It's hard to imagine a more enjoyable and instructive chess read than Tal's account of his 1960 match with Botvinnik. In these pages the much-loved Champion tells us his feelings before and during the match. This entails psychological insights, thoughts during play, fears, joys, and the occasional moment of despair.

Though such a candid confession is extremely rare in any sport (these things are usually colored by monumental egos, but Tal gives us the most honest account I have ever seen), Tal pulls it off with wit, style and verve that sometimes balance between fine writing and poetry.

The actual chess is no less compelling. Insights into the strengths and weaknesses of both players abound, moments of blindness and indecision are laid bare, and deep, fascinating analysis gushes forth after almost every move.

This new edition is a big improvement over the old version that used to fall apart after one reading. Well bound, the type is easy on the eye, the game numbers are clearly marked, the exact dates of each game are presented, the time each player took rests to the right of the moves, numerous diagrams are given, the score of the match is presented at the end of each game and, last but not least, eight photos of the combatants in action are scattered throughout the book.

In my opinion, this is the greatest chess book ever written and, if I was only able to keep one book from the thousands in my library, this Tal masterpiece would be the one.

A true classic!

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