Hugh Patterson (author) has been a full-time chess instructor, coach and writer for over 10 years. He writes a weekly chess column for Grandmaster Nigel Davies’ website, The Chess Improver. Hugh is a senior instructor at Academic Chess, and teaches chess weekly at schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to chess, Hugh was the guitarist and singer in many ground-breaking punk rock bands including KGB, The Offs and No Alternative. He has recorded extensively and currently plays jazz guitar, but chess is his first love.

Nigel Davies (foreword) is an International Chess Grandmaster, has won 15 international tournaments, several national titles and represented both England and Wales at international level. He has written numerous books on chess, presented over 35 DVDs and runs several chess tuition websites, including The Chess Improver. Nigel works mainly as a coach, and several of his former students have gained the Grandmaster title.