+ how good is your chess by daniel king
+ chess & checkers the way to mastership by lasker
+ chess mastery by Q&A by reinfeld
+ lasker's manual of chess by lasker
+ chess fundamentals by capablanca
+ concise chess openings by mcdonald
+ chess traps pitfalls swindles by horowitz & reinfeld + chess thinking by pandolfini

"The idea is to simulate competitive chess, when the player does not know the theme of a combination, or even the exact problem." Igor Sukhin's Chess Gems was a pleasant surprise from Mongoose Press. Not only is the book well done (more on that in a moment), but I have to give the publisher love for producing a chess book that isn't embarrassing to carry around. Not to judge a book by it's cover (well actually, to do exactly that), but anybody who has seen the cover of recent books like Gambit publishing's new edition of the AMAZING Secrets of Pawn Endings (the much better original cover can be seen here), has to agree that chess book covers are often embarrassingly ugly. So hats off to Mongoose Press for producing a chess book I wouldn't be afraid to read in public.

But back to the book. Chess Gems is fantastic. While in one sense Sukhin's work is very run of the mill, merely a collection of 1,000 chess puzzles, the presentation is original and the samples are well chosen. The positions are organized chronologically instead of the typical thematic or difficulty-based organization. I found this surprisingly enjoyable as flipping through the book was a journey through chess history. Chapters five (on Anderssen and Morphy) and eleven (on Capablance, Alekhine, and Euwe) are particularly enjoyable. Sukhin even includes a chapter on Shatranj.

Each chapter includes a brief historical overview alongside a number of examples with text explanations and analysis. Then at the end of each chapter is a "How Would You Play?" section of exercises. Again, this is typical fare, but beautifully presented.

If you're looking for a relaxing book where you'll learn a good deal about the history of chess and improve your tactical skills, don't hesitate to order Chess Gems, one of the most refreshing books of it's kind that I've seen.

Flexible French: Strategic Explanations & Surprise Weapons for Dynamic Players (Paperback) ~ Viktor Moskalenko (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/90...

Here's one review from the amazon site:

<Having purchased and thoroughly enjoyed the author's earlier book on the Budapest Gambit I eagerly anticipated Moskalenko's work on the French. This book has the same engaging literary style with the addition of many games from the author's own practice (some as current as 2008).

This is not a repetoire book along the lines of "see variation A4b1" but Moskalenko does a very good job of offering more than one option against all the major White choices (Advance, Tarrasch, Classical) plus coverage of many minor systems (KIA, Wing Gambit, Exchange, Anti-Winawer, etc.). Please note, you will not find the main line Winawer Poisoned Pawn (tG, imho). Instead there is material on 4...b6, 4...c5 5 a3 Bxc3+ 6 bc Qa5 and 6...Qc7.

guys, i recommend Eduard Gufeld's "My Life in Chess - The Search for La Gioconda (Mona Lisa)"...one of my cherished books given by my friend <pulsar>.

http://www.amazon.com/My-Life-Chess...

+ Chess the Adventurous Way covers Timman's career from 1983-1993 in the form of deep annotations to 80 of his best games.

+ Finding Bobby Fischer by Dirk Jan Ten Geuzendam is a collection of interviews with leading players like Fischer, Kasparov, Karpov, Botvinnik, Larsen, Anand, Judith Polgar.

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Bobby...

+ Gata Kamsky Chess Genius by Steven Gordon and Timothy Taylor is a 196-page paperback that attempts to chronicle the career of the rising star. Though the unannotated games sections of the book goes back to 1986, 99% of it is devoted to Kamsky's career after he defected to the US in 1989.

I even remember telling someone here that when I set up a position on the board for analysis, I always set up the pawns first before putting on any pieces.

http://www.amazon.com/Understanding...

that I am working through. I made a game collection of all the games (and even uploaded some to the site to complete it): Game Collection: Understanding Pawn Play in Chess by D. Marovic

to those without the book yet, book sections categorized as follows..

+ isolated pawns
+ isolated pawn couples and hanging pawns
+ passed pawns
+ doubled pawns
+ backward pawns
+ pawn-chains
+ pawn-islands

+ Squeezing the Gambits - The Benko, Budapest, Albin and Blumenfeld by Kiril Georgiev

http://www.ukgamesshop.com/Merchant...

+ Who Dares Wins! Attacking the King on Opposite Side by Lorin D'Costa

http://www.classicalgames.com/Merch...

+ Wojo's Weapons - Winning with White by Jonathan Hilton & Dean Ippolito

<Positional sacrifices, improving piece placement, defence in worse positions, prophylaxis, and building and breaking fortresses, are skills every club player needs to master in order to win more games. Junior World Champion Daniel Naroditsky teaches very practical lessons, based on his own experience. Daniel Naroditsky (1995) turns out to be not only a remarkable chess prodigy, but also a born writer and instructor who gives crystal-clear verbal explanations on the essence of positional chess. In a special introduction Daniel?s parents tell the story of how their son wrote this book. An astonishing work and an instructive delight.>