Forgotten Genius - The Life and Games of Grandmaster Albin Planinc

Albin Planinc is not a popular name in the chess world these days, but in his time (1960-1975) was compared to Fischer or Tal. The annotations of his stunning wins against the world's elite show why. But, additionally, he lived during pivotal years and in pivotal places. He was personally friends with the Yugoslav players which started Chess Informant and so we get some prospective of what else was happening besides the rise of Bobby Fischer (Yugoslavia being one of the strongest chess countries at the time).Additionally, the authors went out of their way to also give a short biography of each opponent, which adds to the personal context of the game. Interviews harvested from various Yugoslav sources add more detail.Their annotations are precise, not too long so that the reader gets lost in the details, but not too short so that the reader never wonders what the ideas are. The openings encountered are explained by both their status in the era played, but also how modern players now approach them. Interestingly, Planinc often revived dead variations which are still accepted as best moves now! As a tactician, many games are KIDs, Sicilians, Moderns, and Spanish. And, importantly, some Benoni's---his opponents knew he would play it and got slaughtered anyhow ! so they stopped playing into it against him.So, yes, this is the perfect chess biography! Opening duals, tactics, history, chess stories, and very personal! Highly recommended to ANY level player.