NIC Podcast #56 - Mikhail Tal: A Name As A Gunshot (Part 4)

This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.

This week's narration, which is the fourth in a six-part series, goes further into Tal's ascent in the chess world and more specifically, his ideosyncracies behind the board. His extremely combative style, coupled with his otherwise joking demeanor and tongue-in-cheek catchphrases, made him an attractive player to watch in both sanctioned and unofficial games. This week's story also pinpoints the moment Genna first met Tal, in 1973.  

Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, this week’s episode about Mikhail Tal is different from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of this year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.