Mikhail Tal, the 'Magican from Riga' was the greatest attacking world champion of them all, and this enchanting autobiography chronicles his extraordinary career with charm and humor. Dazzling games are interspersed throughout with anecdotes and witty self-interviews, and in typically objective fashion he relates both the downs and ups of his encounters. An inveterate smoker and drinker, Tal's life on the circuit was puntuated by bouts in hospital with kidney problems, but nothing could dull his love for chess and his sheer genius on the chessboard. His illustrious tournament record, up to his death in 1992, is included here in full, along with 100 complete games and nearly as many positions. Tal's annotations in this book are a world apart from ordinary game collections. No reader could fail to be swept along by his passion and vitality as he sets the scene for an encounter and then recounts every psychological twist and turn.

About the author:
Tal, Mikhail Nekhemyevich, born 9 November 1936, Riga. Eight Champion of the World, six times USSR Champion, International Grandmaster, Honoured USSR Master of Sport. Holder of the Orders 'Decoration of Honour' and 'Friendship of Peoples'. Journalist. member of the 'Daugava' Sports Society, Riga. Died 28th June 1992, Moscow.

Van Stockum's schaakafdeling is van mening dat een ieder die het schaakspel een warm hart toedraagt, dit werk zou moeten aanschaffen.