This edition describes how Gary Kasparov progressed from prodigy to champion and gives details of his recent career from 1988 to 1995. It also affords insight into the thought processes of the man who has been chess World Champion since 1985. Many of the game notes are Kasparov's own.
Garry Kasparov has dominated the world of competitive chess for longer than any world champion. The period 1999–2005 represents one of the most fascinating and controversial phases of his career, including repeated and frustrated attempts to reunify the world championship. Following his retirement, this must-have guide is a celebration of the final years of one of the greatest players of our time. A large selection of games are covered, accompanied by in-depth annotation and analysis. Including games right up to the eve of his retirement, this is the most up-to-date and comprehensive guide available, representing an unrivalled opportunity to draw on Kasparov's phenonemal experience on the chess board.
Garry Kasparov has dominated the world of competitive chess for longer than any world champion. The period 1993–1998 represents one of the richest phases in his career. With the announcement of his retirement, it is only appropriate that the games should now be appreciated in the greatest depth possible. Earlier games are analyzed with computer assistance for the first time – sometimes revealing blemishes in existing analysis – showing the richness of thought and the supreme versatility of the player many consider to be the greatest of all time. Particular emphasis is placed on evaluations of the openings chosen and statistics on the champion's record against his most fiercely competitive rivals. The author, International Master Tibor Károlyi, who played against Kasparov as a World Junior, gives an appreciation of an undoubted genius – this is an unashamed celebration of dynamism, diligence, desire and fighting chess.
The stunning story of Russia's slide back into a dictatorship-and how the West is now paying the price for allowing it to happen. The ascension of Vladimir Putin-a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB-to the presidency of Russia in 1999 was a strong signal that the country was headed away from democracy. Yet in the intervening years-as America and the world's other leading powers have continued to appease him-Putin has grown not only into a dictator but an international threat. With his vast resources and nuclear arsenal, Putin is at the center of a worldwide assault on political liberty and the modern world order. For Garry Kasparov, none of this is news. He has been a vocal critic of Putin for over a decade, even leading the pro-democracy opposition to him in the farcical 2008 presidential election. Yet years of seeing his Cassandra-like prophecies about Putin's intentions fulfilled have left Kasparov with a darker truth: Putin's Russia, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, defines itself in opposition to the free countries of the world. As Putin has grown ever more powerful, the threat he poses has grown from local to regional and finally to global. In this urgent book, Kasparov shows that the collapse of the Soviet Union was not an endpoint-only a change of seasons, as the Cold War melted into a new spring. But now, after years of complacency and poor judgment, winter is once again upon us. Argued with the force of Kasparov's world-class intelligence, conviction, and hopes for his home country, Winter Is Coming reveals Putin for what he is: an existential danger hiding in plain sight.
Bent Larsen (1935-2010) was one of the greatest fighters chess has ever seen. In his rich career the great Dane defeated all World Champions from Botvinnik to Karpov. He was a Candidate for the World Championship four times and became one of the most successful tournament players of his time. His uncompromising style and his unorthodox thinking made him popular with chess players all around the globe. In 1967/1968 Larsen won five international elite events in a row, a truly spectacular achievement. His successes were such that Bobby Fischer let him play first board in the legendary match Soviet Union vs. the World in 1970 in Belgrade. Bent Larsen also was a highly original chess writer and an extremely productive chess journalist. Not surprisingly the first chess book that Magnus Carlsen ever studied was written by the strongest Scandinavian player before him. This collection brings together more than 120 of Bent Larsen’s best games, annotated by himself. His comments are lucid, to the point, instructive and humorous. Together, these games are a tribute to his genius and a continuous joy to read and play through. ,