Must read books to become a better chess player - IM V. Saravanan

IM Venkatachalam Saravanan​ has one of the most impressive chess libraries that you will see in India. From books that are nearly a century old to the latest bestsellers, he has all of them. Not only that, he has studied them deeply and has knowledge of which books are good for players to improve their core strength.
If you want to take a shortcut to chess improvement then this video is not for you. But if you want to create a strong base as a chess player, then this is definitely something that you should be looking into! One hour masterclass with Saravanan as he shows you all the important books in his library!

[@VenkatachalamSaravanan]

Sagar - thanks for doing this. Enjoyed talking to you so much, and it is nice that majority of those see this enjoy it!

[@JayrMagave]

Venkatachalam Saravanan thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. I suggest to start a series on this channel every week commenting about a book, on its content and why, when, where you bought it.

[@bibhutibhusanghosh3563]

thank you sir for your precious time

[@prakashsivasankar5350]

Hi Saravanan, the explanations of the book by you provides a good insight into how to go into chess literature. I feel you could have saved more time had you first kept the books ready and then given the interview instead of searching for the books in your shelf during interview camera time. Regards, Prakash.

[@shyamwarrier2252]

Venkatachalam Saravanan oh absolutely! We loved not only the book recommendations but also the little anecdotes and even the trick about hiding your better books ;-)

[@MrMPAROUARE]

Venkatachalam Saravanan Manny thanks for showing your collections and your speaking was so pleasent. Your love for chess is beautiful.

[@cartiqrame]

Tals 100 Best games Life and games of Mikhail Tal kasparov- test of time/ kasparov on kasparov (recommends latter between the two ) move first, think later (talks about the idea of really absorbing a lot of games to get better) The King chess pieces, J H Donner From London to Elista - Evgeny Bareev & llya levitov (Kramnik Games) Python Strategy Tigran Petrosian Nigel short games DVD Anands My career GrandMaster preparation series by Jacob Aagaard Vanher Haiden solving DVD The Joys of Chess Christian Hesse The chess Mind Jerald Abraham Chess for Zebras and Seven Deadly Chess Sins - Johnathan Rowson The Soviet Chess School by Alexander Kotov and Mikhail Yudovich Endgame books mentioned (for beginners) Practical Chess Endings- Paul Keres 100 Endgames You Must Know: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player -Jesus De la Villa more advanced, mastering endgame vol 1 and 2, endgame strategy - Mikhail Shereshevsky Endgame strategy Mikhail sherevsky Mastering the endgame 1 & 2 Mikhail sherevsky soviet chess conveyor Mikhail sherevsky (beginner) For friemnds & colleagus Mark Dvoretsky The creative genius Mkihaiil Chigorin capablanca Manual of chess Emanual Lasker Grandmaster Chess Strategy Jurgen Kaufeld & Guido Kern : What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson's Positional Masterpieces the stress of chess- walter brown (great games if you like Kasparov) profession: chessplayer grandmaster at work by Vladimir Tukmakov understanding chess by william lombardy Timmers TItans book of year award 2017 creative chess -amatzia avni sychology of chess -amatzia avni (He talks about going in these books/ games in order to get a good understanding of fischer) how fischer plays chess- levy, my 60 memorable games, than complete games, Bobby Fischer(complete games)- mueller Fischer World Champion: The Acclaimed Classic About the 1972 Fischer-Spassky Match - Timman & Newway He has pretty much everything from Mark Dvoretsky and talks extremely high of him. Saying the analytical manual from his is the most difficult tactic book around - school of chess, practical chess pawn structure chess - soltis (likes this better than Chess Structures and says he has some problems with that book but doesn't go into it.) . test and improve your chess - lev alburt Winning Chess Middlegames - Alexander Babuleh getting good at 1 pawn structure & using this method to master in other openings (surya ganguly) Winning Chess Middlegames - Ivan Sokolov positional strategy on nimzo indian pawn srtucture - Ivan Sokolov Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy- John watson chess strategy in action - John watson road to chess improvement- alex yermolinsky (how to analyze your games) Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 - David Bronstein (talks highly of because of the great insight it offers) 200 Open Games - David Bronstein pal benko my life, games and compositions san luis 2005- alik ershon igar nar (this book is second best to Zurich) chess is my life - anatoly karpov (karpov plays chess like symphony /spends spider webs for his opponents to get trapped in)

[@jahonten5]

Every book he pulls out “this is my favourite book”

[@MMAengineer]

xDDD

[@fojico1234]

Saravanan voice is perfect for narrating documentaries and explanations in general

[@dryflowersbouquet]

Yes yes yes yesssssssss

[@vinivedivici1017]

The first KZbin video I’ve watched for half hour straight. Wow!! What a man!!!

[@ESLteacher1965]

Me too! An amazing video!!

[@sundaradhikari3701]

Me too😁

[@chaitanyabhide6471]

Me too!

[@guitarsri]

This is not a complete summary of every book mentioned, but most of the main ones he went into detail about or took out of his shelf. Winning Chess Middlegames- Ivan Sokolov test and improve your chess - lev alburt road to chess improvement- alex yermolinsky (how to analyze your games) The Soviet Chess School by Alexander Kotov and Mikhail Yudovich (book he had growing up because not much were available) kasparov- test of time/ kasparov on kasparov (recommends latter between the two ) move first, think later (talks about the idea of really absorbing a lot of games to get better) pal benko my life, games and compositions Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953 - David Bronstein (talks highly of because of the great insight it offers) 200 Open Games - David Bronstein san luis 2005- alik ershon igar nar (this book is second best to Zurich) chess is my life - anatoly karpov (karpov plays chess like symphony /spends spider webs for his opponents to get trapped in) tal's 100 best game and life and games of mikhail tal (says Tal is the best human to play chess and that these are some of the best books) JH Doner The King Chess Pieces (best chess books when it comes to stories) From London to Elista - Evgeny Bareev & llya levitov (Kramnik Games) Python Strategy - Tigran Petrosian (wishes Petrosian wrote his own best game collection as we would have a whole other understanding of chess today) The Joys of Chess- Christian Hesse (great book to keep you inspired and in love with the game) The Chess mind- Gerald Abrahams the stress of chess- walter brown (great games if you like Kasparov) professoion: chessplayer grandmaster at work by Vladimir Tukmakov understanding chess by william lombardy creative chess -amatzia avni Grandmaster Chess Strategy: What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson's Positional Masterpieces (He talks about going in these books/ games in order to get a good understanding of fischer) how fischer plays chess- levy, my 60 memorable games, than complete games, Bobby Fischer(complete games)- mueller Fischer World Champion: The Acclaimed Classic About the 1972 Fischer-Spassky Match pawn structure chess - soltis (likes this better than Chess Structures and says he has some problems with that book but doesn't go into it.) Chess for Zebras and Seven Deadly Chess Sins - Johnathan Rowson. Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy- John watson Endgame books mentioned (for beginners) Practical Chess Endings- Paul Keres 100 Endgames You Must Know: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player -Jesus De la Villa more advanced mastering endgame vol 1 and 2, endgame strategy - Mikhail Shereshevsky He has pretty much everything from Mark Dvoretsky and talks extremely high of him. Saying the analytical manual from his is the most difficult tactic book around. He also has the Grandmaster preparation series by Jacob Aagaard

[@shyamwarrier2252]

goutham p wow, what a summary! Wish I had read this comment before, I painstakingly would pause, jot down names and get back to watching.. Thank you for the share :)

[@ronnyshipley3913]

Thanks a lot for the list!.

[@georgestamps]

Thank you so much for the list!

[@samjebadurai192]

Thanks

[@inguh7041]

Also I think Lasker's Manual of Chess was mentioned, am I right?

[@karlozmalachi6964]

OMG... This is One Of The Best Videos 'Ive Ever Watched!.... Thank you... What a rich and delightful conversation on chess and chess books. Thank you. Love this two guys... The transcript to this two videos Should be a book... Enjoyed it so much...

[@iamcoffeerepublic]

I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this. It’s therapeutic in a sense.

[@TheBergmanMethod]

5th time as of today for me!

[@deepakchaurasia161]

His enthusiasm is intoxicating.

[@bobthabuilda1525]

It really is. I've watched this video 3 times haha

[@TedSummers]

Excellent work! One of, if not the best Chessbase India videos I have viewed. Thank You.

[@johnbrosnan414]

This is such an interesting interview. IM Saravanan is an engaging personality. I have watched the entire clip several times. I find the comments about improving by playing game collections vs targeted training to be enlightening.

[@sushmithaanand3192]

Watching this after he comes on live with chess base India

[@aravindkr]

If you have watched this video till the end, (even more than once) you know this is the most important chess video on youtube. Grateful for Chessbase India and IM Saravanan for sharing this gem

[@Kish-Malk-Alkhatib-Academy]

one of the best I have ever watched on KZbin!! Thanks Sagar!

[@MisterChris1978]

what a fantastic video. awesome IM. inspirational, educational, motivational. Tough to excel at all three. he makes me want to be a better player.

[@pseudosham4287]

Wow! Watched the video straight through. His enthusiasm held my attention from the beginning.

[@BetterChessTraining]

This is wonderful! Great conversation.

[@arulkumarnatarajan3175]

This interview by IM.. Saravanan is amazing. I love the way this guy goes about his business... Fantastic!

[@atlsplaza-nd]

This is very inspiring. Thank you so much!

[@satishthakur1649]

Really feels Great to have such a Book Knowledge and Library ...I really became eager to come and meet you !! Thanks for sharing !!

[@alanodeon]

Great interview with a chess scholar who has a lot of interesting things to say, really enjoyed it and a couple of books that I hadn't considered before!

[@venkatayogakedarasarvan4869]

Thanks for doing this. I really hooked to the process.

[@bradleysherman4878]

What a great video. What a generous and gentlemanly, class act for sharing his time and bringing us into the discussion.

[@Kaustubh56]

Amazing interview! I wonder why I couldn’t find it before, but glad that I finally did

[@traderdavidtan1855]

Wonderful and insightful comments and interview. Please have more of this in the future.

[@cucurulo1945]

Congratulations! a great interview on the secrets of learning to play good chess from IM Saravanan chess learning system or method!

[@bailinnumberguy]

Great video. Very inspirational and informative. Not just for chess players, but for lovers of books in general.

[@SharikHasan]

Wow, thanks so much for taking the time to do this Sagar and for sharing it with all of us. Very enlightening!

[@saumitup6524]

This was really beautiful interview :') Thank you Saravanan Sir for expressing your feelings and ChessBase India for producing this

[@noidph]

Wow! First time seeing this. This was an amazing video, Sagar and Amruta! Will look for more of Mr. Saravanan's videos. Brings back memories of my childhood self reading books about Karpov's games. Whetted my appetite for reading chess books again. :)

[@2Oldcoots]

Fascinating! Thank you very much sirs.

[@bigg5582]

Would love this to be a series.

[@speedlesspanz3r87]

One of best video of this channel. and huge respect for this guy. i request u to upload his knowledgeable content every week if possible. im his fan now

[@jumboboogaloo]

Great video! Thanks for sharing!

[@vikingallewahlin6379]

Amazing video, thank you!

[@alvinalcala6104]

I enjoyed every minute of the interview! i hope he makes his own channel and do book reviews of old (classics) and new books.

[@karlozmalachi6964]

Yesss...

[@njobstvogt]

I didnt expect to watch this whole thing but you can really feel his passion for the game which makes it super interesting!

[@alharrison1038]

I think this is the best book list I've ever seen. Mainly it's how personal it is. Great books, but really appreciate his intimate knowledge and sharing his personal experience.

[@walkingtal4157]

Fantastic!! Makes me want to study right now.

[@anandmoon5701]

Excellent book collection and some deep knowledge in content of the books...

[@splatteredvenue]

Very charming and even somewhat rewarding interview. My thanks.

[@ASUSfan08]

Thank you for this amazing video!

[@markn3586]

Thanks for this video. It is very insightful. Makes perfect sense to feed your brain good chess and it absorbs it. His remarks about Gregory Kaidanov were interesting. I've seen Kaidanov play and he really rattled a lot of players when they realized they had drawn him in an upcoming round. His chess shows a deep, beautiful understanding of the game.

[@richirungta424]

One of the best and most useful video by chessbase india

[@johnharris3482]

I really enjoyed this, thanks so much. We as chess players are continually bombarded with media, for this and that. It is now clear from this, that there is no 'magic bullet' for success, or no one book that will make you great, it is the whole journey through many great chess books, and the work you put in. Above all your love for the game that is most important. Thanks to Saravanan for sharing his thoughts.

[@stoneangel7804]

Great video guys, keep it up !

[@keepthingssimple]

This person is cool ..good to listen to him ..I was thinking of watching a cool movie but this man turn my attention ..and i was listening to him until end .. Nice Thoughts .. !

[@MrMPAROUARE]

Siva Kumar true. From his talking you can say he is a very pleasent gentle man.

[@mrmatthewforsythe8475]

Very interesting. Thanks for making video.

[@ReneRoissy001]

Thank you so much. Such a wonderful and rich discussion on fantastic chess books. A true joy to watch.

[@improveyourchess4230]

I can provide you pdf copies of those books

[@markhecht3732]

This was fantastic. Many thanks to you and Mr. Saravanan for taking the time to do it.

[@mohanturaga6304]

Excellent video which helps us understand the road to chess mastery. Any one can travel this road depedning one one's passion and time.

[@royalsing]

Awesome video , this encourages me to buy books , I will surely take it as my reference

[@mickdrummer5965]

I have about -1100 books and over 100 dvd’s on chess; and, I agree with his basic underlying philosophy. Nice interview. Mick

[@Hhh936]

whats ur rating

[@ESLteacher1965]

Thank you so very much for this video!!!!

[@Thesaint100x]

Enjoyed the helpful and profound views..

[@OutsidePawn]

Wow! As someone already pointed out, the comment about games collections being better than targeted learning was quite enlightening. I'll try it out and see the outcome. Thanks.

[@vikasbhatia446]

simply amazing ..Thanks sagar and sarvana..

[@ryanmurphy1414]

I loved this video. Fantastic talk.

[@neelakantan7025]

Amazing that he has collected such diverse fascinating chess books and brilliant that he has read almost all of them!👌You have surely piqued my interest in Chess.

[@mohmmadsaddam7291]

Cr3

[@ThisSentenceIsFalse]

Highly enjoyable to listen to. Highly knowledgable person. Could listen to more from him.

[@shriniwas1985]

Very nice explanation given by IM, really like the collection.

[@tusharkuwar4]

😍what an collection. Thank you Sagar shah , chess base , IM saravanan

[@subrotabiswas5359]

Thanks for this wonderful session

[@severito33]

Excellent suggestions about how to improve your game with great books!!!!!

[@alfredMonty]

What a great mind! I have neglected books on a given player's career which I'm now very interested in fixing. Also the point of _having a drive_ being a result of _developing or nurturing that drive_ is such an undervalued insight when focusing on a goal. Thank you IM Saravanan and ChessBase India.

[@dynamicchessclub9175]

Good going,Sagar.Watched the whole video without pausing!

[@tomcolvin8199]

Great video, in the digital age, books are still my favourite recourse. Thanks

[@xebit6661]

wow i havent enjoyed a youtube video in general as much as this in a seriouisly long time! thank you so much for visiting this very interesting man and asking him questions on our behalf!

[@Zeddicus1976]

I like this guy and his views of chess! Great video! Did he really read them all? Hats off! I mean it takes time to work through a chess book in my experience and requires a lot of energy. I have a half-decent library of chess books myself. Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I have read them all from cover to cover.

[@subhashdeysarkar4275]

Seen the complete video today, probably this is the best video from the great Sagar Sir

[@awasthee]

Truly Sravnan is our Encyclopedia in chess World. One question How he categorised chess books in bookshelf, because, he was retrieving the books was amazing. Finally Sagar many thanks, introducing Indian Chess Gems to the ordinary chess fans like me. Thanks again

[@tushar6343]

Such passion..

[@osamaamoush9116]

Thanks a lot that was very helpful, like lending me a book actually!!.

[@akshay_9146]

@Self Learner Shed I would probably say "Grandmaster Chess Strategy" by Jurgen Kaufman and Guido Kern. However, the one drawback (if you may call that as so) is that the book requires you to unlearn many things which usually would lead to mistakes (e.g.not committing the e and d pawns too early in the English opening like you do for other openings). Another book would be Jeremy Silman's "How to reassess your chess", that book eliminated my tendency to trade knights for bishops in the middlegame and I started being more dangerous with the knights on the board. Hope this helps your channel :)

[@MrSyntheticSmile]

That ‘Soviet Chess School’ he shows is actually a redacted and updated version of the original ‘Soviet Chess School’ which was 3 times the size of this later book that he has. There is also another book called ‘Soviet School of Chess’ by Robert G Wade published in UK.

[@Shakspier]

Thank you!

[@ozgur_akman]

I was just about to watch the second part of this session and I am not sure if IM Saravanan talks about it in that but I really wonder his opinions on Geller's "Application of Chess Theory" which I stole from my former trainer and devoured it at the time. Another one is Korchnoi's My Best Games Collection with two volumes, one for White and one for Black.

[@b.1565]

Great guys!

[@rickystevano]

Nice collection

[@billbez7465]

Really enjoyed the video, and picked up on a lot of great book recommendations

[@machineFa8]

Really nice collection of books

[@DheerajKattula]

Sagar ji, this is your best video

[@sunaraj]

Saravanan, tell us about the book you had on the Sicilian Pelican variation...and the exploits you had playing this variation..🙂

[@sibakanta1739]

Hope I can meet him & learn from him.It would be a great achievement

[@micaiahlotlhare178]

Amazing stuff

[@aleksandrneklyudov9956]

Great and very instructive video! Thanks a lot! Is there any chance to put timestamps for returning viewers? Could be very helpful

[@TheBergmanMethod]

This is an absolutely awesome interview, I can't believe I just discovered this. I just have one question, why is he so apologetic about reading Aagard's books?

[@t567698]

Not to forget the other part of the equation: Chessbase India which has made this interview possible. So please keep on the good work.

[@donaldopaiva4853]

One of the best interviews

[@tanmayajmera9490]

Nice video...but I think ending was not so good it was confusing as the motif was to get people know about good books and all ...if there would be list at the end of the video like for ending this books and for best games this...now you can make article of that and write it there

[@Matsanovic]

Very interesting to hear about all these great books. Good strategy to hide the best books in the back :)

[@utkarshkatiyar]

Came here to watch it after watching Anish’s comment this as his favourite video.

[@monayemhossain1514]

Wow, Amazing!

[@mahanthi1970]

I purchased a book after watching this video. Thank you!!!

[@improveyourchess4230]

I have pdf copies, if you require.

[@Trombosilbo]

his enthusiasm is contagious, i think i will keep reading my modest book collection

[@siaballl]

Is it possible to recommend 3-5 best books for begginers and then 5 for club players ? Which ones would they be ?

[@grandmastera1552]

Amazing....🙂

[@KingShahJahan]

This is the first time I'm hearing Saravanan. He has a very nice, deep, resonant voice and nice way of speaking.

[@zeljkostojanovic3604]

Very honest man !

[@rsjay1976]

`Thank you sir

[@aansikka8879]

Amazing