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Nov-10-09
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| pulsar: <HeMateMe> I have that book, I'll check it when I get home. Excellent book, by the way. |
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Nov-10-09
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| HeMateMe: Many people feel Tal's "My life and Games" should be on a top ten list, best chess books of all time. Plenty of good games and theory, but not a drag, not so dense that you need to have a chess set to open the book. |
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Nov-10-09
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| Tessie Tura: <One thing about Tal, he sure photographed well, or crazy? Some of the pics of him, that mad scientist stare - not at you, but at the board.> Tal was a very attractive man when he was young, not that you'd guess from the photo on this page. Although I like his 'mad scientist' look, too. |
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Nov-10-09
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| HeMateMe: But should you win a Marty Feldman look alike contest, well, then you've gone too far. |
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| Nov-10-09 |
| SamAtoms1980: That picture of Tal looks uncannily similar to Henry Stauf from the 7th Guest / 11th Hour series. |
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| Nov-13-09 |
| M.D. Wilson: It sums up Tal, though. |
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Nov-13-09
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| parisattack: <HeMateMe: Many people feel Tal's "My life and Games" should be on a top ten list, best chess books of all time. Plenty of good games and theory, but not a drag, not so dense that you need to have a chess set to open the book.> There are perhaps 20 or so Tal books in English - but this one has to be the best! |
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Nov-13-09
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| whatthefat: <parisattack: There are perhaps 20 or so Tal books in English - but this one has to be the best!> Is that so? I recently updated the Tal wikipedia entry to include a 4th book, since it claimed he only authored 3. I know of 'The life and games', 'Attack with Mikhail Tal', 'Tal's winning chess combinations', and the 1960 match book. What are the others? |
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Nov-13-09
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| HeMateMe: I had "Attack with Tal,", years ago. I only read part of it, then lost it when I moved. I think he anaylyses other GM games, mostly ones of his era, and 'rennotates', makes suggestions on the attacks could have been carried out. Not a bad book, but of course, not as good as his games. |
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Nov-13-09
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| whatthefat: <HeMateMe>
Yes, it's basically structured into chapters by different attacking themes - quite an original layout. Much like his combinations book, which has chapters devoted to each piece and combinations of pieces, e.g., a chapter on combinations involving the rook, another on combinations involving the rook and bishop working together, etc. All 4 are fantastic books. If he's authored more, I'd be very happy to see them! |
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Nov-13-09
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| parisattack: <Is that so? I recently updated the Tal wikipedia entry to include a 4th book, since it claimed he only authored 3. I know of 'The life and games', 'Attack with Mikhail Tal', 'Tal's winning chess combinations', and the 1960 match book. What are the others?> Sorry. I am meaning books of Tal's games. |
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| Nov-13-09 |
| TheFocus: <Whathefat> How about,possibly: Chess Scandals: The 1978 World Championship match - Ed Edmundson, annotations by Tal Study Chess with Tal - Tal & Koblenc
The Super Clash: SWIFT - Tal and others
Montreal 1979 - Tal and others
Selected Chess Games - Tal |
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Nov-13-09
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| whatthefat: I have the Montreal 1979 tournament book, but there are a lot of different authors on that. Have you read the others? |
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| Nov-13-09 |
| TheFocus: Long ago I did, but none of them are in my library. Maybe <parisattack> has them. I just went to www.abebooks.com to see what was listed as being by Tal. |
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Nov-13-09
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| parisattack: Looks like 17 English language 'Tal' (about) books in my individual player books. Those do not include (annotated by) unless his games, nor foreign (about) such as 'Mikhail Tal, Creative Works 1949-1961' in Russian and such. I am a big Tal fan but I'm sure there are a few more. |
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| Nov-17-09 |
| M.D. Wilson: Was the Montreal 1979 "Tournament of Stars" considered, at the time, to field the strongest chess players in history? Pardon my ignorance, I was seven years from being born! It's a great testament to Tal's strength that he managed to tie with the World Champion. The 1970s certainly proved to be a Renaissance for Tal; his games from the period speak for themselves. |
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Nov-17-09
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| Benzol: <M.D. Wilson> Yes the Montreal Tournament Of The Stars was one of the strongest tourneys ever to be held see
Game Collection: Montreal 1979 for more details.
Tal and Karpov had been working together around this time and I believe the relationship was mutually beneficial. |
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| Nov-17-09 |
| M.D. Wilson: Right, thanks, Benzol. Yes, their relationship was very productive indeed. |
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| Nov-17-09 |
| Everett: <MDWilson> Perhaps health was never on Tal's side because he drank and smoked heavily. This would indicate that he maybe did not have it "right" in life. |
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Nov-17-09
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| whiskeyrebel: Tal made his own decisions about drinking and smoking. As a grown man he was entitled to such pleasures and others. |
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| Nov-18-09 |
| M.D. Wilson: Tal was never in good health, but despite this, he treated all those around him with compassion and respect. He loved life, although, ultimately, he had little of it. Yes, this was partly of his own making, but nevertheless Tal had a full and colourful life. One of the greats on and off the board. Tal reminds me of Ian Fleming in this regard. |
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Nov-18-09
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| talisman: <M.D Wilson> I agree. You know i was looking for a new Tal avatar, but there seems to be some kind of conspiracy, when it comes to new tal pictures. |
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| Nov-19-09 |
| Everett: Of course he has every right to live his life as he sees fit. It is remarkable, however, how many people seem to ignore his own responsibility for his poor health. It certainly wasn't all "poor luck," at some point. And why were players like Smyslov and Lasker so strong later in life? Well, we can say it was all luck and genetics, or we can go a little deeper and suggest the fruits of their success was also strongly influenced by prudent living. In short, I think it is sad for Tal that he treated his body as he did, but I do not feel the same about his "poor health." |
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| Nov-20-09 |
| M.D. Wilson: If Tal had the constitution of Botvinnik, just imagine! Then again, he wouldn't have been Tal. I'm sure sound health would have only helped his chess, though, as it seems ill health interrupted his career. |
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| Nov-20-09 |
| Everett: <MDWilson> I wonder how strong Botvinnik's constitution would be if he chain smoked and was a heavy drinker. |
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