Rather then asking if anyones read any good books lately as in http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/760105752/m/8731076465

I wanted to ask what books I should be reading. I've gone through all the tutorials/academy lessons in chessmaster 10, and have learned/improved a great deal and am thirsty for more. Specifically, I'm looking for books to improve my game that you don't need to have a chess board in front of you to work through. If it matters I'd estimate I have around a ~1600 ELO rating. I've tried reading Dvoretsky School of Chess Excellence 1 - Endgame Analysis and I'd have to say I would need a board in front of me to tackle that one. I also read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess which was very easy to read but had more of an entertainment value then actually helping my game, so what should I be reading?

Hi, I think I'm at a similar level as you. For us, most places I have seen recommend spending the most time on tactics. Bobby teaches chess was one of my first books too. I have also read the two "How to Beat Your Dad..." books by GM Murray Chandler and many general beginner's books like "Winning Chess" by Chernev and Reinfeld. The Chandler books were short but showed some common motifs. Winning Chess Tactics by Sierawan is what I'm reading now but it's going slowly and I'm not enjoying it too much. Have you considered CT-Art software? It's a good value and is recommended by Mike De La Maza who is somewhat of an unusual case, having gained 400 points in one year. I'm on Level 20 and they're starting to get pretty tough already. After completing some more tactics studies, I will probably move on to Silman's endgame course. I find many of my games seem to lead into a very winnable endgame, just not always winnable by me at the moment.

Can someone recommend a good book on openings? I know chess openings is one of the last subjects of the game you should study, but I've played countless of games where by the fifth or sixth move I'm stuck on what to do, even when always keeping the essential opening principles in mind.

I'm looking for something 200-300 pages long which covers just half a dozen main lines and replies. I don't need an entire encyclopedia to memorize.

Thanks.

You cant buy opening books like chessbooks on other subjects because every book that deals with chess opening as a whole must be a bad book because more then the half of this book will cover stuff that you dont need to know.

First of all, you have to find out what opening you play. As you may have noticed there is a big difference in starting a game with 1. d4 or 1. e4. You have to think about what you play with White and what you play with Black.

Then you can deceide which book to choose. Maybe we can help you more, if you tell us which opening you play.

Wow... that's good to know.

Well, as White I usually play with 1.e4, but as Black (assuming the opening was also 1.e4) I answer with 1.e5. The thing is now I wish to widen my repertoire. I like the Sicilian and Queen's Gambit lines.

I found a few interesting books on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Openings-White-Explained-Wi...id=1188537249&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Chess-Openings-Explained-Complete...id=1188537708&sr=8-2

... but I don't feel like reading 900 pages of this stuff. I'm more interested in books that delve deeper into opening principles (why this move was made, why this move was the correct response) instead of playing by rote.

This one looks promising, but too bad you can't look inside: http://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Chess-Openings-Sam-...id=1188537708&sr=8-2

If you like Queen's gambit, why not buying one of those:

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Queens-Gambit-Chris-Ward/dp/...id=1188563530&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Out-Queens-Gambit-Declin...id=1188563530&sr=1-2

You can search inside of both books if you want.