Smyslov_Fan said:
"I still consider Tri Matcha,  in English, printed as 1974 Candidates Matches by Botvinnik to be one of the great chess books of all time."

I can't find the English version anywhere - is it definitely under this name?

Edit: found it as "Candidates' matches 1974"

All books released under the Karpov brand - I wouldn't go as far as calling him the author only because he is mentioned on the cover - I've seen so far were mediocre at best. Or shall we say targeted at intermediate players?

I like the German version of Mednis' book. Few variations in the comments, but reasonably instructive verbal explanations, plus a detailed analysis of Karpov's playing style.

Karolyi's 2 books are excellent. This is relatively heavy stuff though. He searches for the truth.

MartinC wrote on 01/13/12 at 21:32:46:


Then Kasparov's 'My Great Predecessors' Vol. 7 should also be mentioned. It's more or less equally divided between Kortschnoj's and Karpov's oeuvre, but virtually excludes all Karpov-Kasparov clashes, as Kasparov 'reserved' them for his books dedicated to that everlasting fight. But still, in my eyes 'Strategic Wins' makes a more wertig impression (for an appropriate translation of that term, you have to dig somewhere in the october / november threads of this forum  ).

I like Mednis' book a lot, though it's getting old now. With every win included it becomes almost like a tournament book: No selection by the author and thus no attempt to hide the practical side of chess, games where he played badly but turned the tables, etc. in favour of "clean" or flashy wins.

I also have Endgame Virtuoso and his own 1996 collection, and the Strategic Wins volumes on order. Must admit I have yet to dig deeply enough into any of these to have an opinion...

I think every Karpov fan should also read the chapter on prophylaxis in Dvoretsky/Yusupov "Positional Play", as well as Yusupov's analysis of Karpov-Yusupov, 1983 in "Training for the Tournament Player". Fantastic stuff, really helped me understand the idea of prophylactic thinking.

Karpov also recorded some DVDs with Ron Henley of mostly 1990s games I think. I've only seen a couple of the games; instructive though more lightweight than books obviously.

Quote:


Actually, there are two books with 'E. V.' in the title:
- 'Vasily Smyslov: Endgame Virtuoso', by Smyslov himself, 1997, and
- 'Endgame Virtuoso Anatoly Karpov', by Károlyi & Aplin, 2007.
(Data from the homepage of Schach-Niggemann)

I was of course referring to the second one.

Zwischenzugzwang wrote on 01/13/12 at 19:41:15:


I thought Endgame Virtuoso was about Smyslov?

I can recommend the WORST Karpov book written by Karpov: How to Learn from your Defeats. It's a collection of games Karpov lost, coupled with a win against the same opponent. The notes are sparse to the point of frustration, and Karpov's comments are usually something to the effect of, "I was goofing off in this game, but I got him good in the next one". (Ok, not quite that belligerent, but close!)

I still consider Tri Matcha,  in English, printed as 1974 Candidates Matches by Botvinnik to be one of the great chess books of all time. 

I don't have any new game anthologies, but I do like Chess at the Top, 1979-1984 and Anatoly Karpov's Best Games (1996), both written by Karpov. 

But you're right, there are plenty of choices out there!