Jeremy Silman (1954–2023)

What a wonderful book from the late great chess writer Jeremy Silman. My favorite part, and more than half the book, is "Legendary Players". Here Silman profiles his favorite players in history and provides annotated games.

If this book doesn't make you loathe the writing of Silman, nothing will. Oh, and you probably have no soul in that case. If you want to read a pretentious IM mocking kids because they can't beat him, this is the book for you. If not, don't touch it. It will just make you feel dirty.

I wish this book had existed back when I was first learning the game with a friend in high school. I'm afraid I got to it too late to be of much use but it is still an excellent overview for the beginning player (and a quick little refresher for anyone coming back to the game after a period of absence).

Some people find Silman's style condescending because he primarily uses lower ranked players games to illustrate points, but I find that this makes the lessons more accessible. Watching Grandmasters slug it out can be instructive, but the simpler, linear approach of Silman's students, with his line by line dialog, make this book a great lesson on chess theories and changed the way I think about the game...