Böcker av Andy Soltis

The games of Mikhail Botvinnik, world chess champion from 1948 to 1963, have been studied by players around the world for decades. But little has been written about Botvinnik himself. This book explores his unusual dual career--as a highly regarded scientist as well as the first truly professional chess player--as well as his complex relations with Soviet leaders, including Josef Stalin, his bitter rivalries, and his doomed effort to create the perfect chess-playing computer program. The book has more than 85 games, 127 diagrams, twelve photographs, a chronology of his life and career, a bibliography, an index of openings, an index of opponents, and a general index.

Compiled by three grandmasters and two international masters this scholarly treatise explains in depth the thinking behind a defence that has been a favourite of champions such as Capablanca, Botvinnik, Petrosian and Karpov. Even Kasparov has been known to use the Caro Kann on occasion, for example in one case to defeat Mikhail Tal.

By the time the ""greatest tournament in chess history"" has only five rounds to go, five corpses have been discovered. Just who is the serial killer with a preference for 2700 rated grandmasters?

The best, the worst, the shortest, the oddest, the longest, the most deceitful, the most memorable, the most brilliant, the dumbest - of players, games, matches, tournaments, books and ideas. These lists are replete with background detail and exact facts.

This thoroughly updated and revised edition provides a definitive history of all championship events in the United States to April, 2011. Both the games and the occasions are covered in depth, including biographical details, descriptive settings, anecdotes, tournament drama, unusual games, and grandmaster analysis.