The World Champion

In this, the second of three volumes, award-winning author Tibor Károlyi continues his groundbreaking exploration of Tal’s sparkling career. Mikhail Tal is one of the most celebrated chess players of all time, and in 1960 he demolished Botvinnik to become the youngest ever World Champion at the time, at the age of twenty-three. This book examines some of the golden years of Tal’s career, from 1960 to 1971. Despite losing his world title in a return match against Botvinnik, Tal remained one of the strongest, not to mention most popular and entertaining, players in the world. As in the first volume, cutting-edge chess analysis is complemented by the engaging story of Tal’s life and career. The book also contains numerous anecdotes from famous players who share their memories of the Magician from Riga.