said Dvoretsky’s stuff was too hard for him, lol.. He was kidding, but he was pointing out how intense that material is.

i bought both dvorestky and silmans endgame book. its good to know that i should leave one untill I at least get to 2000+

Thx a lot bro very good books thx. !!!!!!

Botvinnik said… ‘To know the pleasures of chess is to know Capablanca games.’ So my original ‘97 print of H. Golombek ‘Capa’s best games’ stands proudly on the shelf : ) 100 games, annotated, stories. Can’t argue with the Bot man , must have collectible!

_Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess_ is easily the #1 book I wish I'd had when I was a pre-teen beginner, without the internet, completely outside organized chess circles. It expects no knowledge, and exposes the reader to the beautiful possibilities of chess. I'm afraid that Kostya has forgotten what it's like to be a beginner, or perhaps grew up in a "chess culture" that many others don't have.

this vid shows a remarkable lack of knowledge about how online trainer puzzles are picked and setup for solution.

Your grandma is zoe 😈 right?

I like your video. Also, have you heard about En Croissant? It is what I use for database management.

Would you have any updates/recommendations for someone not trying to get to 2200 but more like 1600?

guys, read himburg melao rj.

I was 17 and I knew just the basics of chess, how the pieces moved, what a check mate was, etc. I was invited to play while waiting for first period to start, in the lunch room. My opponent was merciless, and destroyed me, game after game, every morning for a week. Demoralized, yet determined, I found Bobby Fischer teaches chess in the School Library. I read it over the weekend, and when Monday came, I beat him for the first time. Then went on to never lose to him again. To the point that he quit playing me and found another chump😅. It didn't magically turn me into a great chess player, but it did lay the ground work for understanding how to coordinate my pieces. That was 30 years ago, and I can still remember delivering my first backrow check mate with my rooks!

absolute golden idea for a video. please do a CM to FM video

why prepare for the first round at all. if your going in blind likely your opponent is too and you will likely be paired down and can count on outplaying your opponent

I think the good thing about online puzzles is the amount of repetition you get by being able to do a lots of them. I always try to calculate the line to the end and not be as quick as possible when doing puzzles. Sometimes I use the analyze tool after the puzzle if it stops early or my first line of thought was wrong. Even if the online puzzles aren't perfect I think they also have benefits.

Smyslov & Levenfish on Rook Endings is a classic

Haha! Jokes on you because I don’t read books!

If interested, Peter Leko commented along with Irina Krush in the World Rapid and Blitz Team Championship 2024

It is always difficult to grasp what people mean by "overrated." I suppose you are saying your opinion of the book is lower than your opinion of what other people's opinions of the book are. And FWIW, you say Nimzovich's ideas were "against the grain of chess understanding of that time" But somehow "it is a good book if I want to see how chess players of that era approached the game." So, is it against the grain or typical ?

I prefer tournament books. I like the round by round drama.

What Chess set is in front of you?

I didn't improve much from Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, but I learned a lot about Nazi ideology.

u failed to stop me

Excellent advice. I used to play some blindfolded games many years ago but it was difficult finding someone who would play with me. So, a recommendation in one book said find a collection of miniature chess games and go through them blindfolded. It’s a bit difficult to do as you must cover all but the current move played in the game.

I haven't read many chess books, but my favorite one is "Winning Chess" by Irving Chernev and Fred Reinfeld. It only covers tactics, so it's definitely not "one book to rule them all." However, it teaches tactics incredibly well - especially for beginners.

contrary to the top comment i do prefer knowing the result for training purposes. a nice compromise would be time stamp of the result or having the games pgn so those like me can just go straight to that

Nah, gonna take WGM advice over an IM any day, but thanks.

This sounds like somebody that just doesn't like "classics" and wants to be contrary ;). You're an IM right? You had a trainer, right? So...your experience in learning chess is completely different than the average chess player. If you are going modern then why not just say the truth? You can learn everything online and nobody really needs *any* books anymore. They might be nice, but they are not required at all...just start diving into Puzzle Rush and KZbin videos on openings you like, endgames, etc.

I'm subscribing to you just for this one video, so much clarity and good explanation

Pachman's strategy books are also good

man stop cheatin dont use stockfish

great video, thanks a lot!

Penthouse magazine energizes my mind quite well.

My System and The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played got me an expert rating back in the day.

It is fair to criticize Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. But including My System and Dvoretsky is an obvious act of trolling.

After I read Irving Chernev’s INVITATION TO CHESS from our local library in 1954. I came to understand mobility and control of the center. Suddenly I became the best player in our local group.

A Lot of Chess Shyster "Never wasis's" peddling Schlock. I got Burned (and many others) $$$ with :Shredder Chess : Crook : Stefan Meyer Kalen's- "Chess Tutor" (online course 8 Levels) after 3 Levels (elementary) he took everybody's Money ($30/Level) and "F**Ked Off !!! Horowitz/Reinfeld book even Bigger Rip Off, Silman a "Modern Day " Reinfeld/Horowitz too. List goes on and on .................. Thanks for Exposing this Issue in Chess ! Jim Canada

If you can see the board; that is not purely blindfold Chess. Most of the problem in blind fold Chess is moving pieces along the squares. Especially along the diagonals. But I guess visualizing the pieces only is enough.

Very good video

The ficher book was like working on combos on a heavy bag.

I love online puzzle training. I also have thoroughly enjoyed books. As a beginner, I like to get the feel for motifs at a rough and dirty resolution. Online trainers help. They help me get use to a pattern. As I go along and get better I like to apply variation thinking. But initially it's quite sketchy, just seeing the initial pattern. Learning it. Calculating lines is possibly a different skill. I always saw them as different. To brute pattern recognition. -- If I don't see the bishop sack or many other motifs, how am I going to calculate the lines variations. Let alone a compound tactics puzzles motif. Also, some motifs lend themselves more to calculation and others patterns. In essence, it's possible your pointing out a false comparison. I think puzzle trainers would be better be labeled 'pattern trainers' as puzzles are as you point calculating line based historically. You need a breadth of patterns and depth and clarity of calculating lines. Who says you need to practice both simultaneously? At the outset or later on.