In August 2023 we will be publishing a reprint of two iconic Botvinnik books combined in one. In this book, Botvinnik writes the story of the three clashes with his compatriot Vasily Smyslov, matches full of tension between two virtually equal opponents, and his match with Tigran Petrosian, which marks the end of an era: the mighty Botvinnik lost his world title fifteen years after he conquered the highest crown for the first time.
Foreword by Andrew Soltis
In the Magnus era, why do the matches of Mikhail Botvinnik still matter? Of course, we can appreciate them as history. They were the most prestigious, the most intensely watched chess events of their time. But it was a time that seems ancient, a time of Cold War crises, Elvis Presley and hula hoops. It was a time when world championship matches were played under conditions that seem bizarre today. The prize money was the equivalent of a few thousand dollars. The rules, such as adjudication, were antique. The format was the old-school175
Imagine playing some blitz chess in a buzzing Amsterdam bar and then all of a sudden you face some grungy guy who once beat Garry Kasparov! It happened to popular chess streamer Anna Cramling when she went on a blitz binge of more than four hours in a pub called De Laurierboom about a year ago. There, among many others, she met and played the local chess hero Manuel Bosboom. Two of their blitz games are shown in one of Cramling’s most popular streams, ‘Guy In Bar Said He Beat Kasparov’ which has since gathered almost 10,000 likes and many more visitors.
Cramling’s opponent looks shabby and quite tipsy when they play their last game, when it’s already dark outside. Despite all the beer he has consumed, Manuel is courteous and gracious (‘I like your move’) and his play shows class. Still, many of Cramling’s followers are skeptical – did this dropout really ever play the thirteenth World Champion and even beat him? Yes, he sure did – in an elite blitz tournament at Wijk aan Zee in 1999, where175
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