3 Books for improving Positional Play (by difficulty)

1. The Power of Pawns by Jörg Hickl (for beginners)
The author illustrates broad themes through high level games, which he only sparsely annotates. The games covered in each chapter are unified by a theme, but mostly you have to work that out for yourself because Hickl appears to assume it’s so obvious that he doesn’t need to comment most of the time. Overall, Hickl presents the reader with full games where pawn structures play a critical role, but he doesn’t always spell out the key lessons or distill general principles.
https://chessreads.com/review/the-power-of-pawns/
2. Chess Structures: A Grandmaster Guide by Mauricio Flores Rios (intermediate)
Winning or losing most often comes down to understanding what should be done in a position. That always depends on the pawn structure. The pawn structure determines strategy, creates tactical opportunities, and is essential in creating long-term plans. Mauricio Flores Rios has created the ultimate guide to 28 most common pawn structures in chess. Each pawn structure is explained on a human level with plans for both sides, and plenty of well annotated example games, each with its own lessons neatly listed at the end of the game.
https://chessreads.com/review/chess-structures-a-grandmaster-guide/
Video review: https://youtu.be/6hdK3Ozmwlo?si=v2XEgwMKDlZxNDjN
GM Mauricio Flores Rios, the author of Chess Structures, recetly began expanding on his work on specific structures, check out his masterclass on the Closed Spanish and KID: https://chessmind.ai/video-product/masterclass-ruylopez-closed/?embed=chessreads_newsletter_1
3. The Hidden Laws of Chess by Nick Maatman (advanced)
The Hidden Laws of Chess is a book that teaches how to know what to look at and what to look for in a chess position. It goes way beyond simple concepts, and delves deep into complex problems such as evaluating a space advantage, how to make a difference when positions are symmetrical, how to find value in doubled pawns, and much more. It’s intended for strong players who are trying to make a leap to Master level, despite that, most lower rated players will have no trouble understanding what Maatman explains, which is why I believe this should be a must-read for any ambitious player, regardless of their strength.
https://chessreads.com/review/the-hidden-laws-of-chess/