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 largely unknown outside the former Soviet Union. The fact that the tests originate from real games guarantees that they are practical, not artificial. The solutions rarely involve spectacular fireworks, as is the case in most chess puzzle books. Instead, you may be asked to find a quiet move or 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 thought-provoking and entertaining aphorisms. 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.