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Thousand Dollar Chess Book Collection

ThePYGOD

I love Chess books! I like to own them, I like to read them, I like to hold them. I like the way they feel, the way they smell. I like to look at them on my book shelf.

The thrill is, also, in the hunt. I like to search for new books. I like to buy and order new books.

“Physical Chess Books are the only thing worth collecting.” — PYGOD, Chess Scholar

Nothing screams “smart” more than a bookshelf full of Chess books.

Nonetheless, I’m not looking for rare editions, and fn expensive books. Au contraire, I’m searching for useful books at reasonable prices. I have no problem buying second-hand books.

Blindfold Chess:

  • BLINDFOLD CHESS: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games by Eliot Hearst and John Knott. In my view (pun intended), it is THE Blindfold Chess book by excellence. Really instructive if you wanna know more about Chess history.
  • Cognitive Chess: Improving Visualization and Calculation Skills by Konstantin Chernyshov.
  • Train Yourself on Blindfold Chess: Make yourself a mental athlete by Sourav Sahay.
  • Chess Visualization by Rodolfo Pardi.

Correspondence Chess / Centaur Chess:

  • Kasparov Against the World by Garry Kasparov. Very good book. Read it cover to cover. Kasparov is a great writer and a genius.
  • Modern Chess Analysis by Robin Smith.

General Improvement:

  • Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza. Liked it. Read it cover to cover but skipped the Chess exercises.
  • Perpetual Chess Improvement: Practical Chess Advice from World-Class Players and Dedicated Amateurs by Ben Johnson. Liked it. Read it cover to cover.
  • How to Study Chess on Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works... and Sticking to it! by Davorin Kuljasevic. Liked it. Read it cover to cover while skipping the Chess exercises.

General Strategy:

  • How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman. Reputed to be THE Chess book by excellence.
  • How to Win at Chess: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners and Beyond by Levy Rozman aka Gotham Chess. My first ever Chess book. Read it cover to cover and liked it. Beginner-friendly.
  • How to Win at Chess, Next Level: The Ultimate Guide for Intermediate Play by Levy Rozman.
  • A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario. Could have been in the Game Collections category too. Simple and fun book. One of my favorites.
  • The Amateur’s Mind by Jeremy Silman.
  • The Soviet Chess Primer (Chess Classics) by Ilya Maizelis. In my antilibrary list. Not yet ready for it!
  • Best Play A New Method For Discovering The Strongest Move by Alexander Shashin.

Tactics:

  • Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games by László Polgár. The Polgar Bible is THE Puzzle book.
  • Everyone’s First Chess Workbook: Fundamental Tactics and Checkmates for Improvers – 738 Practical Exercises by Peter Giannatos.

Game Collections:

  • The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games by Graham Burgess, Dr. John Nunn, John Emms. THE Chess Game Collection Book.
  • My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer.

Openings:

  • MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book.
  • Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan. An easy and fun way to initiate yourself to Chess openings.
  • Become a Chess Assassin!: Learn to play the best chess opening attacks by Dr Michael Tam
  • 50+2 Chess Quick Wins: Tactical ideas for exciting chess for beginner players by Dr Michael Tam

MiddleGame:

  • The Art of the Middle Game by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov. THE Chess MiddleGame book. Read it cover to cover, skimming fast over the Chess games. Thanks to this book, I’ve learned the old-school, archaic, descriptive notation.

Endgames:

  • Silman’s Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master by Jeremy Silman. THE Chess Endgame book.

History:

  • The Philosopher and the Housewife by Willy Hendriks.

Autobiography:

  • All the Wrong Moves: a Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything by Sasha Chapin.

Biography:

  • Raise a Genius by Laszlo Polgar. I needed this book so badly that I created my own copy from the pdf.

Novels:

  • The Queen’s Gambit (Television Tie-in) by Walter Tevis.
  • The Royal Game: A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. Excellent short book that I’ve read twice. Could have been in the Blindfold Chess section too.
  • The Defense aka The Luzhin Defense by Vladimir Nabokov. Overrated.
  • The Luneburg Variation by Paolo Maurensig. Excellent thrilling book! Thanks to this book, I’ve learned the power of ATTENTION.
  • Lisa: A Chess Novel by Jesse Kraai. Very good book but not as astonishing as The Luneburg Variation (see above).
  • Los Voraces 2019: A Chess Novel by Andy Soltis.
  • Sponsor: Murder at the North Sea Chess Tournament by Fred Das, Jeroen Terlingen.
  • Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons.

First Book Purchased: June 27, 2025
Total Books: 37
Total Purchase Cost: CAD $1,012.91 (including shipping and taxes)
Average Price Per Book: $27.38 CAD
Thousand Dollar Milestone: October 12, 2026

Purchase Value (as of October 28, 2026): USD $723.78

It contains everything a Chess player needs—and much more.

Any book missing?

I love Chess books! I like to own them, I like to read them, I like to hold them. I like the way they feel, the way they smell. I like to look at them on my book shelf. The thrill is, also, in the hunt. I like to search for new books. I like to buy and order new books. > ## *“Physical Chess Books are the only thing worth collecting.”* — PYGOD, Chess Scholar Nothing screams “smart” more than a bookshelf full of Chess books. Nonetheless, I’m not looking for rare editions, and fn expensive books. Au contraire, I’m searching for useful books at reasonable prices. I have no problem buying second-hand books. ## Blindfold Chess: - BLINDFOLD CHESS: History, Psychology, Techniques, Champions, World Records, and Important Games by Eliot Hearst and John Knott. In my view (pun intended), it is THE Blindfold Chess book by excellence. Really instructive if you wanna know more about Chess history. - Cognitive Chess: Improving Visualization and Calculation Skills by Konstantin Chernyshov. - Train Yourself on Blindfold Chess: Make yourself a mental athlete by Sourav Sahay. - Chess Visualization by Rodolfo Pardi. ## Correspondence Chess / Centaur Chess: - Kasparov Against the World by Garry Kasparov. Very good book. Read it cover to cover. Kasparov is a great writer and a genius. - Modern Chess Analysis by Robin Smith. ## General Improvement: - Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza. Liked it. Read it cover to cover but skipped the Chess exercises. - Perpetual Chess Improvement: Practical Chess Advice from World-Class Players and Dedicated Amateurs by Ben Johnson. Liked it. Read it cover to cover. - How to Study Chess on Your Own: Creating a Plan that Works... and Sticking to it! by Davorin Kuljasevic. Liked it. Read it cover to cover while skipping the Chess exercises. ## General Strategy: - How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman. Reputed to be THE Chess book by excellence. - How to Win at Chess: The Ultimate Guide for Beginners and Beyond by Levy Rozman aka Gotham Chess. My first ever Chess book. Read it cover to cover and liked it. Beginner-friendly. - How to Win at Chess, Next Level: The Ultimate Guide for Intermediate Play by Levy Rozman. - A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario. Could have been in the Game Collections category too. Simple and fun book. One of my favorites. - The Amateur’s Mind by Jeremy Silman. - The Soviet Chess Primer (Chess Classics) by Ilya Maizelis. In my antilibrary list. Not yet ready for it! - Best Play A New Method For Discovering The Strongest Move by Alexander Shashin. ## Tactics: - Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games by László Polgár. The Polgar Bible is THE Puzzle book. - Everyone’s First Chess Workbook: Fundamental Tactics and Checkmates for Improvers – 738 Practical Exercises by Peter Giannatos. ## Game Collections: - The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games by Graham Burgess, Dr. John Nunn, John Emms. THE Chess Game Collection Book. - My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer. ## Openings: - MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book. - Winning Chess Openings by Yasser Seirawan. An easy and fun way to initiate yourself to Chess openings. - Become a Chess Assassin!: Learn to play the best chess opening attacks by Dr Michael Tam - 50+2 Chess Quick Wins: Tactical ideas for exciting chess for beginner players by Dr Michael Tam ## MiddleGame: - The Art of the Middle Game by Paul Keres and Alexander Kotov. THE Chess MiddleGame book. Read it cover to cover, skimming fast over the Chess games. Thanks to this book, I’ve learned the old-school, archaic, descriptive notation. ## Endgames: - Silman’s Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master by Jeremy Silman. THE Chess Endgame book. ## History: - The Philosopher and the Housewife by Willy Hendriks. ## Autobiography: - All the Wrong Moves: a Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything by Sasha Chapin. ## Biography: - Raise a Genius by Laszlo Polgar. I needed this book so badly that I created my own copy from the pdf. ## Novels: - The Queen’s Gambit (Television Tie-in) by Walter Tevis. - The Royal Game: A Chess Story by Stefan Zweig. Excellent short book that I’ve read twice. Could have been in the Blindfold Chess section too. - The Defense aka The Luzhin Defense by Vladimir Nabokov. Overrated. - The Luneburg Variation by Paolo Maurensig. Excellent thrilling book! Thanks to this book, I’ve learned the power of ATTENTION. - Lisa: A Chess Novel by Jesse Kraai. Very good book but not as astonishing as The Luneburg Variation (see above). - Los Voraces 2019: A Chess Novel by Andy Soltis. - Sponsor: Murder at the North Sea Chess Tournament by Fred Das, Jeroen Terlingen. - Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. First Book Purchased: June 27, 2025 Total Books: 37 Total Purchase Cost: CAD $1,012.91 (including shipping and taxes) Average Price Per Book: $27.38 CAD Thousand Dollar Milestone: October 12, 2026 Purchase Value (as of October 28, 2026): USD $723.78 It contains everything a Chess player needs—and much more. Any book missing?
lizani

A nice collection!
Not including the novels, I counted eight that I also own.
Your collection is mainly made up of recently written instructional books. I don't see many classic game collections or tournament books.

A nice collection! Not including the novels, I counted eight that I also own. Your collection is mainly made up of recently written instructional books. I don't see many classic game collections or tournament books.
ThePYGOD

I'm not a fan of playing over games yet!

Maybe in the future.

I'm not a fan of playing over games yet! Maybe in the future.
the-cisco-kid

How many of those books have you read?

How many of those books have you read?
kindaspongey

@ThePYGOD said in #1:

... MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book. ...

From MCO11 to MCO15, there was a revision, on average, once every 9 years. Since 2008, nothing. Just from the point of view of precedent, MCO15 has to be now seen as very out-of-date. I could not find anything about 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4, for example.
You may want to consider Practical Chess Openings (2025) by GM Kravtsiv.
http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/PCO_Practical_Chess_Openings.pdf

@ThePYGOD said in #1: > ... MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book. ... From MCO11 to MCO15, there was a revision, on average, once every 9 years. Since 2008, nothing. Just from the point of view of precedent, MCO15 has to be now seen as very out-of-date. I could not find anything about 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4, for example. You may want to consider Practical Chess Openings (2025) by GM Kravtsiv. http://www.gambitbooks.com/pdfs/PCO_Practical_Chess_Openings.pdf
ThePYGOD

@kindaspongey said ^

... MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book. ...

From MCO11 to MCO15, there was a revision, on average, once every 9 years. Since 2008, nothing. Just from the point of view of precedent, MCO15 has to be now seen as very out-of-date. I could not find anything about 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4, for example.
You may want t...

This is indeed the next book I will order.

A much needed book for me.

@kindaspongey said [^](/forum/redirect/post/i2Uuljlp) > > ... MCO Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick de Firmian. THE Chess Openings book. A great reference book. ... > > From MCO11 to MCO15, there was a revision, on average, once every 9 years. Since 2008, nothing. Just from the point of view of precedent, MCO15 has to be now seen as very out-of-date. I could not find anything about 1 d4 d5 2 Bf4, for example. > You may want t... This is indeed the next book I will order. A much needed book for me.
ThePYGOD

@the-cisco-kid said ^

How many of those books have you read?

From cover to cover:
The two Gothamchess books (excellent writers but annoying YouTuber, my two cents).
Kasparov (a genius and a great writer).
Most of the novels.
Raise a genius by Polgar.
A book of Morphy. Still love this book.
Ben Johnson book
Rapid Chess Improvement
How to study chess on your own.
The Middle Game book. But I was more interested by the archaic descriptive notation than by anything else.

I've a signifiant part of the Polgar Bible (tactics) and EFCWorkbook suggested by ChessDojo

For the moment, I'm not into playing over the classic games. My antilibrary.

My Opening books are used as reference books.

Read the bulletpoints and some part of the Silman's books.

Every book I've bought with the intention of reading, study and/or using it.

@the-cisco-kid said [^](/forum/redirect/post/nZMR69rE) > How many of those books have you read? From cover to cover: The two Gothamchess books (excellent writers but annoying YouTuber, my two cents). Kasparov (a genius and a great writer). Most of the novels. Raise a genius by Polgar. A book of Morphy. Still love this book. Ben Johnson book Rapid Chess Improvement How to study chess on your own. The Middle Game book. But I was more interested by the archaic descriptive notation than by anything else. I've a signifiant part of the Polgar Bible (tactics) and EFCWorkbook suggested by ChessDojo For the moment, I'm not into playing over the classic games. My antilibrary. My Opening books are used as reference books. Read the bulletpoints and some part of the Silman's books. Every book I've bought with the intention of reading, study and/or using it.
kindaspongeyedited

“How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range.” - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)
"... 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
"... The Amateur's Mind ... (for players 1000 to 1600) ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010)
"... The Amateur’s Mind ... is one of the best instructive books in print. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2009)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf

"... lower rated players will get something useful out of [the first section by Golombek in The Art of the Middlegame] ..., [Kotov's 'Strategy and Tactics of Attack on the King' and 'Various Pawn Positions in the Center'] will be enjoyed by Class B and A players [(~1600-1999 USCF)] ... the two Keres’ offerings: 'How to Defend Difficult Positions' and 'The Art of Analysis.' ... are advanced, and I think that players of expert strength and higher will get the most out of them (actually, 'The Art of Analysis' is for senior masters, IMs, and grandmasters). ..." - IM Jeremy Silman
https://web.archive.org/web/20220625165746/https://www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/art-of-the-middlegame-the/

“How to Reassess Your Chess, 4th Edition was designed for players in the 1400 to 2100 range.” - IM Jeremy Silman (2010) "... 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 "... The Amateur's Mind ... (for players 1000 to 1600) ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2010) "... The Amateur’s Mind ... is one of the best instructive books in print. ..." - Taylor Kingston (2009) https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094419/https://www.chesscafe.com/text/ammind.pdf "... lower rated players will get something useful out of [the first section by Golombek in The Art of the Middlegame] ..., [Kotov's 'Strategy and Tactics of Attack on the King' and 'Various Pawn Positions in the Center'] will be enjoyed by Class B and A players [(~1600-1999 USCF)] ... the two Keres’ offerings: 'How to Defend Difficult Positions' and 'The Art of Analysis.' ... are advanced, and I think that players of expert strength and higher will get the most out of them (actually, 'The Art of Analysis' is for senior masters, IMs, and grandmasters). ..." - IM Jeremy Silman https://web.archive.org/web/20220625165746/https://www.jeremysilman.com/book-review/art-of-the-middlegame-the/
tpr

"Any book missing?"

  • My Great Predecessors - Kasparov
    My System - Nimzovich
    Zürich 1953 - Bronstein
    Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca
    Common Sense in Chess - Lasker
    Fundamental Chess Endings - Müller & Lamprecht
    The Method in Chess - Dorfman
    Think Like a Grandmaster - Kotov
"Any book missing?" * My Great Predecessors - Kasparov My System - Nimzovich Zürich 1953 - Bronstein Chess Fundamentals - Capablanca Common Sense in Chess - Lasker Fundamental Chess Endings - Müller & Lamprecht The Method in Chess - Dorfman Think Like a Grandmaster - Kotov
lizani

For starters, there are the game collections of world champions written by themselves. In particular, I would recommend those of
Alekhine
Botvinnik
Smyslov
Tal
Fischer
Karpov
Kasparov
Khalifman
Anand

And many great game collections written by non-world champions including
Tarrasch
Marshall
Nimzowitsch
Keres
Reshevsky
Boleslavsky
Geller
Szabo
Olafsson
Larsen
Polugaevsky
Browne
Korchnoi
Timman
Beliavsky
Short

For starters, there are the game collections of world champions written by themselves. In particular, I would recommend those of Alekhine Botvinnik Smyslov Tal Fischer Karpov Kasparov Khalifman Anand And many great game collections written by non-world champions including Tarrasch Marshall Nimzowitsch Keres Reshevsky Boleslavsky Geller Szabo Olafsson Larsen Polugaevsky Browne Korchnoi Timman Beliavsky Short