Magic Chess Moves

Magic Chess Moves is a book that will enthral you while also testing and improving your chess abilities. You will be invited to solve a collection of exercise positions, but the accompanying text contains far more than simply the solutions. The author offers his reflections on all manner of other fascinating topics, such as how tactics can be coached, and details of the composer’s life story.

Magic Chess Moves contains the condensed wisdom of an experienced chess trainer with an emphasis on practical improvement. The 317 positions in this book are of mixed difficulty levels, with examples from over-the-board play and from chess compositions. Each and every exercise has been carefully selected for its instructive value to the practical player.

Michal Konopka is an International Master from the Czech Republic who is particularly renowned as a trainer. He has coached many of the top Czech players and has been captain of the Czech national team for many years. Due to his coaching prowess, Konopka was awarded the Tigran Petrosian prize by FIDE for special achievements in chess.

Reviews

Sean Marsh (CHESS magazine)
“Books with chess problems and puzzles as their main offering are rife and, to stand out, they need a special feature. In this book, apart from the abundance of excellent material, the author – an International Master and very experienced coach – also shares his thoughts on a plethora of other subjects along the way, in anecdotal fashion.”

Ludo Tolhuizen (Schaaksite.nl)
“The book contains 317 puzzles, almost all tactically oriented, of varying difficulty and often with beautiful, surprising solutions. One of the lessons of the book is that you should not stop calculating too early.”
(full review in Dutch)