This week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast features a narration from “The Essential Sosonko”, a collection of chess portraits and stories authored by chess grandmaster Genna Sosonko. The subject of this week’s episode is Latvian grandmaster Mikhail Tal.
This week's narration picks up where last week left off. At 23 years old, Mikhail Tal defeated Botvinnik to become the 8th World Chess Champion. His victory, coupled with his appearance and personality, made him a celebrity whose notoriety extended beyond chess. He enjoyed the spotlight, but also fell victim to some of fame's pitfalls. His heavy consumption of alcohol, in particular, worried those around him. But for Tal, it was just another one of life's seductions.
This week's episode is the second installment in the six-part narration of Genna's story about Tal. Narrated by professional voice actor Nick Murphy, the story is distinct from the two-part “My Misha” series from May of this year. Instead of an active participant, Genna is more of a background figure this time. However, this does not make his retelling of Tal’s stories any less vivid.
Enjoy this week’s episode of the New In Chess Podcast!