Book of games for a beginner to study?

@NKthegreat
That seems to be a crypto-mining website. Better watch out with free stuff on the web, with the links you share in the forum and also pay attention to copyright laws.

@eric7437897432
"Logical Chess" has explanations for every move, "200 Open Games" for almost none of them. I'd argue for the book with commentary because you can always just ignore that, look at the variations, make up your own mind and read the text stuff whenever you want. You cannot wish for prose later, when you've already settled for the Bronstein (has not even variations, not recommended for you). Really good commentary should not distract too much from the moves.

There is a piece of chess wisdom out there that claims that it is hard to learn from todays master games because the players are of such high and similar playing strength. Most of the typical ideas will remain hidden in subvariations because the players are aware of them and take preventive counter measures. That's why it is recommended to study the old masters first to watch those classical plans and ideas put into action against unsuspecting opposition. Those players were strong and just that much better than the average back then. It's always fun to watch a good stomp and errors are what puts some fun into the game, after all. With your question about relatable material you indicate that one of these classics might be a good a fit for you:

- Max Euwe (5th world champoin) was maybe the first to think about the amateurs needs and there's a book, Chess Master vs Chess Amateur, which should be checked out. Also earlier masters left textbooks and game collection's that are still beloved.
- I'm from Austria and Tarrasch's books ('300 Schachpartien' f.e. ) were really nice in german.
- @tpr mentioned Capablanca, who was one of the greatest chess minds ever. He took time to write some books with all of his excellence and I think that is a favorite choice!
- Aljechin's first collection of games is legendary and he has also a dynamic style to make you always want to take a look at another game. I would go for this or the Capablanca, if available.
- The book's from Dan Heisman also spring to mind immediatly. He has a keen eye for the realities of being a Patzer and his Worlds Most Intructive Amateur Game Book seems to be exactly what you're asking for. We only have to hope that it is much better than the title...
- Also have to mention Richard Reti here. 'Masters of the Chessboard' is probably something no one else would suggest so please, be my guest: MOTC takes a look at old masters like Adolf Anderssen & Paul Morphy up to the Capablanca & Aljechin generation. I maybe even like this better than the best of Aljechin, just because of the range of players. Ah, I see that i got carried away! There's lots of words in this book they should not be ignored, even if you can do so. Also there's lots of queens pawn openings here, because of the Zeitgeist. Still a great book.

Have fun, Rawkward

Capablanca's "Chess Fundamentals" was the second chess book I read cover to cover (the first was Lasker's "Common Sense in Chess"). "Fundamentals" isn't really a book of games, it's more an introduction to Steinitz's principles, and to endgames. Don't let that put you off. It's still worth reading. And it does use games, and positions from games, to illustrate various points. It finishes with 14 annotated games that illustrate those points in practical play.

The third chess book I read all the way through was Reti's "Masters of the Chessboard". I agree with Rawkward. It's a lovely introduction to the development of the game, and a much copied format. Reuben Fine's "The World's Greatest Chess Games" is similar, and goes through to the mid 1940's. John Nunn, John Emms, and Graham Burgess updated the idea with "The Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games", which covers 125 annotated games.

A little outside what you're asking for is John Nunn's "Understanding Chess Move by Move", because it is annotation heavy. But you could always just play through the games, ignoring the analysis, if you liked. And then have a useful introduction on strategy and play when you felt like it. It covers 30 games.

Bronstein's "200 Open Games" and "Zurich International Chess Tournament, 1953" are both classics. But their sparse annotation makes them hard work.

Almost any collection of any Grandmaster's "best games" would do if you ignored the annotation. That's part of how I usually go through a game anyway. I run through trying to understand what is going on without reading the analysis, but trying to guess the next move. Then I go over the analysis. Good analysis should make master level play accessible to amateur players. If they are willing to work at it.

Just wanted to say thanks everyone for the recommendations! I got The Worlds Most Instructive Amateur Game Book (what a long title lol). I'm enjoying it a lot. I played through and read the first game. Dan H is a great writer/teacher. I love how modern the book is talking about online games and time management.

The advice of playing through all the moves first then reading the words really helped!

Growing up in school, teachers usually made me feel dumb. But now that I'm 30 and a self taught computer programmer, I just know that I learn differently. Reading is hard, but math and 3d stuff comes very naturally to me. So that advice was super helpful!

Update: I also ordered Chess Fundamentals by Josè Capabanca "Now in algebraic!" Only on page 8 and found 2 annotation errors. Very confusing. Also Capabanca sounds very bitter and doesn't bother explaining things. I'm much more of a fan of how Dan Heisman writes.
I'll probably will still try to go through it. Once you get past the errors, the moves are interesting and I've learned a few things already. I guess you gotta give him credit for writing this book 100 years ago.

My advice may sound unorthodox and could displease some, but personally, I learned much more from resolving chess problems and playing games here on Lichess than from several reputable books whose search and reading took me loads of time and effort.

Honestly, for me, practice and game are just way more efficient than drilling through the naked and dry theory. I mean, theory is also important but it is more useful for experienced players looking for improvements, than for those who wish to get started with chess.