Checkmate!: Great Champions and Epic Matches From A Timeless Game

Checkmate! has all the excitement a chess fan could want, from world champions, to history's most famous matches, to the role of chess in society. This volume begins by retracing the history of chess through 16 players who have been officially recognised as the greatest world champions-looking at their lives and contributions to the game. The following section describes the most iconic matches, either because of their intensity, the players' fierce rivalry, or the political conflict between countries, as in the famous match between Russian Boris Spassky and American Bobby Fischer during the Cold War. The final chapter looks at the modern-day chess scene and the rise of artificial intelligence in chess games. AUTHOR: Ben Graff is a writer, journalist, and Corporate Affairs professional. He is a regular contributor to Chess magazine and The Chess Circuit, and is the author of the chess novel The Greenbecker Gambit and the autobiographical novel Find Another Place. He has a life-long love of the game and is a regular competitor in UK chess tournaments. He is not a grandmaster but did draw with one once. SELLING POINTS: . Features photos, infographics about chess statistics, and diagrams of key moves within the games . An invaluable reference for all enthusiasts of this game

Table of Contents:
Introduction 4 The World Chess Champions 10 Wilhelm Steinitz 12 Emanuel Lasker 20 Jose Capablanca 28 Alexander Alekhine 36 Max Euwe 44 Mikhail Botvinnik 52 Vasily Smyslov 60 Mikhail Tal 68 Tigran Petrosian 76 Boris Spassky 84 Bobby Fischer 92 Anatoly Karpov 102 Garry Kasparov 110 Vladimir Kramnik 118 Viswanathan Anand 126 Magnus Carlsen 134 Queen’s Gambit 144 Vera Menchik 146 Nona Gaprindashvili 154 Judit Polgar 160 Great Matches 168 Fischer vs Spassky “The Match of the Century”—1972 170 Karpov vs Korchnoi “The Battle of Baguio”—1978 178 Karpov vs Kasparov “The Moscow Winter”—1984/5 184 Fire at the Chessboard! 190 Epilogue 204 Bibliography, Photo Credits 206

About the Author :
Ben Graff is a writer, journalist, and Corporate Affairs professional. He is a regular contributor to Chess magazine and The Chess Circuit, and is the author of the chess novel The Greenbecker Gambit and the autobiographical novel Find Another Place. He has a life-long love of the game and is a regular competitor in UK chess tournaments. He is not a grandmaster but did draw with one once.