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That such a fine achievement should be immortalized, is beyond dispute. But who will pick up the gauntlet? We live in a volatile world where the Internet is dominant and when a tournament is over, the next one is already at the door. No time for reflection and historical awareness? Yet there was someone who had followed the tournament with great interest. The English grandmaster Daniel Fernandez, who also publishes for "ChessPublishing" came up with the idea of thoroughly examining all the games from this tournament. He did not take any chances in doing so. In addition to the various sources he found on the Internet, he of course used the strongest engines available at the moment. He also had engines in the cloud patiently calculate various positions. Together with his source research and his own insights, he has created a unique compilation of chess-technical material that is unprecedented. In doing so, Fernandez has painted a fantastic picture of the opening variants that were on the board in this tournament. He has done a thorough research of the ins and outs of the various variants and placed them in a broader perspective. And it must be said that the organization was kind to him by providing an interesting field of players who gave it their all every round. This resulted in many nice confrontations with extremely interesting opening theory!

David Navara is considered one of the few true gentlemen in top chess, always highlighting the play of others and humbly understating his own efforts and accomplishments. Therefor I was pleased to pick up this book and learn more about him - and indeed he has a lot to say. The book is massive - a single volume clocking in at just over 600 pages, apparently the publisher has no fear of heavy books.Throughout its pages, Navara relates some of his most significant experiences both inside and outside the tournament hall. He tells us about his thoughts, preparation, teammates, opponents, tournament organizers, misunderstandings, successes, happy moments, travels, and of course his games. In total, 64 games have made it into this volume. That doesn't sound like a lot in a book of such a huge size, but these are all annotated in detail, not just with variations but also with considerable amount of prose, whereby he explains his thoughts and emotions and even why he sometimes not up to the mark in terms of preparation, circumstances surrounding a game, match situation etc. This makes the book very personal and extremely relevant. The games themselves are fascinating, and we don't get to see his finest wins: there are draws, losses - wipe-outs as well as painfully close defeats - and some great wins including a number against the best players in the world, for instance, against Caruana. This is one of the best chess autobiographies I have ever read and it will surely find itself on a shortlist for any chess book of the year award, despite very strong competition from other worthy contenders. 5 Stars ~ FM Carsten Hansen ACM 03/2020.

This is a superb book packed full of instructive examples which I cannot praise enough. The book has clearly been extensively researched with Efstratios Grivas showcasing his credentials as a world class trainer. The book starts off with four well thought out introductory sections: 1. The Endgame which briefly discusses the historical literature and computer evolution of the endgames. In this section, the author introduces his useful boxed SOS Tips which remind the reader of the salient points of a particular lesson or section. 2. The Golden Rules of the Endgame which every player should know. I like the way that Grivas acknowledges other authors’ contributions to the evolution of our endgame understanding and this is clearly shown here and in Chapter 4 Extra Passed Pawn.3. Rook Endgame Principles which lists the five main rules of rook endgames which is particularly useful for less experienced players. 4.Evaluation – Plan – Execution which discusses the role of planning followed by an excellent seven-point SOS tip box. Buy the book to learn more! ~ FM Richard Webb, British Chess News, July 2020.

This excellent book is packed full of instructive, exciting endgames, taken from top level games, including many of Dreev’s own games extensively analysed with short pithy didactic comments. Many of the examples are complex and require serious study to really gain the understanding of practical endgames. This book is a pleasure to read with an excellent layout and plenty of diagrams making it easy to peruse anywhere.” ~ FM Richard Webb, 2020

"The Modernized Ruy Lopez is must reading for a wide number of chess players. Everyone who plays the Ruy needs this book and those who defend it with non3…a6 systems and the Open variation would be well advised to buy a copy. Opening books (especially now) have always had a short shelf life, but I expect Swiercz’s book to be the standard for some time.”Highly Recommended ~ IM John Donaldson (1/2021)

"The positions are well chosen, and the ideas clearly explained: it’s obvious a lot of work and passion has gone into creating this book. The author is also an openings expert, seemingly favouring lines leading to positions which are both tactically and strategically rich. While I consider the claim that it’s for anyone 1600+ to be a trifle optimistic, if you’re a strong and ambitious player (say 2000+, although anyone 1800+ will benefit from at least the first chapter) and you’re prepared to work hard, this book will undoubtedly improve your understanding of grandmaster chess strategy.”

A book like this undoubtedly has to have a lot of theory, and The Modernized Ruy Lopez does, but Swiercz does provide prose to guide the reader when needed. More importantly he provides the judgement of a world class grandmaster. Everyone can turn on their computer and check the computer evaluation but to actually understand the assessment is something altogether different and that is what you are getting with this book. The Modernized Ruy Lopez is must reading for a wide number of chess players. Everyone who plays the Ruy needs this book and those who defend it with non3...a6 systems and the Open variation would be well advised to buy a copy. Opening books (especially now) have always had a short shelf life, but I expect Swiercz's book to be the standard for some time. ~ IM John Donaldson, January 2021.

"The book 'Improve Your Life by Playing a Game' takes us on an exciting journey through a wide range of topics from psychology and explains these topics by putting the reader in the role of a tournament chess player. Gaining a deeper understanding of the mind of a chess player during training, playing and analyzing chess games suddenly takes on a different dimension when explained through the lens of modern psychology. Even non chess players can now deeply understand the famous quote that chess is life in miniature." ~Dr. Matej Guid (University professor and FIDE master)

“If, however, you’re really serious about improving your chess and you’re prepared to follow the instructions, working hard on each position, then this could be just the book for you. Where I’d disagree with Moradiabadi and Foisor is that I’d consider it most suitable for players of at least 2000 strength. I think the 1700-1999 folk would probably learn more from either simpler or more specifically targeted positions. As a final word, I should add that, as always with Thinkers Publishing, the production values are excellent.” ~ Richard James, British Chess News, 21st January 2021.