Solving studies is well established as an effective method of chess improvement. In Practical Chess Beauty one of the world’s greatest study composers, Yochanan Afek, shares his finest creations.

Fire your imagination, gain a greater appreciation of chess geometry, and develop a finer feeling for the pieces’ potential by trying to find the ideas hidden in the hundreds of studies in this book. Or simply wonder at some of the most stunning chess moves ever conceived.

Yochanan Afek is an over-the-board IM from Israel who holds titles in almost every area of chess, including Grandmaster of Chess Composition. In a long and celebrated career, Afek has been a composer and a solver, a player and tournament organizer, as well as an arbiter and trainer.

From the Foreword by GM Emil Sutovsky:
“The book you hold is full of energy; it is fresh and evidently written with a lot of love and passion for the game. Yochanan visibly enjoys sharing his knowledge and readily invites us into his magical world.”

ISBN: 978-1-78483-075-5 - 464 pages - Published 28 November 2018

Reviews

"It is a lengthy work full of ideas and beauty."

GM Jan Timman, New in Chess

"Afek has succeeded in his intention to show the beautiful artistic aspects of chess... And not only that: it also turns out to be an excellent training tool... I knew Afek could compose nice studies; he showed me regularly at tournaments. But I did not know that he had made so many, where each one is even more beautiful than the next."

IM Herman Grooten (full review in Dutch)

"As a composer, the author is well rounded and knowledgeable about problems (he has composed some most acceptable ones) and on the whole not given to lengthy solutions or dense annotations – many of his compositions are full of cut-and-thrust tactics and he relishes the occasional bombshell. As an annotator he has a delightful, gentle sense of humour and takes care to cut things short when the analysis becomes tedious or irrelevant. Moreover, the book is not all about developing tactics and a sense of beauty; lots of amusing anecdotes crop up as you read – these diversions are useful for a broader appreciation of the game and the art."

David Friedgood, The Problemist

"Beauty is abundant in the hundreds of gems of studies and game fragments by the author, ordered by many terms from practical chess, such as zwischenzugs, perpetual check and underpromotion... Although it is a separate discipline from playing, the club player can still experience many hours of enjoyment and learning."

Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad