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Viktor Korchnoi was one of the leading grandmasters of the 20th century, coming within one game of winning the world championship in 1978. His battles with Karpov for the world crown were among the most important chess matches ever played. A man with a unique - and in many ways tragic - life and career, Korchnoi's defection to the West in 1976 was a major event in Cold War politics. Grandmaster Genna Sosonko was Korchnoi's coach and second during tournaments and candidates matches in 1970-71 and then a close friend of Korchnoi for decades. Indeed, Sosonko's emigration to the West in 1972, which is described in detail in this memoir, had a key impact on Korchnoi's decision to defect four year...
First published in Russian in 2014 and written by Genna Sosonko - widely recognized as the number one writer on the history of Soviet chess - this is a truly unique book about the life and destiny of the great chess player David Bronstein (1924-2006). Emerging from a challenging background - he narrowly escaped the holocaust in WWII, during which he starved, and his father spent seven years in a gulag - Bronstein faced Botvinnik in the world championship match in 1951 and nearly defeated him. But this 'nearly' inflicted a wound on David so deep that it would not heal for the rest of his life. Sosonko knew Bronstein well. Their conversations - many of which have made it into this book - not only portray the thoughts and character of one of history's most original grandmasters but also take us back to a time unlike any other in world history. This is not a biography in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, Sosonko's fascinating book asks eternal questions which don't have neat and simple answers. With a foreword to the English edition by Garry Kasparov.
Sergei Tkachenko, a member of the Ukrainian team that won the 5th World Chess Composition Tournament in 1997 and which came second in 2000, 2004, 2013, and 2017, has collected 100 studies whose common theme is that white ends up with just one pawn in the finale, yet manages to win or draw.
A brief look at Yakov Vilner's life with a strong focus on his games.
In his third full-length memoir about one of the world's greatest ever chess players Genna Sosonko portrays a warm picture of the seventh world champion Vasily Smyslov, with whom he spent considerable time over the board, during tournaments and while meeting at each other's homes. Smyslov the man was far more balanced and spiritual than most of his contemporaries, capable of a relaxed and yet principled approach to life. Unlike most top players he was able to reach a very high standard in his chosen hobby - in his case, classical singing - even while playing chess at the very top. His natural inclination to see the best in people was, however, challenged as the world around him underwent fun...
Evgeny Vasiukov (1933-2018) was a top-level grandmaster from Moscow who won the Moscow championship 6 times, and over 50 major tournaments in total, including the strong Manila 1974 tournament ahead of Bent Larsen, Lajos Portisch and Svetozar Gligoric. He participated in 11 Soviet championships and was a coach and aide to Anatoly Karpov, Mikhail Tal, David Bronstein, Viktor Korchnoi and Efim Geller among other famous players. In particular, he was part of Karpov's team of seconds in the world championship matches against Korchnoi in 1978 and Kasparov in 1984 and 1985. In 1995 he won the world senior chess championship. His play was notable for an attacking approach with swashbuckling combina...
In Magnus Wins With White Grandmaster Zenon Franco deeply analyses 32 of Magnus Carlsen's most instructive games where he wins with the white pieces. This book is written in "move by move" style, a good training tool containing exercises and tests. This format is a great platform for studying chess, improving both skills and knowledge, as the reader is continually challenged to find the best moves and the author provides answers to probing questions throughout. Most of the games are taken from Magnus's recent career, including one from 2020 and eight from 2019. His opponents are nearly all super-grandmasters, and they include former world champions Viswanathan Anand and Vladimir Kramnik, as ...
Sally Landau was Mikhail Tal's first wife. Sally and Misha were married from 1959 to 1970. Sally's breathtaking story, first published in Russia in 1998 and which has been reprinted multiple times, is a memoir of her time with Tal, with whom she remained friends long after they divorced right up until his death in 1992.
The 2020-2021 FIDE Candidates Tournament held in Ekaterinburg, starring super-grandmasters Ian Nepomniachtchi, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Anish Giri, Fabiano Caruana, Ding Liren, Alexander Grischuk, Kirill Alekseenko and Wang Hao, delivered an awesome display of fighting chess. Grandmaster and FIDE Senior Trainer Dorian Rogozenco, coach of the German national team from 2014-2020, provides a comprehensive move by move analysis of all 56 games together with an assembled Dream Team of 13 super-class GM guest commentators including Garry Kasparov and Boris Gelfand. The commentary covers opening strategy and novelties, middlegame battles and instructive endgames, psychology and practical observations, together comprising a swathe of learning material valuable to players from club level to titled masters. The book is illustrated with a selection of official FIDE photographer Lennart Ootes's best shots from both halves of the event.