This book brings together the two greatest names in the history of chess. The author, Garry Kasparov, is the world number one and, by common consent, the greatest player ever. The subject of the book, Bobby Fischer, is the only American to have become world champion and is probably the greatest natural talent the world has ever seen.
In the period between 1955 and 1972 Fischer, more or less single-handedly, took on the might of the Soviet Chess Empire, and won. During this time Fischer scored astonishing successes the like of which had not been seen before. These included 11/11 in the 1963/64 US Championship and match victories (en route to the World Championship) by the score of 6-0 against two of the strongest players in the world, Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen. The climax of Fischer's campaign was his unforgettable match win in Reykjavik in 1972 against Boris Spassky.
Fischer is almost equally well-known for his temperamental behaviour away from the board, as his play on it. He made extreme demands of all those around him including tournament organisers. When these demands were not met he often refused to play. The 1972 match against Spassky required the intervention of no less than Henry Kissinger to smooth things over. In 1975 when he was due to defend his title against Anatoly Karpov, Fischer was completely unable to agree terms with FIDE (the World Chess Federation) and was defaulted. After this he more or less gave up chess, playing only once, a 'return' match against Spassky in 1992.
In this book, a must for all serious chessplayers, Kasparov analyses deeply Fischer's greatest games and assesses the legacy of this great American genius.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: My Great Predecessors
This book, the fifth in Garry Kasparov's magnificent history of the World Chess Championship, catalogues the post-Fischer period in the 1970's and early 1980's This period was dominated by Anatoly Karpov (world champion from 1975-1985) and his three-time challenger, Viktor Korchnoi.
Anatoly Karpov gained the right to challenge Bobby Fischer for the world title by winning through the Candidates series in 1974. As is well known, Fischer refused to defend the title and in 1975 Karpov became champion by default. Although he did not have to contest a Championship match to gain the title, Karpov proved that he was a worthy champion by winning virtually every major tournament over the next decade.
In this book, a must for all serious chessplayers, Kasparov analyses deeply Karpov's greatest games and assesses the legacy of this great Russian genius. Also under the microscope are the games of Viktor Korchnoi, who was at his peak during this period and twice challenged Karpov for his world title.
This work was originally envisioned as a single-volume collection of my most memorable games, annotated by me, à la Bobby Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games. However the more I delved into the past, the more things started to rise up from the recesses of my memory, which, along with deeper analysis and more detailed introductions to the games, made it more like an anthology of chess stories. Thankfully, my gracious editors decided to split the work into two volumes. What you are going to find in this first volume is a selection of my most memorable battles on the chessboard during the first of two different periods. It covers the time from my arrival in the USA as an up-and-coming young talent in early 1989, acquiring the freedom to play in any open tournament in the world and quickly gaining precious experience to grow into a challenger for the World Championship in 1996. This period ended with my early retirement from the game to pursue other goals in life.
This is the second volume of my memorable games collection. Here you will find games that I played after my return to chess back in 2004. It had been eight years since my last tournament, and so much had changed for me. I had entered my first marriage and just graduated from Touro Law Center with an eye on my favorite subject, Intellectual Property, and on another new development at the time called cyber law, which dealt with issues related to the internet and international jurisdiction. At the same time it represented an opportunity for me to return to something that I had devoted so much time and energy to, the game of chess. For the first time in my life I was free to pursue directions of my own choosing. The decision was a difficult one, but finally I decided to return to chess, feeling that I could somehow positively influence both FIDE and the chess world in general. They were still split and had different world champions, the FIDE one, and the PCA one, which was the more prestigious of the two. The PCA World Champion was Mr. Kramnik, who had succeeded Mr. Kasparov as World Champion in the long line of world championship matches. Clearly there were some triumphs and failures during this period of my chess career, but ultimately I feel that I have left a certain mark on the generation from which the world’s current top players have emerged. Once again, in the games that follow, I try to share my vision of chess as a great intellectual battlefield where many factors play a role, including psychology and the science of computer home preparation. For me, there still exists the exciting journey to find the great truth of what is happening on the chess board, and the search for an even greater objective, the beauty of the game. With these in mind, I have selected these games, to share with you the knowledge that I have acquired so far.
How Magnus Carlsen Became the Youngest Chess Grandmaster in the World is the fairy-tale-like story of his rise.
Magnus Carlsen is arguably the strongest player of all time. His dominance is such that every loss comes as a shock. They remind us that even he has his weak moments. In fact, identifying the root causes of his losses holds valuable lessons for all players. Cyrus Lakdawala’s search starts with a series of Magnus wins and draws to give the reader a feel for how incredibly difficult it is to beat him. The World Champion’s arsenal is awesome: a superlative ability to calculate, near-perfect intuition, probably the best endgame technique ever, a wide and creative opening repertoire, a willingness to unbalance the position almost anytime, and last but not least: his unparalleled will to win. How to Beat Magnus Carlsen has a thematic structure, which, together with Lakdawala’s uniquely accessible style, makes its lessons easy to digest. Sometimes even Magnus gets outplayed, sometimes he over-presses and goes over the cliff’s edge, and sometimes he fails to find the correct plan. And yes, even Magnus Carlsen commits straightforward blunders. Lakdawala explains the how and the why. It’s wonderful to have a World Champion who is not just incredibly strong, but who is also happy to experiment and take risks. That’s what makes Magnus Carlsen such a fascinating chess player. And that’s why he is the hero of this book. There is no doubt that Carlsen has examined all his losses under a microscope. If he benefits from this process, then so will we.
In 1971 Robert James Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov by the sensational score of 6–0 in Vancouver. Twenty years later Taimanov put pen to paper, reflecting on the experience and his, in total, 8 games with Fischer. This book is now published for the first time in English, exactly 50 years after the match.
With additional annotated games from Taimanov and guest appearances by some of the youngest and brightest stars of the US chess scene today, "I was a Victim of Bobby Fischer" gives the ultimate insight into one of the most famous chess matches in history.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Chess Classics
In Black and White is probably the most honest autobiography ever published by a chess grandmaster. It covers Paul van der Sterren’s rise to the chess elite, but above all, his struggle to become a better player, his insecurities and the difficulties he encountered.
This book provides a hugely illuminating insight into the life of a chess professional, but there is a lot in his story that will resonate with players of any level. From his first moves on the chess board to his Candidates Match against Gata Kamsky, only four steps away from the World title – everything is described in great detail and with the utmost frankness by the Dutch grandmaster. The story doesn’t end there – the book’s final part describes the slow decline of an ageing pro and his eventual shift to meditation and mindfulness.
The Dutch edition of In Black and White, which contains more than 300 deeply analysed games and fragments, was published in 2011 and has achieved cult status. With this English translation, it will finally get a well-deserved wider audience.
Paul van der Sterren (1956) was a professional chess player for over twenty years. He won the Dutch Championship in 1985 and 1993 and played for the Dutch team at eight Olympiads. Van der Sterren lost to Gata Kamsky after a great fight in a Candidates Match in 1994. He has written several chess books, of which Fundamental Chess Openings (2009) is the best known. In Dutch, he has also written several books on mindfulness.
‘A breathtaking read, full of wonderful stories and instructive chess games.’ - Gert Ligterink, de Volkskrant
This exceptional book continues the unique project where one of the greatest players of our time transforms her personal journey to the top into a roadmap for everyone who ever wanted to better themselves in the game of chess.
This ebook is a part of Bundle: Polgar Bundle
Notions of chess have been shattered by a teen-age Hungarian girl – some call her modest and soft-spoken, but many opponents know her as a ferocious tiger over the board.