I have always considered Tal and Larsen to be the two best chess writers of all time. Both offered a perfect mix of moves, ideas, variations and plans; both made frequent use of historical perspectives and anecdotes; and both injected so much energy and humor into their writing that every page became something rather special. The present book lived up to all my expectations when I first read it many years ago, and it still thrills me when I open up its pages today.

Covering the years 1948 to 1969, Larsen gives us a little biographical material at the beginning of each time period and carries this over into the actual games. His views on theory are discussed (sometimes in great detail), and his personal perspectives on many of his opponents grab our interest and never let go. As always, his notes are full of charm, and his explanations of each side's plans are always extremely instructive.

There are dozens of game collections available: Karpov's notes show a tinge of laziness, Kasparov's are enormously complex and remind one of a calculating machine, Timman's notes (which are very good) contain more personality than most, but he tends to offer us too many variations and too little humor and talk (though he gives more than most). The truth is, no living player's work can compare with Larsen's penetrating insight into the personality of chess and the ideas and pains that make up a chess game.

In short: this is a great book that puts most modern game collections to shame. Buy it, place it under your pillow, and see if osmosis can come to your rescue.

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