The writings of Mikhail Moiseevich Botvinnik (1911 – 1995) are legendary. And Botvinnik’s legacy is deeply imprinted in the DNA of every grandmaster today, says Andy Soltis in his foreword to this book. ‘The Patriarch’ took professionalism in chess to a new level and was the first to emphasize preparation: what a player does before a game plays an enormous, if not decisive, role in what happens during a game. In this book, Botvinnik writes the story of the three clashes with his compatriot Vasily Smyslov, matches full of tension between two virtually equal opponents, and his match with Tigran Petrosian, which marks the end of an era: the mighty Botvinnik lost his world title fifteen years after he conquered the highest crown for the first time. The first part of this book gives Botvinnik’s view of three World Championship matches and how he prepared for them. The matches were as great a clash of personalities as in any world championship, as much as Karpov versus Kasparov. While Botvinnik played the role of a stern father, Smyslov was like the smiling, easy-going uncle. Botvinnik was proud of what he called his ‘hard character’. Smyslov seemed to get along with everyone. His attitude was to try to do his best and let fate decide. The last part of the book is the gripping account of a heroic battle. The ageing Botvinnik desperately tries to bounce back after his Armenian opponent Tigran Petrosian has taken an early lead, but ultimately, The Patriarch fails. Mikhail Botvinnik, one of the greatest chess players of all time, analyses many of the games, reveals his match strategy and comments on the strategic choices of his opponent. This important historical document also features annotations and writings by Smyslov, Petrosian and other top grandmasters, the games of a secret training match by Botvinnik and Botvinnik’s legendary notebooks, including the final one containing his preparation for a match with Bobby Fischer in 1969 – a match that was never to be.

World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik writes the story of his three clashes for the world title with fellow Russian Vasily Smyslov. Botvinnik, one of the greatest chess players of all time, analyses all the games, reveals his match strategy, and comments on the strategic choices of his opponent. Not only an important historical document on the pinnacle of chess of the mid-20th century, but also a fascinating and highly instructive report.

The writings of World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnik (1911 - 1995) are legendary. And Botvinnik's legacy is deeply imprinted in the DNA of every grandmaster today. In this book, Botvinnik covers four of his World Championship matches, three versus Smyslov and one versus Petrosian. Included are numerous games annotated by Botvinnik and his famous notebooks.

World Chess Champion Mikhail Botvinnik writes the story of the 1963 match in which he lost his title to fellow Russian Tigran Petrosian. Botvinnik, one of the greatest chess players of all time, analyses the games, reveals his match strategy and comments on the strategic choices of his opponent. Botvinnik's revealing essay: ?Why In lost the match? is counterbalanced by Petrosian's analysis of his win, which is also included in this important historical document. A fascinating and highly instructive report.

The 1966 World Championship Match was one of the hardest fought and most exciting matches of this series. It was played under the traditional rules of a 24 game match, time limit was 40 moves in 21/2 hours, and if a 12-12 tie the champion would retain his title. This was a significant factor since the Botvinnik-Bronstein match and the first Botvinnik-Smyslov Match had both ended in a 12-12 tie. There were political implications in this because the Soviets claimed that this was due to the superiority of the Soviet System. The Soviets said, "All men are created equal, but some are more equal than others " Botvinnik was declared to be "First Among Equals." Spassky had qualified to play in the match for the World Championship by defeating Keres (6-4), Geller (51/2-21/2) and Tal (7-4) in candidates matches Bobby Fischer has refused to compete in this world championship cycle, after publishing an article in Sports Illustrated magazine entitled "The Russians Have Fixed World Chess." Fischer claimed that the top Russians had agreed to draws in all their games against each other to save their energies to play against Fischer.

Only the very best dared to play for a win against Tigran Petrosian. The 9th World Champion was extremely difficult to beat because his defensive techniques were virtually unmatched. In the rare case that someone managed to bring him into difficulties they ran a serious risk of having to face a vicious counterattack. Former Russian Champion Alexei Bezgodov explains to a wide range of players how they can employ the skills of ‘the Tiger'. How to deal with pressure, how to anticipate threats or march you King out of danger even if it feels you are entering a minefield. That you should not hesitate to give up an exchange or spoil your own pawn structure if the position calls for it. How to find unlikely decoys and start a counterattack. This book aims to help amateur players improve the standard of their defensive play. In many training programs a serious analysis of the art of defense is lacking. That explains why most club players are much better at attacking than at coping with adversity and difficult positions. ‘Defend Like Petrosian' points the way to creative solutions and will help you save lots of points.