Vyacheslav Vulfovich Osnos 1935-2009

Vyacheslav Osnos has recently passed away at the age of 74. He was born July 24, 1935 and died August 27, 2009. He played in the Soviet Championships 1963-1968. He won the Leningrad Championship twice. He coached world championship contender Viktor Korchnoi. He wrote books on the Reti Opening and the Richter-Rauzer. Osnos was an international master who was considered to be of grandmaster strength.

I have chosen a game of Osnos that displays his precise endgame play. His opponent, Lev Solomonovich Aronin, was also an international master who was easily of grandmaster caliber. Aronin was born July 20, 1920 and died October 3, 1983. He played in eight Soviet championships and won Moscow titles three times.

The game will be shown with notes on the opening. The real beauty of the game is in the long ending which was conducted with a high level of skill by Osnos. To appreciate that, readers should pause and think before displaying the next move in that phase of the game.