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how many books does chess grandmasters have?

#11
I imagine most GMs have a modest collection, some that they review occasionally, to study an endgame that they lost recently or for good calculation exercises, and some that they read once and leave on their shelf. Those who love books and chess history will probably have a lot. I suspect books are still valuable just because writers usually invest more time than they would on a video and they have editorial checks which improve them, but that's changing rapidly, especially on Chessable, and it's probably already the case that you don't need books at all. I'm not really sure honestly.

A few years ago there were some great Chessbase India videos about IM Saravanan's book collection and as a fellow book lover it was fun to listen to him talk about which ones he loved and why. But I just watched this video about an incredible chess library. If you love books and chess history it's a must-watch:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5TS-QpRHNA&list=WL&index=91
#12
Well, Wikipedia once told me how many Karpov has: 9000, no joke (and a huge collection of stamps, too ;))
#14
"Remember, if you like books--like reading them and owning them--there's no such thing as 'one chess book.' ... as you acquire one or two and read them through--even if you don't--you'll find yourself drawn to the chess section every time you walk into Walden's or Barnes and Noble or Borders. If you leaf through the books and compare their contents to what you need, you'll soon find yourself dedicating a shelf or two of your bookcase to chess books. You'll want to have all of Sierawan's books (as soon as they're back in print). You'll yearn to complete your collection of Alburt's series. You'll start haunting used book shops for old copies of Fischer's 'My 60 Memorable Games.' Your hair will gradually grow unkempt, and a distracted wild look will creep into your eyes. If you're separated from your books for too long, your hands will begin to twitch and you'll start plotting knight moves across the checkered tablecloth at the Italian restaurant where you're supposed to be wooing your wife / girlfriend. You've entered a perilous zone ... 'Chessbibliomania' is not a condition to be easily dismissed, and research has shown it isn't curable. Maybe you'll be better off just buying a gin rummy program for your computer and avoiding this chess book madness altogether. :)
Happy reading!!" (2003)
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.games.chess.misc/msg/d96eccf5ddec3c33