Best Sellers on Amazon

I checked out the best sellers on Amazon and here is their top 25 best selling chess books. It is interesting because 7 of the books are aimed at juniors. Surprisingly, there is only one book on tactics; I would have thought that with the popularity of people on forums advocating the study of tactics, the number would have been higher. Maybe they prefer to use tactics servers instead. On the other hand several of the best sellers are strategy books; maybe the pendulum is swinging the other way? Only one book on endings (bad) and two books on openings (good).

1.Chess for Children by Murray Chandler, Helen Milligan 4.7 out of 5 stars
2.How to Beat Your Dad at Chess by Murray Chandler 4.2 out of 5 stars
3.Chess Tactics for Kids by Murray Chandler 4.7 out of 5 stars
4.Checkmate!: My First Chess Book by Garry Kasparov 4.5 out of 5 stars
5.The Art of Learning: An Inner Journey to Optimal Performance by Josh Waitzkin 4.3 out of 5 stars
6.Tactics Time! 1001 Chess Tactics from the Games of Everyday Chess Players Tim Brennan, Anthea Carson 4.7 out of 5 stars
7.The Art of Learning by Josh Waitzkin 4.3 out of 5 stars
8.Practical Chess Exercises: 600 Lessons from Tactics to Strategy by Ray Cheng 4.0 out of 5 stars
9.Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Bobby Fischer, Stuart Margulies, Don Mosenfelder 3.5 out of 5 stars – I have seen this book and unless you are an absolute beginner pass on it.
10. The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl's Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster by Tim Crothers 4.7 out of 5 stars - Sounds weird.
11.Chess is Child's Play: Teaching Techniques That Work by Laura Sherman, Bill Kilpatrick 4.9 out of 5 stars
12.How to Reassess Your Chess, Fourth edition by Jeremy Silman 4.6 out of 5 stars – A classic…wish I’d had it 40 years ago.
13.Learn Chess by John Nunn 4.7 out of 5 stars – Anything Nunn writes is good.
14.Chess For Dummies by James Eade 4.5 out of 5 stars – I’ve seen this in bookstores; I’d pass.

15.Silman's Complete Endgame Course: From Beginner to Master by Jeremy Silman 4.6 out of 5 stars – Anything Silman writes is good.
16.Complete Book of Chess Strategy: Grandmaster Techniques from A to Z by Jeremy Silman – Anything Silman writes is good. 4.0 out of 5 stars
17.Power Chess for Kids: Learn How to Think Ahead and Become One of the Best Players in Your School by Charles Hertan 4.3 out of 5 stars
18.The Mammoth Book of Chess by Graham Burgess, John Nunn 4.4 out of 5 stars – Thanks to National Master Vieira of Portugal for pointing out that I had this book confused with another one of Nunn's books.  This one is a book on general instruction. 

19.The Amateur's Mind: Turning Chess Misconceptions into Chess Mastery by Jeremy Silman – Anything Silman writes is good. 4.1 out of 5 stars

20.Modern Chess Openings, 15th Edition by Nick De Firmian 3.3 out of 5 stars – This book has outlived its usefulness. If you are looking for a general overview of openings you can get better information on the Internet. If you intend to play a specific opening buy a book on that opening. I have been buying the latest edition of MCO since the 9th edition and have used this one only on very rare occasions. Even with limited use all tha pages are falling out.
21.The Powerful Catalan: A Complete Repertoire for White by Victor Bologan Publication Date: December 16, 2012
22.Play Winning Chess by Yasser Seirawan 4.5 out of 5 stars – Seirawan is another of those authors you can’t go wrong with.
23.Modern Chess Strategy by Ludek Pachman, Allen S. Russell 4.4 out of 5 stars – This was the book that I used to study the middlegame many years ago. It’s and abridged edition of Pachman’s original opus and is good for an overview of how the pieces and Pawns are best used. A good book, but I think Silman’s books have expanded on Pachman’s work, so I’s buy them instead.
24.Chess for Juniors: A Complete Guide for the Beginner by Robert M. Snyder 4.9 out of 5 stars - Snyder was a great teacher...these days he's probably teaching chess in prison. But maybe not; I've heard they don't cotton to pedophiles in prison.
25.What It Takes to Become a Chess Master by Andrew Soltis 4.6 out of 5 stars – I like Andy Soltis and his books are always interesting.