Checkmating the enemy king is the ultimate goal in chess. In this book Simon Williams helps readers to practice and improve their skills in this vital area of practical chess. A mating attack typically involves a build-up of forces, followed by an opening of lines, often involving a sacrifice. Once the enemy king is exposed, it is either checkmated, or only saved at a great cost in material. The puzzles in this book are pertinent to all these phases, and involve questions of where to attack and what pieces to use. Topics include: Attacking the king caught in the centre; Central breakthrough; Standard sacrifices against the castled king; Chasing the king; Endgame mates; Combinative themes.

Simon Williams is a young international grandmaster from England who has gained a reputation for playing daring attacking chess. He has represented England in World and European Championships in various age groups, and has been a regular in the British Championship since his early teens. This is his second book for Gambit; see also Play the Classical Dutch, and How to Crush Your Chess Opponents.

"...many books have their main aims being to inform and instruct, but Williams places more weight on inspiration. Books like this make training fun. It can be absolutely recommended" - Einar Gausel, Dagbladet

"The book are filled with beautiful and exciting positions, and I can highly recommend this book if you are on the look for a chess-puzzle book." - Soren Sogaard, Seagaard's Reviews

"An excellent resource of positions suitable for study." - Paul Dunn, Australian Chess

"I like books of this genre because they act as a onstant reminder to me in my own games that if you look long and hard enough even the most innocuous positions often contain the seeds of a winning combination. It is just a pity that other people's games contain far more fertile seeds than my own!" - Alan Sutton, En Passant

"Improve Your Attacking Chess has a brief introduction in which Williams gives his basic ideas on the things to look for when trying to attack, but the heart of the book are the six chapters, divided by theme, where he offers the reader 250 puzzle positions to solve. What makes the book useful is not only the care in choosing the position, but also the hints to direct the reader as well as the explanations of the solutions. These features are often lacking in puzzle books. I have no doubt that readers rated from 1800-2400 will definitely see an increase in strength if they go through this book rigorously." - John Donaldson

"Verdict: excellent practice material on what one of the most enjoyable aspects of chess - the attack on the king. Recommended." - Phil Adams, 3Cs website

Download a pdf file with a sample from the book.