Awesome site. I am looking to improve my game. My rating was around 1400 at best. What books would you recommend? I went to amazon and my head is still spinning. I have Lazlo Polgar's Chess book and the chessmaster on cd. When i researches books the following stood out : complete chess workout, forcing chess moves, chess tactics for champions, ultimate chess puzzle book, winning chess how to see 3 moves ahead. Thank you in advance. It is nice to be a part of such a classy forum
Seahawkwalt

Start by heading to chesscafe.com and checking out Dan Heisman's Novice Nook column. He's a great writer for helping low-intermediate level players improve. His monthly column has run for 100 months now, and all of the articles are available in the archives section. A generic study plan, including book recommendations, was among the earlier articles, so start with that, then read the rest of his articles along with some of the books he recommends.

--Fromper

as for me, chess made simple by milton hanauer is a good book to start with...problem is, it's a pretty old book i'm not sure if it's still available in print...and another more 'modern' book is GM Matthew Sadler's Tip for Young Players,at least its section on training chess vision is awakening...

For an all-in-one useful book, I would suggest either How to Reassess Your Chess or The Complete Guide to Chess Strategy, both by Jeremy Silman. RYC is more advanced, but both books are aimed at improving your middlegame play, which is rarely covered in other books. The Complete Guide is less in-depth, but also has basic opening theory and a rook endgame section.

Just posted this link in another thread, but here it is again. Dan Hesiman has some great book recommendations here:

NM Dan Heisman's Chess Book Recommendations

If you're around 1400, I'd suggest focusing the majority of your study time on tactics exercises right now.