The book contains an essay on the life and work of the talented Soviet grandmaster and writer A. Kotov. Chess games with Kotov's comments are selected and grouped by topic (debut, combination, tactical strikes, defense, etc.) in such a way that the book is not only a monograph on an outstanding chess player, but also a kind of textbook on conducting a chess game. The compiler pursued the same goal, including as an appendix the most remarkable chapters from A. Kotov's book "Secrets of a Chess Player's Thinking." For a wide range of chess lovers.