In the two years that Alekhine was without the world champion's crown, he finished 2nd place, at Podebrady with 12.5 of 17 half a point behind Salo Flohr. Also in 1936, Alekhine played in Nottingham, where h is game with Capablanca was the first t...
At this point this will be the final article of this little cycle on psychology in chess, but I will return to that topic in the future. After all, chess psychology is a very large field, and one of almost universal interest. Today we are going to...
The final match of the Candidates in 1977 was between Viktor Korchnoi and former World Champion Boris Spassky. Korchnoi won 10.5-7.5. Two-thirds of Korchnoi’s three point lead came from the French Defense, which he used in two-thirds of his games ...
Leaving the USSR After the world championship match, Alekhine returned to Paris and spoke against Bolshevism. Afterwards, Nikolai Krylenko, president of the Soviet Chess Federation, published an official memorandum stating that Alekhine should b...
Chess ratings are used as a tool for evaluating the current playing strength of a person. However, it is important to remember that it is the average number, while in a single game one can perform way above or below his rating. This can be connect...
Tigran V. Petrosian (pictured) lost the World Championship to Boris Spassky in 1969. It was Petrosian’s second defense to the same challenger. A brief opening review shows that the plus two margin of victory for Spassky came with the white pieces....
A Star Emerges Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow, Russia, the third son in a family where children and adults played chess. He learned at the age of seven, and from twelve Alekhine played seriously, especiall...
Winning the World Championship was no walk in the park when Boris Spassky challenged Tigran Petrosian. Spassky earned the opportunity to meet Petrosian in 1966 in a 24 game match which required the challenger to be ahead after 24 games. A score o...
Any chess game is a clash of personalities, each of whom has a unique character and chess style. Both contenders want to win. If the opponents are more or less of equal skill, the game rarely unrolls in a straightforward fashion with one of the pl...
The Variation As I said at the end of last week's article, Polugaevsky devoted much of his considerable analytical energies to one particular ultra-sharp variation of the Sicilian, which now bears his name. Polugaevsky devoted his first book la...
The great rivalry between Boris Spassky and Viktor Korchnoi had turned in Korchnoi’s favor. Halfway through their Candidates match to determine which one would face Anatoly Karpov for his title, Korchnoi was five points ahead. After ten games, Kor...
The Variation As I said at the end of last week's article, Polugaevsky devoted much of his considerable analytical energies to one particular ultra-sharp variation of the Sicilian, which now bears his name. Polugaevsky devoted his first b...
An Inspiration When I read GM Becerra's article last week about a man who was an absolute inspiration to me, I just knew I had to share my own tribute to Lev Polugaevsky this week. Prior to reading GM Becerra's article, I actually did not know j...
Starting from today I would like to share with you some articles on chess psychology. This topic is relatively neglected in books, so most chess players have to learn by making their own mistakes and then corresponding adjustments to their behavio...
Viktor Korchnoi was born March 23, 1931 in Leningrad, USSR. He was a candidate for the World Championship ten times from 1962-1991. He won the USSR Championship four times from 1960-1970. Korchnoi never won the world title, but has been considered...
Lev Abramovich Polugaevsky was born November 20, 1934 in Mogilev in the Soviet Union (now Mahilyow, Belarus). Unlike many of his grandmaster colleagues, his development in chess was slow, and he did not receive the Soviet master title u...
The life of a chess pro is a sequence of trips from one tournament to another. Some prefer to play virtually non-stop; others can afford to compete from time to time. Naturally, a person who wants to improve in chess should not only play, but also...
Boris Spassky became the challenger for the World Championship held by Tigran Petrosian after a successful campaign in which he defeated Keres, Geller, and Tal in Candidates Matches. The title match was held in 1966 and resulted in Petrosian winni...
His "First Loss" At the New York 1924 chess tournament after beginning with four draws, Capablanca’s defeat at the hands of Richard Reti in the fifth round was his first loss in serious competition in eight years. Capablanca recovered with...
José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was born on November 19, 1888 in Havana, Cuba. His father was an army officer who liked to play chess. One day, the young boy noticed his father make an illegal move with his knight, accused him of che...
Moishe Mieczslaw Najdorf was born near Warsaw Poland on April 15, 1910. He was a pupil of Savielly Tartakower. At the age of 20, he became a Polish National Master. He played for Poland in the 1935, 1937, and 1939 Chess Olympiads. At the Buenos Ai...
Early Years Max Euwe was born on the 20th of May 1901 in the town of Watergraafsmeer near Amsterdam. He was the second of six children and learned the game at the age of 4 from his parents. At 15 years old he qualified for the Championship Group...
The 12th Women’s European Chess Championship was held in May in the hospitable city of Tblisi, Georgia. 130 participants, 9 of them with ratings over 2500 FIDE, 14 qualifying spots for the World Championship. For me it was the 8th WIECC (not count...
Early Years Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik was born on August 17, 1911 in Kuokkola, near Saint Petersburg, to a Jewish family. His father was a dental technician and his mother, a dentist. He learned to play chess at the age of 12, practicing a lo...
