Grandmaster and Hall of Fame chess legend Larry Evans, draws upon his vast experience as 5-time USA champion, author of 25 books, and Bobby Fischer's second, to present a fun and challenging new approach for chess players. Readers test their skills against 100 fascinating positions from actual games and must choose the best move among three choices. Each correct answer earns the reader 25 points; no points are given for incorrect choices. At the end of the series, players can calculate their own rating, be it absolute beginner or even grandmaster! In the solutions section, Evans carefully explains the proper thinking a player must employ to approach the position and why both alternatives are inferior. Readers not only find their true chess level, but get a complete course in exactly where they can go wrong.

Test your skills against 100 fascinating positions from actual games and then choose the best move from among three choices. After completing the challenges, you can calculate your rating - be it beginner or grandmaster! In the solutions section, chess superstar Larry Evans carefully explains why the lesser alternatives available to you are inferior and how to analyze the position for maximum understanding. You'll learn from all the elements that make up victory or defeat to not only find your true chess level but improve your play.

The test positions in this instructive book cover the entire spectrum of what a modern club player should know. The reader is invited to find tactical blows, deep strategic manoeuvres, opening traps, standard endgame plans and other principles in action. Sarhan Guliev and his brother Logman Guliev have carefully selected the positions from their own games. That is why these puzzles are completely unknown outside the former Soviet Union. The fact that they originated from real games guarantees that the tests are practical, not artificial. The solutions rarely involve spectacular fireworks, as is the case in most chess puzzle books. The solution may be a quiet move or you may be asked for a reasoned evaluation. In the solutions the Guliev brothers clearly explain the underlying ideas and the principles that are involved. They always offer a general conclusion and have added thoughtprovoking and entertaining aphorisms. In addition there are points to earn with every solution, so students can keep track of their development. Solving the puzzles in this unusual and entertaining book is a most effective way to improve your chess. It will help you to develop a vital skill: the ability to take practical decision in critical moments.

Do you need to be a genius to be good at chess? What does it take to become a Grandmaster? Can computer programmes beat human intuition in gameplay? The Psychology of Chess is an insightful overview of the roles of intelligence, expertise, and human intuition in playing this complex and ancient game. The book explores the idea of ‘practice makes perfect’, alongside accounts of why men perform better than women in international rankings, and why chess has become synonymous with extreme intelligence as well as madness. When artificial intelligence researchers are increasingly studying chess to develop machine learning, The Psychology of Chess shows us how much it has already taught us about the human mind.