Study chess with Tal

by Mikhail Tal, Alexander Koblencs

English, German (translation)

Genres: Chess

Paperback

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal (Latvian: Mihails Tāls; Russian: Михаил Нехемьевич Таль (1936 – 1992), was a Soviet Latvian chess player and the eighth World Chess Champion.

Михаил Нехемьевич Таль (латыш. Mihails 9 ноября 1936, Рига — 27 июня 1992, Москва) — советский и латвийский шахматист, гроссмейстер (1957), восьмой чемпион мира по шахматам (1960–1961). По образованию филолог.

Reviews

[Steven]

Another stunningly great book on the attacking chess of Mikhail Tal. This book draws on the diary of his trainer Alexander Koblencs as he and Tal reviewed games. It is loaded with deep insights on both strategy and tactics. Questions are posed as puzzles so it is instructional as well.

[Tom Ritman-Meer]

Great game collection with excellent positional and tactical analysis.

[Mark]

I first had this book back in the 80's as a teenager it was challenging then and I didn't manage to finish it, the old descriptive notation version of the book still sits on my bookshelf, so when Batsford decided to reprint it and update it to algebraic notation I bought it again. It has took some time to finish it but it was well worth the effort, I am not sure that all the lines hold up to computer analysis but that it is not so important. The ideas and the questions that are asked (similar to the move by move Everyman series) keep you actively thinking about the positions as you go through game and although I didn't get many of the exercises right they were still fun.

In short the games are great the explanations generally clear and the exercises as challenging as you want them to be. An excellent book for those that are interested in chess and love attacking games (some probably not 100% sound but then neither are mine)

Definitely recommended

[Siva Prasad]

Absolutely brilliant book.

[Victor]

Phenomenal experience playing through Tal's fiery sacrifices, ably annotated by his trainer and himself.

[Jason Stehly]

One of the best chess strategy books I have ever read.