What will probably be the final Chess Heroes book (although I have a few ideas for future booklets) is now available to download or read online here.

Chess Heroes: Games Book 2 presents 34 games, including examples of play from all World Champions and some of the most famous encounters in chess history.

Your job in each game is to take the winning side and try to guess the moves. I believe this type of activity is one of the best ways to improve your chess.

This is a position from Game 32: Bai Jinshi – Ding Liren. Here’s the question – and the answer, taken from the book.

Choose a move for Black.

20… Rd4

Score 10 points for this move, bringing the rook into play. As it happens, h5 is equally good so I’ll give you 10 points assuming you’d find Rd4 next move. 5 points for Rd6, the next best option.

Bonus Question 4: What would you play now if White played 21. exd4?

Answer: An easy 5 points for Nxd4, forking king and queen.

As a rough guide, I’d say that most of the games in this book are most suitable for players round about 1500-1750 strength (Game 5, for instance, would be great for 1000 strength players).

If you’re a beginner, start with the Chess for Heroes book. If you’re, say, 500-1000 strength, read the Checkmates, Tactics, Openings and Endings books in parallel.

If you’re above 1000 strength, the first Puzzles and Games books will be great for you. When you’ve completed these books, move on to the second Puzzles and Games books.

You can download them here or, if you want hard copies (the second Puzzles and Games books are not yet published) buy them either on Amazon or directly from the author.