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 This important historical document also features annotations and writings by Smyslov, Petrosian and other top grandmasters, the games of a secret training match by Botvinnik and Botvinnik’s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 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 is counterbalanced by Petrosian's analysis of his win, which is also included in this important historical document.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.

This book contains 71 deeply annotated chess victories of Tigran Petrosian (World Champion from 1963 to 1969) against the leading players of his day, some of which are in print for the first time. The authors' authoritative but accessible language makes it a good read for the amateur as well as a cast-iron network of interlocking variations to satisfy the professionals. Petrosian was underrated as world champion in his day (many of his achievements were drowned out by the furore surrounding Bobby Fischer) but he is now being critically reappraised – Garry Kasparov paid fulsome tribute to him at a recent London lecture. This insightful book aims to restore him to his rightful position in the pantheon of chess greats.

Tigran Petrosian was a World Chess Champion and a true legend of the game. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" because of his incredible defensive skills that made him a formidable opponent who was virtually impossible to defeat. Petrosian was the master of restraint, prophylaxis and prevention. He could spot and defuse threats well before they were created, suck the life out an opponent's position and then seize a vice-like grip on the game. In this book, International Master Thomas Engqvist selects and examines his favourite Petrosian games, and shows us how we can all learn and improve our chess by studying Petrosian's masterpieces. Move by Move provides an ideal platform to study chess. By continually challenging the reader to answer probing questions throughout the book, the Move by Move format greatly encourages the learning and practising of vital skills just as much as the traditional assimilation of knowledge. Carefully selected questions and answers are designed to keep you actively involved and allow you to monitor your progress as you learn. This is an excellent way to improve your chess skills and knowledge. Thomas Engqvist is an International Master from Sweden. He has over 30 years experience as a chess coach and teacher.

The 1951 match for the World Chess Championship was exceptionally hard fought. Each player won 5 games and the remaining 14 games were drawn. The match ended in a 12-12 tie and, under the rules, the champion, Botvinnik, retained his title. A new appendix has been added to the end of this book with all the games converted to Algebraic notation and the concluded diagram for each game. Rumors that have persisted that Bronstein was forced to resign that match by some higher political authority resulted in a book and a movie that depicted the supposed event. The book and movie is "From Russia with Love" by Ian Fleming. It is part of the long running James Bond Agent 007 Series. Kronsteen, unlike the real life David Bronstein, is given the assignment of planning the murder of James Bond, who has been giving the Soviets trouble for a long time. This ultimately leads to the death of Kronsteen in the movie, unlike Bronstein who obeyed the order and thus was allowed to live to a ripe old age. According to the plan worked out by Kronsteen, a beautiful Russian girl would be sent as a lure to James Bond. While this plot line may seem ridiculous, it was not entirely untrue. The Soviets did in reality use beautiful women as bait to entrap Americans, as was the case of a real spy the Russians sent to us recently, Anna Chapman.

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.

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.