The battle for the World Chess Championship has witnessed numerous titanic struggles which have engaged the interest not only of chess enthusiasts but of the public at large. The chessboard is the ultimate mental battleground and the world champions themselves are supreme intellectual gladiators. This magnificent compilation of chess from the mid-20th century forms the basis of the second part of Garry Kasparov's long-awaited definitive history of the World Chess Championship. Garry Kasparov, who is universally acclaimed as the greatest chess player ever, subjects the play of his early predecessors to a rigorous analysis. This volume features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1948-1957, 1958-1960 and 1961-1963), Vasily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961). However, this book is more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas. Garry Kasparov is generally regarded as the greatest chess player ever. He was the thirteenth world champion, holding the title between 1985 and 2000. His tournament record is second to none, featuring numerous wins in the world's elite events, often by substantial margins. Over the last few years, Kasparv has taken first prize in ten consecutive major international events.