Books for Novices:

Weapons of Chess by Bruce Pandolfini (for 900 to 1400 range players) essay
format
How to Reassess your Chess by Silman/ Complete Book of Chess Strategy
Unbeatable Chess Lessons for Juniors
Think like a Grandmaster by Kotov

The Amateurs Mind by Silman (for over 1,500 rating players)

An invitation to Chess by Chernev great intro book
For a beginner or just beyond that level Bruce Pandolfini's, "Beginning Chess: Over 300 Elementary
Problems" and for an intermediate player, Emms "Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book"

Pandolfinis Endgame Course (it's all at a beginner level (around 1000-1400 USCF)
CHESS TACTICS WORKBOOK
CHESS WORKBOOK FOR CHILDREN

EVERYMAN CHESS BOOKS FOR BEGINNERS:

Starting Out in Chess by Byron Jones
Tips for Young Players by Matthew Sadler
Learn Chess: A Complete Course by Alexander & Beech
Basic Chess Openings by Gabor Kallai
Improve Your Chess Now by Jonathan Tisdall
Choose the Right Move by Daniel King and Chris Duncan
First Steps in Chess by John Walker
Chess Fundamentals
Test Your Chess: Piece Power by John Walker
-

Good beginner book, for about 1250 USCF rating.

Players Under 1000:

Winning Chess Puzzles For Kids by Jeff Coakley

Winning Chess Strategy For Kids by Jeff Coakley

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer
Players Between 1000 and 1500
Winning Chess Strategies by Yasser Seirawan
Winning Chess Tactics by Yasser Seirawan
The Amateurs Mind by Jeremy Silman

these are best chess books for different ratings

for: 1000-1200
bain book,yaseer sairwaan,lazlo pogar,shokolov and schiller
for1300-1700
palliser,shokolov and schiller and jacob aagaard
for 1700-2100+
jacob aagaard and think like grandmaster kotov

The 5334 book, along with both of Susan Polgar's books, Dan Heisman's "Back
to Basics: Tactics" book, Alburt's Comprehensive Chess Course I & II, and
Farsworth's books I believe are the best tactics books for the true beginner
because the majority of the problems are solved within 2 moves and >80% of
the problems are solved within 3-moves, appropriate for a beginner (yes I
counted, after being frustrated by Seirawan's more difficult "beginner" book).

Seirawan's book, Winning Chess Tactics, I thought was way too difficult
for a beginner, having lots of problems that are several moves long with
multiple side-lines of analysis that were each multiple-moves long.
Although his explanations of tactical motifs were fine, I thought he had
too few examples and problems, and I believe Farnsworth does a far
better job for the beginner or lower-level player.
Chandler's books (How to Beat Your Dad at Chess and Chess Tactics for
Kids) have misleading titles and I think are better tackled when one is
more comfortable with simpler tactics/mates since he essentially classifies
multiple 3-4 move tactics/mates which are much easier to understand
when you have a grasp of the simpler tactics.
Cheng's, Nunn's, Emm's, Palliser's, and Averbakh's books are for non-

beginners as far as I know.

Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess

Books by Bruce Pandolfini
Books by Jeremy Silman
Chess! Lessons from a Grandmaster by Yury Shulman and Seth Rishi
Comprehensive Chess Course Volumes 1 & 2
Chess Training Program for Beginners by Susan Polgar
Highland Park Curriculum for Beginners and Intermediates
Chess Tactics for Students by John Bain
Logical Chess Move by Move by Irving Chernev
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler
Dan Heismans books, Novice Nook columns and videos
CurriculumThere is a wealth of material out there.
i. The Gary Kasparov Foundationfree instructional materials
for schools
ii. Chess is Fun by Jon Edwardsfrom basic to intermediate
iii. Chess Kids Academyespecially great for young children
iv. And one of my favorites www.professorchess.com
f. Resources Ive asked a number of great chess players (Maurice
Ashley, Susan Polgar, Stephan Gerzadowicz) to tell me the most
important things for beginners, and young players to work on. Every
one of them gave me the same answerTACTICS. So I have several
Tactics resources to recommend:
i. The Chess Tactics Workbook- by Al Woolum
ii. Ward Farnsworths Predator at the ChessboardEntire text
online or available as a two volume set.

iii. Chess Tactics for Students (Bain)

iv. Alexy Roots Chess in Education series of books are also great
for teaching ideas that extend beyond chess.

For kids or any other beginner I would recommend 3 books

1, Chess Openings By Mike Basman
2, Logical chess move by move by Irving Chernev
3, Silman's complete endgame course by Jeremy Silman
These are books for adults. For children, Chandler's "How to Beat Your Dad at Chess," Gillam's
"Simple Checkmates," and Ivashchenko's "Manual of Chess Combinations" (only vols 1a and 1b) might
be more appropriate.

The classic 'How to beat your dad at chess' should be in every library as well as Tim Onions' 'Ten
ways to beat...' series.
"Chess For Kids: How to Play and Win" by Richard James
Onions books and for mate studies I like "202 Checkmates for Children" by Fred Wilson and Bruce
Albertson.
"Play Better Chess" by Leonard Barden is very good (not as a first book for U10s but over 10s,
including beginning adults, should rip into it)
GM recommended Bronstein's 1953 Candidates book when I asked for recommendations for keen 1011 year olds who want to become strong players.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess (3rd

edition). Patrick Wolff. pub. Alpha, 2005
Simple Checkmates. Tony Gillam. pub.
Batsford
Manual of Chess Combinations, vols 1a and
1b. Ivashchenko, et al. pub. Russian Chess
House.

 The Art of the Checkmate. Renaud

and Kahn. Dover, 1962
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess. Chandler.
Gambit, 1998
Find the Checkmate. Lane. Batsford
Play for Mate. Hooper and Cafferty. Batsford
Capablanca: A Primer of Checkmate. Del
Rosario. Mongoose Press, 2010

Livshitz's Test Your Chess IQ -- the first volume only.

Weteschnik's Understanding Chess Tactics and Bojkov and
Georgiev's A Course in Chess Tactics. Du Mont's The Basis of
Combination in Chess
Averbakh's Chess Tactics for Advanced Players
Minev's Mastering Tactical Ideas

Chess Tactics for Juniors. Hall. Hays

Publishing.
The Basis of Combination in Chess. Du Mont.
Dover.
Encyclopedia of Chess Middlegames:
Combinations. Chess Informant, 1990?

 Test Your Chess IQ (three volumes). Livshitz.

Cadogan.
Mastering Tactical Ideas. Minev. ICE, 2000?
Tal's Winning Chess Combinations. Tal and
Khenkin. Simon and Schuster.
Chess Tactics for Advanced Players.
Averbakh. Chess Digest.
Domination in 2545 Endgame Studies.
Kasparyan. Moscow.
360 Brilliant and Instructive Endgames.
Troitzky. Dover.
How to Be a Deadly Chess Tactician. LeMoir.
Gambit.
Learn Chess Tactics. Nunn. Gambit, 2004.
Chess Tactics. Littlewood. Batsford.
Combinational Motifs. Maxim Blokh. Moscow,
2003.
Understanding Chess Tactics. Weteschnik.
Quality Chess, 2006
A Course in Chess Tactics. Bojkov and
Georgiev. Gambit, 2010

Buy any book by the British school teacher and chess master John N. Walker. They are
perfect for young players under 1200.

Here are some Books by John Walker

Chess for Tomorrows Champions provides an entertaining and amusing

introduction along with historical tidbits.

Winning on the Openings shows how to take advantage of your

opponents mistakes. This is a great way to learn openings.

Attacking the King shows how to build up what Walker calls "firepower." This is a killer middlegame book.

Test Your Chess: Piece Power has got lots of problems well suited for
junior instruction.

Paul Littlewoods Check Tactics is an outstanding exploration of the main

tactical motifs. He explains overloading, deflection, decoying better than
ever. If you only get one book on tactics, this is the one.
CJ.S. Purdys Guide to Good Chess is truly a classic for both young and old
chess players. Purdy explains chess like no one else. Learn Purdys rules and
discover why Bobby Fischer considered Purdy the worlds greatest chess
author.
Andrew Soltis Grandmaster Secrets Endings is the most enlightening book
Ive ever read. This book is challenging but dont let that stop you.
Irving Chernevs The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played truly lives
up to its title. It includes 62 masterpieces of chess strategy. If you have a
rating of 1000 or higher then study this book and I guarantee you will improve
your chess. If I could only have one chess book this would be it.

1.

Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions and Ideas, Second
Edition by Lev Alburt (1997)

2.

More Unbeatable Chess for Juniors (Chess) by Robert M. Snyder

3.

How Computers Play Chess by David N. L. Levy

4.

Extreme Chess: C. J. S. Purdy Annotates the World Championships : Alekhine-Euwe I,

1935 : Alekhine-Euwe II, 1937 : Fischer-Spassky I, 1972 (Purdy Series) by C. J. S.
Purdy (1999)

5.

Winning Chess Tournaments for Juniors by Robert M. Snyder

6.

Chess Exam And Training Guide: Rate Yourself And Learn How To Improve by Igor
Khmelnitsky (2004)

7.

Chess Strategy for the Tournament Player (Comprehensive Chess Course Series) by Lev
Alburt (2000)

(2005)

(1991)

(2004)

8.

How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Gambit chess) by Murray Chandler

9.

Best Lessons of a Chess Coach by Sunil Weeramantry

(1998)

(1993)

10. Chess for Juniors: A Complete Guide for the Beginner (Chess) by Robert M. Snyder
11. Understanding Chess Move by Move by John Nunn

(1991)

(2001)

12. Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player (Comprehensive Chess Course Series)
(Comprehensive Chess Course, Third Level) by Sam Palatnik (1996)
13. The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings by Reuben Fine
14. Test & Improve Your Chess by Lev Alburt

(1980)

(1989)

15. Chess Training for Budding Champions by Jesper Hall

(2001)

TEN BEST BOOKS:

10. Chess Self-Teacher, by Al Horowitz (1961).
Chess Primer and Chess Fundamentals both very useful books that should be required reading
for novices.
9. Winning Chess Strategy for Kids, by Jeff Coakley
Winning Chess Exercises for Kids (2004), is just as good but very challenging for the novice.
Years ago, Reinfeld, Horowitz, Fine and Chernev taught beginners. Today, some competent
authors who target the child novice are Pandolfini, Walker (the British Pandolfini), Heisman and
Snyder.
Lev Albert has authored many books that are geared toward the more mature novice. I especially
enjoy the two-book course by Aleksander Kostyev, From Beginner to Expert in 40 Lessons (1998)
and 40 Lessons for the Club Player (1990), both published by Batsford. These lessons cover a
couple of topics which take approximately an hour of classroom time.
8. 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations, by Fred Reinfeld (Wilshire Book Co., 1955)
Puzzle books interest me so I choose the grand-daddy of them all (not its easier sibling, 1001
Winning Checkmates).
Lazlos Polgar's 2534 Combinations is great for novices. Chris Ward authored many puzzle books
targeting novice to intermediate players. Two other challenging favorites are Nunn's Puzzle Book
and Barden's Puzzle Book (retitled Batsford's Puzzle Book). A beginner should devour these
books, because "One who understands combinations, then understands chess."
7. Judgment and Planning in Chess, Dr. Max Euwe, 1979 McKay. DN. Strategy/middlegame.

Other outstanding Euwe titles are; The Middlegame, Book one, Static features and Book two,
Dynamic features with Kramer, A Guide to Chess Endings with Hooper, The Development of
Chess Style, edited and enlarged by John Nunn, 1997, and the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby road
books. They are The Road to Chess Mastery, Chess Amateur versus Chess Master and Chess
Master versus Chess Master, written with Walter Meiden and can only be picked up in reruns.
Judgment and Planning, The Middlegame books and A Guide to Chess Endings would help
strong Class B players and up to advance to the Expert class. The other books would help those in
the B-D classes.
6. Pawn Structure Chess, Andrew Soltis, 1995, McKay. Opening.
Pawn Structure Chess was my most important opening book. It is better than
Rueben Fine's The Ideas behind the Opening and the similar Pawn Power by
Hans Kmoch (endorsed highly by IM Dan Kopec).
5. Lasker's Chess Manuel, Emanuel Lasker, Dover, DN. Philosophy.
4. One Hundred Selected Games, Mikhail Botvinnik, Dover, DN. Game collection.
3. Practical Chess Endings, Irving Chernev, Dover reprint of 1961 Simon and
Schuster. Endgame.
I enjoy endgame studies the same as puzzle books or combinations, mainly to stay in some chess
shape. There is a plethora of good endgame books. Some of them are; How to Win in the Chess
Endings by Horowitz, Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge by Averbach, Basic Chess Endings
(revised by Benko) by R. Fine, Endgame Strategy by Shereshevsky, Mastering the Endgame
volume 1 & 2 by Shereshevsky and Slutsky, The Survival Guide to Rook Endings by Emms and
Essential Chess Endings by Howell.
2. The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, Irving Chernev, Dover reprint from 1965
Simon and Schuster, DN. Instruction.
One can never go wrong when purchasing a Chernev book, from An Invitation to chess, or 1000
Best Short Games of Chess, or The Fireside Book of Chess, or Logical Chess Move by Move or
many others.
1.

Garry Kasparov on My Great Predecessors, Part I, Everyman Chess, 2003. Most

impressive

Keep in mind that my first published rating was under 1000, so some of these books you would
probably consider too basic. I list them in chronological order of my reading them.
Invitation to Chess - Chernev & Harkness
Last Lectures - J. R. Capablanca
Lasker's Manual of Chess - Emanuel Lasker
Chess Fundamentals - J. R. Capablanca
Logical Chess: Move by Move - Irving Chernev
Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur - Euwe & Meiden

Modern Chess Strategy - Pachman

I also am a big fan of Chernev's "Most Instructive Games of Chess", but I wouldn't include it on my list
because I was already pretty good by the time I read it. Pachman's book has a reputation as a classic
and I believe it is completely deserved.

Its Your Move by Chris Ward - This is also a very hard chess puzzle book (not for players below
1800)
Avoid the older blue-cover "It's Your Move" by the same author. It's not bad, but it's too hard (and at
that level, Silman is better). The "Improvers" version is much easier. Useful tool for low rated player
(U1600 USCF),
The book is very basic and fun to read, yet majority of positions are important and I wouldn't hesitate
using them with my students

The Art of Chess Combinations - Znosko-Borovsky is a brilliant chess teacher;

this and his How to Play the Chess Endings are his two best works. For the
beginning tournament player, The Art of Chess Combination gives a wonderful,
concise introduction to important motifs in attacking (and in some cases,
defensive) play. Vukovic's Art of Attack in Chess is a good book, but after
reading Znosko-Borovsky's shorter work felt it did not add that much extra.
This book is superb. The only book you will ever need on combinations & attack
on the castled postion. Very advanced, recommended for players 1800+ (USCF).
This is a real classic of chess literature.

The Game of Chess by Tarrasch

This is quite possibly the best single volume on the game of chess for advanced beginners to early
intermediate players. The book covers all three phases of the game - ending (first), middlegame
(second), and openings (last).
Tarrasch's writing style is very clear and easy to understand.
A great book to be studied and restudied. The author has done an outstanding job in breaking chess
into first principles, and then using these principles to illustrate how to play chess well.

"Power Chess" - Nigel Davies an advanced beginner/weak intermediate player is best suited for the
text. This volume is not for beginer, but are some easy puzzles.
In each lessons he gives 6 puzzles the first four are tactic combination, winning material or mate. The
last two are positional puzzles, just moves to get better position, or drawback manoeuvres.
In the forward of Winning Chess Tactics for Juniors it says to do this book 3 times and not to move
on to Combination Challenge until you're around USCF 1700.

One Thousand...Combinations:
I'd like to mention that this shouldn't be the first book on tactics for the beginning player (under 1500).
The first book you should read is 'Winning Chess: How to See Three Moves Ahead' by Irving Chernev
and Fred Reinfeld ('Chess Tactics for Students' by Bain or 'Winning Chess Tactics' by Seirawan are
good alternatives.) '