Best book for a beginner

Discuss anything you like about chess related matters in this forum.
Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Roger de Coverly » Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:50 pm

Nick Grey wrote: The Game of Chess by Harry Golombek was my first book (from Primary School leaving).
In retrospect that book is too much of a mixture of the basic and sophisticated stuff. It doesn't really teach how to tear people apart. For that you needed Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move, Alekhine's game collections plus Fischer's 60 Memorable Games.

Barry Sandercock
Posts: 1356
Joined: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:52 am

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Barry Sandercock » Sat Feb 25, 2017 12:04 pm

"How to think ahead in chess" by Reinfeld and Horowitz may be a useful book to start with.

User avatar
IM Jack Rudd
Posts: 4819
Joined: Tue Apr 17, 2007 1:13 am
Location: Bideford

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by IM Jack Rudd » Sat Feb 25, 2017 3:29 pm

How about Pachman's Complete Chess Strategy series?

User avatar
Matt Mackenzie
Posts: 5206
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2009 11:51 pm
Location: Millom, Cumbria

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Matt Mackenzie » Sat Feb 25, 2017 5:06 pm

IM Jack Rudd wrote:How about Pachman's Complete Chess Strategy series?
Good stuff still - but for an absolute beginner?
"Set up your attacks so that when the fire is out, it isn't out!" (H N Pillsbury)

Joshua Gibbs

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Joshua Gibbs » Sat Feb 25, 2017 7:04 pm

Matt Mackenzie wrote:
IM Jack Rudd wrote:How about Pachman's Complete Chess Strategy series?
Good stuff still - but for an absolute beginner?
I think Jack was joking?

Joshua Gibbs

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Joshua Gibbs » Sat Feb 25, 2017 8:44 pm

Kevin Thurlow wrote:The Pritchard, Wood and Chernev books are good. Leonard Barden did one as well, but I'm sorry to say the title eludes me at present, "Guardian Book of Chess", perhaps?

I would not like to recommend Walker to anyone.
just because hes a nonce doesnt mean his book has no value.
I would hope that he cant get royalties from it though and i think people on amazon should know he is a nonce.

Arshad Ali
Posts: 704
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:27 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Arshad Ali » Sat Feb 25, 2017 11:25 pm

The Soviet Chess Primer by Maizelis?

soheil_hooshdaran
Posts: 3148
Joined: Tue Nov 05, 2013 5:24 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by soheil_hooshdaran » Sun Feb 26, 2017 12:03 pm

Arshad Ali wrote:The Soviet Chess Primer by Maizelis?
This book is absolutely bad for a BEGINNER.

Alan Kennedy
Posts: 194
Joined: Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:33 am

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Alan Kennedy » Sun Feb 26, 2017 7:47 pm

The books by Tim Onions are very good. http://www.witneychess.co.uk/junior_chess_club.htm gives a link to them in particularly 10 ways to succeed in the .....(opening, middlegame and ending) are well worth a read. the other book I would use is winning chess tactics for juniors.

John Neely
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun Feb 26, 2017 10:37 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by John Neely » Sat Mar 04, 2017 11:46 pm

Logical Chess by Chernev I think is an ideal book. It helps to reinforce solid chess principles. The games are short and easy to understand, as I remember them anyway. Also the beginning player should be hitting tactics heavily and playing as much as they can.

Roger de Coverly
Posts: 21301
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2008 2:51 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Roger de Coverly » Sun Mar 05, 2017 12:08 am

John Neely wrote:Logical Chess by Chernev I think is an ideal book.
Some of the analysis and positional "rules" should be approached with caution, What it does demonstrate is that every move should have a purpose. So if reviewing your own games, why did you or your opponent play that move?

It's good at teaching you how to hack people up. Here's a game from my teenage years where the finishing crunch on h7 and f7 came from the ideas in Logical Chess.



At that time I had a paranoia about doubled pawns. Whether I got this from Golombek books or "My System", I'm not sure. That accounts for playing 6. Bd2, which I think has become popular recently. Playing 4. e3 came from "knowledge" of theory and 5. Nf3 a logical(!) next move. Bd2 was "making it up", as was the attempt to seize the initiative by taking on c5. That's an idea from the Colle which Chernev gave some relatively extensive coverage.

Paul Habershon
Posts: 550
Joined: Sat Aug 07, 2010 5:51 pm

Re: Best book for a beginner

Post by Paul Habershon » Sun Mar 05, 2017 9:13 am

Roger, it looks as though the rather splendid 21 Nf6+ is more elegant than 21 Rxf8+, but you were only a teenager (ironic). Anyway, it's a bit pedantic to criticise a move that causes resignation.