Mikhail Botvinnik
Mikhail Botvinnik in 1933
Full name	Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik
Country	Soviet Union  Russia
Born	August 17, 1911 Kuokkala, Finland
Died	May 5, 1995 (aged 83) Moscow, Russia
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1948–1957 1958–1960 1961–1963

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (pronounced [mʲixaˈiɫ̺ mʌiˈs̺ʲɛjɛvʲiʧʲ bʌt̺ˈvʲin̺n̻ʲik]; Russian: Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник) (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 – May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Chess Champion. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Repino (Ре́пино is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a station of the Saint Finland, officially the Republic of Finland ( is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Old Style (or OS) and New Style (or NS) are used in English language historical studies either to indicate that the start of the Julian year Year 1911 ( MCMXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins 1215 - Rebel Barons renounce their allegiance to King John Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess As an electrical engineer, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while playing top-class competitive chess. Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of Engineering that deals with the study and application of

Botvinnik was the first world-class player to develop within the Soviet Union, putting him under political pressure but also giving him considerable influence within Soviet chess. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 From time to time he was accused of using that influence to his own advantage, but the evidence is unclear and some suggests he resisted attempts by Soviet officials to intimidate some of his rivals.

Botvinnik also played a major role in the organization of chess, making a significant contribution to the design of the World Chess Championship system after World War II and becoming a leading member of the coaching system that enabled the Soviet Union to dominate top-class chess during that time. See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 His famous pupils include World Champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов born May 23, 1951) is a Russian Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian Chess grandmaster

Early years

Botvinnik aged 16, in 1927

Mikhail Botvinnik, was born into a Russian-Jewish family,^{[1] [2]} in Kuokkala, Grand Duchy of Finland (now Repino, Russia) near St. Petersburg, Russia. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Repino (Ре́пино is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a station of the Saint The Grand Duchy of Finland (Magnus Ducatus Finlandiæ Великое княжество Финляндское ' Velikoe knjažestvo finljandskoe) was the Predecessor Repino (Ре́пино is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia, and a station of the Saint Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending His father, Moisey Botvinnik, was a dental technician. A dental technician is a member of the dental team who with a written work order produces dental appliances such as a removable prothesis including Dentures and ^[3]

Botvinnik first came to the notice of the chess world at the age of 14, when he defeated the world champion, José Raúl Capablanca, in a simultaneous exhibition. Chess is a recreational and competitive Game played between two players. A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display (often abbreviated to "simul" is an event where one player (commonly a Chess master or grandmaster He had started playing only two years earlier. ^[4][5]

His progress was fairly rapid, mostly under the training of Soviet Master and coach Abram Model, in Leningrad. Saint Petersburg ( tr: Sankt-Peterburg,) is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River He qualified for his first USSR Championship final stage in 1927 as the youngest player ever at that time, tied for 5th place and won the title of National Master. USSR Championship Soviet Top League - football competition Soviet Hockey League - Top league of Soviet hockey Soviet Championship Year 1927 ( MCMXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. ^[4]

He won the Leningrad Masters' tournament in 1930 with 6½/8. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He followed this up the next year by winning the Championship of Leningrad by 2. 5 points over former Soviet champion Peter Romanovsky. Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky (Пётр Арсениевич Романовский 29 July 1892, St Petersburg – 1 March 1964

Soviet champion

At the age of 20 Botvinnik won his first Soviet Championship at Moscow 1931, with 13. This is a list of all the winners of the USSR Chess Championship. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of 5/17. In the spring of that year, he graduated in Electrical Engineering from the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute, and stayed on there as a post-graduate student. Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of Engineering that deals with the study and application of Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University (Санкт-Петербургский Государственный Политехнический Университет abbreviated In 1933, he repeated his Soviet Championship win, this time in his home city of Leningrad, with 14/19.

Botvinnik would go on to win a total of six Soviet Championships, adding further titles in 1939, 1944, 1945, and 1952 (in 1952 he tied with Mark Taimanov and won the play-off match). Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов (born February 7, 1926, Kharkov) is a leading Russian Chess ^[6] This is tied for the most ever with Mikhail Tal. Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails His 1945 win was with an utterly dominant score of 15/17. ^[7]

First international successes

Botvinnik vs Lasker in 1936

Botvinnik drew a 1933 match of 12 games, held in Leningrad and Moscow, against Salo Flohr, one of the world's top players. Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr ( November 21, 1908 &ndash July 18, 1983) was a leading Czech and later Soviet Chess He then travelled to Hastings 1934–35, his first tournament outside the USSR, but could place only in a tie for 5th-6th places, with 5/9. Hastings is a town on the coast of East Sussex in England; it is also the administrative centre for the Borough of the same name He wrote in his first games collection book that he had arrived at Hastings only two hours before the first round began, a mistake he would not make again.

By age 24,Botvinnik was competing on equal terms with the world's elite, chalking up successes in some of the strongest tournaments of the day: First (equal with Flohr) at Moscow 1935, ahead of Emanuel Lasker and Capablanca; and First (equal with Capablanca) at the great Nottingham 1936 chess tournament, ahead of Euwe and Alekhine. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of For other persons named Lasker see Lasker#People with the surname Lasker. Nottingham 1936 is often considered one of the strongest chess tournaments of all time "reminiscent of the unsurpassed quality of the of the first great Hastings tournament Machgielis (Max Euwe (last name is pronounced /øwə/ ( May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch Chess Grandmaster Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October ^[4][8] For the victory at Nottingham, the first by a Soviet Master outside his own country, Botvinnik was decorated with the order of The Badge of Honour by the Soviet government. For Nottingham, Botvinnik arrived ten days before the tournament started.

Botvinnik drew a 1937 challenge match of 13 games against Grigory Levenfish, who had won the Soviet Championship at Tbilisi earlier that year; Botvinnik had not competed in that event. Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish ( March 9, 1889, Piotrków - February 9, 1961, Moscow) was a leading Jewish[http Tbilisi (ˌtbiˈliːsi in Georgian: თბილისი is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari ^[9]

World title contender

Capablanca vs Botvinnik in 1936

The year 1938 brought the famous AVRO tournament in the Netherlands, which featured the world's top eight players, and may have been the strongest tournament yet seen – some chess historians believe that it is the strongest ever held. The winner was supposed to get a title match with the World Champion Alexander Alekhine. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October Botvinnik placed third (behind Paul Keres and Reuben Fine. Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster. Reuben Fine ( October 11 1914  &ndash March 26 1993) was one of the best Chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through ^[10] Alekhine accepted a challenge from Botvinnik, but the arrival of World War II prevented a World Championship match. ^[11]

In 1941, Botvinnik won a match-tournament for the title of "Absolute Champion of the U. S. S. R". Botvinnik defeated Paul Keres and future world champion Vasily Smyslov, amongst other strong Soviet grandmasters such as Isaac Boleslavsky, Igor Bondarevsky, and Andor Lilienthal, to win the title. Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Васильевич Смысло́в (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian Chess Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky ( Russian: Исаак Ефремович Болеславский) ( June 9, 1919 Zolotonosha, Ukraine Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky ( Russian: Игорь Захарович Бондаревский) ( May 12, 1913, Rostov-on-the-Don, Andor (Andre Andrea Arnoldovich Lilienthal (born May 5 1911) is a Hungarian Chess Grandmaster. Chess historians debate whether this constitutes an official Soviet Championship title.

When the Second World War ended, Botvinnik won the first really strong post-war tournament, at Groningen 1946, with 14½/19, half a point ahead of former World Champion Max Euwe; this was Botvinnik's first non-shared first place in a tournament outside the Soviet Union, and Smyslov was a strong third. Groningen 1946 was the first major international Chess tournament to be held after World War II. Machgielis (Max Euwe (last name is pronounced /øwə/ ( May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch Chess Grandmaster Botvinnik also won the very strong Mikhail Chigorin Memorial tournament held at Moscow 1947. Mikhail Ivanovich Chigorin ( 12 November 1850, Gatchina, Russia – 25 January 1908, Lublin, Poland

World Champion

Botvinnik (left) competes with Bronstein for the World Championship in 1951

Botvinnik strongly influenced the design of the system which would be used for World Championship competition from 1948 to 1963. ^[12][11] Viktor Baturinsky wrote, in his introduction to Botvinnik's own book Botvinnik's Best Games 1947–1970 (page 2), "Now came Botvinnik's turn to defend his title in accordance with the new qualifying system which he himself had outlined in 1946. "

On the basis of his strong results during and just after World War II, Botvinnik was one of five players to contest the 1948 World Chess Championship, which was held at The Hague and Moscow. The 1948 World Chess Championship was a tournament played to determine a new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in He won the 1948 tournament convincingly, with a score of 14/20, three points clear, becoming the sixth World Chess Champion. ^[13]

Tal and Botvinnik, 1960 match.

Botvinnik then held the title, with two brief interruptions, for the next fifteen years, during which he played seven world championship matches. In 1951, he drew with David Bronstein over 24 games in Moscow, +5 =14 -5, keeping the world title; but it was a struggle for Botvinnik, who won the second-last game and drew the last in order to tie the match. David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн February 19 1924 &ndash December 5 2006) was renowned as a leading Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of ^[14] In 1954, he drew with Vasily Smyslov over 24 games at Moscow, +7 =10 -7, again keeping the title. Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Васильевич Смысло́в (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian Chess ^[15] In 1957 he lost to Smyslov by 9. 5–12. 5 in Moscow,^[16] but the rules allowed him a rematch without having to go through the Candidates' Tournament, and in 1958 he won the rematch in Moscow;^[17] Smyslov said his health was poor during the return match. The Candidates Tournament was a triennial Chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the ^[18] In 1960 Botvinnik was convincingly beaten by the 23-year old Mikhail Tal, by 8½-12½ at Moscow;^[19] but again he exercised his right to a rematch in 1961, and won by 13–8 in Moscow. Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails ^[20] Commentators agreed that Tal's play was weaker in the rematch, probably due to his health, but also that Botvinnik's play was better than in the 1960 match, largely due to thorough preparation. Botvinnik changed his style in the rematch, avoiding the tactical complications in which Tal excelled and aiming for closed positions and endgames, where Tal's technique was not outstanding. ^[21][22] Finally, in 1963, he lost the title to Tigran Petrosian, by 9½-12½ in Moscow. Tigran Petrosian (Տիգրան Պետրոսյան ( June 17, 1929 &ndash August 13, 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 ^[20] FIDE had by then altered the rules, and he was not allowed a rematch. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the The rematch rule was nicknamed the 'Botvinnik rule', because he twice benefited from it.

Botvinnik gained a doctorate in engineering in 1951. As an electrical engineer, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while playing top-class competitive chess. Electrical engineering, sometimes referred to as electrical and electronic engineering, is a field of Engineering that deals with the study and application of

Botvinnik's playing record was relatively poor in the early 1950s: he did not play in the 1950 Soviet Championship, struggled to draw his 1951 world championship match with Bronstein, placed only 5th in the 1951 Soviet Championship, and tied for 3rd in the 1952 Geza Maroczy Memorial tournament in Budapest; and he had also performed poorly in Soviet training contests. Géza Maróczy (ˈɡeːzɒ ˈmɒroːtsi 3 March 1870 – 29 May 1951) was a leading Hungarian Chess Grandmaster Budapest ( also /ˈbʊ-/) is the capital city of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary it serves as the country's principal Political, ^[6][23] Botvinnik did not play in the Soviet team that won the 1952 Chess Olympiad in Helsinki: the players voted for the line-up and placed Botvinnik on second board, with Keres on top board; Botvinnik protested and refused to play. The Chess Olympiad is a Biennial Chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other ^[24][25] Keres' playing record from 1950 to early 1952 had been outstanding. ^[6][23]

Botvinnik won the 1952 Soviet Championship (tied with Taimanov in the tournament, won the play-off match). ^[6] He included several wins from that tournament over the 1952 Soviet team members in his book Botvinnik's Best Games 1947–1970, writing "these games had a definite significance for me". ^[25] In 1956 he tied for first place with Smyslov in the 1956 Alexander Alekhine Memorial in Moscow.

Team tournaments

Botvinnik

Botvinnik was selected for the Soviet Olympiad team from 1954 to 1964 inclusively, and helped his team to gold medal finishes each of those six times. At Amsterdam 1954 he was on board one and won the gold medal with 8⅓/11. Amsterdam (pronounced) is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland in the west Then at home for Moscow 1956, he was again board one, and scored 9⅓/13 for the bronze medal. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of For Munich 1958, he scored 9/12 for the silver medal on board one. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. At Leipzig 1960, he played board two behind Mikhail Tal, having lost his title to Tal earlier that year; But he won the board two gold medal with 10⅓/13. This sort of fix restores section edit linkpoints to where they belong He was back on board one for Varna 1962, scored 8/12, but failed to win a medal for the only time at an Olympiad. Varna (Варна is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv His final Olympiad was Tel Aviv 1964, where he won the bronze with 9/12, playing board 2 as he had lost his title to Petrosian. Tel Aviv-Yafo (תֵּל ־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ تل أبيب Tal ʾAbīb) (usually Tel Aviv) is the second-largest city in Israel Overall, in six Olympiads, he scored 54½/73 for an outstanding 74. 0 per cent. ^[26]

Botvinnik also played twice for the USSR in the European Team Championship. At Oberhausen 1961, he scored 6/9 for the gold medal on board one. Oberhausen (ˈoːbɐhaʊzən is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. But at Hamburg 1965, he struggled on board two with only 3½/8. Hamburg (English, German: ˈhambʊɐk local pronunciation Low German / Low Saxon: Hamborg) is the second-largest city in Germany Both times the Soviet Union won the team gold medals. Botvinnik played one of the final events of his career at the Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World match in Belgrade 1970, scoring 2½/4 against Milan Matulovic, as the USSR narrowly triumphed. There have been three Chess matches featuring Russia (USSR vs Rest of the World. Belgrade (Београд Beograd is the Capital and largest city of Serbia. Milan Matulović (born 10 June 1935) is a Chess Grandmaster who was the second or third strongest Yugoslav player for much of

Late career

After losing the world title to Tigran Petrosian for the final time in Moscow in 1963, Botvinnik withdrew from the World Championship cycle. Tigran Petrosian (Տիգրան Պետրոսյան ( June 17, 1929 &ndash August 13, 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 But he remained involved with competitive chess, appearing in several highly-rated tournaments and continuing to produce memorable games.

He retired from competitive play in 1970 aged 59, preferring instead to occupy himself with the development of computer chess programs and to assist with the training of younger Soviet players, earning him the nickname of "Patriarch of the Soviet Chess School" (see below). The idea of creating a Chess -playing machine dates back to the eighteenth century

Botvinnik's autobiography, K Dostizheniyu Tseli, was published in Russian in 1978, and in English translation as Achieving the Aim (ISBN 0-08-024120-4) in 1981. A staunch Communist, he was noticeably shaken by the collapse of the Soviet Union and lost some of his standing in Russian chess during the Boris Yeltsin era. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin () (1 February 1931 23 April 2007 was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999 Botvinnik died of cancer in 1995. Cancer (medical term Malignant Neoplasm) is a class of Diseases in which a group of cells display uncontrolled

Political controversies

The Soviet Union regarded chess as a symbol of Communist superiority, and hence the Soviet chess world was extremely politicized. ^[27][28] As Botvinnik was the first world-class player produced by the Soviet Union, everything he said or did (or did not say or do) had political repercussions, and there were rumors that Soviet opponents were given hints that they should not beat him.

David Bronstein wrote that Boris Verlinsky had won the 1929 Soviet Championship and was granted the first Soviet Grandmaster title for this achievement, yet he was later stripped of it, when it was thought more politically correct to make Botvinnik the first official Soviet GM (not the same thing as the FIDE Grandmaster title). David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн February 19 1924 &ndash December 5 2006) was renowned as a leading Boris Markovich Verlinsky ( 8 January 1888, Bakhmut, Ukraine – 30 October 1950, Moscow, Russia was a Ukrainian-Russian The title Grandmaster is awarded to extremely strong Chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the ^[12]

Botvinnik wrote that before the last round of the 1935 Moscow tournament Soviet Commissar of Justice Nikolai Krylenko, who was also in charge of Soviet chess, proposed that Ilya Rabinovich should deliberately lose to Botvinnik, to ensure that Botvinnik took first place. Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko (Николай Васильевич Крыленко ( May 2 1885, Bekhteevo (Бехтеево Smolensk region Botvinnik refused, saying ". . . then I will myself put a piece en prise and resign". ^[29] The game was drawn, and Botvinnik shared first place with Salo Flohr. Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr ( November 21, 1908 &ndash July 18, 1983) was a leading Czech and later Soviet Chess

Botvinnik sent an effusive telegram of thanks to Stalin after his victory at the great tournament in Nottingham in 1936. Joseph Stalin ( ნამდვილი გვარი ჯუღაშვილი|Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili; March 5 1953 was General Secretary of the Communist Party Many years later he said that it had been written in Moscow and that KGB agents told him to sign it. ^[30][31]

Botvinnik played relatively poorly in the very strong 1940 Soviet Championship, finishing in a tie for 5th-6th places, with 11. 5/19, two full points behind Igor Bondarevsky and Andor Lilienthal. Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky ( Russian: Игорь Захарович Бондаревский) ( May 12, 1913, Rostov-on-the-Don, Andor (Andre Andrea Arnoldovich Lilienthal (born May 5 1911) is a Hungarian Chess Grandmaster. With World War II underway by this time, and the strong possibility of little or no chess for some time in the future, Botvinnik seems to have prevailed upon the Soviet chess leadership to hold another tournament "in order to clarify the situation". World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[32] This wound up being the 1941 Absolute Championship of the USSR, which featured the top six finishers from the 1940 event, playing each other four times. After a personal appeal to the defence minister, Vyacheslav Molotov, Botvinnik was exempted from war work for three days a week in order to concentrate on chess preparations. Molotov redirects here For other uses see Molotov (disambiguation. ^[30] He won this tournament convincingly, and thus reclaimed his position as the USSR's top player.

Botvinnik about 1947.

Bronstein claimed that at the end of the 1946 Groningen tournament, a few months after the death of reigning world champion Alexander Alekhine, Botvinnik personally invited Samuel Reshevsky, Reuben Fine, Max Euwe, Vasily Smyslov, and Paul Keres to join him in a tournament to decide the new world champion. Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October Samuel Herman (Sammy Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski, November 26, 1911, Ozorków near Lodz, (then Russian Empire Reuben Fine ( October 11 1914  &ndash March 26 1993) was one of the best Chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through Machgielis (Max Euwe (last name is pronounced /øwə/ ( May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch Chess Grandmaster Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Васильевич Смысло́в (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian Chess Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster. ^[12] But other evidence suggests that FIDE (the "governing body" of chess), had already proposed a World Championship tournament before the Groningen tournament began, and at this stage the Soviet Union was not a member and therefore took no part in framing that proposal. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the A sport governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function ^[11]

Since Keres lost his first four games against Botvinnik in the 1948 World Championship tournament, suspicions are sometimes raised that Keres was forced to "throw" games to allow Botvinnik to win the Championship. The 1948 World Chess Championship was a tournament played to determine a new World Chess Champion following the death of the previous champion Alexander Alekhine in Chess historian Taylor Kingston investigated all the available evidence and arguments, and concluded that: Soviet chess officials gave Keres strong hints that he should not hinder Botvinnik's attempt to win the World Championship; Botvinnik only discovered this about half-way through the tournament and protested so strongly that he angered Soviet officials; Keres probably did not deliberately lose games to Botvinnik or anyone else in the tournament. ^[33]

Bronstein insinuated that Soviet officials pressured him to lose in the 1951 world championship match so that Botvinnik would keep the title. ^[12] But comments by Botvinnik's second Salo Flohr and Botvinnik's own annotations about the critical 23rd game indicate that Botvinnik knew of no such plot. Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr ( November 21, 1908 &ndash July 18, 1983) was a leading Czech and later Soviet Chess ^[34]

In 1956 FIDE changed the world championship rules so that a defeated champion would have the right to a return match. Yuri Averbakh alleged that this was done at the urging of the two Soviet representatives in FIDE, who were personal friends of Botvinnik. Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922, in Kaluga, Russia) is a Russian Chess Averbakh also claims that Botvinnik's friends were behind FIDE's decision in 1956 to limit the number of players from the same country that could compete in the Candidates Tournament, and that this was to Botvinnik's advantage as it reduced the number of Soviet players he might have to meet in the title match. ^[35]

There is a story that Botvinnik asked to be allowed to play in the 1956 Candidates Tournament, as he wanted to use the event as part of his warm-up for the next year's title match; Botvinnik played few tournaments during his championship years, as he spent most of his time between world championship matches working as an engineer. The Candidates Tournament was a triennial Chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the His request was rejected as: if Botvinnik had not taken one of the first two places, it would have been hard to regard him as the real world champion going into the match; and there was a theoretical risk that he might deliberately lose to the opponent he'd rather face while fighting his hardest against his most dangerous rival. ^[36]

Mikhail Tal's chronic kidney problems contributed to his defeat in his 1961 return match with Botvinnik, and his doctors in Riga advised that he should postpone the match for health reasons. Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails Averbakh claimed that Botvinnik would agree to a postponement only if Tal was certified unfit by Moscow doctors, and that Tal then decided to play. ^[35]

While there is no doubt that Botvinnik sincerely believed in Communism, he by no means followed the party line submissively. Communism is a Socioeconomic structure that promotes the establishment of an egalitarian, classless, stateless Society based For example in 1948 he publicly supported the founding of the state of Israel – although he later made a distinction between the "hard-working Jews and Arabs living in this wonderful country" and "the Arab petrol tycoons and the wealthy American Jews". For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. ^[29] In 1954 he wrote an article about inciting socialist revolution in western countries, aiming to spread Communism without a third world war. ^[35] And in 1960 Botvinnik wrote a letter to the Soviet Government proposing economic reforms that were contrary to party policy. ^[37]

In 1976 Soviet grandmasters were asked to sign a letter condemning Viktor Korchnoi as a "traitor" after Korchnoi defected. Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy Kortchnoy Kortschnoi etc In Politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another Botvinnik evaded this "request" by saying that he wanted to write his own letter denouncing Korchnoi. But by this time his importance had waned and officials would not give him this "privilege", so Botvinnik's name did not appear on the group letter – an outcome Botvinnik may have foreseen. ^[31] David Bronstein and Boris Spassky openly refused to sign the letter. Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French ^[24]

Assessment

Playing strength and style

For more information see Comparing top chess players throughout history

The statistical rating system used in Raymond Keene and Nathan Divinsky's book Warriors of the Mind concludes that Botvinnik was the 4th strongest player of all time: behind Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Bobby Fischer but ahead of José Raúl Capablanca, Emanuel Lasker, Viktor Korchnoi, Boris Spassky, Vasily Smyslov and Tigran Petrosian. Raymond Dennis Keene OBE (born 29 January 1948) is a Chess grandmaster, but is better known as a chess organiser columnist and author Nathan Joseph Divinsky (born October 29 1925) is a Canadian mathematician, Chess master and chess author who is also known for being Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов born May 23, 1951) is a Russian Chess grandmaster Robert James "Bobby" Fischer ( March 9 1943 – January 17 2008) was an American -born Chess Grandmaster For other persons named Lasker see Lasker#People with the surname Lasker. Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy Kortchnoy Kortschnoi etc Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij (Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian French Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Васи́лий Васильевич Смысло́в (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian Chess Tigran Petrosian (Տիգրան Պետրոսյան ( June 17, 1929 &ndash August 13, 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 ^[22] The Chessmetrics system is sensitive to the length of the periods being compared, but places Botvinnik 3rd in a comparison of players' best individual years (1946 for Botvinnik) and 6th in a comparison of 15-year periods (1935–1949 in Botvinnik's case). Chessmetrics is a system for rating Chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. ^[38][39] In 2005 Chessmetrics' creator Jeff Sonas wrote an article which examined various ways of comparing the strength of "world number one" players, some not based on Chessmetrics; and Botvinnik generally emerged as one of the top 6 (the greatest exceptions were in criteria related to tournament results). ^[40]

This may seem surprising in the light of Botvinnik's results in the 1950s and early 1960s, when he struggled to retain his world title and his tournament results were patchy. But after the FIDE world championship cycle was established in 1948, reigning champions had to play the strongest contender every 3 years, and successful title defenses became less common. Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Chess federations around the See also Development of the World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the Board game Chess Even with this added challenge, Botvinnik still held the world title longer than any of his successors until Garry Kasparov. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Botvinnik also became world champion at the relatively late age of 37, because World War II brought international competition to a halt for 6 years; and he was 52 years old when he finally lost his title (only Wilhelm Steinitz and Emanuel Lasker were older when they were defeated). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz ( May 17, 1836 – August 12, 1900) was an Austrian - American Botvinnik's best years were from 1935 to 1946;^[39] during that period he dominated Soviet chess;^[41] and the USSR's 15½-4½ win in the 1945 radio match against the USA proved that the USSR's top players were considerably better than the USA's (who had dominated international team competitions in the 1930s). The Chess Olympiad is a Biennial Chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other ^[42]

Botvinnik generally sought tense positions with chances for both sides; hence his results were often better with the Black pieces as he could avoid lines that were likely to produce draws. ^[4][43][44] He had a strong grasp of long-term strategy, and was often willing to accept weaknesses that his opponent could not exploit in exchange for some advantage that Botvinnik could exploit. ^[45][43] He confessed that he was relatively weak in tactical calculation. Yet many of his games feature sacrifices – often long-term positional sacrifices whose purpose was not force a quick win but to improve his position and undermine his opponent's. In the game of Chess, a sacrifice is a move giving up a piece or pawn in the hopes of gaining tactical or positional compensation in other forms And he was also capable of all-out sacrificial attacks when he thought the position justified it. ^[46] Botvinnik saw himself as a "universal player" (all-rounder), in contrast to all-out tactical calculators like Mikhail Tal or purely positional players like Tigran Petrosian. An all-rounder is a Cricket player who excels at both batting and bowling. Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls Михаил Нехемьевич Таль Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, mʲixa'iɫ̺ n̻ʲɛ'xɛmjɛvʲiʨ t̺al̻ sometimes transliterated Mihails Tigran Petrosian (Տիգրան Պետրոսյան ( June 17, 1929 &ndash August 13, 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 ^[22] Reuben Fine considered Botvinnik's collection of best games one of the three most beautiful up to the mid-1950s (the other two were Alexander Alekhine's and Akiba Rubinstein's). Reuben Fine ( October 11 1914  &ndash March 26 1993) was one of the best Chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine (alʲɛkˈsandr̠ alʲɛkˈsandr̠ovʲiʨ aˈlʲɛxin Russian Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Але́хин) (October Akiba Kiwelowicz Rubinstein ( 12 December, 1882, in Stawiski, Poland – 15 March, 1961 in Antwerp, ^[4]

Kasparov quotes Tigran Petrosian as saying, "There was a very unpleasant feeling of inevitability. Once in a conversation with Keres I mentioned this and even compared Botvinnik with a bulldozer, which sweeps away everything in its path. Paul Keres ( January 7, 1916 – June 5, 1975) was an Estonian Chess grandmaster. Keres smiled and said: 'But can you imagine what it was like to play him when he was young?'"^[47]

Influence on the game

Botvinnik's example and teaching established the modern approach to preparing for competitive chess: regular but moderate physical exercise; analysing very thoroughly a relatively narrow repertoire of openings; annotating one's own games, those of past great players and those of competitors; publishing one's annotatations so that others can point out any errors; studying strong opponents to discover their strengths and weaknesses; ruthless objectivity about one's own strengths and weaknesses. ^[48][49] Botvinnik also played many short training matches against strong grandmasters including Salo Flohr, Yuri Averbakh, Viacheslav Ragozin, and Semion Furman – in noisy or smoky rooms if he thought he would have to face such conditions in actual competition. Salomon Mikhailovich Flohr ( November 21, 1908 &ndash July 18, 1983) was a leading Czech and later Soviet Chess Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922, in Kaluga, Russia) is a Russian Chess Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin ( October 8, 1908 – March 11, 1962) was a Soviet Chess Grandmaster, an International Semyon Abramovich Furman ( December 1 1920 – March 17 1978) was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster and trainer ^[50][51] Vladimir Kramnik said, "Botvinnik's chess career was the way of a genius, although he was not a genius," meaning that Botvinnik was brilliant at making the best use of his talents. Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian Chess grandmaster ^[48]

Although Botvinnik did not use a wide range of openings, he made major contributions to those he did use, for example: the Botvinnik variation of the Semi-Slav Defense in the Queen's Gambit Declined, the Kasparov/Botvinnik system in the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, the Caro-Kann Defence (both the Panov-Botvinnik Attack for White and various approaches for Black), the Winawer Variation of the French Defence, the Botvinnik System in the English Opening. The Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD is a Chess opening characterized by the opening moves 1 The Caro-Kann Defence is a common Chess opening characterized by the moves 1 The French Defence is a Chess opening. It is characterized by the moves 1 In Chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins 1 In his openings research Botvinnik did not aim to produce tactical tricks that would only be effective once but rather systems in which he aimed to understand typical positions and their possibilities better than his rivals. ^[43][22]

Botvinnik's chess school, 1987: Mikhail Botvinnik, Ilya Botvinnik, Vladimir Markzitser, Vladimir Kramnik (at back), Ketino Kachiani-Gersinska, Sergei Tiviakov, Mikhail Oratovsky, Garry Kasparov (foreground), Alexei Shirov

The "Soviet School of Chess" that dominated competition from 1945 to about 2000 followed Botvinnik's approach to preparation and to openings research; and, although Soviet players had their own preferred styles of play, they adopted his combative approach and willingness to ignore "classical" principles if doing so offered credible prospects of a lasting advantage. Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Влади́мир Бори́сович Кра́мник (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian Chess grandmaster Sergei Tiviakov (born February 14, 1973 in Krasnodar, Soviet Union) is a naturalised Dutch Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov ( Aleksejs Širovs, Алексей Дмитриевич Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, ^[52][53]

In 1963 Botvinnik founded his own school within the Soviet coaching system, and its graduates include world champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik, and other top-class players such as Alexei Shirov, Vladimir Akopian and Jaan Ehlvest. Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Анатолий Евгеньевич Карпов born May 23, 1951) is a Russian Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Alexei Dmitrievich Shirov ( Aleksejs Širovs, Алексей Дмитриевич Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 at Tallinn in Estonia) is a Chess player ^[54][55] Botvinnik was not an infallible spotter of chess talent: although he said of the 11-year old Kasparov, "The future of chess lies in the hands of this young man," he said on first seeing Karpov, "The boy doesn't have a clue about chess, and there's no future at all for him in this profession. "^[51] But Karpov recounts fondly his youthful memories of the Botvinnik school and credits Botvinnik's training, especially the homework he assigned, with a marked improvement in his own play. ^[56] Kasparov presents Botvinnik almost as a kind of father figure, going some way towards balancing the common public perception of Botvinnik as dour and aloof;^[47] and Kasparov inherited Botvinnik's emphasis on preparation, research and innovation. ^[57] Botvinnik was still playing a major teaching role in his late 70s, when Kramnik entered the school, and made a favorable impression on his pupil. ^[54][48]

Other Achievements

Electrical engineering

Botvinnik was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour for his work on power stations in the Urals during World War II (while he was also establishing himself as the world's strongest chess player), and in 1956 joined the Research Institute for Electrical Energy as a senior research scientist. ^[58]

Engineering was as much of a passion for Botvinnik as chess – at Nottingham in 1936, where he had his first major tournament win outside the USSR, he said "I wish I could do what he's done in electrical engineering" (referring to Milan Vidmar, another grandmaster). Milan Vidmar ( June 22 1885 – October 9 1962) was a Slovene Electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist ^[4]

Computer chess

In the 1950s Botvinnik became interested in computers, at first mainly for playing chess but he later also co-authored reports on the possible use of artificial intelligence in managing the Soviet economy. ^[59] Botvinnik's research on chess-playing programs concentrated on "selective searches", which used general chess principles to decide which moves were worth considering. This was the only feasible approach for the primitive computers available in the Soviet Union in the early 1960s, which were only capable of searching three or four half-moves deep (i. In two-player Sequential games a ply refers to one turn taken by one of the players e. A's move, B's move, A's move, B's move) if they tried to examine every variation. Botvinnik eventually developed an algorithm that was reasonably good at finding the right move in difficult positions, but it often missed the right move in simple positions, e. In Mathematics, Computing, Linguistics and related subjects an algorithm is a sequence of finite instructions often used for Calculation g. where it was possible to checkmate in two moves. This "selective" approach turned out to be a blind alley, as computers were powerful enough by the mid-1970s to perform a brute-force search (checking all possible moves) several moves deep and today's vastly more powerful computers do this well enough to compete against human world champions. In Computer science, brute-force search or exhaustive search, also known as generate and test, is a trivial but very general problem-solving technique ^[60][36] In September 7, 1991 Botvinnik was awarded a honorary degree in mathematics of the University of Ferrara (Italy) for his work on computer chess. ^[61]

Notable chess games

• Botvinnik vs Chekover, Moscow 1935, Réti Opening, 1–0^[8]
• Botvinnik vs Capablanca, AVRO 1938, Nimzoindian Defense, 1–0^[4] At first sight Botvinnik's opening play looks unpromising, but he knew how his attack would develop.
• Keres vs Botvinnik, USSR Absolute Championship 1941, Nimzoindian Defense, 0–1^[4] Playing as Black, Botvinnik demolishes a world title contender in 22 moves. The first-move advantage in chess refers to the inherent advantage of the player (called White) who makes the first move in Chess.
• Tolush vs Botvinnik, USSR Championship 1944, 0–1^[4] Long-term positional sacrifices.
• Denker vs Botvinnik, USA vs USSR radio match 1945, 0–1 Botvinnik uses the Botvinnik System in the Semi-Slav Defense to bulldoze US champion Arnold Denker. The Semi-Slav Defense is a variation of the Queen's Gambit Chess opening, defined by the opening moves 1 Arnold Sheldon Denker ( February 20 1914 – January 2 2005) was an American Chess player a Grandmaster
• Botvinnik vs Keres, Alekhine Memorial Tournament Moscow 1966, 1–0 Botvinnik shows his superior understanding of closed positions, and when to open them.
• Botvinnik vs Portisch, Monaco 1968, 1–0 A fireworks display starting with an exchange sacrifice on the c-file, a tactic on which Botvinnik wrote the book. The exchange in Chess refers to a situation in which one player loses a minor piece (i ^[52]

References

• Winter, Edward G. (ed. ) (1981). World chess champions. Pergamon. ISBN 0-08-024094-1.  
• Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). David Vincent Hooper ( 31 August 1915 - May 1998 born in Reigate, was a British Chess player and writer Kenneth Whyld ( March 6, 1926 - July 11, 2003) was a British Chess author and researcher best known as the co-author (with The Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3.  
• Sunnucks, Anne (1970). Patricia Anne Sunnucks (born 21 February 1927) is an author and the several time British Women's Chess Champion (1957 1958 1964 The Encyclopaedia of Chess. Hale. ISBN 0709110308.  
• Hartston, William R. (1986). Kings of Chess. Pavilion. ISBN 1-85145-075-0.  

Further reading

• Chernev, Irving (1995). Twelve Great Chess Players and Their Best Games. Dover. ISBN 0-486-28674-6.  
• Hurst, Sarah (2002). Curse of Kirsan: Adventures in the Chess Underworld. Russell Enterprises. ISBN 1-888690-15-1.  
• Botvinnik, Mikhail (translated from the Russian by Stephen Garry) (1961,1981). One Hundred Selected Games. Dover. ISBN 0-486-20620-3.  
• Botvinnik, Mikhail (1972). Botvinnik's Best Games 1947–1970 (translated from the Russian by Bernard Cafferty). Batsford. ISBN 7134-0537-8.  
• Kasparov, Garry (2003), My Great Predecessors, part II, Everyman Chess, ISBN 1-85744-342-X 
• Thomas, R. Garry Kasparov (Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров) (born as Garry Kimovich Weinstein on April 13 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet M. (May 7, 1995). Mikhail Botvinnik, Chess Champion and Teacher of Champions, Dies at 83. New York Times.

External links

• Mikhail Botvinnik at ChessGames.com