Vsevolod Kostrov "How well do I play chess"

The books "Open Games", "Semi-Open Games", and "Gambits", have been printed in more than 50,000 copies in Russia. The author - Vsevolod Kostrov from St. Petersburg - has been coaching young talents for 20 years. Whole generations of Russian players have grown up on his books. "Children often ask their coaches, or their parents "How well do I play chess?" We will help young players answer that question themselves, and we will improve their level of play in the process." That is the point of Kostrov´s books - he teaches by involving the element of competition. A chess set, a pen and sheet of paper - that's all the reader needs to measure his chess strength against the Russian standards, and learn basic opening theory at the same time.