Chess Psychologist World Champion Tal

ISBN: 4871875466

Author: Liepnieks, Alexander

Condition: New

In 1956, Mikhail Tal was unknown outside of his home town of Riga, Latvia. Then he started his incredible streak of brilliant sacrifices and amazing victories that made him World Chess Champion by 1960. How was Tal able to do this? How was Tal able to make improbable sacrifices against the world's strongest players and still win? The answer, Tal himself said, was through Chess Psychology. To this, Bobby Fischer famously countered, "I don't believe in psychology, I believe in good moves." But Tal wiped out Fischer, amazingly beating him 4-0 in the World Championship Candidate's Tournament in Bled, Zagreb and Belgrade Yugoslavia in 1959. How was Tal able to do this? Can one really win chess games through chess psychology? Alexander Liepnieks was the best person to answer this question because not only did he know Tal personally being originally from Riga himself, but he was editor of a Latvian Chess Magazine and thus had access to the notes Tal had written in Latvian about these games. This book contains 60 games in Descriptive Notation annotated by Liepnieks and other Latvian masters including Edmars Mednis, Paul Tautvaisas and John Tums based on the notes by Tal. It also includes Tal's Chess Quiz based on 10 of Tal's games. (WARNING: This quiz is too difficult. You will not be able to solve the problems.)