The Sicilian is not one opening. After 1.e4 c5 there are a dozen systems that share almost nothing beyond the first move, and a book on one of them will not help you in another. So the question is never which Sicilian book to buy. It is which Sicilian you are playing, and that decision comes first.The part that catches people outA Sicilian repertoire is two purchases, not one. In roughly a third of games White declines the Open Sicilian and plays the Alapin, the Rossolimo, a Grand Prix setup or something quieter. Your book on the Taimanov or the...
Chess tactics: a guide to the books
Almost every chess player owns a puzzle book, and most of them are not getting much out of it. The usual pattern is to solve twenty positions in a sitting, get most of them, and improve very slowly. The reason is that a puzzle book has already told you the most valuable thing, which is that a tactic exists here. In your own games nobody tells you that.So the useful question is not which puzzle book has the most positions. It is which stage you are at.If you do not know the patterns yetBefore volume there has to be vocabulary....
Chess endgames: a guide to the books
The endgame is the part of chess everyone agrees they should study and most people do not. Part of the reason is that the standard recommendation is a reference work of several hundred pages, which is the right book for the wrong moment. What you need depends entirely on whether you are learning the basic positions for the first time, keeping a reference on the shelf, or trying to convert endings you already half understand.Your first endgame bookSilman’s Complete Endgame CourseJeremy Silman (Siles Press, 2007). Organised by rating band, so you read only the section for your strength and stop....
The King’s Indian Defense: a guide to the books
After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 Black hands White the center on purpose, castles, and then attacks it. In the main lines that means a kingside pawn storm while White plays on the other wing, and both sides are usually racing. It rewards preparation and punishes drift, which is why it stays popular at club level and why unprepared White players dislike meeting it. One clarification first, because we sell both and the names are nearly identical. The King’s Defense is what this guide covers, Black against 1.d4. The King’s Attack is a different opening, White setting up the...
The Caro-Kann: a guide to the books
After 1.e4 c6 Black challenges the center the way the French does, but without locking in the light-squared bishop, which usually comes out to f5 or g4 before the pawn chain closes. That one difference is most of the opening’s appeal, and it is why the Caro-Kann survives at the top level while remaining playable for someone with limited study time. One thing worth saying plainly before the list. Our Caro-Kann shelf is currently much deeper for White than for Black. If you are looking for a Black repertoire, read the last section first, because two of the three books...
The Nimzo-Indian Defense: a guide to the books
The Nimzo-Indian is Black’s most respected answer to 1.d4. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, Black pins the knight and fights for the center with pieces rather than pawns, often trading the bishop pair for lasting structural pluses. It’s sound enough for world-championship play and deep enough to study for years.Both sides have real ambitions here, so the right book depends on which side of it you’re on.A complete repertoire for BlackPlaying the Nimzo-Indian — Renier Castellanos (Quality Chess, 2024, 440 pp.)A full, modern Black repertoire in one volume — and it also covers what to do when White...
The Najdorf Sicilian: a guide to the books
The Najdorf is the most heavily analyzed of the Sicilians. After 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, Black keeps the position flexible and double-edged and takes on a fair share of the theory in return. It has a long record at the top level. It also asks for more study than most answers to 1.e4, and that’s the thing worth settling before you commit to it. If you don’t enjoy learning theory, the Najdorf will feel like work, and a different Sicilian might suit you better. If concrete, sharp play appeals to you, the right book...