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What books would you recommend for learning strategy/calculation?

#11
@PranavRamesh8 said in #1:
> does anybody have a good book or course regarding the basics of chess strategy, planning, and positional play, or about improving chess calculation?

I found a series of articles by Jeremy Silman on planning in _Chess Life's_ online archive: new.uschess.org/chess-life-digital-archives The series, "The Art of Making Plans," ran from June 1990 to August 1991. I'm currently working through it:



I also found a series of articles on calculation called "Exploring the Basics" by Blumenfeld and Kopec which ran from February 1995 to May 1995 in the same place.

You can see what else I found in this blog post: lichess.org/@/CaseyReese/blog/the-chess-life--review-archives/LZRR7WAs The _Chess Life_ archive has a great deal of material.
#12
"The Inner Game of Chess" by Andrew Soltis is the best book on how to calculate that I've encountered.

There are many good books on strategy and positional play. The best intro that I'm familiar with is Pachman's 3 volume "Complete Chess Strategy". The set sells for a stout $20 a volume. A less expensive alternative is the abridged 1 volume version, "Modern Chess Strategy". Note that both versions use descriptive notation.
#14
@acercamp
Looks great! Cheap option too. Will check it out! Though it is a bit vague about the target audience level... :)

@Sarg0n
Right! That is why I'm willing to put a few hours in! Without practice it is just another dust-gathering object in our homes... :)

@greysensei
Thanks! I really love the idea of advancing difficulty!

@Skittle-Head
Thanks! Sounds like an accurate description of every single game I play! :)

@kindaspongey
I've always Reassess your Chess for a long time, because Silman's Endgame book has worked wonders so far for me! Maybe I will get it now!

@CaseyReese
Yeah, as I said, really big fan of Silman! (P.S. I'm a big fan of your blogs!)

@Mike_in_Virginia
Sure! Will check them out! Thanks! :D

Thank you so much foll all the recommendations guys! <3
#15
@PranavRamesh8 said in #1:
>
Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide
Strategy course by GM Mauricio Flores Rios & Quality Chess
Available on Chessable. A priceless book and must read imho!
#16
@achja said in #15:
> Chess Structures - A Grandmaster Guide
> Strategy course by GM Mauricio Flores Rios & Quality Chess
> Available on Chessable. A priceless book and must read imho!
Thanks! Appreciate it :)
Chessable is pretty pricey, so I dunno about 'priceless' ;)
#17
@PranavRamesh8 said in #16:
> Thanks! Appreciate it :)
> Chessable is pretty pricey, so I dunno about 'priceless' ;)

Well :) With that small word joke I tried to empathise on how good that book really is (and there are very few books on pawn structures comparable with that one).

And I got that book on Chessable maybe more than a year ago. Looks like it has become more expensive, but in general Chessable has several nice training options as a bonus (compared to a paper book), and sometimes books on discount. And there are many free of charge books, or really cheap books, also on strategy topic.
#19
@acercamp said in #6:
> Actually a good book can matter a lot and be of great help to a beginner chessplayer. The trouble is most people overdo it and go overboard, collecting books they will never read (how do I know this?...I read it in a book).
>
> The book I suggested has 75 easy-to-follow lessons (one page explaining the concept, and one page providing a practical example from various games.
>
> The book is also separated into three categories (Basic, Advanced and Mastery) so you can progress gradually as you work through the book.
>
> And not only is it cheap, it is thin and portable...It's a good book.
>
> Of course you have to apply what you have learned to your games. Analyzing your games will help a lot as well as you progress through your chess journey.
> Just my two cents...

Cheers, had a look at the other reviews and bought the book second-hand for a 5 GBP. Certainly very cheap as chess books go.

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