The Ten Best Chess Books for Chess Kids
Is there a kid in your life with a voracious appetite for all things chess? It may not be practical to play games every waking moment, but that doesn’t mean the chess has to stop! As the long days of summer approach, chess books are a great way to encourage their interest in the game and sneak in some valuable reading minutes. It can be a challenge to sift through the options, so we’ve compiled a list of 10 of the best books for your chess kid.
Learning Chess
If you have a beginner in the house, these books are the best place to start! Written with young players in mind, these books have engaging illustrations and step-by-step learning programs. Great for independent readers, or you can work through the exercises with your child.
Book One: The Batsford Book of Chess for Children by Sabrina Chevannes
The Batsford Book of Chess for Children is an enduring classic for beginners. Presented as a conversation between two knowledgeable chess kids, Jess and Jaime, this book covers everything a new player needs to know. With a fresh new look courtesy of a 2022 update, this engaging title is ideal for young readers to work through independently. It’s also great as a read-aloud for those who are not yet confident readers. You can even learn chess with your child by following along.
At 152 pages, this is a comprehensive volume that teaches the basics and much more, including tactics and etiquette. Because it covers all the essential information on how to play and how to behave as a player, The Batsford Book of Chess for Children is all you need to prepare a child for their first chess match or tournament. This is a great first chess book or reference book for your chess library.
Book Two: AlphaBETChess Volume One by Vishnu Warrier
If you’re looking for something new in a fun format, AlphaBETChess has just entered the chat! Each letter of the alphabet has been paired with an essential chess term, such as “C for Checkmate.” The concepts are then brought to life with colorful illustrations and whimsical stories. This unusual approach has several advantages. Organizing terms in alphabetical order helps with retention and recall, much like a mnemonic device. Additionally, the ABC format will feel very familiar for young learners.
This book is perfect for a chess kid who might find a traditional step-by-step approach dull. AlphaBETChess covers all the essentials for beginning chess players. Add the companion volume, AlphaBetChess Volume 2 – Coloring Book, for hands-on activities that reinforce the concepts and keep the fun going!
Book Three: Anatoly Karpov’s Full Colour Chess Primer by Anatoly Karpov
Now available in the US direct from House of Staunton, Anatoly Karpov’s Full Colour Chess Primer is like receiving beginner lessons from the legend himself! The multiple-time world chess champion brings his signature style to bear on children’s chess in this 132-page volume, emphasizing calm study and methodical moves. This approach can help young players who tend to make impulsive blunders or emotional moves by encouraging them to slow down and look at their game differently.
This book covers everything a child will need to play their first game. This book is a worthwhile addition to your beginner library, providing invaluable insight into Karpov’s approach to the game. Help your chess kid learn to evaluate positions thoughtfully and deliberately, just like Karpov.
Chess Puzzles and Exercises
Everyone should have a book of chess puzzles handy. Puzzles are a portable chess class, boredom buster, and brain teaser all in one. These books make puzzles easy to take to appointments, on car trips, or on summer vacation—anywhere your chess kid will have a few minutes of downtime.
Book Four: Parker's Chess Adventure by Dave Schloss
If you’re looking for something for your chess kid to work through independently, Parker’s Chess Adventure is for you. Part storybook, part chess instruction, this book encourages kids to progress to find out what happens next! Split over 10 chapters, the book works through 100 one-move puzzles, using both the white and black pieces.
The tactic of each chapter is introduced by a section of the story of Parker the Pawn, a chess piece on a quest to get to the castle. Creative coloring pages break up the sections to give your chess kid a chance to show off their artistic side. The theme and story make this a top choice for younger players who might be intimidated by a thick book with hundreds of exercises. Puzzles are aimed at kids with ratings under 1000, and they are perfect for beginners.
Book Five: Everyone's First Chess Workbook by Peter Giannatos
If you’re looking for a comprehensive set of exercises and puzzles in a no-nonsense format, Everyone’s First Chess Workbook is what you want. With 738 exercises pulled from a decade of working with students at the Charlottle Chess Center, this workbook covers all the fundamentals and more.
The puzzles increase in difficulty as the reader progresses. There’s plenty of room to write the solutions right next to the problems, a tried-and-true learning booster. Since the answer to each exercise is written in algebraic chess notation, this is a great way to learn and practice until notation becomes second nature. As if all that isn’t enough, if you hurry, you may be able to snag a signed copy!
Book Six: Desert Island Chess Puzzle Omnibus
This impressive volume of puzzles is like four books in one! With 400 puzzles, this is sure to keep your chess kid busy for a long time. Authors Wesley So, Michael Adams, John Nunn, and Graham Burgess each present 100 puzzles in graded levels of difficulty for your solver. The themes range from opening tactics to positions from recent and famous games.
One unique feature of this book is ongoing explanation of why otherwise plausible solutions fail. Sometimes knowing “what not to do” is even more valuable than the solution. This volume allows your chess kid to learn and grow into the more complex puzzles while achieving success all along the way. It’s truly the one book you’d need to stay entertained on a desert island!
For Improving Players
As your chess player progresses, they’ll want to move into books with more advanced instruction. Middle school and teen players can dive into many books written for adults, but it can be challenging to find intermediate books aimed at elementary kids. These recommendations are just right!
Book Seven: Chess Tactics Workbook for Kids by John Nunn
This fantastic book of exercises is written for the chess kid with mastery of the basics and the desire to improve and win. Focused on building complexity, each chapter starts with a simple concept and layers additional tactics into the following exercises. Kids will learn how complex ideas and strategies are built of combinations of simpler tactics using a hands-on approach. Master tactician John Nunn has created hundreds of exercises to push your young player beyond simply following the rules to playing to win!
Book Eight: Josh Waitzkin's Attacking Chess by Josh Waitzkin
If your chess kid is ready to take their chess on the attack, this book from eight-time former National Champion Josh Waitzkin (subject of the book and feature film “Searching for Bobby Fischer”) will give them the confidence to go for it. Nineteen different offensive strategies are dissected and explained from elementary moves like forks and pins to more advanced strategies. Any avid improver will enjoy learning the aggressive tactics and psychological tips laid out here.
Written with the same intensity Waitzkin brought to his competitive chess career, this book will fire up that fierceness of spirit in your chess kid. Stories about Waitzkin’s chess games and personal experiences round out this fascinating read.
Just for Fun
Chess isn’t all studying and instruction—it’s a cultural phenomenon. Chess kids love to read about the interesting (and sometimes strange!) personalities and happenings in the world of chess. Books written for kids about famous young players can be fun and inspiring reads. Be sure to add these books to your chess library for a well-rounded player.
Book Nine: Fried Liver and Burning Pants by "Coach Jay" Stallings
Kids love stories about weird and outrageous things! Fried Liver & Burning Pants delivers 20 of these wild and extraordinary stories about chess worthy of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Pencil illustrations make the stories come to life. Each story offers an intriguing historical moment or fact about chess along with four related chess puzzles developed to teach a valuable insight and improve your chess kid’s game.
Beyond the puzzles, these stories are a great springboard for discussing the human themes of chess, like sportsmanship and frustration. Your chess kid will have so many interesting tales to share at chess club after they read and reread this fun and informational book. Have them read the stories to YOU at bedtime so you can both enjoy them.
Book Ten: My Name Is Tani . . . and I Believe in Miracles by Tanitoluwa Adewumi with Craig Borlase
Chess kids need to read stories about players their own age to see what kids can accomplish. Tani Adewumi was an eight-year-old refugee from Nigeria when he won the 2019 New York State Chess Championship. Fleeing from Boko Haram, Tani and his family landed in New York City, hoping for religious asylum. Living in a homeless shelter and attending the local public school, Tani wanted to join the chess club. Thanks to a scholarship that covered the fee, Tani learned how to play chess and changed his life.
Through the inspiring story of Tani Adewumi, chess kids will gain insight into what it’s like to be forced to flee your home with nothing and start over. This true tale about overcoming obstacles and an unlikely chess triumph will foster empathy and a greater awareness of the challenges others face. (Note: This edition of the book is for young readers (8-12 yrs). If you’d like the original book, you can find it here.)
Which book will your chess kid choose? A fun book of puzzles, a helpful tutorial? Maybe they want all of them! Whichever book you choose, you won’t go wrong with any of these recommendations. Pick up a few options now for those long days of school vacation when boredom hits and brains melt. Chess books will keep those little brains stimulated and in working condition, anywhere and anytime!