Yuri Averbakh was one of the leading Soviet grandmasters for two decades, competing in the USSR Championship 15 times between 1949 and 1969. He finished in an extremely respectable 10th place in the famous Zurich Candidates' tournament of 1953. His previous books for Cadogan include Chess Endings: Essential Knowledge and Chess Middlegames: Essential Knowledge and the monumental five-volume series Comprehensive Chess Endings.
