You're booked up on your openings and know the Philidor and Lucena positions hands down, but how to convert all that theoretical knowledge into points against flesh-and-blood opponents? Jay Bonin, the “Iron Man of Chess,” shares the keys to victory as he's learned them over four decades of competitive play.

Is it better to complicate the game, or to keep it simple? How do you create winning chances against a player who's happy to make a draw? When's the right time to trade queens? How to handle today's fast time controls? Using games selected from a career spanning more than three thousand tournaments, IM Bonin offers the answers to these and other practical questions that every chessplayer faces as the clock is ticking.

Jay Bonin is an International Master and chess instructor in New York City, former champion of both the Marshall and Manhattan chess clubs, and a three-time New York State champion.

Greg Keener holds a B.A. in French Literature from New York University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School. After leaving his job on Wall Street, he became a FIDE Instructor, manager of the Marshall Chess Club, Web developer, and author. He currently teaches chess at a charter school in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where he also lives.