This is one of those books that gets better each time I look at it. Mark Taimanov, for those of you who are not conversant with grandmasters from yesteryear (though he still competes!), used to be one of the World's best players. A product of the Soviet machine, he held his own against other big-name players of his day. Such legendary figures as Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Spassky, Geller, Keres, Karpov, Korchnoi and Tal all lost games to him. He was also known as an excellent opening theoretician, with the Taimanov Variation of the Sicilian Defense still being very popular today.

Instead of just giving his best games in chronological order, as most books do, Taimanov placed them in sections that discussed ideas and motifs. For example, Part Two covers "King's Indian Motifs", "My Friend the Sicilian", and "In the World of Nimzowitsch's Ideas".

Part Three sees him taking a look at some good old attacking themes: "The Attack on the Uncastled King", "The Attack on the Kingside Castled Position", "The Attack on the King after Castling on Opposite Sides", "The Attack with a Small Army", and finally "Counterattack".

Part Four covers games where the victory was earned through technique.

All these sections have lots of prose where he discusses how he prepared certain openings, the elation when his preparation does its job, the ins and outs of middlegame concepts, and much more. And all these sections are illustrated with his own games, all of them interesting and well annotated.

For me, what makes this book stand out above most others is Taimanov's easy writing style and the passion he brings to its pages. His discussion of the key third game of his match with Fischer is amazing, and he lets the reader feel his horror and pain over letting that game slip away. He ended up losing the match 6-0, and he shares with his readers how his life was, in many ways, destroyed by this result (the Soviet imbeciles decided that he had lost on purpose, and stripped him of his rights, privileges, career and earning capacity). This game and its comments have to be read to be believed, and on some levels is one of the most interesting bits of chess writing that I've ever seen.

A second game with Fischer is also discussed. This is almost as entertaining as the first! Allow me to share a couple of paragraphs from this encounter: "I played this game with special enthusiasm and endeavor, but, as often happens, when you want not simply to win, but to punish your opponent, your nerves can give way. I got into time trouble and before the control I missed a sure win. But in the adjourned position I still had winning chances--Fischer faced a difficult defense. My colleagues took bets: 'Bobby won't save the game, such accuracy is required!...'

"And indeed, when after tactical complications the game went into an ending, where Bobby was a pawn down, one sensed that the correct decisions would not come easily to Fischer, and that he was balancing on the edge of the abyss. But then the critical, most important position was reached, and...Bobby suddenly began playing quickly and faultlessly, like an automaton--he rattled off more than a dozen difficult moves within a minute, and the draw became inevitable. Stunned by such a finale, I asked him, 'Bobby, how did you manage to find this saving path, and so quickly?'

"'I didn't need to find anything,' said the contented Fischer with a smile, 'a few years ago your magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR published a detailed analysis of this ending by Averbakh, and I remembered all the variations perfectly well.'"

I don't know about you, but that story just about blew my old Haight-Ashbury, Hippie/drug-riddled brain! This magnificent book brings the author's games, and his personality, to life as few other books manage to do.

YOU CAN FIND THIS BOOK AT