Chess Books

March 2018

Every two years, the World Chess Championship takes place to determine the best player in the world. Before that occurs, a Candidates Tournament is held to determine who gets a chance to unseat the current champion. This year, the Candidates Tournament will be held in Berlin, Germany from March 10-28. The current champion is chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen of Norway. Whoever wins will get to challenge him in a twelve-game match in London in November.

In honor of the Candidates Tournament, the New York State Library has placed chess books on exhibit. They include instructional manuals, greatest-games compilations, and biographies. Most of these books are available for loan.

 

Chess Books: A Selected Bibliography

• Edge, F.M.  Triumphs of Paul Morphy. New York, New York: Appleton, 1859. NYSL Call Number: Z 794, E23.
• Reinfeld, Fred. Treasury of Chess Lore.  New York, New York: McKay, 1951.  NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, R36t.
• Bird, H.E. The Chess Openings. London, United Kingdom: Dean and Son, 1877.
  NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, B61.
• Clarke, P.H. Mikhail Tal's Best Games of Chess. New York, New York: Pitman, 1961.  NYSL Call Number:  Z 794.159, T152.
  
  

• Fiske, D.W. The Book of the First American Chess Congress. New York, New York: Rudd & Carleton, 1859.  NYSL Call Number: Z 794, A51.
• Rowland, F.F. Pollock Memories.  Dublin, Ireland: Author, 1899.  NYSL Call Number: Z 794, R88.
• Hammond, Alex. The Book of Chessmen. New York, New York: Morrow, 1950. NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, H225.
• Damiano. Libro da Scachi. Nieuwkoop, Netherlands: Miland, 1967. NYSL Call Number:
  Z 794.1, D158.
• Reshevsky, Samuel. Reshevsky on Chess. New York, New York: Chess Review, 1948. NYSL Call Number: 794.1, R433.
  
  

• Cho-yo. Japanese Chess. New York, New York: Press Club of Chicago, 1905. NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, C545.
• Alekhin, Alexander. My Best Games of Chess, 1908-1923. New York, New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1927. NYSL Call Number: 794.1, A366b.
• Weart, Edith. The Royal Game. New York, New York: Vanguard, 1948. NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, W362.
• Yates, F.D. Modern Master-Play of Chess. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: McKay, 1930.  NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, Y31.
• Agnel, H.R. The Book of Chess.  New York, New York: Appleton, 1850.  NYSL Call Number: Z 794.1, A27.

 

Exhibit curated by Michael Meyer