Authors who write for advanced players ?

[Fred Henderson]

Of course we have Dvoretsky, but what about Jacob Aagaard? Anybody have anything to say about his books, he is very prolific.

Any others?

[Patrick Kirby]

I read one of the Aagard books and it didn't make an impression. If you want books with real insight, you have to look for books written by top players. Kasparov's My Great Predecessors, Morozevich's opening manual on the Chigorin. Gelfand has a series of books that look very good.

[Peter McKillop]

I read one of the Aagard books and it didn't make an impression. If you want books with real insight, you have to look for books written by top players. Kasparov's My Great Predecessors, Morozevich's opening manual on the Chigorin. Gelfand has a series of books that look very good.

I question the statement in bold. As Fred Henderson himself pointed out recently, being a strong player doesn't guarantee you have good teaching skills. Also, Aagaard is a GM which by definition makes him a top player. Gelfand once engaged Aagaard as a trainer which suggests that players at or near the pinnacle have a high regard for his teaching/training abilities. If you didn't click with one of Aagaard's books, perhaps it's because you weren't part of Aagaard's target audience.

[Egidijus Zeromskis]

If you didn't click with one of Aagaard's books, perhaps it's because you weren't part of Aagaard's target audience.

He has two distinctive series:

• Excelling at ...
• Grandmaster Preparation...

Both series are not for plain reading, requires to study them, though Thinking inside the box is quite entertaining :)

Oh, and he just published the door stopper - A Matter of Endgame Technique (maybe it will evolve to Grandmaster Knowledge series)

[Patrick Kirby]

I question the statement in bold. As Fred Henderson himself pointed out recently, being a strong player doesn't guarantee you have good teaching skills. Also, Aagaard is a GM which by definition makes him a top player. Gelfand once engaged Aagaard as a trainer which suggests that players at or near the pinnacle have a high regard for his teaching/training abilities. If you didn't click with one of Aagaard's books, perhaps it's because you weren't part of Aagaard's target audience.

Being a good trainer and being a good writer of training books aren't the same thing. For me, what I value most in books is the insights into how strong players think about chess, so for me the books that have made the biggest impression are by players that have really advanced chess understanding throughout their careers.

These days anyone can train with a computer and get good. So the value in books for me is in accessing the deeper insights of accomplished players. But it's just my opinion.

[Hans Jung]

In coach Kaidanov's latest interview he highly recommends Aagaard's Thinking inside the Box for adult chess players.

[Sheldon Ab]

Kasparovs Test of Time is quite in depth and not considered a light read.

Aagard books are highly regarded by many coaches and players....

[Fred Henderson]

Some of Karsten Muller is worth a mention here. Secrets of Pawn Endings is pretty advanced, as is Magic of Chess Tactics.

[Hans Jung]

Yes Karsten Mueller is one of my favorites

[Frank Dixon]

I recommend GM Averbakh's "Chess Tactics for Advanced Players."

[Sheldon Ab]

I recommend GM Averbakh's "Chess Tactics for Advanced Players."

This book is fantastic! One of the first chess books I read years ago.

[Fred Henderson]

I am impressed by the work of Valero Beim. his works are original, very well constructed and scholarly, as if he were writing a PHD thesis. I have just purchased "The Enigma of Chess Intuition", a serious run at such a vague concept. He says Capablanca is the man at intuition and also says that prime Spassky was the best middle game player in large part due to his sense of intuition.