From my personal study of chess, I have found that we not only have a large number of chess books -- in the Mechanics' Institute Library as well as in the world in general -- but also an extensive variety of ways these chess books teach the game. I have occasionally had chess player members ask me for advice about chess books: which ones are the best for beginners? (Beginner in the sense of someone just starting to get serious and take up the study of the game, however many years they have played). Years of working in education combined with years of sometimes fruitless study of the game have led me to realize that the first order of business when you set out to improve your game is to learn how you learn.
We read a lot about learning styles in the scholarly literature of education. I would not say that learning styles are as individual as a fingerprint; but that we do not have any one, single, clear "correct" way to learn any subject that should work for everyone, whether chess or math or foreign languages. On the other hand, we can identify "learning styles."
The 10-minute test.
Typically, chess teachers teach the way they learn. Each chess book writer will therefore teach in a given learning style. My advice to players starts with "the 10-minute test." Take a chess book, say, one you borrowed from the MI Library. Find a timer. You can usually find one standard on most mobile devices or buy a little battery-powered one from any housewares or kitchen store. Set up the pieces on the board, open the book to start studying, then hit the timer. After 10 minutes you will have one of two possible outcomes. One, you breathe a sigh of relief and say "Saved by the bell! Thank goodness I can stop now." Or, you feel annoyed by the interruption because you had immersed yourself in that book and the lesson it had for you. In each case make a note (write it down to be sure) of the author's name. If it's the "saved by the bell," response, then that author may be great for someone else but not for you. If it's the "annoyed by the interruption" response then, congratulations, you have found someone who teaches the way you learn (so seek out more books by that author).
Below I outline learning styles that players have described to me in addition to my own. For those starting I suggest borrowing one of each "style" and then put it to the 10-minute test. For those that pass, the other authors in that style category will likely help you more than the ones in other categories. (All chess books are located on Balcony 2B unless otherwise indicated).
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Study entire games
We have numerous master and grandmaster players I have spoken with who swear by the study of the great, instructional games of the past. A long game between expert players will contain the opening, middle-game, and endgame and thereby teach you a useful lesson about each phase of the game to let you see how these phases flow from one to the other.
Books to start with:
Andrew Soltis. 365 chess master lessons: take one a day to be a better chess player 794.1 S69t
Intended as a one-year course of study, please do not keep the book checked out for the whole year! Start with the library's copy, then if this works for you, please consider purchasing a copy of your own.
Irving Chernev. The most instructive games of chess ever played: 62 masterpieces of chess strategy 794.15 C52
A long-time Mechanics Institute member, Chernev's writing has great clarity with simple, straightforward explanations. Some of our Chess Club's Masters and Grandmasters who remember him caution us that they consider some of his analyses either incorrect or outdated. But if you are a beginning-level player this should not concern you -- the essential lessons that Chernev teaches remain sound even if some of his tips and tricks may no longer work against a Grandmaster.
J.R. Capablanca. My chess career: masterpieces by the master of chess 794.15 C23
Known in his lifetime as "the chess-playing machine," Capablanca was also a gifted teacher. He writes very clear and easy-to-understand annotations of his games. 
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Compartmentalization: one phase of the game at a time: Opening, middle-game, endgame
The advice you read from Jeremy Silman--the chess book writer who does the best job of teaching in this compartmentalized manner, is to budget your time to study the 3 phases of the game: half your time on the endgame, then one quarter each for the Opening and Middle game. Capablanca came up with a truly brilliant insight about how to teach chess: backwards. Start with the endgame then work your way back to the middle-game and opening. You need to know where you're going to get there.
Jose Raul Capablanca. Chess fundamentals 794.1 C23 2006
We have a copy updated with algebraic notation.
Yasser Seirawan with Jeremy Silman. Play winning chess 794.1 S46p
Some MI Chess Club players consider this the best introduction to chess.
Murray Chandler. How to beat your dad at chess 794.124 C45
A systematic description of 50 ways to checkmate. Many of these checkmate patterns even have names: Anastasia's, Boden's, Phiidor's, and more! Each chapter has a complete explanation with a diagram followed by 6 puzzles for you to apply the lesson.
Gabor Kallai. Basic chess openings 794.122 K14b and More basic chess openings 794.122 K14
These two books do the best job of explaining each of the major openings, giving the novice player a way to determine which opening works best for their playing style. As with Chernev, some of the variations in these books are out of date and will not work against a grandmaster. But against opponents that tournament directors pair you with, you will likely do OK. And keep in mind, you should use these books to start with -- as you progress you will find others to take you beyond the basics.
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Puzzles, exercises, problems
Richard Reti once commented about studying chess: "A knowledge of combinations is the foundation of positional chess.” (In other words, study puzzles).
Many high-rated players swear by the use of puzzles, exercises, and problems (whatever you wish to call them). Sam Shankland, MI Chess Club member and 2018 U.S. Chess champion, said during a recent chess event at the Mechanics Institute that he works with his chess coach because "He can compose chess problems as fast as I can solve them." Puzzles teach tactics and for those who learn best by the study of chess puzzles, here are books of puzzles that break down the tactical ideas:
Jeff Coakley. Winning chess exercises for kids Child 794.1 C652w (2nd floor)
As also true of Murray Chanlder's books, many of the best chess books for anyone starting are ones written for children. Coakley uses exercises to teach the basic tactics we all need to know, starting with pins, forks, and skewers.
Jennifer Shahade. Play like a girl!: [tactics by 9Queens] 794.123 S525
Grandmaster Jennifer Shahade arranges each chapter by a given tactic and follows each explanation with puzzles of increasing difficulty.
Tim Brennan and Anthea Carson. Tactics time: 1001 chess tactics from the games of everyday chess players 794.1 B83
Taken from the games of lower-rated players, these puzzles expose you to the sort of situations you will most likely encounter in your games in MI tournaments. The editors arrange the selection of puzzles so you do not know ahead of time which tactic the puzzle solution requires. Good for after you have learned what the tactics are. Keep in mind the advice from Paul Whitehead, recently retired chess room coordinator, that you will often find more than one "correct" answer to many of the problems in this book.
László Polgár. Chess: 5334 problems, combinations, and games 794.1 P765
This education researcher tested his theory of early childhood development by teaching his children advanced chess concepts at a very early age. Nonetheless, he had to start with the
easier tasks before he could teach them the more complex ones. This book contains problems and exercises he used to train his three daughters who went on to become 2 grandmasters and 1 international master.
Lou Hays and John Hall. Combination challenge! 794.12 H425
I suggest you take on this book only after you have completed one or more of the puzzle books listed above. Hays and Hall have arranged the puzzles by tactical concepts and their puzzles draw from some of the more complex games by advanced players.
Our online catalog lists all our chess books that contain puzzles, problems, and exercises.
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Thematic and programmatic
I give this name to my own learning style. Books that lay out a given idea or tactical concept, then provide progressively more difficult exercises (puzzles, problems) to apply the lesson of a given chapter. Even better, books in which the chapters progress from simpler to more complex ideas with the earlier ones providing a foundation for understanding the later ones truly exemplify this learning style.
Some books already mentioned above work well with the thematic and/or programmatic style. Chandler's How to Beat Your Dad at Chess and Shahade's Play Like a Girl have helped me immensely. The following books have done the most to teach me how to play better chess:
Fred Reinfeld. The complete chess course: from beginning to winning chess! 794.1 R367c
Fred Reinfeld was a much-beloved chess book writer and teacher. In the preface to this revised and updated edition of this book the editor describes the same experience as I had: frustration and failure in studying chess until he found a book by Reinfeld. Now in algebraic notation and the examples checked with a chess computer (and updated as needed), the new editions bring Reinfeld's books into the 21st century.
Jesus de la Villa. 100 Endgames You Must Know 794.124 D34
de la Villa runs a chess school in Madrid, Spain. He bases his chess writing on his experience with his students. His books, translated into English, provide the best example of books for this learning style. Starting with the easy, simple, endgame patterns he builds on the concepts in the earlier chapters that provide the foundation for learning the more challenging endgame patterns in the later chapters. At the end of each chapter, he gives progressively more difficult exercises for you to apply what you have learned.
James Eade. Chess for dummies 794.1 E105
Part of the trademark "For Dummies" books, this one takes the thematic and programmatic approach as the earlier chapters establish a foundation for understanding the ideas in the later one. Although I have not used this book myself, my examination of it shows that it lays out the essentials of chess strategy and tactics that work for this learning style.
What is your chess learning style?
Maybe you found one of the 4 learning styles in this post works best for you. Maybe you will find you learn best by combining 2 or more of these. Maybe the answer is "none of the above." The most important point to keep in mind remains that everyone does not learn the same way. This means that if you do not feel that you have made any progress the way you have tried to study chess before, then try something different. And always feel free to ask the Chess Club staff and the Librarians for help -- that's what we're here for.
One Other Consideration:
For beginning study, another important point: learn the traps. I have found that many chess books seldom or never include how to carry out or avoid traps (perhaps they assume the reader already knows these?) You will seldom find something more frustrating on the chess board than having carefully studied and prepared for a game but falling for an easily preventable checkmate (if only you knew about that trap!). 
Alfred Emery. Chess sacrifices and traps 794.1 E53s
The library has a 2008 revised edition of the 1926 classic. Traps never go out of date.
Bruce Pandolfini. Chess openings: traps and zaps 794.122 P189
Pandolfini is a regular contributor to Chess Life Kids. Do not be put off by the fact that he writes for children, his books will teach adults very effectively.
Irving Chernev. Winning chess traps: 300 ways to win in the opening 794.1 C52.3 1974
If Chernev's other books pass your 10-minute test, then you'll love his book on traps.
A Final Word:
Keep in mind if you use online sources such as YouTube or lichess.org then the lessons you find do not have the benefit of editors nor do we find them presented or curated according to any plan or organized structure. I would never say never to using online sources -- I use them myself -- but chess online vs. formally published books provides an object lesson in the usefulness of edited, well-thought-out, well-organized information that you find in good, old-fashioned books.
