Time vs Material: a Bronstein Anecdote and Pretty Game

Basking in his post-Soviet freedom, Bronstein traveled throughout the world unencumbered, recording his experiences in his posthumously published, Secret Notes."

One of the stories he tells from his visit to Norway is:

"Later I also played in the Norwegian Open Championship. In neither tournament did I win any laurels. Eikrem paid for my accommodation and meals and gave me a small fee, and I was content.  It is not becoming for an honored guest to fight for the prizes.  I am not saying that I could have won both tournaments, but I could have tried to.  Especially since fate was kind to me:  first I was paired with a 12-year-old girl, and then with a boy aged about nine. But in both cases, after emerging from the opening, I offered a draw.

However, I also did not forget about the spectators. The following attractive miniature was played at the start of the Norwegian Championship.

"I was sure that after such a crushing defeat Bjorn Olsson would altogether give up playing 1 g4. But I wasn't aware of the obstinate Norwegian character. On arriving for the third round, I saw to my astonishment how he again, as though nothing had happened, advanced his King's Knight's pawn!"

Nice long read posted by batgirl, as always 

Is the emphasis on "nice" or on "long"? 

It's a fascinating book. I like the Simagin story.😁👍

I have a book titled "Power Chess Great Grandmaster Battles From Russia". It's a compilation of articles Paul Keres wrote for Chess Life magazine. One of the articles in the book is called "Crazy" Bronstein and it illustrates how Bronstein was more fond of an interesting game, for both him and the spectators, than he was of winning. I've removed all the annotations that went with the article except for one small pertinate quote.

Playing for the point makes one cautious. Playing for the art makes one fearless.

well to me, I enjoy longer posts

Hey, I had that opening in a recently finished Vote Chess game, didn't know the theory came from such legends. It's always good to know your history. Anyway this is the post-mortem analysis:

The Falkbeer, Crazy variation.

An Ode to the Art of Chess (by Bora Ivkov) that seems not to ever reach the English audience

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-equipment/an-ode-to-chess-art 

Bronstein liked Simagin very much. Thanks for this post!

I always liked Bronstein and Korchnoi as chess players, at the same time there are some rather negative descriptions of them. Sosonko, who is universally praised for his writings, wrote a very critical book on Bronstein, where he questions almost everything Bronstein claimed. Some is probably true, some is maybe connected to some sort of jealousy.

Sosonko does not draw a friendly picture of the grandmaster. Instead, he draws a picture of an egomanic, who failed to become world champion and therefore liked to cast himself in the role of chess improviser and as a player for whom beauty was more important than competitive success

Disregarding the fundamental truth that several different excuses always sound less convincing than one, Bronstein found a number of scapegoats and reasons for his loss: his hatred-filled opponent, the atmosphere of that time, fear for his father, his seconds who neglected their duties, walks with a girlfriend who didn't care about his career etc

I can't ever recall him asking how things were or what plans I had. It was always about him, himself, and his chess

https://en.chessbase.com/post/shattered-illusions-genna-sosonkos-the-rise-and-fall-of-david-bronstein

Sosonko sounds as if he wished Bronstein had been more interested in Sosonko than he was. I bet Bronstein was a bit of an egomaniac, and had trouble accepting not winning that match in 1951, and that some of what he said has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Regardless, I prefer Bronstein’s own writings in this case.

Did you know that Bronstein and Ivkov co-authored Chess Anthology: The Best Games of World Champions?

No. I didn't. Bronstein has a lot of books with his name on them. I don't know his actual involvement in them.

Sosonko has always been one of my favorite writers. I've read all his NIC reprints.  Although his book on Bronstein came out in 21017, I never heard of it before and, of course, haven't read it.  Johann Fischer seems to accept Sosonko's claims as gospel. I don't know what proof he offers but from the article it seems mostly hearsay. Sosonko was just a little kid when most what seems to be the focus of his expose occurred.   there's no doubt in my mind that Bronstein likes to blow his own horn and like most people when they talk about themselves, there are some think a little overplayed and other things underplayed. The book, just judging from Mr. Fischer's article, sounds a little bitter itself (in reference to his description of Bronstein as a bitter man).  If I ever find it, I'll read it.  Gennady's a good writer but I'm not too sure about this book.   

Thanks for the link.

Indeed, therew are children that play very well!

This is one of the peculiarities of chess. There are no age limits for being a good player.

There are also a site for them

https://www.chesskid.com/

My favorite Bronstein combination:

I bet Korchnoi did a double take.