Dan Heisman's Book Recommendations

"@mauricioartieda @Lona_Chess I wasn't sure if you were asking Dan L or me or both. No one book helped me the most, but some of my early helpful books were MCO-10, Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, Pawn Power in Chess, Alekhine's Best Games, How to Win in the Middlegame, The Art of Attack... #Chess"

"Advanced attacking techniques."

"@natesolon IMHO, by far the best intermediate tactics book (assuming the 1600 has mastered the "Dvoretsky 2000" basic patterns) is Winning Chess Exercises for Kids by Jeff Coakley. It's got great problem sets & solution explanations. Obviously not just for kids!😎 #Chess #chesspunks"

"Possibly the best 'intermediate' book to test the tactics for players of all ages!"

"@chessmensch It's sort of like when Ray Cheng wrote his excellent book Practical Chess Exercises to fill a needed void. #Chess #chesspunks"

"An interesting idea with 600 positions from games where all you are given is that there is a best move."

"J15 Many books "for kids" aren't really for kids at all - can't tell a book by it's title. All of Coakley's books are excellent for adults too & Hertan named the tactical device "sneaky pin" via his excellent (for everyone) book Power Chess For Kids #Chess"

"A helpful book about how to find basic forcing moves."

"Dan Heisman recommended this book in his blog."

"A book of excellent test problems."

"A book of games, each with an individual idea."

"Highly recommended for basic tactics AND strategy."

"Excellent workbook at a young beginner level."

"A book to teach young beginners how to play."

"Based on the official Soviet training method!"

"Learn motifs (pins, removal of guard, double attacks, back-rank mates, etc.)"

"A classic which explains each move in excruciating detail!"

"There are some fairly difficult problems but most are basic and quite fundamental."

"A programmed study of back rank and related mates."

"Straightforward examples of basic ideas."

"A modern book covering checkmate patterns - one of the best I have ever seen at just this particular issue."

"Somewhat similar to Bain's book but with more problems overall and more mate problems, but less single motif problems."

"A basic game book showing many basic principles via Morphy games."

"The 300 most instructive positions needed to get to a rating of 1800."

"Mostly a great book about checkmate pattern but lots of problems, too."

"Has basic ideas but not all problems are easy."

"An expanded version of his '400 Points in 400 Days' article on how to improve your game."

"Every intermediate can use a one-volume tome covering all the openings."

"This small book contains all the basics for chess endgames."

"An excellent collection of endgame problems covering most practical ideas."

"Positioned as a more modern, slightly more advanced than The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played."

"Bridges the gap between Logical Chess Move by Move and Understanding Chess Move by Move."

"Great book."

"Examines faulty thinking processes."

"How to use pawns in chess. This subject is a must for any serious player."

"Very logical (!) and somewhat basic, but also lots of good general knowledge/principles for beginner/intermediates."

"50 problems on finding the right plan."

"A collection of 'think out loud' protocols from titled players over 12 positions."

"Superb descriptions of how each tactic works."

"Even better (and more advanced) than his good anthology The Art of Logical Chess Thinking."

"[The author's] good anthology."

"The third book in this 'Chess Secrets' series."

"Don't be fooled by the titles! [This book is a gem]."

"288 principles with examples. Just terrific stuff and very practical."

"These ideas are so important they are part of my 'Big Five' things you should learn first."

"A 'more advanced' strategy book with lots of games examples."

"Chock full of practical advice."

"Dan Heisman recommended this book in his blog."

"A book on thinking - psychological aspects - avoiding time trouble, etc."

"I recommend anyone who is considering chess lessons to read the first chapter."

"How to use imblances to figure out what to do."

"How to use imblances to figure out what to do."

"Five volumes to cover in more detail than NCO."

"Sort of a modern MUCH more advanced version of Chernev's Logical Chess Move by Move."

"Another good one from the doctor, with 100 different middlegame issues and two sample games/snippets of each."

"The 100 best games of all-time, as analyzed by computer and authors down through the ages."

"A gem of a book."

"Every time I read this book I like it more. It's advanced, but seems to have its pulse on just what it claims."

"Another advanced follow-up [to Art of Attack in Chess] book."

"Chess planning is a difficult subject. This is one of the few advanced books on the subject."

"The definitive book analyzing how strong chessplayers think. Warning! Reads like a PhD thesis, not a chess book."

"The most advanced positional book - great."

"Advanced book about the changing value of the pieces, playing imbalances, when to trade, etc."

"Another good general book, this time on thought process, by the GM."

"Not a well-written book, but some important ideas about planning and imbalances."

"Probably the best opening repertoire book."

"It's 'just' a fun book."

"Another 'fun' book that's really a great trip."

"Some really great practical advice about how to get the most out of many openings."

"Similar to another classic, Winning Chess Traps by Irving Chernev."

"@nova_chess_guy @YourBryanCastro @PodPerpetual @JesseKraai That was the book that convinced me how important both time management and time-stamping was. After I read that book I time-stamped all my moves/games. #Chess #chesspunks"

"Someone just commented about a book on thought process & my main book is The Improving Chess Thinker (2nd Ed) Besides general info on thought process, it gives sample "thought protocols" for players of every class 800-2500 #Chess #chesspunks #chessies"

"@NealBruceBC If my "The World's Most Instructive Amateur Games Book" is read by anyone & they still think it doesn't deserve to be on this list (I've read most), that'd be quite disappointing. It covers a gap master game books often miss & is one of my best #chesspunks"

"@mauricioartieda @Lona_Chess I wasn't sure if you were asking Dan L or me or both. No one book helped me the most, but some of my early helpful books were MCO-10, Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, Pawn Power in Chess, Alekhine's Best Games, How to Win in the Middlegame, The Art of Attack... #Chess"

"@mauricioartieda @Lona_Chess I wasn't sure if you were asking Dan L or me or both. No one book helped me the most, but some of my early helpful books were MCO-10, Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, Pawn Power in Chess, Alekhine's Best Games, How to Win in the Middlegame, The Art of Attack... #Chess"

"The most "tour de force" fun book I ever read was Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Hofstadter but the most tour-de-force "non-fun" book was The Big Picture by Sean Carroll Both deep stuff & highly recommended."

"Covers not only how to play, but many of the same tips I give my students."