Checkmate! The Love Story of Mikhail Tal and Sally Landau
Available in paperback, Amazon Kindle and Forward Chess
*** SHORT-LISTED FOR THE ENGLISH CHESS FEDERATION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2019 ***
Sally’s breathtaking story, first published in Russia in 1998 and which has been reprinted multiple times, is a memoir of her time with Tal, with whom she remained friends long after they divorced right up until his death in 1992. Full of detail about Tal and their life together, it is a tale of triumph and tragedy, love, parenthood, sorrow, jealousy, betrayal and revenge. Colored by a historical and social background including the Second World War, the Soviet chess scene, Rigan high society, the shadow economy in the Soviet Union, and Jewish emigration, it contains a fascinating portrait of Misha’s mysterious family and is illustrated with photos from Sally’s private archive. And it all just happens to be true…
Other Books in - Biography/Autobiography
El Sueño Americano: Las Mejores Partidas de Hikaru Nakamura
Biography/Autobiography, Games Collections
Malhechor: Medio siglo con Viktor Korchnoi 
Entrenando a Kasparov, año a año y jugada a jugada – Volumen II: El Matador (1982-1990)
Armenian Heroes, Biography/Autobiography, Chess History, Games Collections, Jewish Heroes
Entrenando a Kasparov, año a año y jugada a jugada – Volumen I: El niño prodigio (1973-1981)
Armenian Heroes, Biography/Autobiography, Chess History, Games Collections, Jewish Heroes
El Auge y la Caída de David Bronstein
Biography/Autobiography, Chess History, Jewish Heroes, Ukrainian Heroes
Nudging Lasker’s Pedestal 
The Chelyabinsk Meteorite: Selected Games of Igor Kurnosov
Biography/Autobiography, Games Collections, Tragic Heroes
Petr Izmailov: From Chess Champion of Russia to Enemy of the People – The Truth About My Father
Biography/Autobiography, Chess History, Games Collections, Tragic Heroes
Obsession: A Chess Biography of Vsevolod Rauzer 
Hero of the Pre-War Olympiads: Grandmaster Vladimirs Petrovs Editorial Reviews
Magnus Carlsen begins to read Checkmate! The Love Story of Mikhail Tal and Sally Landau, Lindores Abbey (Scotland), May 2019. Photo by ChessBase India.
"I was hooked!...All-in-all, a wonderful addition to the Tal literature: 5 stars!" - Grandmaster Matthew Sadler, New In Chess Magazine, 2019/4
"Enjoyed reading "Checkmate!", by Sally Landau (Elk & Ruby), about her loving and yet often tormented marriage to Mikhail Tal. It is one of the greatest privileges of my chess career to have played the maestro. He was a most charming and quick-witted genius," Grandmaster Nigel Short, Twitter, 20 April 2019
"What a beautiful book!...Sally Landau, what a talented person and what a strong personality," Grandmaster Zenon Franco Ocampos, Facebook, 14 April 2019
"I can highly recommend reading this book", FIDE Master Carsten Hansen, American Chess Magazine, July 2019
Review by Grandmaster Hans Ree
Review by the ECF Book of the Year Jury
Review by the Armchair Warrior
Video Review by Grandmaster Daniel Gormally
About the author(s)
Sally Landau
Sally Landau, born in 1938, Vitebsk, Soviet Union, was Mikhail Tal’s first wife, a highly talented actress and singer. Sally and Misha were married from 1959 to 1970 in a period that encompassed Tal’s two world championship matches with Botvinnik...
Read More
¡Jaque mate! La historia de amor de Mikhail Tal y Sally Landau