Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
A couple of days ago, I talked to a very good friend of mine who also happens to be an ALMOST 2100 rated chess player. 1
He is one of those guys who have an innate talent for the game, yet who never got down to study chess seriously (or who at least claim so), but who recently got the motivation to improve his game. We started talking about a certain line of the Grünfeld defence (for White) he was interested in 2 and he half-jokingly asked me:
„Vjeko, how exactly do I „work“ on my chess? How do I even begin studying an opening or a certain line?“
I remember saying something condescending 3 and patronizingly explaining to him there are these beautiful tools called Chessbase and chess books and embarked on a quick Google search to find a good book about the variation at hand.
I expected it will be an easy task. However, as I started searching, I realized finding a good Grünfeld book for is not so straightforward, to begin with (especially from White perspective), let alone finding a good Grünfeld book on a specific line (which was not even one of the main-lines in this particular instance).
As someone who has never played the Grünfeld with either colour, I have never followed which books about this opening have been released throughout the years. It was very difficult to find a good resource and to start studying it. I had to seek help from more experienced (and stronger) players.
We did manage to detect a worthy resource. But the whole episode made me realize that the navigation through the chess opening literature can often be difficult and confusing, due to the reasons mentioned above (differentiating good from bad books and finding a book on a specific line you are interested in).
I realized that, if I had this problem with the opening books about the Grünfeld, I’d probably have it with other openings I am interested in.
I also realized it may be also a problem for other players – especially beginners new to the game, who have even less experience with chess books and find it even harder to orientate themselves among the vast amount of information we get bombarded on a daily basis.
This is when I got the idea that perhaps it would be helpful if somebody 4 tried to solve this problem by creating an overview of best chess opening books and divided them on the basis of the opening they cover.
This is what I will try to do in the upcoming months (years?!). Below, you will find the list of best chess opening books (divided by the opening they cover).
However, before we get to the actual list, I’d like to digress a bit and provide my answer to some questions that have been irking me for quite some time and that is getting more and more relevant in the day and era of technology:
- „Are chess opening books worth it at all?
- Aren’t there many problems connected with their quality, presentation of material and the fact they get outdated rather quickly?
- Aren’t technological tools like databases worthy alternatives?
- What is the role and purpose of chess opening books?“
THE ROLE AND PURPOSE OF CHESS OPENING BOOKS?
Quite recently, I stumbled upon an old article by International Master (and current Pro Chess League Commissioner) Greg Shahade dedicated to the topic of chess opening books. The premise of the article is that the majority of the chess opening books is useless.
Now, Greg is known to be very vocal about his controversial ideas (such as „speeding up“ the World Championship Cycle). But I have to say the article resonated a lot with me as Greg raised some very good points. I will briefly summarize them here:
- Chess opening books often don’t make a clear distinction between relevant and less relevant lines. In practice, the Pareto principle is very much valid: 20% of the lines appears in 80% of the games. Opening books make it rather difficult to identify that 20 % of the lines.
- Moreover, the relevance of certain lines depends on the player’s rating. Tournament practice of 1700 rated player sees different 20% lines than the practice of a 2300 rated player. Opening books rarely take this into account.
- Opening books are often not objective in the evaluations of the positions because it is easier to sell a book that „solves all your opening problems“ instead of the book that „finds certain lines problematic and urges the reader to analyze on his own and/or employ the variations at his own risk“.
- Since opening theory changes fast, opening books get outdated quite quickly. A tool like Chessbase is more helpful and relevant in tracking recent opening trends and being up to date with the state of the opening theory.
There are all valid points, which might even lead us to the conclusion that chess opening books should be avoided altogether. As you might have guessed considering I am writing this article – I don’t think agree they are completely worthless. When I study openings, I do rely on them a great deal, due to the following:
- Good chess opening books do focus on ideas rather than on certain lines. It is much easier to grasp the plans associated with the resulting middle game positions and pawn structures with these explanations.
- At the club level, the fact that openings get outdated isn’t as important as the opening theory is much less static and it is much easier to play certain lines for months (and even years) once you learn them.
- While stronger players like Greg Shahade do know how to navigate Chessbase and extract relevant information, lower-rated players (especially beginners) are less capable of making independent opening study and do need more guidance provided by the book.
- When you read opening books, you are benefiting from the fact that somebody did „the dirty work“ before. Even if the book is bad, it provides you with an overview of moves that are most commonly played. It is much easier to use it as a foundation for further study than to start from scratch, in my opinion.
- Of course, the previous point contains an important piece of information – opening books should NEVER be taken as conclusive and ALWAYS regarded as the starting reference point for subsequent study. It is never advisable in life to follow someone’s advice blindly, without doing at least elementary fact-check.
- As for the fact most opening books make it difficult to differentiate between relevant and less relevant variations, it is a true problem, but it can’t be hacked by not studying the entire before you start playing the opening. The way I do it is as follows: I skim through the book to get the basic idea of the opening books, I play some blitz games on the Internet and see which variations people most often employ against me, I find them in the book and start studying them. Only later do I expand on that knowledge and slowly include other lines to my arsenal.
Long story short, I agree that chess opening books are not the final solution for your opening play and that they can be ineffective. But I do believe they enhance your learning process and make it more effective if you use them in a smart way. As usual in life, HOW you do things is more important than doing things.
With that out of the way, we can get to the list of articles about the best chess opening books (divided by the opening).
BEST CHESS OPENING BOOKS (DIVIDED BY THE OPENING)
Below, you will find the list of articles I wrote about the best chess opening books (divided by the opening) in chronological order.
If you are curious about the book selection process, below the list you will find a FAQ section that explains my selection process and provides you with the basic idea of what to expect from this entire project :).
FAQ?
Do posts only cover the opening from one player’s perspective?
No, in every post, I try to include the best list of books about an opening, both from the perspective of the White AND Black player.
Do you only quote heavy and dense opening books written by Grandmasters that have 25 moves of theory and are too difficult for an average player?
No. I try to include books for all rating levels (books such as Starting out and Move by Move). I have tried to approximate the level for which every book on every list is most appropriate:
- Beginner (< 1500 rating)
- Intermediate (~1500-2000 rating)
- Advanced (2000-2300 rating)
- Expert (>2300 rating)
Can I find my favorite variation on the list?
I have tried to select books in such a way that they cover all the relevant variations when it comes to a certain opening. It wasn’t always possible, but I did have the broadness in mind.
Did you read them all?
No, I didn’t. I read a fair amount of opening books about openings I was interested in. Those I didn’t read I selected on the basis of several criteria. I have mainly considered reviews of other people (especially chess book reviewers like Jeremy Silman), but also my impression from an Amazon preview/quick skimming through the book, the name, and the identity of the author, etc.
The idea was to bring the most relevant books to the fore and point out the reader where to search for resources. But my words shouldn’t be taken blindly and if you have any corrections to the lists, feel free to comment below them or to contact me via the contact page.
Do you gain anything out of it?
Well, apart from doing something useful for the broader chess community, I do hope to get more visitors to this blog. Also, all posts include Amazon Affiliate links for the books.