Originally posted by mrjonesvich321
Are there ANY good strategy books that aren't completely useless and written for someone in the 1400 range (this isn't me, but, you know). I've read a few books on tactics and so I think now I need to balance them out.

The art of the middle game by Kotov and Kerres (i think it was Kerres but i have a feeling i'/m wrong about that...). Great book! They pick some common middle game examples (opposite side castling, pawn majority on the Queenside, etc...) and give some examples of hos to handle these kinds of positions. I learned heaps from this book! It redefined my opening repertoire as i found myself heading for the middle game position, rather than some obscure opening trap, which has to be a good thing. It's an old book, but WELL worth a read. 🙂

Originally posted by mrjonesvich321
Are there ANY good strategy books that aren't completely useless and written for someone in the 1400 range (this isn't me, but, you know). I've read a few books on tactics and so I think now I need to balance them out.

Yasser Seirawan's books have excellent content: Winning Chess Strategies, Winning Chess Tactics, Winning Chess Endgames, etc. There are seven in the entire series. I was a little miffed when the cover fell off after a month of use, but the new publisher seems to have better bindings (Microsoft published the first editions). I also find the diagrams in one of the books (I think endgames) absolutely horrid, and will never buy it. Diagrams are a matter of taste, and you may like the ones I dislike.

Jeremy Silman's core trilogy is a bit more advanced than Seirawan's.

How to Reassess Your Chess and The Amateur's Mind present compatible ideas in somewaht different ways. Silman's own recommendation is to start with parts 1 - 3 of Reassess, then work through The Amateur's Mind. See http://mywebpages.comcast.net/danheisman/Events_Books/General_Book_Guide.htm#Silman

The third book in the trilogy is The Reasess Your Chess Workbook; it is designed for further study after working through the other two.

Silman's new book on endgames just came out, and should probably be read in parallel with the others. I'm of the opinion that endgames should come first, then strategic planning, and openings last.

Other good middlegame books for the budding player (1000-1600) include:

Peter Romanovsky, Chess Middlegame Planning. This book is supurb, and one of the best books I've ever worked with. However, I rarely see anyone else mention it, and I suspect it has become hard to find.

Reuben Fine, The Middlegame in Chess. This book is a classic. Generations of players have benefitted from studying it.

Tim Harding, Better Chess for Average Players.

I could list many others, but prefer to give a plug for tournament books. Zurich 1953 by David Bronstein is the classic, although I must admit I've not read it. (It is on my list of soon-to-buy.) I "wasted" away the time I was supposed to be doing homework in high school studying Wijk aan Zee Grandmaster Chess Tournament, 1975 and a book on the Soviet Championship of 1973 (a book I foolishly parted with in trade in the early 1980s). These books (and a few others like them) gave me a sense of the leading players of the 1970s, and I began to emulate the style of those I liked, such as Svetozar Gligoric, whose recent I Play against Pieces is another terrific book.

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I have a bit over 150 chess books. As I usually examine them in the bookstore (and read reviews when I cannot) before I buy them, I've never fallen victim to Schiller's swill.

He showed up at a chess forum one day with some inane advice (I cannot remember regarding what), and I went after him like a rabid pit bull. ME!? the patzer facing down an IM. He did not come back (unless he's using a pseudonym like most of us there).

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All I can do is recommend books that helped me personally. "Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom" contains information that every player should know. The book also makes for an excellent outline for teaching chess to beginners and inexperienced players.

To all of you Schiller bashers: I have many of his books and found all of them quite helpful. I'm sorry if your experience with them is different than mine.

Originally posted by gaychessplayer
To all of you Schiller bashers: I have many of his books and found all of them quite helpful. I'm sorry if your experience with them is different than mine.

Problems with Schiller's books, from what I've seen and read.

1. plagiarism (very serious)
2. bad editing, thus full of errors (Susan Polgar's Breaking Through may be worse)
3. Anyone with ChessBase, Chess Assistant, or Bookup could produce the book in an hour or so.

Originally posted by Wulebgr
Problems with Schiller's books, from what I've seen and read.

1. plagiarism (very serious)
2. bad editing, thus full of errors (Susan Polgar's Breaking Through may be worse)
3. Anyone with ChessBase, Chess Assistant, or Bookup could produce the book in an hour or so.

Wow, I'll be sure to avoid books by him then, has he done anything good?

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Wow, I'll be sure to avoid books by him then, has he done anything good?

He is an IM (so it's surprising that he seems like such a dolt). I suspect that he is struggling to make a living writing chess books, and because that's tough work, he takes short cuts to increase his volume. His books certainly are readily available in bookstores and libraries.

He's like the McDonalds of chess books: great marketing of low quality junk.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Wow, I'll be sure to avoid books by him then, has he done anything good?

Eric Schiller books that I have enjoyed and learned from:

"Encyclopedia of Chess Wisdom"
"Gambit Opening Repertoire for White"
"Gambit Opening Repertoire for Black"
"White to Play 1 e4 and Win"
"Black to Play Classical Defenses and Win"
"Chess Strategy for Advanced Players"

As I said before, all I can do is tell you from experience (as opposed to merely perusing the book in the bookstore) that I have learned alot from his books, and I am 1804 USCF.