Genius in the Background introduces brilliant chess that will be unfamiliar to even well-read chess players. Twelve chess stars are profiled with examples of their greatest achievements, but these stars are not famous – they are geniuses who stay in the background.

For example, Pervakov and Afek are not household names but they compose chess studies and puzzles of such elegance and cleverness that they deserve to be famous. The names of top players such as Garry Kasparov and Veselin Topalov may be famous to chess fans, but they did not become World Champions without great help – two of their coaches are profiled in this book and provide insights into the education of a champion.

A broad range of chess is covered by the twelve profiles – from openings to endgames, puzzles to training. The common thread is beauty and brilliance that deserves to be better known.