Moscow 1961: Return Match for the World Chess Championship (Progress in Chess)

When Mikhail Botvinnik lost the world championship in 1960 to the dazzling attacking player from Riga, Mikhail Tal, there seemed little chance of him regaining his title. Yet in the Return Match a year later, with a surprising demonstration of aggressive chess, Botvinnik completely outplayed his young opponent and ran out the easy winner. All 21 games of the match are deeply annotated.

Botvinnik was the first world-class player to develop in the Soviet Union. He also played an important role in the organisation of chess, making a significant contribution to the design of the world championship system after World War II and becoming a leading member of the coaching system that enabled the Soviet Union to dominate top-level chess during that period. His pupils include the world champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik.