Taimanov's Selected Games

Rating:
Summary: One of the BEST games collections available
Review: Contains 60 games arranged by attacking themes- this is a manual on how to attack the king. Excellent layout, easy to read and instructive as well as entertaining. Russian chess at its best.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Cames Collections I've Read
Review: I read this book after I read Tal's "Life and Games" and I was surprised at how much MORE i learned after all of Tal's instructive commentary. Taimanov is a master at the harmonious coordination of pieces, but I was surprised to find his applied to both positional (by grabbing space) AND tactical (by well-coordinated attacks) situations, often following up the former with the latter. The book is divided into thematic chapters, such as various attacks on the king and a clear treatise on technique (i.e. turning a small advantage into a win). Taimanov's comments are crystal-clear without getting bogged down in analyses of variations. It's amazing how someone can, with a few words and a variation of only a few moves, explain a difficult position. Tal can do this (he's the best), and with this book Taimanov shows that he can too. And like Tal, Taimanov (and Kotov, for that matter) can make his excitement for chess contagious. This is one of the best games collections I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Cames Collections I've Read
Review: I read this book after I read Tal's "Life and Games" and I was surprised at how much MORE i learned after all of Tal's instructive commentary. Taimanov is a master at the harmonious coordination of pieces, but I was surprised to find his applied to both positional (by grabbing space) AND tactical (by well-coordinated attacks) situations, often following up the former with the latter. The book is divided into thematic chapters, such as various attacks on the king and a clear treatise on technique (i.e. turning a small advantage into a win). Taimanov's comments are crystal-clear without getting bogged down in analyses of variations. It's amazing how someone can, with a few words and a variation of only a few moves, explain a difficult position. Tal can do this (he's the best), and with this book Taimanov shows that he can too. And like Tal, Taimanov (and Kotov, for that matter) can make his excitement for chess contagious. This is one of the best games collections I've ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Fine game collection
Review: This book features analysis by Taimanov of 60 of his best games, mostly from the 1950's and 1960's, but a few are from the 1970's. The games are organized into different chapters by schemes, motifs and themes, and are not arranged chronologically. Taimanov highlights his wins over the "best of the best" of the Russian grandmasters, and also his best games against Bobby Fischer. Algebraic notation.

Rating:
Summary: Fine game collection
Review: This book features analysis by Taimanov of 60 of his best games, mostly from the 1950's and 1960's, but a few are from the 1970's. The games are organized into different chapters by schemes, motifs and themes, and are not arranged chronologically. Taimanov highlights his wins over the "best of the best" of the Russian grandmasters, and also his best games against Bobby Fischer. Algebraic notation.

Rating:
Summary: Superb Collection
Review: This is an excellent book for Intermediate or low-end Advanced players. There is a great emphasis on strategy, and the organisation of the book helps greatly; Taimanov presents his games by theme/motif (King's Indian Motifs, The Sicilian, Nimzo-Indian, Attack on Uncastled King, ...Castled King, ...Opposite side castling, etc). This is clearly better than the more traditional "game #1", "game #2" format. There are many deep explanations of positions, especially critical ones in the games. This is not just a book of meaningless variations. Taimanov, of course, does give variations and lines, but they are not overwhelmingly long and Shirov-like. Also, Taimanov's humanity and humour were not lost in the translation, a nice touch!
Overall, an excellent book that I am very happy with.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a masterpiece of chess writing
Review: This is Taimanov's crowning acheivement- a collection of 60 of his best games spanning several decades. Each game averages 3 very large pages of analysis. Very clearly written and stands as one of the best games collections ever published.