“Another nice touch is that Karolyi has asked many of Tal’s opponents about the games they played with Tal and their impressions of Tal, which adds an extra human dimension to the book.
But of course, the most important thing about all these books are the games and the analysis and for both I have only the fullest admiration. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Karolyi’s annotations is that he doesn’t only focus on brilliant Tal attacks, but also spends a lot of time on many of the weird and wonderful endgames that arose as a result of his sacrifices.
It feels a little bit like overdoing things to give 5 stars to a set of three books, but if any Best Games collection has ever deserved it, then this one has! Don’t waste any time: get down to the bookshop and enjoy!”
GM Matthew Sadler, New in Chess
“The title references Tal’s two lengthy undefeated streaks of 95 and 86 games in the early 1970s. One might think a player with Tal’s reputation as a hyper-aggressive attacking madman would preclude such streaks, but as Karolyi explains Tal was a much more knowledgeable player in the 1970s than when World Champion. The tactical brilliance which won him so many fans was still there, but reinforced by a greater understanding of the game which caused him to temper some of his more audacious gambles.
All three volumes in this series feature well-annotated games, overviews of all the tournaments Tal played in, plenty of biographical material, tournament results and a number on indexes… I give this series my highest recommendation.”
IM John Donaldson
“Károlyi’s monograph about Mikhail Tal is one of the most extensive and detailed to have been published. The volumes are ideal reference works and wonderful, carefully analysed game collections.”
Harry Schaack, KARL magazine
“Older chess players are delighted when they hear the name of Tal, but some younger ones have no idea who he was. So it is good that he should be rescued from oblivion through the trilogy by Tibor Karolyi, which is completed with The Invincible.”
Bab Wilders, Nederlands Dagblad
