Master Preparation: Recommended Books

Suggested Books

Tactics

  1. Encyclopedia of Chess Combinations
  2. The Penguin Book of Chess Positions
  3. Blokh, The Art of Combination
  4. Dvoretsky, Secrets of Chess Tactics

Positional Elements

  1. Nimzowitch, My System
  2. Lasker's Manual of Chess

Complete Games

  1. Capablanca's 100 Best Games
  2. Bronstein, The Zurich Tournament 1953
  3. Karpov, [My best games (?)]

Openings

  1. Rubin Fine, Ideas Behind the Chess Openings
  2. Dvoretsky, Secrets of Opening Preparation

Middle Game

  1. Soltis, Pawn Structure Chess
  2. Euwe and Krammer, The Middle Game: Books I and II
  3. Romanovsky, Middlegame Planning

Ending

  1. Keres, Practical Chess Endings
  2. Capablanca's Best Endings

Psychology

  1. Holding, Dennis H., The Psychology of Chess Skill, Lea Publishers (1985).
  2. Fine, Rubin, The Psychology of the Chess Player

Misc

  1. Petrossian, Petrossian's Legacy
  2. Think like a grandmaster
  3. Dvoretsky, [Training for the Tournament Player (?)]
  4. Sohl, Jerry, Underhanded Chess: A Hilarious Handbook of Devious Diversions and Strategems for Winning at Chess, Hawthorn (New York, 1973).
See also the many books at UMBC's Kuhn Library in the Marvin B. Cooper Chess Collection. A common error is to focus too much on the opening; many strong players give equal study time to the opening, middle game, and ending.