struggling badly to study a chess book

"is 17x17 good"

• The size of the pocket set does not matter, it is just so that you can move pieces on the large chess board and the go back to the book position of the pocket set.
  Silman is one of the worst endgame books, the best being Fundamental Chess Endings - Müller & Lamprecht.

"Here are some excellent endgame books:
Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge (1993) by Yuri Averbakh ...
Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginning to Master (2007) by Jeremy Silman ...
Understanding Chess Endgames (2009) by John Nunn ...
Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, 4th edition (2014) by Mark Dvoretsky ...
Practical Chess Endings, 2nd revised edition (2018) by Paul Keres ...
At this point in your training, you probably only need to study one or two of these books to get everything you need. ..." - Learn to Play Chess Like a Boss (2019) by GM Patrick Wolff

All of these books contain mistakes.
Even Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual, 4th edition (2014) by Mark Dvoretsky ...
GM Karsten Müller has corrected these in the 6th edition, (2025) after IM Dvoretsky passed away.
The best, most complete, most correct endgame book is Fundamental Chess Endings - Müller & Lamprecht.
It is endorsed by Magnus Carlsen.

@SF18NNUE-SFNNV12 said ^

i never treat it like a novel but it how do i learn from my variation and the authors without checking engine also how am i supposed to find the full anlsyis if its too deep to do so , shall i spar or something or like what, i am confused like i am readng currently,"secrets of chess endgames" by idk but its good also its a very tedious task how to do it without lagging

I use my phone and a chess app (ChessKing in Analysis mode, to be specific) to duplicate the main line as I go through any chess article, along with my main real board on my chess table with the book on a stand next to it. It's a good setup and I can break off at any moment (phone call, etc.) if necessary. Reset back to the main line is easy.

Alternatively, and I've done this a lot in the past, is to reverse the moves on the board at the end of a variation to take you back to the beginning of the analysis. Personnaly, I prefer the second board that holds the position, be it on the app or if room allows, via a smaller board.

There are many ways to study a chess book properly. Most chess players just don't take the time to think about a useful long term solution. I will even ask AI to give me an overview of how to study a particular book (God forbid!!). Game reviews are easy to do - they are mostly the same method. Studying other phases of the games are slightly different. Experience will tell.

My 2c.

I had another problem regarding chess books ,how do I learn from them like I play my line compare to the authors then I extract a lesson do _____ when _____ in the condition of ___ but it's really ineffective and hard to learn from as it's heavily position dependant what do I do am I wrong ,I am open to critics

thi sis my prolonging habit while reading chess books

@SF18NNUE-SFNNV12 said ^

I had another problem regarding chess books ,how do I learn from them like I play my line compare to the authors then I extract a lesson do _____ when _____ in the condition of ___ but it's really ineffective and hard to learn from as it's heavily position dependant what do I do am I wrong ,I am open to critics

If it's not stickng, you are either skimming the games without understanding or just not trying. It's fine to go over the same game multiple times until you understand completely what it is trying to tell you. Learning chess is not a "one and done" thing like chords of a song, for any chess subject. Studying chess naturally assumes you are repeating the same material so it makes an impression on your memory.
Anyone tells you different is either a savant or is BS'ing you. There are no savants in these forums. I've gone over the same game several times across 3 days to embed it into my subconsciousness. When you look over gasmes for learning, you should be able to at least play the game out from memory at a minimum and understand the critical moments. Otherweise, you are just pushing wood around.

@ChessPriyome said ^

I had another problem regarding chess books ,how do I learn from them like I play my line compare to the authors then I extract a lesson do _____ when _____ in the condition of ___ but it's really ineffective and hard to learn from as it's heavily position dependant what do I do am I wrong ,I am open to crit

okay but how should my lessons look like for example you read a book and find any flaw in your play that the author dosent state in the line, what do you write

@kindaspongey said

<< .... I suggest going for pages 1-212 of Silman’s Complete Endgame Course....>>

Great Advice. This is a wonderful book, especially if your motivation goes through ebbs and flows. It allows you to study endgame material with useful results regardless of what pace you're in the mood to work at --- it divides into very easily absorbed chunks.

@SF18NNUE-SFNNV12 said in #15:

I had another problem regarding chess books ,how do I learn from them like I play my line compare to the authors then I extract a lesson do _____ when _____ in the condition of ___ but it's really ineffective and hard to learn from as it's heavily position dependant what do I do am I wrong ,I am open to critics

"... I would caution you that this and other maxims are not to be blindly followed. In chess, as in life, rules must often be swept aside. ..." - Logical Chess (1957) by Irving Chernev

After learning about 1 e4 d5 2 exd5 Qxd5, it, no doubt, seems like a good idea to lure the enemy queen out into the middle of the board at an early stage. However, consider 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4. I often see someone give in to the temptation to go for 4...Nxd4 5 Qxd4, but it turns out that that is not a good idea.

"... if a queen is actually stable in the middle of the board, this can often be the best place for it ..." - part of a discussion of 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 d4 exd4 5 Nxd4 Nxd4 6 Qxd4 in Discovering Chess Openings (2006) by GM John Emms

Is it obvious that 4...Nxd4 is not a good idea (after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4)? Maybe, but I suspect that many learn about this by first playing 4...Nxd4 in a game and only subsequently reading about better ideas (such as 4...Nf6 or 4...Bc5). Chess is generally like that. Another example:

"... One of the three golden rules of the opening is to ensure king safety. In the majority of cases this means simply tucking up the king safely by castling. However, it's not always quite as simple as that. Sometimes when you castle early you have to be careful not to run into an attack by, say, inviting a pawn storm. Similarly, when the pawn centre is closed and your king is in no immediate danger in the middle of the board, on occasion it pays to keep your options open regarding whether to castle 'short' or 'long'. ..." - Discovering Chess Openings (2006) by GM John Emms

@SF18NNUE-SFNNV12 said in #18:

... how should my lessons look like for example you read a book and find any flaw in your play that the author dosent state in the line, what do you write

If one writes after reading, it is only natural for the writing to be imperfect. One learns about an idea that is often, but not always, useful, and one gradually improves one's understanding of exceptions. Some books place a greater emphasis on helping readers who are new to an idea,

"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)
https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever