Translation of the German original "Der KGB setzt matt
The KGB Plays Chess is a unique book. For the first time it opens some of the most secret pages of the history of chess. The battles about which you will read in this book are not between chess masters sitting at the chessboard, but between the powerful Soviet secret police, known as the KGB, on the one hand, and several brave individuals on the other. Their names are famous in the chess world: Viktor Kortschnoi, Boris Spasski, Boris Gulko and Garry Kasparov. They became subjects of constant pressure, blackmail and persecution in the USSR. Their victories at the chessboard were achieved despite this victimization.

Unlike other books, this story has two perspectives. The victim and the persecutor, the hunted and the hunter. They describe the very same events in their own words. One side is represented by the famous Russian chessplayers Viktor Kortschnoi and Boris Gulko. For many years they fought against a powerful system, and in the end they were triumphant. The Soviet Union collapsed and they got what they were fighting for: their freedom.

Former KGB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Popov, who left Russia in 1996 and now lives in Canada, was one of those who had worked all his life for the KGB and was responsible for the sport sector of the USSR. It is only now for the first time that he has decided to tell the reader his story of the KGB's involvement in Soviet Sports. This is his first book, and it is not only full of sensations, but it also dares to name names of secret KGB agents previously known only as famous chess masters, sportsmen or sport officials. Just a few short years ago a book like this would have been unimaginable.

Read this book. It is not only about chess. It is about glorious victory of the great chess masters over the forces of darkness.

Content:
004 About the Authors

007 Foreword

Boris Gulko

014 The KGB Plays Chess

Vladimir Popov and Yuri Felshtinksy

076 The Letter "Lahmed" Problem

Boris Gulko

154 Afterword

Viktor Kortschnoi

160 Letter from Vladimir Popov

Vladimir Popov

167 Index