Vlastimil Fiala
(Czech Republic)
Vlastimil Fiala is a dedicated and passionate chess historian. Through his writing and publishing, Fiala is single-handedly rescuing and preserving a large amount of chess history. His publishing house, Moravian Chess, has reprinted hundreds of older chess magazines that were once unavailable to all but wealthy collectors, along with many fascinating books on famous historical chess players.
Books
Lev Aptekar
(New Zealand)
Lev Aptekar, an education graduate and professional chess coach for 15 years in his native Kiev, became New Zealand Chess co-champion in 1976. In 1980 he represented New Zealand at the Chess Olympiad in Malta. As National Chess Coach in 1988 and 1990 he was official manager of the New Zealand Olympiad teams in Thessaloniki and Novi Sad.
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José Raúl Capablanca
(Cuba)
José Raúl Capablanca (1888-1942) was World Champion from 1921 to 1927. See the Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ra%C3%BAl_Capablanca
Books
IM Jeremy Silman
(USA)
International Master Jeremy Silman is a chess professional who has won the American Open, the National Open, and the U.S. Open; only a few other players have ever won all three of these prestigious events. Though highly respected as a player, Mr. Silman is better known as a world-class lecturer, teacher, and writer. The author of over thirty-eight chess books and one book on the psychology of gambling (ZEN AND THE ART OF CASINO GAMING), his work has been published by such houses as Maxwell/Macmillan, Cadogan, and Microsoft Press, with several books having been translated into German, French, and Italian. His chess articles, over a hundred, have appeared in English, Dutch, German, and American magazines.
Jeremy began to write fiction in 1994. His first screenplay, THE CHESS PLAYERS, was optioned by LMK Productions, Inc. at the end of that year.
In 2001, Mr. Silman was hired as the chess consultant for the motion picture, HARRY POTTER and the SORCERER’S STONE. He also acted as the chess consultant for the TV shows ARLISS, MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, MONK, and CRIMINAL MINDS.
Visit his website, http://www.jeremysilman.com
Books
IM Herman Grooten
(Netherlands)
Herman Grooten is an International Master and a chess coach with over 25 years of experience. Quite a few of his pupils have gone on to become grandmasters, among them Loek van Wely and Jan Werle.