Zurich 1953 Candidates: A Defensive Masterpiece

Aren’t you excited?

In a few hours from now the 2024 Candidates Tournament will start in Toronto, Canada.

 
Some of the best players in the world will fight to win the tournament and earn the right to play against the current world champion Ding Liren.

A serious champ

Candidates Tournament are my favorite as ultimately, what only matters is winning. Being second or last won’t make a difference if you want to be a world champion challenger.  This forces players to take more risks and therefore we normally get more exciting games.

 
The Candidates Tournament has a rich history dating back to 1950. Throughout the years, we had many candidates and definitely a lot of great games.

One game that belongs to the category of "Chess Games Everyone Should Know” is the game between Paul Keres and Vasily Smyslov from the Zurich 1953 Candidates Tournament.

 
A nice place to play

The Zurich 1953 Candidates Tournament was fiercely contested, with many memorable games and moments. Ultimately, Vasily Smyslov emerged as the tournament winner, securing the right to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship title.

In their encounter in round 24 of the tournament, both Keres and Smyslov were fighting for crucial points to secure their positions in the standings. This is a great game showing very important attacking and defensive ideas, including an important setup when fianchettoing the bishop. You’ll also learn how important escape squares are when being under attack.

Watch the full analysis of the game here: https://youtu.be/VHJBxWaQ-4s