The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal (1997) [+}
Sep 14 2026
The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal is I assume a translation and new edition of the book one-time world chess champion GM Mikhail Tal wrote in 1978.
Each chapter covers a period in his life. The beginning of the chapter is recollections and stories. Then the majority of the chapter is going over significant games with Tal's commentary. 100 games are fully covered though there are maybe a dozen or two games partially covered (e.g. here's an amusing position, showing the position and remaining moves without commentary).
The recollections and stories are done in a faux interview format where Tal is both the questioner and answerer. In the narration shows he's a happy man who loves chess and has no complaints other than his kidney troubles (he went through several surgeries and recoveries and asylum stays).
Game commentaries also show Tal's intelligence and humor. Often he mentions his state of mind at a certain point and/or the opponents state of mind or behavior. In game commentaries he tends to talk in third person and referring to the players as White and Black. For the most part I found reading the game with commentaries interesting even though I wasn't trying to recreate the game in my head (not that I can do that well since I don't play chess).
Overall more interesting to read than I expected due to Tal's lively narration.
Each chapter covers a period in his life. The beginning of the chapter is recollections and stories. Then the majority of the chapter is going over significant games with Tal's commentary. 100 games are fully covered though there are maybe a dozen or two games partially covered (e.g. here's an amusing position, showing the position and remaining moves without commentary).
The recollections and stories are done in a faux interview format where Tal is both the questioner and answerer. In the narration shows he's a happy man who loves chess and has no complaints other than his kidney troubles (he went through several surgeries and recoveries and asylum stays).
Game commentaries also show Tal's intelligence and humor. Often he mentions his state of mind at a certain point and/or the opponents state of mind or behavior. In game commentaries he tends to talk in third person and referring to the players as White and Black. For the most part I found reading the game with commentaries interesting even though I wasn't trying to recreate the game in my head (not that I can do that well since I don't play chess).
Overall more interesting to read than I expected due to Tal's lively narration.