Ranking the Best Modern Chess Books (feat. IM Andras Toth) | Dojo Talks

Chess Coach Andras (IM Andras Toth) joins the Dojo to rank the best chess books released since 2001.
Make sure to follow IM Andras on KZbin here: / @chesscoachandras
0:00 Intro
3:54 Ranking books
Full list: docs.google.co...
Affiliate links (support the Dojo at no extra cost!)
Understanding Chess Move by Move - amzn.to/3tfL4k1
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy - amzn.to/3r6ol88
100 Endgames You Must Know - amzn.to/2NKI4vN
Mastering Chess Strategy - amzn.to/3tfLve9
Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide - amzn.to/3alqK8p
Move First Think Later - amzn.to/3ap0jhX
Pump Up Your Rating - amzn.to/3tiLgzh
Perfect Your Chess - amzn.to/36wPLME
Thinking Inside the Box - amzn.to/2MKjevL
Positional Decision Making in Chess - amzn.to/2YBePh6
The Anand Files - amzn.to/3ctOSIH
Gamechanger - amzn.to/3aqlSyD
Small Steps to Giant Improvement - amzn.to/3ra0rJ5
Jansa - Dynamics of Chess Strategy - amzn.to/2NQkA8x
Endgame Tactics - amzn.to/3ta1kmG
Dvoretsky - Tactical Play/School of Chess Excellence - amzn.to/36uJsJw
Kasparov - My Great Predecessors - amzn.to/3cDbWEG
Aagaard - Excelling at Chess - amzn.to/2NWufKY
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[@hugocruz2439]

Time stamps: (for me to revisit suggested books) 3:55 Game changer, Sadler & Regan 5:50 School of chess excellence 2 Tactical play, Dvoretsky 11:44 Secrets of modern chess strategy, Watson 16:10 Endgame tactics, Van Perlo 17:50 Chess structures, Flores Rios 20:20 Understanding chess move by move, Nunn 25:40 Endgame manual, Dvoretsky 29:05 Perfect your chess, Volokitin & Grabinsky 35:00 Mastering chess strategy, Hellsten 37:33 Positional decision making in chess, Gelfand 44:25 100 endgames you must know, de la Villa 50:50 Shout-outs 51:45 Perfect your chess, Volokitin & Grabinsky (revisited) 53:10 Dynamics of chess strategy, Jansa 57:25 Pump up your rating, Smith 1:00:40 Thinking inside the box, Aagard 1:04:25 Understanding chess move by move, Nunn (revisited) 1:07:45 My great predecessors, Kasparov 1:12:25 Aagard's books opinion

[@fenrirsreign]

Andras and Kostya together? Hold my beer I need to click on the like button repeatedly.

[@user-gn4ed5rg1s]

Try to make it an uneven amount of clicks

[@InfiniteQuest86]

I feel like there was a nugget of an idea forming in this one. What about a list of best puzzle books and the order to go through them from 600-2400?

[@tannerhachey2033]

I'd be interested in that too!

[@razznote7586]

@@tannerhachey2033 me too, Put there Perfect your Chess, Forcing Chess Moves, Improve your Attacking Chess, Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations, Rewire Your Brain, Woodpecker Method, Nunn Puzzle Books, Polgar Book/s etc.

[@ChessDojo]

Btw! You can find the full list of books here: docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-7G_zI5ZFQrMj--JcDvbuH4pi6jEQ2TgCjn_mlX0a5s/

[@SamFran]

Hello there Kostya, What may a solid second chees book choice be? If somebody has read and thoroughly enjoyed The Soviet Chess Primer, is there something obvious that should be read next? Or is it a case of trying to recognise what parts of their game they need to be working on?

[@exquisitecorpse4917]

One of the great problems with chess books in terms of intermediate players is that they're stacked at the top and at the bottom....most beginner books are redundant for the average club player, and many of the highly-regarded classics will be brick walls. As an intermediate, there are three categories of book I never seem to regret buying: Puzzle collections (big ones, well composed), game collections (expertly chosen and annotated), and endgame books. Puzzles are puzzles...for 500 years have they trained Jedi. Games offer you the personalities and the history of chess and will make you more fun at (chess) parties. Endgames cut directly to truth in the position; practically, you'll need them to go forward, and, metaphysically, they help a lower level player begin to understand the power of truth in chess.

[@ralphbuschmann740]

Wooow, that is deep!

[@marcofrey2903]

I'm not ready for the truth.

[@jimiboi87]

The truth will hurt you before it frees you.

[@RedGaming23]

Having recommended ratings next to the book list here is hugely valuable! Something that was sorely missed the video chess dojo made on ranking the top 10 classics

[@henriksenlaw]

Would love to see a list of best books for club players rated class C and D, or maybe 1300-1600 USCF rated.

[@juddsadac7204]

The US had two of the greatest chess authors in Chernev and Reinfeld. Start with those :)

[@andrelars]

The two best channels! GOAT crossover

[@Socialdogma]

I love that you had to explain what GOAT means for Jesse.

[@Armenian3394]

Really glad I found this video. Best tandem masters and their review thoughts. There are no Mastering Endgame Strategy and Silman's endgame course, but I believe 100 endgames you must know is sufficiently enough for intermediate players and really helpful theoretical endgame book.

[@DarthtigerBcn]

Very good list. Some books I didn't know were as good as Perfect your Chess, Chess Structures, Dynamics of chess strategy or Mastering chess strategy. I knew I liked Nunn's but I didn't know if it was really good in the opinion of qualified players and experienced coaches like you. I find the following books missing: Learning from legends - GM Mihail Marin Judit Polgar teaches chess - GM Judit Polgar Fire on the board 2 - GM Alexei Shirov Zlotnik's Middlegame Manual - IM Boris Zlotnik Chess Strategy for Club Players - IM Herman Grooten The Seven Deadly Chess Sins - GM Jonathan Rowson Chess for Zebras - GM Jonathan Rowson Garry Kasparov's Greatest Chess Games - GM Igor Stohl

[@juanmiguelguiagarcia9469]

The second edition of Stohl book (Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces) features 75 games, a 25 game plus!. Highly recommended. I agreed that it is in the same format as Nunn´s Understanding Chess Move by Move; just that I find Stohl goes deeper into the opening phase of the game so Nunn for the level you suggest and then read Stohl as a follow-up.

[@user-ce2gl6ky2y]

Gelfand is also good

[@KeepChessSimple]

Great video. Andras should join the Chess Dojo more often! I somehow think he and Jesse would have a great chemistry.

[@Grandcapi]

Mauricio Flores Rios's book is the best on structures. An older book on the same subject, Pawn Structure Chess, by Soltis is somewhat similar, but Mauricio's is more adapted to modern chess.

[@nicoterradas]

50:00 Regarding the comments on Magnus and the “rule” of the square… I wanted to add that I think you are missing the point. First, I agree with Andras that Magnus knows the concept, but the point Magnus is trying to convey is a deep one, and that is: it’s NOT a “rule” because it does not apply always, or in many situations. Kostya’s comment, saying he was surprised that Magnus made a video explaining the rule of the square after, is not entirely accurate and again, misses the point. In that follow-up video, Magnus does not explain the “rule of the square” as much as demonstrate many situations in which the “rule” actually can mislead a player into a losing simplification or liquidation. If you re-watch Magnus’ video again, this becomes clear: he is actually criticizing the idea of there being a “rule,” and that is precisely why he claims he does not “know” the rule. We know Magnus is extremely sarcastic sometimes, and I truly believe he is trolling the audience on purpose in this point. He concludes that he never uses “the rule” of the square, and that he ALWAYS calculates the lines on the board. THAT is his message, and it’s a crucially important one to remember. In his video “explanation” Magnus focuses on positions in which there are “obstacles” (sometimes tactical and subtle) in the path of the defending King towards the promotion square, etc., making the “quick mental fix” of “drawing a diagonal and then a square” to assess in your head that the simplification leads to a (self) promoting pawn, a faulty calculation “technique.”

[@ChessDojo]

Interesting points! (Kostya here, allow me to clarify) First let me agree with you (and Magnus) and clarify that the rule of the square is not meant to simply evaluate all K+P endgames. To do so would be focusing on only one aspect of the position. The point of the "rule" is to be able to quickly calculate whether the king can stop the pawn on its own, not counting obstacles. This is very useful when your calculation ends in a pure race (again no obstacles). It's for the same reason that we know protected passers are so strong in the endgame, once the king leaves the square of the pawn, the king will not be able to stop the pawn anymore. As Magnus correctly points out, and as most strong players know, there can always be mitigating circumstances, a famous example is the well-known Reti study where White's King starts on h8 and is able to catch Black's pawn, despite being outside the square. So yes of course there can be obstacles to make things tricky, but understanding quickly (and in your visualization) that the king cannot stop the pawn on its own is still important if you want to calculate successfully. Otherwise you'll be calculating the full line every time, which is a waste of resources. But of course if it's not a pure race, you cannot just rely on the rule itself. But it is a rule, based on the physics of the chessboard. If the king is outside the square, it can't catch the pawn. As we agree, chess gets a lot more complicated than that, but the first step is important to understand!

[@billmorrigan386]

@@ChessDojo I believe Carlsen didn't know the rule/principle of the square. In childhood I didn't know it either but you can see if the King is in time to catch a pawn by simply knowing if the King reaches the promotion square one move behind or two moves behind the pawn. So, you don't even need the rule of square but I also find this rule very nice and simple. Either way it's no big deal at all 🙂

[@xiaoguangyang7917]

good team. I like the recommendations, but feel the range is too wide for club players, you can also check Andras's 2 videos on book recommendations for two ranges below 1700 and 1700-2000. his list has some good instructed books. The series Yusupov is for club players from the book content list, other 3 series are probably for >2200 from what I saw discussion in youtube videos

[@daves9492]

ChessDojo and Coach Andras - the most ambitious crossover event in history! On a serious note, I'm super interested to hear what either of you make of Move First Think Later. I haven't read it, but people who have seem to divide into the ones who think it's the most important chess book they've ever read and the ones who think it's dangerous garbage that should be banned...

[@billmorrigan386]

Huge like and thanks a lot for the recommendations and discussion of great chess books. I didn't know about _Dynamics of Chess Strategy_ and Shankland's book, _Small Steps to Giant Improvement._ Gonna check them out. Hope they will live up to my expectations.

[@Robertl-xz6yl]

I refuse to buy any of these until I finish 100 EYMK. I’ll still watch tho 👀

[@patrickgroenendijk8434]

I missed two books that I find very valuable: Techniques of Positional Play by Bronznik and Chess Lessons by Popov. What is your opinion on these books?

[@ChessDojo]

Kostya likes the Broznik book, similar to Hellsten in a way

[@ralphbuschmann740]

bronznik is great and Popov looks very interesting!

[@angel_machariel]

What a good video this is. Brilliant work. Interesting topic.

[@MrSupernova111]

Suggestion for a future video on best chess books. Have a grid with the left column being the specific topic and the other columns being the player's skill level. From left to right you could have chess topic, beginner, intermediate, advanced, and perhaps finally master and above. In total, there would be 4-5 columns that cover a range of books for all levels of skill. Maybe have a bonus section for recommended book series.

[@drronmccoy]

Hi Kostya! Just discovered your channel, and I’m really enjoying it. This video was really interesting and I learnt so much. Andras at around 41:45 mentioned that he wrote a reply in the chat to the question what books could be read without a board? I didn’t understand his answer, and can’t access the chat. It’s a long stretch as it’s over a year now, but can you remember what he suggested? He said something along the lines that sort of things that you would need to do in a game. If you can’t remember, don’t stress! Thank you! I really enjoyed this.

[@djvex6180]

Awesome collab haha. I'm a big fan of both you guys. I find you guys have great chemistry together haha.

[@petemattingly8361]

Andras X Dojo has to be the best crossover in KZbin chess history!

[@ukdirector85]

Yes great guest, great channel!

[@MrManumona]

Excellent, as always!

[@Vague2121]

Hi Kostya. Great video, thanks. You mentioned that the "food chain" of tactics books would be Woodpecker Method, Forcing Chess Moves, and then Perfect your Chess. Are you ordering this books by quality or by difficulty (Perfect your Chess being the book for higher rated players, FCM for slightly lower rated players, and then WM even lower rated players)?

[@ChessDojo]

Hi, thanks! They are ordered by difficulty

[@RealityCheck1]

If someone seriously put in the time to internatize Nunn's book, how high can he go up in ELO?

[@angel_machariel]

I recently discovered a new gem (I think): Simple Chess by Stean.

[@otherwords1375]

As an American, I've never heard what a foreign accent in Australian English sounds like. It's cool, mate.

[@luisayala9301]

both are a reference for me thanks to both of you now dreaming with those raitin numbers for me they are dreaming (reference to the elo that was assigned to the books) but a pleasure to accompany you congratulations

[@TheMg49]

👍 very helpful, thanks.

[@MrSupernova111]

Nice list! However, I read 100 endgames and I found it be too mechanical to remember the content. On the other hand, I'm currently working on Dvoretsky's endgame manual which is much harder but each example is memorable due to the author's writing style. At this point in my chess career I'm more interested in closing specific knowledge gaps as opposed to general improvement books. That said, I picked up the complete GM Preparation series by Aagaard which I plan on reading between working on other areas. Thanks for the lengthy review. Cheers!

[@robertvaughn3554]

This was very enjoyable

[@Opferschach]

Most chess players would fall into the u1600 category. Am I wrong?

[@Robertl-xz6yl]

Most online players would, most OTB players wouldn’t

[@TheRealRussell]

@31:45 I don't know if I believe your assessment here Kostya. I just started working through this book, and spent a decent amount of time thinking about the 7th problem deeply. The position didn't really seem concrete to me, but you're a much better player than me so you probably understand it better. So maybe it is more concrete than I think it is. With that said, after contemplating the position and the ideas within it, I had an epiphany. I had clarity. The move I came up with seemed like it had to be the solution. FEN: r1bqk2r/4bp2/p3pp2/1p1pP2p/3Q1P2/2N5/PPP1B1PP/2KR3R w kq - 0 1 However... I checked the solution given in the book, and while the solution in the book was another thought I had and one of the tactical ideas hidden within, the move I came up with was 1. f5. The author disagrees. Stockfish 16 on the other hand agrees with me. And the deeper it thinks the more it agrees with me. And it makes perfect sense. At least in my rationale. A. Ne4 is still an idea in the position after f5. It's one of those tactical moves that brings clarity, or releases tension, in a position that doesn't need the tension released in yet. B. A lot of times in these positions the Black king is able to find safety in the center of the board. In this position though, it's still in question if the King will find safety. Black's behind in development and one thing Black would really like to play is f5 himself. If Black's able to play f5 his king, at least for the time being, is much safer. Just some thoughts. I've been thinking about this position all day after I had the epiphany I had. In a way it bothers me because I don't know how much I can really trust the analysis given by these books. On the other hand I know that if I spend the time I can find ideas or connect dots that I hadn't connected before. Regardless, I do have to say the book so far has been a revelation. I know you guys said not to go into it unless you're 2100, and maybe I'm 1750, I'm not really sure. I've never actually played a long game, let alone an OTB game, but my Rapid rating on Chesscom is 1900+. Personally, I think these really hard problems are extremely enjoyable, even if I'm not yet at the place to understand some of them. I feel like if I keep doing these problems at my rating, I'll have plenty more epiphanies and insights. I would honestly encourage people lower than 2000 to try spending time thinking about the problems in this book. Anyway, thanks for all you guys do for us. I know this is an old video and likely no one ever even reads this...but really thank you guys. I've been in a really bad place lately and finding your channel has helped me find a reason to be. I've gone into the cave as Jesse would say. Chess is life right now. I'm a homeless veteran living in a shelter. At least I have chess though and at least there's this great content. Thanks again.

[@joynj2016]

Mastering chess middlegames by Alexandre Panchenko should be there

[@josephfreimond2330]

Great video guys

[@ianbent0n]

Wait...what about Modernized: The Open Sicilian? :^) Taught me a lot about the Adams Attack.

[@ChessDojo]

Great book!

[@pasadenapsych44]

two favorite youtubers!

[@ralphbuschmann740]

Valuable insides!

[@jimmycarlosbalewa6399]

The weirdest book I have read for chess is Endgame virtuoso by Korchnoi. I realised it was not the simplest to read because of the extent of its complexity. It is worth the fun mostly and higher rated players would love it most

[@bektasuteubekov5788]

Theory and Practice of chess endings is I think best book for practical tournament player.

[@Real_LiamOBryan]

What is the best tactics book, and if you could only have one book to use from 1200 rating on, what would you pick?

[@nicolasmarschhausen6920]

Kostya what do you think about Gulko's "Lessons with a Grandmaster" series?

[@kevins4132]

Can you rate these books in order of difficulty please: School of Chess Excellence 2: Tactical Play - Mark Dvoretsky, Excelling at chess: capitalizing on tactical chances, Excelling at chess: Combinational play, and Perfect your chess? Like what's the rating range for each one of them? And if you read one them, then what book isn't necessary to read after because the material has already been covered? Thanks

[@wilestrella7202]

Any recommndtions where to buys these books all at the same time. So i can get discounts.. thanks

[@dbisth]

Have you guys made videos on a book series for different rating ranges?

[@matiasdonoso4425]

This a great idea

[@Panflap]

Are the Yusupov books discussed here? They were listed in the Google docs link.

[@steve_etzel]

They did not discuss them to any extent in this video.

[@FrankieKato149]

Why must all the books must be 1600 or higher every single time? Thats not fair to beginners at all only wanna cater to your crowd. I think thats crap

[@ChessDojo]

No one said the books have to be higher than 1600? Not trying to cater to anyone, in fact, most of our audience is below that rating 😊

[@karthikkrishnan3910]

Hello nice video. Is there any way to Find ," Fire on board - part 3" for purchase. It is Showing out of stock almost everywhere, was this ever published. ? I can see some cover page of this book online.

[@ChessDojo]

Don't think there was ever a Part 3!

[@fenrirsreign]

Can we get such a video for sub 1600 players? I hoovering around 1350-1450 and really want to break this barrier.

[@hliasmougios4096]

Opinion on shankland’s books?

[@ChessDojo]

Pretty good! Good for higher levels (1800+)

[@henriksenlaw]

The list should be titled: Best modern books for advanced players.

[@davidmencik9990]

When chessdojo posts a chess video I am like ok I will add it to my watchlist, but when chessdojo uploads a podcast type video I am like hell yeah watch it now David or you will die.

[@WatermanViolinStudio]

Did they mention anything about the Shankland books? I see it listed in the spreadsheet. I skipped around a little bit looking for certain books being discussed, so may have missed it.

[@ChessDojo]

Yes they did 😊

[@WatermanViolinStudio]

@@ChessDojo oi, can you provide a timestamp? I listened to 90% of it already and don’t want to go through the whole thing again. You have inspired me to go through books again.

[@IMKostyaKavutskiy]

@@WatermanViolinStudio All I remember saying is that I haven't read it in full but what I read was very good

[@ferortiz7481]

Compare old and new books personally I prefer old chess books!!

[@bobbyb5710]

Why isnt Comprehensive endgames Volume 3 by Averbakah on list guys?

[@ChessDojo]

Haven't read it, but Averbakh is a legend! -Kostya

[@joeshmo546]

Do you know any good books for the kings Indian

[@ChessDojo]

Smirin's book is pretty good!

[@joeshmo546]

Thank you!

[@jaylenlenear3944]

there low balling a few of these books. I saw perfect your chess recommended for 2400+ on one site.

[@ChessDojo]

Kostya did it around 2200 and recommends for that level

[@jaylenlenear3944]

@@ChessDojo ik thats low balling

[@ChessDojo]

How come? Matter of opinion no?

[@jaylenlenear3944]

@@ChessDojo true but on the website chesslectures its listed as homework for 2400s

[@ChessDojo]

Didn't realize they were the ultimate authority on this! 😜

[@inguh7041]

Lovely

[@PeterSodhi]

This channel needs a join button...

[@masterofnone8400]

Not much silman up there

[@AGILISFPV]

I just bought Understanding chess move by move. Im on page 11 and its just unreadable. After moves 7, cxd5 and Knight xd5 he says queen xd5 has promise for white.. but is there not a Knight on D4? Jesus this is just dumb. Cant read this.

[@ChessDojo]

Why would that be an issue for Black? Knight on d4 doesn't attack the queen on d5?

[@jmartins2611]

The next maybe with GothamChess

[@WatermanViolinStudio]

Sorry, they like substance oriented folks here!

[@mitchellcastillo646]

How to cry like a grandmaster should have been at the top of the list.

[@AGILISFPV]

Yikes.. $500 for perfect your chess.... why

[@ilanpi]

You are so obsessed with over the board play that you neglect huge aspects of the game. In particular, your incorrect statement that problems should be abandoned after 10 minutes of thought.

[@ferortiz7481]

Secret of modern chess strategy nom 9 best book? are you kidding?? Really bad book!

[@ChessDojo]

Why do you say that?