A crucial decision spared chess Grandmaster David Bronstein almost certain death at the hands of the Nazis--one fateful move cost him the world championship. Russian champion Mark Taimanov was a touted as a hero of the Soviet state until his loss to Bobby Fischer all but ruined his life. Yefim Geller's dream of becoming world champion was crushed by a bad move against Fischer, his hated rival. Yuri Averbakh had no explanation how he became the world's oldest grandmaster, other than the quixotic nature of fate. Vasily Smyslov, the only one of the five to become world champion, would reign for just one year--fortune, he said, gave him pneumonia at the worst possible time. This book explores how fate played a capricious role in the lives of five of the greatest players in chess history.

Revolutionary practitioner, theorist, factional chief, sparkling writer, ‘ladies’ man’ (e.g., his affair with Frieda Kahlo), icon of the Revolution, anti-Jewish Jew, philosopher of everyday life, grand seigneur of his household, father and hunted victim, Trotsky lived a brilliant life in extraordinary times. Robert Service draws on hitherto unexamined archives and on his profound understanding of Russian history to draw a portrait of the man and his legacy, revealing that though his followers have represented Trotsky as a pure revolutionary soul and a powerful intellect unjustly hounded into exile by Stalin and his henchmen. The reality is very different, as this masterful and compelling biography reveals.

Analytics The Method of Logical Analysis You are invited to take an instructive journey with one of the most successful chess coaches of our era, Greek grandmaster Efstratios Grivas. Over 40 critical aspects of the royal game are examined by this experienced, well-respected trainer. Grivas presents almost 240 games, most with complete scores to assist comprehension, illustrating his themes with practical, insightful examples and explanations. And the convenient structure of the book is such that the reader may pick and choose the topics in any order. There is a broad range of the subjects which are covered. You will find well-known subjects like back rank mate combinations, chapters about isolated pawns, strong squares, etc., as well as less commonly presented patterns, such as the chapters �False Guards” or �The King�s Golden Cage.” Topics include: Pinning, Shattered Pawns, the Weak d5-square, Doubled f-pawns, the Double Exchange Sacrifice, the f4 Break, Planning, Opening Diagonals, Small Advantages, Sacrifices for the Initiative, Rook vs. Bishop Pair, Pawns on the Seventh Rank and many more! The guiding principle of these themes is their practical value. This is particularly true in the endgame section where the author deals with structures which occur relatively often but are rarely presented in chess literature. The structure of each chapter is clear and methodical. The concept is explained in a few lines and illustrated in carefully selected, annotated master games. A conclusion with practical hints rounds off each section.

Wilhelm Steinitz, the winner of the first official World Chess Championship in 1886, would have rubbed his eyes in disbelieve if he could have seen how popular chess is today. With millions of players all around the world, live internet transmissions of major and minor competitions, and educational programs in thousands of schools, chess has truly become a global passion. And what would Steinitz, who had financial problems his whole life and died in poverty, have thought of the current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, who became a multi-millionaire in his early twenties just by playing great chess? The history of the World Chess Championship reflects these enormous changes, and Andre Schulz tells the stories of the title fights in fascinating detail: the historical and social backgrounds, the prize money and the rules, the seconds and other helpers, and the psychological wars on and off the board. Relive the magic of Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik, Tal, Karpov, Kasparov, Bobby Fischer and the others! Andre Schulz has selected one defining game from each championship, and he explains the moves of the Champions in a way that is easily accessible for amateur players. This is a book that no true chess lover wants to miss.

Jan Timman is one of the greatest chess players never to win the world title. For many years ‘the Best of the West’ belonged to the chess elite, collecting quite a few super tournament victories. Three times Timman was a Candidate for the World Championship and his peak in the world rankings was second place, in 1982. For this definitive collection, Timman has revisited his career and subjected his finest efforts to fresh analysis supported by modern technology. The result is startling and fascinating. From the games that he chose for his Timman’s Selected Games (1994, also published as Chess the Adventurous Way), only 10(!) made the cut. Some games that he had been proud of turned out to be flawed, others that he remembered as messy were actually well played. Timman’s Triumphs includes wins against great players such as Karpov, Kasparov, Kortchnoi, Smyslov, Tal, Spassky, Bronstein, Larsen and Topalov. The annotations are in the author’s trademark lucid style, a happy mix of colourful background information and sharp, crystal-clear explanations. Once again Jan Timman shows that he is not only one of the best players the game has seen, but also as one of the best chess analysts and writers.

The author takes as his starting point the idea that men who rebel, despite many differences in character, resemble each other in some fundamental ways. He poses three questions: Why does a man become a revolutionist? What attributes of personality enable him to become an effective revolutionary leader? What psychological attributes enable a man to effect the transition to power? By focusing on the personalities of three important revolutionists he hypothesizes a model of a distinctive "revolutionary personality." Lenin, Trotsky, and Gandhi are discussed in terms of trust, pride, courage, industry, confidence, and drive-the values that result from the successful management of the problems of the various stages of psycho-sexual growth. Originally published in 1967. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Ideal Chess Journalist During his active chess career, Hans Ree battled with almost all the great chessplayers, including eight world champions, from Max Euwe to Anatoly Karpov. My Chess is not only about them, but also about other players and writers from the past who are admired by Ree This book gives a personal view of Ree’s own world of chess, and therefore less prominent players also appear, such as a schoolmate with whom he played an endless series of matches, or the anonymous “A6648,” who played more than a half-million games on the Internet Chess Club. In addition, the question is finally answered why the great Dutch author W.F. Hermans designed a chess set made of cigarette lighters, but did not want to play chess. Though the game of chess and its practitioners are certainly not idealized, this book is in the first place, a loving description of a world brimming with striking personalities, and an inexhaustible source of stories. About the Author Grandmaster Hans Ree (1944) is a four-time Dutch champion, and represented his country from 1966 through 1994 in every chess Olympiad. From 2001-2007, he was the wearer of the “Euwe Ring,” an award for outstanding service to Dutch chess. He writes about chess in NRC Handelsblad, New in Chess magazine, and on the American website Russell-Enterprises.com. Internationally he is considered to be one of the best chess writers of his era. “A grandmaster, excellent writer and careful researcher who doesn't seek out controversy, but is equally unafraid to plumb the sometimes murky depths of chess politics, Ree is an ideal chess journalist.” – Jon Speelman, The Observer

Man vs. Machine Technology continues to advance at a rapid pace. It may sound quaint today, but not so long ago, computers battled humans for supremacy at the game of chess. The challenge of building a computer program capable of defeating the best of human-kind at chess was one of the original grand challenges of the fledgling field of artificial intelligence. On one side were dedicated scientists and hobbyists who invested decades of effort developing the software and hardware technology; on the other side were incredibly talented humans with only their determination and preparation to withstand the onslaught of technology. The man versus machine battle in chess is a landmark in the history of technology. There are numerous books that document the technical aspects of this epic story. The human side is not often told. Few chess players are inclined to write about their man-machine encounters, other than annotating the games played. This book brings the two sides together. It tells the stories of many of the key scientists and chess players that participated in a 50-year research project to advance the understanding of computing technology. “Grandmaster Karsten Müller and Professor Jonathan Schaeffer have managed to describe the fascinating history of the unequal fight of man against machine in an entertaining and instructive way. It evoked pleasant and not so pleasant memories of my own fights against the monsters. I hope that their work gives you as much pleasure as it has given me.” – From the Foreword by Vladimir Kramnik, 14th World Chess Champion

The Patriarch of Soviet Chess From the mid-1930s to the early 1960s, one man towered above all other chessplayers. That was the sixth world chess champion, Mikhail Botvinnik. His calm, deep analytical approach, supplemented by careful attention to his mental and physical conditioning served him well throughout his career. Now, in the sixth volume of the World Chess Champions Series by Isaak and Vladimir Linder, you will learn all about the chess advances and achievements of the Patriarch of Soviet chess, about his life and scholarly pursuit, and his contributions to the various phases of the game – opening, middlegame and endgame. Botvinnik was no less influential when he assumed the role of teacher. Graduates of his school included such powerful players as Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik, Sergei Tiviakov and Alexei Shirov. This book presents almost 150 of Botvinnik’s best games and endings, with fresh annotations by German grandmaster Karsten Müller, along with crosstables and many archival photographs. We invite you on journey to explore the life and games of one of the greatest and most influential world champions ever.