Best Chess Books for Beginners: The Only List You Need
por Paul Chessini
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Some of the best chess books for beginners include Bobby Fischer - Teaches Chess for self-study basics, Logical Chess: Move by Move for strategic understanding, and Winning Chess Strategy for Kids (great for adults too) for a step-by-step introduction. For drills, 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners builds tactics fast, while Silman’s Complete Endgame Course gives you only the endgames you need at your level. Modern options worth a look: How to Win at Chess (Levy Rozman), How to Beat Your Dad at Chess for checkmate patterns, and Everyone’s First Chess Workbook for structured practice.
For learning the basics & early strategy
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Bobby Fischer — Teaches Chess — interactive, “programmed learning” of mates and attacking.
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Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev) — elaborates all the moves in 33 games to develop strategic intuition.
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Winning Chess Puzzles for Kids (Jeff Coakley) — simple, easy to understand basics of any age.
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How to Win at Chess (Levy Rozman) — contemporary, easy to understand introduction.
For tactics & endgames
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1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners (Masetti & Messa) — A puzzle ladder, from easy to intermediate
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How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Murray Chandler) — patterns of mate that you will find in the real world.
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Silman’s Complete Endgame Course — endgames arranged by rating band such that you do not waste time.
Other helpful starters
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Chess for Dummies (James Eade) — all-inclusive zero-to-one book.
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Everyone’s First Chess Workbook (Peter Giannatos) — practice exercises of the very first players.
Introduction: Why Your First Book Matters
Beginners usually switch between YouTube tutorials and blitz games—getting better (or not) gradually. The correct book presents you with a clean sequence: basic mates, tactical patterns, simple endgames, how to understand why moves make sense. In case you intend to use examples on an actual board, a compact tournament chess set is much easier to visualize.
Even as you select your first board and pieces, you can begin with our brief tutorial to the chess set for beginners guide and the sizes, types of pieces, and prices to buy before you immerse yourself in books.
How to choose (beginner-proof criteria)
Level & scope
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0–700: step-by-step books that contain numerous diagrams and mates (Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Everyone’s First Chess Workbook).
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700–1100: include strategic explanation + tactics workbook (Chernev + 1001…).
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1000–1300: begin endgames (Silman) and mate patterns (Chandler).
Format & readability
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Use paperbacks with dull pages and big diagrams; small diagrams retard learning.
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Use algebraic notation; it is good to draw diagrams after every few moves.
Book size & layout
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Heavy page size and large margins facilitate visualization of the boards.
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Search chapters with exercises and answer keys.
Price & value
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Typical range $15–$35. A title of a strategy + one tactics workbook is better than purchasing five random books.
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Puzzles and improved layout are common to new/revised editions.
Top Books for Beginners (World Chess Shop Recommendations)
Ready to purchase? Check out our top 10 books for beginners, a collection of hand-picked chess books as a new player:
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Bobby Fischer - Teaches Chess — Best first self-study book
Level: absolute beginner–800.
You will study: the fundamentals of mating, forcing, and checkmating.
Why it works: small-sized programmed pages; instant feedback.
Be careful: it is written sparsely—combine it with a puzzle book.
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Logical Chess: Move by Move (Irving Chernev) — Best for understanding strategy
Level: 700–1200.
You will know: growth, centralization, general strategies, plain tricks.
Why it works: describes every move in full games; develops pattern recognition. -
Winning Chess Strategy for Kids (Jeff Coakley) — Best friendly fundamentals (all ages)
Level: 600–1100.
You will know: basic strategy, piece activity, simple plans.
Why it is effective: clear design, catchy mini-lessons and quizzes. -
How to Win at Chess (Levy Rozman) — Best modern overview
Level: 600–1000.
You will know: basics first, good habits of opening, tips of the trade.
Why it works: brief descriptions that are equal to those that beginners have to deal with on the internet. -
1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners (Masetti & Messa) — Best tactics workbook
Level: 600–1200.
You will know: forks, pins, mates, how to take the defender out--fast.
Why it is effective: repetition + graded themes; ideal in daily 15-20 minutes sessions. -
How to Beat Your Dad at Chess (Murray Chandler) — Best checkmate patterns
Level: 600–1100.
You will know: 50+ mating patterns you will observe in real games.
Why it is effective: pattern-based instruction; assists you in completing won positions. -
Silman’s Complete Endgame Course — Best beginner-to-club endgames
Level: 600–1600.
You will know: the basics of king and pawn, opposition, the practical rook endings.
Why it works: chapters marked by rating; you can study only what you can do. -
Chess for Dummies (James Eade) — Best “everything in one place” reference
Level: absolute beginner–900.
You will know: rules, notation, simple tactics, etiquette, fast openings.
Why it works: wide coverage, light tone; a perfect complement to a book on tactics. -
Everyone’s First Chess Workbook (Peter Giannatos) — Best structured starter course
Level: 500–1000.
You will know: rules, friends, easy tricks and much practice.
Why it works: contemporary design, incremental level, diagrams. -
Chess Fundamentals (José Capablanca) — Classic to mine selectively
Level: 800–1400.
You will study: clean technique and classical principles.
Why it works: classic concepts of a global champion.
Caution: language is old-school; skim over fundamental principles and combine with a current tactics title.
How to use these books (and actually improve)
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Study notation once, correctly. Take 30 minutes to go through our guide to the Algebraic Chess Notation. It makes all books and puzzles sets readable.
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Run a repeatable 4-week plan.
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Daily (25–40 min): 15–20 min from a tactics book (1001…), 10–15 min reading (Chernev/Rozman/Coakley), 5 min quick review.
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Two times per week: two slow games (rapid/classical) with a digital chess clock — it teaches time and post game commentary.
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Once a week (30–40 min): one chapter of the Endgame Course by Silman at your rating band.
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Use the “see-then-do” loop. Read a concept → solve 6-12 puzzles based on that motif → play games where you attempt to notice it → go over two positions you were incorrect on.
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Not only rating but also track patterns. Record a small note: miss fork/ back-rank mate/pin. Discuss these points again during the next session.
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Touch real pieces sometimes. This is because visualization is more easily remembered when you place positions on a real board. An ordinary wood chess board will be ideal in rebuilding the main diagrams of chapters.
Conclusion
Begin with a title of a strategy and a tactics workbook, and go through the 4-week plan, and analyze your games. Once you have the essentials down, go on to our hand-picked suggestions to serious beginners: Best Chess Books
Best chess books for beginners FAQ
Which book is best for chess?
For a pure beginner, a pairing works best: Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess (fundamental mates) + 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners (daily tactics). Add Chernev when you want to understand full games.
Can I learn chess by reading books?
Yes. If you combine reading with puzzles and slow games you analyze afterward. Books provide structure; practice makes it stick.
Should beginners use chess workbooks?
Absolutely. 15–20 minutes of puzzles per day is the fastest way to improve below ~1200.
Is Chess Fundamentals a good book for beginners?
Yes, but use it as a supplement. The ideas are timeless; the prose is old-school. Skim for core principles and pair it with a modern tactics book.
What chess books are good for self-study?
Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess, Logical Chess: Move by Move, How to Win at Chess, and 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners are all structured for solo learning.