As a younger player, I swallowed every book I could come near to learn more about chess. If you are smitten by chess there’s nothing better than digging deeper for more information and improving your understanding and seeing the results live at the board. 

But are chess books useful?

There are different types of books that serve different types of tasks in chess. 

Books about openings teach you the different openings in chess, what to avoid, and traps to lure your opponent into. The knowledge gives you a better standpoint at the beginning of the game and delivers you to a more stable middle game. 

Books about end games teach you how to think ahead, so you can calculate your way to winning. It also teaches you about traps, tactics, and endgame principles. 

Books about tactics teach you to be better at calculating and getting a feeling of what’s important in a certain position. 

Books about chess history could be biography books or more historical books that could explain the tensions between US champion Bobby Fischer and the Soviet Union champion Boris Spasskij during The Cold War in the chess world.

An example of biography could be a book about Kasparov’s life and his way to becoming World Chess Champion in 1985. 

To answer your question, then yes. Chess books are certainly useful in many ways. It improves your understanding of the game, your understanding of the history of chess, and improves your skills. What’s not to like?