If you were stranded in a deserted island, which one chess book would you want to have with you and why?
In your opinion, which is the best chess book ever published and why?
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Something to think about
My 61 memorable games 🙂
If I was stranded on an island I would want 5334 Problems, Combinations and Games by Laszlo Polgar because it is the biggest collection of problems, and so I could spend the most time with it.
But the best chess book I read was How to Reassess Your Chess by Jeremy Silman. But it’s short, and I’d get bored with it the 6th or 8th time through.
Anything from Fred Reinfeld
Fundamental Chess Endings by Muller and Lamprect. (Second choice: Basic Chess Endings by Fine and Benko.)
1953-Zurich Candidates’ tournement book ! That tournement was won by Smyslov, and Smyslov played the WCC match against Botvinnik, and won it too. But the next year Botvinnik got the title back. Anyway, Bronstein wrote the book and there are so brilliant games in this book, equally brilliantly analyzed, explained by Bronstein. Bronstein played in this tournement and was indeed the second after Smyslow in the tournement. Yes, my book would be that one..
Ezgi Demirtas,
Montreal
Fantastic question! I love many chess books…I would choose many…but I can only choose one. My System is a great book…but it’s too skimpy…the same goes for Think Like
A Grandmaster…My 60 Memorable Games…I’d take also…if it weren’t for Zurich 1953 by David Bronstein…the absolute best chess book ever…amazing games and annotations by the best players of their time (Apologies to all other authors!).
the most instructive games of chess ever played by chernev.
the 500 miniature games series by wall.
Hi Susan,
What are your favorite books when you were learning chess and today?
Tough call. Probably ‘The Mammoth book of World’s Greatest Chess Games’ by Burgess and company.
I don’t think I am qualified to name something the best chess book ever published. I haven’t read enough of the ones that are labeled classics not even all the ones I have collected at this point. Of the ones I have read I really enjoyed Chernev’s ‘Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played’. The games and Chernev’s annotations were a treat to go through.
Chess Tactics for Champions, of course! 🙂
“Art of Attack in Chess” by Vladimir Vukovic.
In about a year, I raised my Elo by 300+ points, became a master and soon took over Board 1 for my college using mainly that book!
Please get the one annotated by John Nunn.
If I was stranded ‘in’ a desert island, I would first want to improve my situation to being merely stranded ‘on’ a desert island before contemplating reading a book.
I am entirely sympathetic to “anything by Reinfeld” and ‘Fundamental Chess Endings’.
I would not take any book by Burgess as I understand that he plagiarised Tim Krabbe’s column in creating his book about the ‘The Most Amazing Moves’.
The ‘5334 Problems’ is I think seriously padded with a lot of trivial mates in 1 and 2, fit only for rank beginners – a case of education by exhaustion.
A book that would cause one to reflect as well as entertain is Assiac’s ‘The Delights of Chess’. Assiac is, with the possible exception of Mig Greengard (a different style for a different century), the finest ever writer about chess.
Best book: Rowson’s The Seven Deadly Chess Sins. Nothing even comes close for sheer instruction.
Come on! The best chess books ever are the series “My greatest predecessors” by Garry Kasparov.
Though I doubt it accounts to only one book ….
FM Gabriel Curi (Uruguay)
If I was stranded on an island I wouldnt be able to play chess so why would I want a book to remind me of that fact?
I would bind two books by Jonathan Rowson into one single volume.
SEVEN DEADLY CHESS SINS
and
CHESS FOR ZEBRAS.
I have about 1000(one thousand) chess books and read lightly and/or studied thoroughly most of them.These 2 books by Rowson are the best chess books ever written.
Both books are MULTIDIMENSIONAL,HONEST,erudite,instructive,witty,..
Through my little grey cells following thoughts are running..
Rowson is a 2599 elo player who is writting 2800 elo ”strong books”
Kasparov is a 2800 player who is writting 2599 ”elo books”.
Consider an analogy between cooking and writing about cooking.
Kasparov and his”kitchenn staff” are preparing delicious dishes(books) but he never tells you how to cook and how to improve your cooking and where and how to find best ingredients.He is just telling you that his recipes and dishes are famous and tasty and his kitchen is full of great chefs and hard work so you can enjoy their final product.
(By the way Kasparov books although tehnically superb are total bore.Sense of humour must have been surgically removed from him.)
ROWSON allows you to enter his kitchen and he tries to teach you how to prepare your own delicious (chess) food.
And he is witty and friendly chatting with you about chess,his mistakes and about TAO and Ken Wilber.
NO ONE CHESS BOOK COMES CLOSE TO HIS MASTERPIECES!!
regards
(I am an IM from Europe(Croatia)
kasparov is 2800 and writes books of 2500; have u ever thought about this:
1) maybe his mind is 2500 and not 2800 anymore or (what i think)
2) he dont write 2800 books because u for a start wouldnt be able to understand them, how many 2800 people do u know?
peut etre aussi, its a political or comertial strategy, but one think i can tell u they are heavy, just by gazing at them not even reading them .
if i were stranded on a desert island i would rather take the bible, it might help me to survive more than a chess book dont u think?
jb.
Only one person mention Jeremy Silman. I have read only one book from him: The Complete Endgames Course.
I love this book. It truly “teaches chess” versus just telling you how to play the games. Its method of building up your chess skills from the simple end games to the more difficult ones is great. As you go through the difficult end games, it provides a opportunity to re-visit the “easier” end games, since these are based on them. Just wonderful.
Based on this experience, I will definitely try out the other Silman book mentioned by some else out here.
Thanks for all the great posts out here!
I would take ‘Hastings 1895’ by Crouch & Haines
Tartakower’s “500 Master Games of Chess”. A dazzling variety of some of the most interesting chess in history.
Naturally, it kind of cuts off in the 1940s… but even so!
Regards, zdrakec
Chess Tactics for beautiful women! 😉
If I were stranded on a desert island, the first book I would want to have would be “How to Survive on and Escape from a Desert Island”. Barring that, I would second a previous poster’s choice of “The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games” by Burgess et al which, in terms of depth, interest, quantity, and delight is the favorite of my 50+ chess book library. If the pulpy paper of that tome were to fail to survive the shipwreck that stranded me, I’d reach for the new “Endgame Tactics” by Van Perlo- which is keeping me happy and busy. The problems are deep, numerous, and would require carving fewer pawns and pieces out of coconut shells to play through on the beach.
Brad Hoehne
Would Kasparov’s “My Great Predecessors” series be considered one book? If so, I’d take that, but if not, I’d have to choose the old classic desert island book “500 Master Games Of Chess” by Tartakower & du Mont.
I liked Nunn’s comment when asked what book he’d want: “How To Build A Boat”. lol
Kelly Atkins
http://www.Chessville.com