Tal, Petrosian, Spassky & Korchnoi A Chess Multibiography - Andrew Soltis

Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi: A Chess Multibiography with 207 Gamesby Andrew Soltis Paperback, 394 pages, McFarland PublishingThis book describes the intense rivalry—and collaboration—of the four players who created the golden era when USSR chess players dominated the world. More than 200 annotated games are included, along with personal details—many for the first time in English.Mikhail Tal, the roguish, doomed Latvian who changed the way chess players think about attack and sacrifice; Tigran Petrosian, the brilliant, henpecked Armenian whose wife drove him to become the world’s best player; Boris Spassky, the prodigy who survived near-starvation and later bouts of melancholia to succeed Petrosian—but is best remembered for losing to Bobby Fischer; and “Evil” Viktor Korchnoi, whose mixture of genius and jealousy helped him eventually surpass his three rivals (but fate denied him the title they achieved: world champion).About the AuthorGrandmaster Andrew Soltis, eight times champion of the Marshall Chess Club, New York Post editor and Chess Life columnist, is the author of dozens of chess books. He lives in New York City. Preface 1Introduction: The Soviet Team of Rivals 51. Four Boys 152. Growing Pains 433. Overkill 624. Culture War 795. Spassky, Spassky, Spassky! 936. Volshebnik 1097. Three Directions 1338. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash 1519. Why Not Me? 18010. Private Lives, Public Games 19711. Candidacy 22212. Humors 24713. Whose Risk Is Riskier? 27614. The Fischer Factor 30115. Countdown to Calamity 318Epilogue: Four Aging Men 335Appendix A: Chronology, 1929–2016 339Appendix B: Ratings Comparison 353Chapter Notes 355Bibliography 373Index of Opponents 377Index of Openings—Traditional Names 379Index of Openings—ECO Codes 381General Index 382