Why was chess so popular in the Soviet Union?

The second episode of the podcast Masters and Matches tells about Moscow 1925, the first super tournament in the Russian capital held exactly a century ago. It was the career's peak for Efim Bogoljubow, who won the tournament ahead of Lasker and Capablanca.

It is also the story of the huge popularity of chess in the Soviet Union, already before but definitely during communism. Incidentally, it is also the first tournament where a film camera was present because it was during Moscow 1925 that "Chess Fever" was recorded.

Enjoy the second episode which I made together with Arne Moll! This show can also be found on Apple and Spotify.

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