In the following pages I want to share with you my top-choices for learning and practicing chess. There is a bit of everything, books, videos, software (of course!).
Notice that SoftwareChess.com does NOT participate in any affiliate program. So, the links that you will see are NOT affiliate links. In other words, I don’t get a cent if you buy these resources!
Of course, I want to start with my favorite suggestions about the chess software that is out there! This is a very special topic for me, because I work in the software industry (I am a software developer with a PhD in a scientific field).
I definitely know how database and chess websites in general work, and have also spent some time in the past to understand how chess engine work (these are more sophisticated piece of software, involving artificial intelligence). So, I think I would throw in my two cents and give some recommendations.
Continue to the Recommended Software Page.
I love chess libraries! It may sound out of fashion these days, but the pleasure I had while studying a real chess book, (I mean a book made out of real paper) with a real chessboard alongside (I mean a chessboard not a computer screen) is vivid in my mind.
Also, you should be aware that the chess library is huge! There are tons of books about every chess-related topic you can imagine. For each opening there is a lot of books. For each endgame there is a lot of books. For different structures in the middlegame there is… a lot of books! And then there are general books about opening, endgame, etc…
I started studying and playing chess before computers became the “must”, so I did read several books, and on several subject. I want to share with you my favorite ones, that I also think would be very good for training.
Continue to the Recommended Books Page.
As you can imagine, videos are a powerful learning tool. Actually, you should know that I am really into the MOOCs thing, and love taking courses online, usually about scientific topics.
Chess video lessons popularity has also exploded in recent years, with many many GMs recording videos. You can literally find plenty of them, some are free and some must be purchased. Even Garry Kasparov has done a video series about one of his favorite openings! Other GMs have their own YouTube channel where they publish great content that can help you, especially if you’re at the beginning of your chess experience. More advanced videos are usually paid.
As with software and books, I just want to share my own thoughts about what videos I would suggest, for different subjects and levels of play. So, continue to the Recommended Videos Page!
Have fun!!