Hello anyone! I would be grateful if anyone can suggest the definitive book to start getting better at chess? I know there are loads of books out there, but to start with I would just like to buy one. Any suggestions helpful people

Logical Chess Move by Move, by Irving Chernev.

Thanks, where would i be able to get that from, would you know?

Here: http://www.amazon.com/Logical-Chess-Every-Explained-Algebraic/dp/0713484640/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211228989&sr=8-1

For me, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess did the trick.  It takes a popular theme, back rank mates, and teaches you to plan effectively and think deeply using the simplest principles.

 

After I finished the book, I played a friend who is way better then me, and for the first time he broke a sweat and admitted that he was having a hard time getting in moves because he had to answer my attacks first.

 

The book is cheap or it may be also available at your public or school library.

 

Good luck!  Have fun!

You should start with two types of books: Logical Chess by Chernev is excellent for picking up the idea of chess thought and general principles, and a tactics book that drills all the motifs. Maybe Combination Challenge by Hall or Seirawan's book on tactics.

Reading and using both will set you up nicely. 

thank you all for your help, i'll go with the Chernev book to start with

Chernev is very good. Also good is The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess by Patrick Wolf.   One key to getting better is solving many tactical puzzles, so Reinfeld 1001 Chess Combinations or something similar is essential.

Somewhere between the Learn tab & the Forums tab lie all the answers.

i'm partial to  "Weapons of Chess" by Pandolfini.  easy to read and you don't need a board in front of you.

The most important book you'll ever need is your scorebook. Also, Reassess Your Chess is a nice little gem you may like.

I don't think bobby fischer teaches chess is very good at all. All it is, is a book of some 250 simple mating puzzles. You'd get alot more out of your money by doing the tactic-trainer on this site. Which is far better since there's more varitiey(spelling?).

But maybe I'm not getting the book? Maybe I'm not using it the right way?

Right now I'm working my way through "the amateurs mind - turning chess misconceptions into chess mastery" by Jeremy Silman and I really like it. It helps you with the whole process of formulating stratergies very early in the game and how not to think. 

 

The book that did my own playin more good than any other is Modern Chess Tactics by Ludek Pachman.  It's slow going.  But as I studied the positions he shows and followed through the continuations in my head (not on a board) I found that I started seeing such motifs in my own games.

A couple of more suggesions:

 Common Sense in Chess by Emanuel Lasker; and

How Not to Play Chess by Eugene A. Znosko-Borovsky,

and two very readable and very easy to understand books that will help someone greatly to learn to think in terms of chess.

All of the Seirwan books are good...."winning chess brilliances"

I would suggest Chessmaster 11th (or 10th would be good enough with a lot lower price) instead of a book first. The tutorials there would be worth 4-5 books at least.

The books in this posting include some excellent suggestions, but I would want to ask about the "patient" before providing a "prescription".

What does the reader wish to improve? Tactics? Strategy? Endgame?

From what rating are we starting? What are the strengths and areas of improvement of the reader?

Are there any favorite authors (or ones to avoid)?  

Many players have favorite authors (my early ones were Chernev and Reinfeld; later choices were Nunn, Silman, Soltis, and Aagaard), but writing styles and pedagogic methods certainly vary, making  offhand suggestions difficult. 

I hesitate to suggest that there is one book with which to utilize (though that is what the original posting requested), but answers to the above questions may help suggestions for the request.

 

 

I have some Books , I will send them to you soon,

you know, i'm asking the same question too, but i know a Really good book for beginners. get these two

"logical chess move by move" by irving chenev

and

"play winning chess" by yasser seraiwan

for tactics "winning chess tactics" is good too

No needed book, put attention, what you doing, and attack, attack over weak point

trv wrote:

No needed book, put attention, what you doing, and attack, attack over weak point

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that mindset is the first blunder of a beginner. no wonder why your rating is under 1200, and you still think you can give advice.