Axel Smith is a chess Grandmaster and best-selling author. His books, including The Woodpecker Method and Pump Up Your Rating, have sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide. He holds the Swedish record for a blindfold simul with 15 games played simultaneously. An accomplished marathon runner (2:28), he lives in Lund, Sweden, with his wife and three children.

"The book is packed with interesting positions and game fragments. Mostly from the author himself. But it's definitely not a game of bragging. Smith regularly deals with positions in which he did not find the best continuation, but later in the analysis managed to improve… What I sometimes have trouble with is a chess book where the author floods the reader with variations. That's definitely not Smith's style. He keeps it limited and there is a lot of emphasis on explaining the material. He does this in an entertaining and sometimes even colourful way. The book reads very easily. I myself can follow the material well without grabbing a board. That is, of course, a great exercise in visualization.Smith introduces the chapters with clear definitions of the topics he will discuss in each chapter. He then closes the chapters with the most important lessons the reader has learned. This is of course very clear and seems to me a didactically strong move.All in all, I think it is a very educational book with its own perspective." -- Michel Hoetmer, www.schaaksite.nl