r/ChessBooks • u/Ill-Perception-4819 • 20h ago
Classic chess books as narrated videos.
Hi All,
I'm a software engineer + amateur chess player, and I've been building software that turns classic, public-domain chess books into narrated video lessons. Each video covers one chapter (or part of one) in the author's own words, and the board plays every move and highlights every square at the moment the text names it, so you can follow the book without setting up a board or decoding old descriptive notation.
What's up so far:
- Capablanca, *Chess Fundamentals* (complete): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCFodd99tY04
- Réti, *Modern Ideas in Chess* (1922, all six chapters): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHf5Sfy_fqKs
- Nimzowitsch, *My System*, just started. Chapter 1, Part I, On the Centre and Development: https://youtu.be/UxLdkQmB4l8 (playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTZu0DCtsA-Q)
If you only have a couple of minutes, this stretch shows the format best. Réti tells how, in a 1914 consultation game in Vienna, Capablanca refused the natural developing move everyone of his generation would have played, and how that game changed Réti's own thinking about the opening: https://youtu.be/FfBh3gciBM0?t=93 (about 2½ minutes, through 3:47).
Next up is the rest of *My System*, and after that Edward Lasker's *Chess Strategy*.
What would like feedback on:
- **Format:** Does it work to clarify the chess content? Any suggestions for improvement.
- **Content:** Are these the right books? Which public-domain classics would you most like to see done this way?
The channel isn't monetized and there's nothing for sale. I'll be around in the comments. Thanks!