Of course, chess is just a game. True, unlike most games, it also includes elements of logic and art, but for many people in our modern world everything that is not related to development is a waste of time. My parents held the same opinion until 1981, when I first earned decent money, by Soviet standards, working as a coach for Maya Chiburdanidze in the World Championship match. But, putting aside my engineering diploma, I chose this path and decided to devote my whole life to chess. Returning to the traditional question: if I had to start life anew...I answer myself - I would become a chess player again!
Since 1963, I have played about 4,500 games in various tournaments and for my book I chose those encounters most memorable to me. I chose the games mainly following three criteria: The presence of combinations with material sacrifice, an important novelty in the opening, and an interesting endgame.