Paul Keres Number of games in database: 2,085 Years covered: 1929 to 1975 Overall record: +1048 -211 =822 (70.1%)* * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games Based on games in the database; may be incomplete. 4 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.
Paul Keres (pronounced CARE-ess) was born in 1916 in Estonia, where he would reside his entire life. He was very active in correspondence chess throughout his youth, and soon began to make a name for himself at over-the-board play as well with a series of tournament victories culminating with a win at AVRO 1938.
In 1948, Keres participated in the World Championship tournament to determine a successor to Alexander Alekhine. He finished joint third. This turned out to be the only opportunity he would ever have to play for the world title--he finished second five times in the Candidates' tournaments over the next fifteen years, but was never able to win one. He suffered a fatal heart attack on the way home from a tournament in Vancouver in 1975, at the age of fifty-eight.
JaneEyre: <At the opening ceremony the 12th World Champion Anatoly Karpov said: “Paul Petrovich is embedded forever in my recollection as very calm, intelligent, and polite man. But on the chessboard he was really reborn, surprising his opponents with sharp lunges and hard-nosed battles.”
[...] In addition Tuulik provided us with an interesting bit of information: in 1974, before the final candidate match Karpov-Korchnoi, Paul Keres has offered the latter his help. But Korchnoi has refused and thus lost a chance to win the chess crown.
Alexei Shirov said in turn that the main book which he had used to learn chess was “100 Games” by Paul Keres.>
Gypsy: <visayanbraindoctor: ... <He DID make an unsuccesful attempt to flee to Sweden in 1944 after soviets reoccupied Estonia.> Wasn't aware of that. It must have been tense for Keres. He participated in German-sponsored tournaments, and probably feared execution or exile to Siberia.>
This is the way I heard the story: Keres returned to Estonia to recover his wife. He had arranged beforehand that the two of them would be picked up by a boat and taken to Sweden. Alas, that boat never came.
visayanbraindoctor: <Gypsy> Thanks for the story. Keres must have been in despair when that boat did not show up.
In my list of Almost World Champions, the great Paul Keres is right on top, followed by Pillsbury (he simply got sick and died too young and still had yet to reach his peak), Rubinstein, Korchnoi, and Bronstein. If Ivanchuk never makes it to the Title, perhaps I would add him to my list.
kurtrichards: <visayanbraindoctor: In my list of Almost World Champions. the great Paul Keres is right on top,followed by Pillsbury,Rubinstein,Korchnoi......>
GM Korchnoi became Senior World Champion in 2006. :)
HeMateMe: I'm not sure the deck was so stacked. Yes, the Soviet establishment wanted the new, younger man to play Fischer. Beyond a bad vibe, I don't think the authorities hurt Korchnoi's chances. He didn't like them anyway, and would soon defect. Karpov may have had better GM support, to work on opening preparaton. But one gets the feeling that Korchnoi is a bit of a loner, like Fischer, and may not have much interest in being on a 'team.'
For the '78 rematch he was living in Switzerland, and got beat pretty badly.
Petrosianic: <The difference is that Keres never had a title shot.>
Well, kinda sorta. Keres never had a title <match>, but he did have a shot in 1948 (though of course the deck was stacked). But after that, Keres played in the Candidates 6 times, and was unable to win any of them, though he did finish 2nd 4 times.
Part of that is the bad luck of having the tournament format. Personally, I don't believe that Tal would have beaten Keres in a match in 1959. Tal lost to Keres 3-1 head to head, but won the tournament because he was better at smashing the "bunnies". By the time they had Candidates Matches (1965), Keres was finally a bit over the hill, but even then he took Spassky down to the last game.
<Korchnoi had three in which the deck was overwhelmingly stacked against him.>
Well, two real title shots, and one ersatz title shot (1974).
AnalyzeThis: Reshesky should be rated ahead of Keres because of his plus score in their head to head encounters, plus his mini-match victory over Botvinnik in 1955 - something Keres was never able to do.
dx9293: <AnalyzeThis> I'm sorry, no way I'm ever rating Reshevsky ahead of Keres. Reshevsky was a top player, but I don't think he had World Champion stuff. Keres did.
Petrosianic: <I'm sorry, no way I'm ever rating Reshevsky ahead of Keres. Reshevsky was a top player, but I don't think he had World Champion stuff. Keres did.>
On what do you base that? Surely not that Keres won one supertournament in 1938, or that he finished a half point ahead of Reshevsky in the 1948 tournament.
Chessmetrics at least, has Reshevsky rated #1 for 14 months, while Keres is never higher than #2 (for whatever that's worth).
Paul Keres
Number of games in database: 2,085
Years covered: 1929 to 1975
Overall record: +1048 -211 =822 (70.1%)*
* Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
4 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.
B20 B50 B36 B62 B43
Ruy Lopez (187)
C86 C78 C97 C83 C87
French Defense (97)
C02 C07 C05 C10 C03
Ruy Lopez, Closed (89)
C86 C97 C87 C88 C93
Caro-Kann (63)
B10 B14 B18 B11 B13
English (47)
A14 A15 A16 A13 A10
C72 C92 C79 C99 C73
Nimzo Indian (131)
E32 E43 E41 E45 E20
Ruy Lopez, Closed (109)
C92 C99 C97 C96 C84
Queen's Pawn Game (91)
A46 E00 D02 E10 A40
Queen's Indian (66)
E15 E19 E12 E17 E14
English, 1 c4 e5 (42)
A23 A28 A29 A22 A20
NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
Keres vs Szabo, 1955 1-0
Keres vs Geller, 1962 1-0
Keres vs W Winter, 1935 1-0
Euwe vs Keres, 1940 0-1
Keres vs Verbac, 1933 1-0
A Karu vs Keres, 1931 0-1
Keres vs Alekhine, 1937 1-0
Keres vs E Arlamowski, 1950 1-0
Fine vs Keres, 1938 0-1
Keres vs Kotov, 1950 1-0
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
FIDE World Championship Tournament (1948)
GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
Match Keres! by amadeus
Keres' Whirligigs by chocobonbon
The Road to the Top & The Quest for Perfection by Bidibulle
Paul Keres "Valitud Partiid" by Legend
Paul Keres by Legend
A few Keres games by catfriend
WCC Index [Candidates Tournament 1959] by Resignation Trap
WCC Index [Zurich 1953] by suenteus po 147
WCC Index [Curacao 1962] by Hesam7
USSR Absolute Championship 1941 by Benzol
WCC Index [World Championship Tournament 1948] by Resignation Trap
USSR Championship 1940 by suenteus po 147
Search Sacrifice Explorer for Paul Keres
Search Google® for Paul Keres
(born Jan-07-1916, died Jun-05-1975) Estonia
[what is this?]
In 1948, Keres participated in the World Championship tournament to determine a successor to Alexander Alekhine. He finished joint third. This turned out to be the only opportunity he would ever have to play for the world title--he finished second five times in the Candidates' tournaments over the next fifteen years, but was never able to win one. He suffered a fatal heart attack on the way home from a tournament in Vancouver in 1975, at the age of fifty-eight.
[...] In addition Tuulik provided us with an interesting bit of information: in 1974, before the final candidate match Karpov-Korchnoi, Paul Keres has offered the latter his help. But Korchnoi has refused and thus lost a chance to win the chess crown.
Alexei Shirov said in turn that the main book which he had used to learn chess was “100 Games” by Paul Keres.>
http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.
<He DID make an unsuccesful attempt to flee to Sweden in 1944 after soviets reoccupied Estonia.> Wasn't aware of that. It must have been tense for Keres. He participated in German-sponsored tournaments, and probably feared execution or exile to Siberia.>
This is the way I heard the story: Keres returned to Estonia to recover his wife. He had arranged beforehand that the two of them would be picked up by a boat and taken to Sweden. Alas, that boat never came.
In my list of Almost World Champions, the great Paul Keres is right on top, followed by Pillsbury (he simply got sick and died too young and still had yet to reach his peak), Rubinstein, Korchnoi, and Bronstein. If Ivanchuk never makes it to the Title, perhaps I would add him to my list.
GM Korchnoi became Senior World Champion in 2006. :)
For the '78 rematch he was living in Switzerland, and got beat pretty badly.
Well, kinda sorta. Keres never had a title <match>, but he did have a shot in 1948 (though of course the deck was stacked). But after that, Keres played in the Candidates 6 times, and was unable to win any of them, though he did finish 2nd 4 times.
Part of that is the bad luck of having the tournament format. Personally, I don't believe that Tal would have beaten Keres in a match in 1959. Tal lost to Keres 3-1 head to head, but won the tournament because he was better at smashing the "bunnies". By the time they had Candidates Matches (1965), Keres was finally a bit over the hill, but even then he took Spassky down to the last game.
<Korchnoi had three in which the deck was overwhelmingly stacked against him.>
Well, two real title shots, and one ersatz title shot (1974).
On what do you base that? Surely not that Keres won one supertournament in 1938, or that he finished a half point ahead of Reshevsky in the 1948 tournament.
Chessmetrics at least, has Reshevsky rated #1 for 14 months, while Keres is never higher than #2 (for whatever that's worth).
I think of Paul Keres as a player who might have become Champion if things were a little different, and I