In 1966 and 1969 Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky contested two epic battles for the world crown. In the first of these Petrosian became the only world champion to actually win a title defence for 32 years when his inspired defensive technique thwarted all of Spassky's aggressive intentions. In the second of these two ferocious fights Spassky eventually broke through to seize the world title. En route the two great players created some of the most beautiful chess ever witnessed at this high level, sparkling with numerous sacrifices of rook for bishop or knight, piece sacrifices to inaugurate enduring attacks and even a stunning queen sacrifice by Petrosian in game 10 of the first encounter.

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.

Boris Spassky is one of the greatest chess players in the history of the game. He was the World Champion for three years, after winning the title by beating Tigran Petrosian. His name is forever linked with his great rival Bobby Fischer and their epic 1972 ‘Match of the Century’, which did so much to popularize the game throughout the world. Over the board, Spassky is renowned for his universal style, as he was equally skilled in all phases on the game. In Spassky’s best games his pieces seemed to combine together in perfect harmony, and he produced a number of memorable masterpieces. In this book, Grandmaster Zenón Franco examines in detail Spassky’s chess style, selects and studies his favourite Spassky games, and demonstrates how we can all improve our chess by learning from Spassky’s play. 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. Learn from the games of a chess legendImportant ideas absorbed by continued practiceUtilizes an ideal approach to chess study

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.