Irving Chernev was one of the most prolific authors of the game of chess. He was born in Pryluky, Russia in the Chernigov region of Ukraine on January 29, 1900 and he died in San Francisco, California, USA on September 29, 1981.

He wrote more than 20 chess books, among them: Chessboard Magic , The Bright Side of Chess, The Fireside Book of Chess (with Fred Reinfeld), The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played, 1000 Best Short Games of Chess, Practical Chess Endings, Combinations: The Heart of Chess, and Capablanca's Best Chess Endings.

Here is a game that could have been played but is not in the book. 1.e4 d6 2. Bc4 Nd7 3. Nf3 g6 4. Bxf7+ Kxf7 5. Ng5+ Kf6 6. Qf3+ Kxg5 7. d4+ Kh4 8. Qh3# Black was either checkmated or his queen was trapped or forked.

Should Games count that were not actually played but could and should have been played.