Be candid about your chess books.

Have you ever read an entire chess book and played through all its games? Really?

I mean ... really?

Over the decades, I have accumulated a ridiculous number of chess books -- both in hard (paper) copy and in electronic (though legal) form. You'd think I was exaggerating if I told you how many. But I would not be.

Yet, I don't believe that I have ever finished even one chess book. Not really. Not in the sense I am about to carefully define.

By "finished" I carefully mean: read every single word AND actually played through, thoughtfully, every included game. Every. Game.

Don't get me wrong: I love chess books and have "read through" endless fields of their text. But have I ever REALLY devoured one? Truly? Never once. In many, many (many!) years.

If you have actually "finished" a chess book (in the sense defined above), which was it (or which were they)? Which chess books could you (based upon actual, honest personal experience) recommend to "finish" ?

I'm sure some of you HAVE shown more resolution and self-discipline than I have, and have actually "finished" a chess book -- or maybe a few! But I think you are the exception, not the rule.

Maybe I'm wrong. Am I? I ask in earnest. And with a bit of sorrow and shame.

I might finish one some day. Right now, I am very interested in Silman's "Odessy." And Lord knows I love Lakdawala's many clever and well-written works. But it seems to require more self-discipline than I can muster to actually "finish" any chess book. I hope that's why I'm still a patzer. Indeed, I'll cling to that explanation.

@Noflaps said in #1:
> Have you ever read an entire chess book and played through all its games? Really?
>
> I mean ... really?
>
My chess books make a great stand for my vodka and coke, still unread .............

@Noflaps

I’ve finished a handful of Pandolfini books when I first started.

I’ve also finished.

- Chess Tactics for Champions - Polgar
- Chess Tactics for the Tournament Player - Some dude.
- Art of Positional Play - Reshevsky
- Chess Structures: Queens Gambit Structures - Grooten
- How to Reassess Your Chess - Silman
- My System - Nimzowitsch

Others I read most of it... such as
- Art of Attack - Vukovic
- Silman’s Complete Endgame Course

And then I’ve got a whole stack of books on various openings that I’ve read parts of. I’m slowly working my way through one of the Wojo’s Weapons books right now, but I put that down for a month or so to peck away at Woodpecker Method some more.

Thank you, @Le_Patzer83 , you are confirming my fondest excuse, I mean explanation, for my patzerhood.

Unlike me, you have actually finished several books. And .... your ratings are seriously admirable!

I have read "much of" (not most of) very many books. But you are helping to cement my resolve: damn it, someday I AM going to actually "finish" a chess book before it is too late (God willing) to say I've done that.

Let me change my question a bit -- if I'm going to actually "finish" any one book: which should it be? If it's in English, I probably have it, and may actually set out with new resolve just to finish it. And perhaps others could even join me in that effort.

"My system" by Nimzowitsch is whispering to me right now. Should it be that one? I've tried to climb it many times, and always become distracted by a new and alluring alternative.

@Noflaps said in #4:
> Thank you, @Le_Patzer83 , you are confirming my fondest excuse, I mean explanation, for my patzerhood.
>
> Unlike me, you have actually finished several books. And .... your ratings are seriously admirable!
>
> I have read "much of" (not most of) very many books. But you are helping to cement my resolve: damn it, someday I AM going to actually "finish" a chess book before it is too late (God willing) to say I've done that.
>
> Let me change my question a bit -- if I'm going to actually "finish" any one book: which should it be? If it's in English, I probably have it, and may actually set out with new resolve just to finish it. And perhaps others could even join me in that effort.
>
> "My system" by Nimzowitsch is whispering to me right now. Should it be that one? I've tried to climb it many times, and always become distracted by a new and alluring alternative.

My System is pretty boring and pretty dated. A better option for the same purpose would be something like “Logical Chess: Move by Move”, and you shouldn’t even need a board for that one.

It’s a very rewarding feeling to finish a book, but it’s better to go slow. Even if it takes you an hour to get through a few pages, go slow. You’re much better served to fully digest one book, as opposed to skimming a bunch of them. Once you finish a book that you’ve been working on for months, it feels great. Don’t be surprised if the results/improvement don’t come right away. Your brain will need time. Often times if I go hard on tactics for 3 or 4 months , I often don’t feel or notice a difference for another 6-8 months. Then suddenly I notice that I’m seeing more, calculating deeper, seeing shots from further away than before, etc.

Chernev is probably the first chess author I ever encountered! No, I didn't "finish" Logical Chess, either. But it's a good suggestion for anybody trying to "finish" a chess book for the first time.

I feel more guilty about not finishing Nimzowitsch (one of at least two defensible spellings). And perhaps after "finishing" My System (and perhaps his Praxis), I can move on to the three other good Nimzowitsch books written in English by others.

But I appreciate the suggestion -- it's a good one, especially for earnest, conscientious learners (I changed this word since "learners" more accurately conveys what I meant) pursuing a more classical opening repertoire than is poor old Noflaps.

Your other suggestions were good, too. "Go slow" and (I hope I paraphrase) "Realize the Benefits May Come Later" both provide wise counsel, @Le_Patzer83 . Thanks for the good response.

@Noflaps said in #6:
> Chernev is probably the first chess author I ever encountered! No, I didn't "finish" Logical Chess, either. But it's a good suggestion for anybody trying to "finish" a chess book for the first time.
>
> I feel more guilty about not finishing Nimzowitsch (one of at least two defensible spellings). And perhaps after "finishing" My System (and perhaps his Praxis), I can move on to the three other good Nimzowitsch books written in English by others.
>
> But I appreciate the suggestion -- it's a good one, especially for earnest, conscientious patzers younger than poor old Noflaps.
>
> Your other suggestions were good, too. "Go slow" and (I hope I paraphrase) "Realize the Benefits May Come Later" both provide wise counsel, @Le_Patzer83 . Thanks for the good response.

I dont know why but for some reason when I was a 15 year old little gaffer I really enjoyed reading Art of Positional Play by Samuel Reshevsky. I think I actually read it twice. I have no doubt that it made a significant impact on my chess development. I checked your profile and I see that you are also a fan of the great Akiba. I am thinking of picking up a book like Rubinstein Move by Move... or Uncrowned King. I'm also a big Capablanca fan, and I love that smooth "give your opponent nothing" positional style. Reading through annotated games of the old masters is a fantastic way to get better. I find this especially to be the case in terms of Capablanca... just to see how he executes simple positional ideas and makes chess look so easy. He made a lot of really good players look like patzers.

Rubinstein. Perhaps the chess world's biggest misfortune is that he never got a chance to contest for the Crown. Although competing with that (for designation of the biggest misfortune) is that Karpov and Fischer never got to battle each other for the Crown. We can only dream of the games that might have resulted.

Yup. Just a few. but back when I was regularly over/under 2000 OTB, I did manage to push through, to the end, no shortcuts, about 3 or 4 books on my shelf. The first to fall was The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played by Chernev. The second was a collection of games by Michael Adams, Development of a Grandmaster. Why that one, when I had other, weightier books? Because it was smaller, more manageable. I had by that point decided that games collections and tournament books were mostly the way to go, and I wanted to finish something easy before I took another dive into Keres or Alekhine or Fischer or Botvinnik or any of the others. I think the third and fourth books were tactics puzzle books though, and I haven't been back on that horse in 20 years.

@Le_Patzer83: "It’s a very rewarding feeling to finish a book, but it’s better to go slow. Even if it takes you an hour to get through a few pages, go slow. You’re much better served to fully digest one book, as opposed to skimming a bunch of them. Once you finish a book that you’ve been working on for months, it feels great."

This.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. And like a long, slow run, it feels so good when you finish. Good chess, my friend.

I've devoured dozens of books in my life, including large-volume stuff.