Recommended Chess Websites, Software & Books
Software |
| Software | Comments |
| Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chester | Great beginners program |
| Learn to Play Chess with Fritz and Chester 2: Chess in the Black Castle | Great beginners program |
| Chessmaster 10th Edition | Intermediate |
| Chessmaster: The Art Of Learning | Intermediate |
| Fritz 10 and Fritz 11 | Advanced |
| ChessBase 10 | Advanced cataloging, games library, analysis |
| Rybka 3 Aquarium | Advance cataloging, games library, analysis. Gold Standard Chess Engine. |
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Online Play |
| Site | Comments |
| FICS Free Internet Chess Server | This is an ICC clone. Was the same as ICC before ICC went commercial. Free online play and game matching. BabaChess is the best client. |
| ICC The Internet Chess Club | One of hte best known online chess servers. More GM's play here than anwhere else. Relays from big FIDE tournaments are common. Cost is roughly $29/year with sutdent discount. Easiest client to use is Dasher 1.2.3. |
| PlayChess.com | Another popular pay for chess server. Cost is Roughly $35/year. 30 Day free trials 1 year subscription comes free with Fritz. |
| World Chess Live | This is great chess server and client for beginners. The UI is known for being very easy to use, but it appears that it may be the same as ICC's Dasher. Cost is $25/year for juniors. Free 6 month memberships for USCF Members. |
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Books |
| Book | Comments |
| Chess Tactics for Kids by Murray Chandler | Beginner |
| How To Beat Your Dad At Chess by Murray Chandler | Beginner |
| The Chess Tactics Workbook by Al Woolum | Beginner |
| Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Fischer/Margulies/Mosenfelder | Beginner |
| The Manual of Chess Combinations | Beginner (Hard to Find) |
| Chess Openings For Juniors by J.N. Walker | Beginner/Intermediate |
| Chess Tactics for Students by John A. Bain | Beginner/Intermediate |
The Ideas Behind Chess Openings by Reuben Fine | Intermediate |
| 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate | Intermediate |
| Winning Chess Tactics by Seirawan | Intermediate |
| Winning Chess Strategies by Seirawan | Intermediate |
| A First Book of Morphy by Frisco Del Rosario | Intermediate/Advanced Excellent and well annotated for master's game study. |
| My System 21st Centruy Edition by Aron Nimzowitsch | Intermediate/Advanced Basic ideas dovetail with well annoted for game study |
| Capablanca's Best Chess Endings by Irving Chernev | Advanced. Excellent for end game study both defense and offense. |
Modern Chess Openings by Nick de Firmian | Advanced |
| 1001 Winning Chess Sacrifices and Combinations | Advanced |
| Chess 5334 Problems Combinations and Games by Laszlo Polgar | Advanced |
| Fundamental Chess Endings - A New Endgame Encyclopedia for the 21st Century by Muller & Lamprecht | Advanced |
| How to Reassess Your Chess by Silman | Advanced |
| Amateur’s Mind by Silman | Advanced |
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