This book is not about how I became a Grandmaster..

..rather, about how a GM overcame various obstacles in his chess journey.

This book summarizes the most valuable lessons from 20+ years of GM Smirnov's extensive chess practice, both as a player and a coach.

You'll learn what does work best for your chess progress. Also, you'll be warned of typical pitfalls or will see the way out if you already stuck.

Finally, you'll definitely enjoy reading a book full of interesting stories and witty advice. It may give a whole new meaning to your own chess study...

There will be a lot of advice, but also a lot of truth

There are many twists and turns down the road to chess strength and improvement. Chess students are told many things, and not all of them are correct. Some things are actually flat out wrong.

This same information gets passed down generation after generation and players don’t get any better. I hope to help the reader navigate through some of these pitfalls and steer them along the better parts of the road for smoother travel.

What will you learn from the book?

How to develop solid and effective training?
In order to make your training effective, you should use active learning.
The book analyses the two main components of Active learning.

Learn how to overcome the difficulties of your chess journey.
I actually abandoned chess at one point in my career but then decided to return to the path of chess and am proud of that. In this book, I am going to share with you the real story of being a strong chess player.

AND A LOT MORE!