A Visit to Fred Wilson Chess Books

Back in April, I had a free weekday afternoon and so decided to finally pay a visit to Fred Wilson Chess Books. It was a great visit - Fred was very welcoming and we chatted about chess and other topics (NYT headlines of the day). Of course, I bought a copy of his book Simple Attacking Plans - which he sells for less than the Amazon discounted price(!), as well as a vintage copy of The Great Chess Masters and Their Games by Fred Reinfeld.

https://fredwilsonchess.com/

I can highly recommend visiting his shop if you're in New York City! You can also listen to his great interview with Ben Johnson on the Perpetual Chess Podcast: https://www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2018/8/6/episode-860-uscf-master-fred-wilson

Of course, I took photos of his books during my visit.

Evolution of Opening Theory, Visualized

Opening Theory books are always popular, and his store has multiple editions of MCO (Modern Chess Openings). This photo provides, I think, and illustration of how much theory has exploded from the early 20th century to today:

Out of Print

One attraction of Fred Wilson Chess Books is the number of rare and out-of-print books - which he sells, I think (based on a quick survey of eBay listings) for fair prices:

"Not for Sale"

Behind his desk is a personal collection, not-for-sale. The store's proprietor still teaches, and so these reference tomes as well as copies of his own books (Fred Wilson has authored quite a few titles in addition to Simple Attacking Plans - as well as editing the new algebraic edition of Simple Chess by Michael Stean, which I've re-read several times!).

Simple Attacking Plans - Russian Edition

Russian chess books are often translated to English - but how often are English-language chess books translated to Russian? Fred proudly showed me, from his personal collection, an edition of his Simple Attacking Plans that achieved this feat:

Even More Chess Books

Additional photos of books I found interesting:

Location

Fred Wilson Chess Books
41 Union Square West (at 17th Street)
Suite 718
New York, NY 10003
212-533-6381
Hours: Monday thru Saturday 1:00-8:00 PM & occasional Sundays