Greetings,

Interesting question!

It makes you think that, if you could start over again, which books - and in what order - you'd read.

I suppose the simplest answer is the ones which made an impression on you.

For me, those were:

Winning Chess: How To See Just Three Moves Ahead - Reinfeld and Chernev
Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca
My System - Nimzowitsch

To these I'd have to add some books which I haven't yet read/finished:

Chess Praxis - Nimzowitsch
Secrets of Modern Chess Strategy and Chess Strategy in Action - Watson (also his Mastering the Chess Openings trilogy)
Tactics in the Endgame - Van Perlo

Just to complete the list.

However, there are more books which I'd like to add...!

It got me thinking about games collections - particularly, which players' games I'd like to play through.

Capablanca is one player whose games I'd like to play through, again and again. I'm not sure if Winter's "Compendium" includes all of Capablanca's games - if it does, then that would have to be on the list (I have Capablanca's 100 Best Endgames already - although I'd like Golombek's and others compilations as well!)

Karpov is another - his My 100 Best Games would be on the list, along with How Karpov Wins At Chess by Mednis, whose insight would undoubtedly prove interesting.

Rubinstein is yet another. The Life and Games of Akiba Rubinstein (both volumes!) would be on the list. I have the first and Rubinstein's Best Endgames - though more compilations would be welcome, for their annotations.

Lasker is another - I have Soltis' Why Lasker Matters, although I would like a similar compendium to Winter's on Capablanca, not just for "complete games" but for annotations.

Looking at the list of players - certainly the first three - made me realise that I would like to play like them, as I'm quite tactical over the board.

Which is, of course, why I admire them so much.

Kindest regards,

Dragan Glas

Markovich wrote on 01/20/09 at 19:45:25:



I did not realize her endgame knowledge was that strong.

Markovich wrote on 01/20/09 at 13:34:41:

... which is probably not very long on this island considering illness, poisonous animals and plants, heat, cold....  

I'm flattered that drkodos and I share so many books.

I chose not to include books such as Zurich, 1953, Mikhail Tal's Life and Games, My 60 Memorable Games, Alexander Alekhine's Best Games of Chess or any of those other classics because I've memorised enough of them to make owning the book redundant in a world in which I could only keep 5 copies.

My Best Games of Chess  Alexander Alekhine
The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal  Mikhail Tal
Anthology of Chess Combinations  Aleksander Matanovic
Fundamental Chess Endings Muller & Lamprecht
My Great Predecessors Vol. V Korchnoi/Karpov  Garry Kasparov

Sorry but I can not fit on 5 books .

1) Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual
2) Fundamental Chess Endings
3) How life imitates chess combined with Three Moves Ahead
4) My Great Predecessors - all volumes
5) Kasparov on Modern Chess - first two volumes.

For now these are enough to feed me for a life
But maybe if i have a choice I would get my laptop feeded with tons of chess info 

I would quit chess; the alternative is the donkey dilemma and die.

trw wrote on 01/17/09 at 02:27:06:


people actually read the books they buy??