In selecting the 101 studies in the collection the aim has been two-fold. First, to present to the chess public the quintessence of the most brilliant and artistic studies of the first half of the Twentieth Century; and, secondly, to demonstrate to the chess-player how useful many of the ideas contained in thse studies can be in over-the-board play. All these studies are miniatures - none contains more than ten pieces - to show the end-game ideas in their clearest and most brilliant form. Harry Golombek, the translator, has enlarged the original collection to include the best examples of all the various present-day schools of end-game composition. Hans Bouwmeester is a veteran Dutch International Master. He won some important first prizes in the 1950's and represented his country 7 times in the Chess Olympiads. in 1972 he became captain of the Dutch team. Bouwmeester, however, is primarily noted for his literary contribution to chess. An ardent student of the Dutch world champion Dr Max Euwe, Bouwmeester was editor of the celebrated Chess Archives and authored a number of important books on the End-game, of which this is perhaps his most notable.
Harry Golombek was the king of chess writers. Chess correspondent for The London Times and The Observer, he possessed an unrivalled gift for transforming a chess game into an heroic saga with himself as the bard, singing the exploits of his chosen heroes of the mind. Several times British Champion, Golombek also played top board for England in the Olympiad and represented the British Chess Federation in the FIDE World Championship cycle. He was fluent in Russian and personally attended the World Chess Championships of 1954, 1957 and 1958 as a judge.

Translated by: Harry Golombek