Which chess books should you read?

Current rating?
Current rating? Any Below 800 800 - 1000 1000 - 1200 1200 - 1400 1400 - 1600 1600 - 1800 1800 - 2000 2000 - 2200 Above 2200
Playing style?
Playing style? any positional dynamic tactical theoretical
Biggest weakness?
Biggest weakness? any openings strategy tactics and calculation endgames
Target rating?
Target rating? Any 800 - 1000 1000 - 1200 1200 - 1400 1400 - 1600 1600 - 1800 1800 - 2000 2000 - 2200 Above 2200

Book of the week

silman's complete endgame course chessreads

Silman’s Complete Endgame Course

4.69
13 ratings·5 reviews
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Table of Contents

  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
1 review
Chess book review, Conceptual Rook Endgames Workbook, Jacob Aagaard
  • Conceptual Rook Endgames Workbook
  • Jacob Aagaard
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1400
0 reviews
Book cover of Starting out: The Dutch Defence by Neil McDonald, chess book review
  • Starting out: The Dutch Defence
  • Neil McDonald
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The Moscow & Anti-Moscow Variations by Alexey Dreev, chess book review
  • The Moscow & Anti-Moscow Variations
  • Alexey Dreev
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Book cover of The Colle: Move by Move by Cyrus Lakdawala, chess book review
  • The Colle: Move by Move
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Book cover of Easy Guide to the Ruy Lopez by John Emms, chess book review
  • Easy Guide to the Ruy Lopez
  • John Emms
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Kasparov's Chess Opening Repertoire by Eric Schiller, chess book review
  • Kasparov’s Chess Opening Repertoire
  • Eric Schiller
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
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  • Chessiverse
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The Chess Manual of Avoidable Mistakes 2: Test yourself! by Romain Edouard, chess book review
  • The Chess Manual of Avoidable Mistakes 2: Test yourself!
  • Romain Edouard
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  • ELO: 1200
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, First Steps: The Colle and London Systems, Cyrus Lakdawala
  • First Steps: The Colle and London Systems
  • Cyrus Lakdawala
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Chess book review, Excelling at Positional Chess, Jacob Aagaard
  • Excelling at Positional Chess
  • Jacob Aagaard
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  • Elo: -800
  • -
  • 2200+
Chessbook is the fastest way to build a bulletproof repertoire.
  • Chessbook
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Soviet Chess Strategy by Alexei Suetin, chess book review
  • Soviet Chess Strategy
  • Alexei Suetin
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  • Elo: 800
  • -
  • 2200
chessmind grid image 1
  • Mauricio Flores Rios
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1600
0 reviews
Chess book review, Strategic Chess Exercises, Emmanuel Bricard
  • Strategic Chess Exercises
  • Emmanuel Bricard
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
0 reviews
Chess book review, Chess Strategy for Club Players, Herman Grooten
  • Chess Strategy for Club Players
  • Herman Grooten
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  • ELO: 1800
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Modernized Italian Game for White by Alexander Kalinin, Nicolai Kalinichenko, chess book review
  • The Modernized Italian Game for White
  • Alexander Kalinin, Nicolai Kalinichenko
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Latest reviews

  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2200
0 reviews
Book cover of The 3...Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong by Daniel Lowinger, chess book review
  • The 3…Qd8 Scandinavian: Simple and Strong
  • Daniel Lowinger
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2200+
1 review
Book cover of The Modern Scandinavian by Matthias Wahls, chess book review
  • The Modern Scandinavian
  • Matthias Wahls
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200+
2 reviews
Chess book review, The Zaitsev System, Alexey Kuzmin
  • The Zaitsev System
  • Alexey Kuzmin
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  • ELO: 1400
  • -
  • 1800
1 review
Chess book review, Chess Fundamentals, Jose Capablanca
  • Chess Fundamentals
  • Jose Capablanca
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of The Original Arkhangelsk by Tibor Karolyi, chess book review
  • The Original Arkhangelsk
  • Tibor Karolyi
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  • ELO: 1600
  • -
  • 2000
0 reviews
Book cover of Archangel and New Archangel by Krzysztof Panczyk and John Emms, chess book review
  • Archangel and New Archangel
  • John Emms, Krzysztof Panczyk
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  • ELO: 2000
  • -
  • 2200
2 reviews
Book cover of Bobby Fischer's Endgame Technique by Alex Colovic, chess book review
  • Bobby Fischer’s Endgame Technique
  • Alex Colovic
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  • ELO: 1000
  • -
  • 1200
1 review
Book cover of Starting Out: The Ruy Lopez by John Shaw, chess book review
  • Starting Out: The Ruy Lopez
  • John Shaw
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Everything You Need to Know About Reading Chess Books
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Best Chess Books of 2025
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Chessreads is a collection of chess book reviews written by chess players of varying strength, from beginner to master. Our goal is to help every chess player find out which books they should read based on their rating, weaknesses and ambition.

Chessreads is accompanied by a YouTube channel where we post reviews in video format, interviewing authors, and recommending reading lists for players of different ratings.

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