Drawing upon decades of writing and editing experience, Graham Burgess has selected 100 puzzles with eye-catching, memorable and even spectacular solutions. These are not your standard tactical drills: each position features fresh ideas that will expand your chess horizons. In most cases the variations are not overly lengthy, but finding the key ideas may prove both tricky and rewarding.

The puzzles are divided into four sections of 25 puzzles, including two themed chapters on topics rarely covered in puzzle books: opening tactics (based on uncastled kings, poor development, etc.), and defence, where your task is to find a way to parry threats or counterpunch effectively.

Graham Burgess is Gambit’s Editorial Director. He has written 29 chess books, including three on opening play for the ‘Chess for Kids’ series. He is a FIDE Master and a former champion of the Danish region of Funen, and in 1994 set a world record for marathon blitz chess playing. His Mammoth Book of Chess won the prestigious British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award.

The puzzles in this monthly Gambit series are carefully vetted, so they instruct while providing hours of solving pleasure. It is known among top players that working on high-quality chess puzzles is an excellent way to stay tactically agile. Each ‘Desert Island’ book will feature 100 positions, hand-chosen by a different master or grandmaster.

Previous books in this series:
Wesley So, June 2020
Michael Adams, July 2020
John Nunn, August 2020