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. 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. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (429x621, 71 KB)trimmed (modified) version of Botvinnik_1933. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... , Repino on the older map of Saint Petersburg Repino (Russian: ) is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Old Style redirects here. ... Year 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... The 1984 World Chess Championship was between Anatoly Karpov (left) and Garry Kasparov (right). ... Electrical Engineers design power systems. ...

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. 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. His famous pupils include World Champions Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: ) (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007. ...

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. His father, Moisey Botvinnik, was a dental technician.^[3] Image File history File links Botvinnik_(1927). ... Image File history File links Botvinnik_(1927). ... For other uses, see Jew (disambiguation). ... , Repino on the older map of Saint Petersburg Repino (Russian: ) is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. ... The Grand Duchy of Finland was a state that existed 1809–1917 as part of the Russian Empire. ... , Repino on the older map of Saint Petersburg Repino (Russian: ) is a municipal settlement in Kurortny District of Saint Petersburg, Russia. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... A dental technician is a member of the dental team who manufactures dental appliances such as removable prothesis, including dentures, and fixed prostheses, such as crowns and bridges. ...

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. He had started playing only two years earlier.^[4][5] This article is about the Western board game. ... José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 – March 8, 1942) was a Cuban world-class chess player in the early to mid-twentieth century. ... A simultaneous exhibition (often abbreviated to simul) is an event where chess masters play multiple chess games at a time with selected players (usually below master strength). ...

His progress was fairly rapid, mostly under the training of Soviet Master and coach Abram Model, in Leningrad. 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.^[4] Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград) may mean: St. ... The Soviet Top League (Russian: ) was the top division of Soviet Union football. ... Year 1927 (MCMXXVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

He won the Leningrad Masters' tournament in 1930 with 6½/8. He followed this up the next year by winning the Championship of Leningrad by 2.5 points over former Soviet champion Peter Romanovsky.
Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Peter Romanovsky Peter Arsenievich Romanovsky (Russian: ; 29 July 1892, St Petersburg – 1 March 1964, Moscow) was a Russian chess master. ...

Soviet champion

At the age of 20 Botvinnik won his first Soviet Championship at Moscow 1931, with 13.5/17. 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. In 1933, he repeated his Soviet Championship win, this time in his home city of Leningrad, with 14/19. Winner list: 1991 (58th,Moscow) Minasian, Artashes 1990 (57th,Leningrad) Beliavsky, Alexander / Yudasin, Leonid / Bareev, Evgeny / Vyzmanavin, Alexey ex aequo 1989 (56th,Odessa) Vaganian, Rafael 1988 (55th,Moscow) Karpov, Anatoly / Kasparov, Garry ex aequo 1987 (54th,Minsk) Beliavsky, Alexander 1986 (53rd,Kiev) Tseshkovsky, Vitaly 1985 (52nd,Riga) Gavrikov, Viktor / Gurevich... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Electrical Engineers design power systems. ... Main Building, Photo of 1902 Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University (Russian: ; abbreviated SPbSPU) is a major Russian technical university situated in Saint Petersburg. ...

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).^[6] This is tied for the most ever with Mikhail Tal. His 1945 win was with an utterly dominant score of 15/17.^[7] Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов) (born February 7, 1926) is a leading Russian chess player and concert pianist. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ...

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. 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. 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. Image File history File links Botvinnik-Lasker_1936. ... Image File history File links Botvinnik-Lasker_1936. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

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.^[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. For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German World Chess Champion, mathematician, and philosopher born at Berlinchen in Brandenburg (now Barlinek in Poland). ... José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 – March 8, 1942) was a Cuban world-class chess player in the early to mid-twentieth century. ... 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 of 1895. ... Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wə/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess Grandmaster and Mathematician. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ...

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.^[9] Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish (March 9, 1889 - February 9, 1961) was a leading Jewish Russian chess grandmaster of the 1920s and 1930s. ... Location of Tbilisi in Georgia Coordinates: , Country Established c. ...

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. Botvinnik placed third (behind Paul Keres and Reuben Fine.^[10] Alekhine accepted a challenge from Botvinnik, but the arrival of World War II prevented a World Championship match.^[11] Image File history File links Capablanca-Botvinnik_1936. ... Image File history File links Capablanca-Botvinnik_1936. ... The AVRO tournament was a chess tournament held in 1938. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... Reuben Fine (October 11, 1914 â€“ March 26, 1993) was one of the best chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through the early 1940s, an International Grandmaster, as well as a chess author, psychologist, and psychology author. ...

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. Chess historians debate whether this constitutes an official Soviet Championship title. Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... Isaac Yefremovich Boleslavsky (1919 – February 15, 1977) was a Ukrainian-Jewish chess grandmaster. ... Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky (May 12, 1913, Rostov-on-the-Don, Russia – June 14, 1979, Piatigorsk) was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster in both over the board and correspondence chess, International Judge, trainer and author of chess books. ... Andre Lilienthal (born 5 May 1911) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. ...

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. Botvinnik also won the very strong Mikhail Chigorin Memorial tournament held at Moscow 1947. Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wÉ™/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess Grandmaster and Mathematician. ... Mikhail Chigorin (12 November 1850–25 January 1908) was a leading Russian chess player and the first grandmaster from Russia. ...

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." Image File history File links Botvinnik-Bronstein_1951. ... Image File history File links Botvinnik-Bronstein_1951. ...

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. He won the 1948 tournament convincingly, with a score of 14/20, three points clear, becoming the sixth World Chess Champion.^[13] 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 1946. ... Hague redirects here. ...

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.^[14] In 1954, he drew with Vasily Smyslov over 24 games at Moscow, +7 =10 -7, again keeping the title.^[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.^[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.^[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.^[20] FIDE had by then altered the rules, and he was not allowed a rematch. The rematch rule was nicknamed the 'Botvinnik rule', because he twice benefited from it. David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... The Candidates Tournament was a triannual chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ... The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ...

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.^[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.^[24][25] Keres' playing record from 1950 to early 1952 had been outstanding.^[6][23] Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) was a leading Hungarian chess master. ... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ... The Chess Olympiad is a chess event which has been officially organised by FIDE since 1927 and takes place in even years. ...

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. Then at home for Moscow 1956, he was again board one, and scored 9⅓/13 for the bronze medal. For Munich 1958, he scored 9/12 for the silver medal on board one. 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. 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. 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. Overall, in six Olympiads, he scored 54½/73 for an outstanding 74.0 per cent.^[26] For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... Leipzig ( ; Sorbian/Lusatian: Lipsk from the Sorbian word for Tilia) is, with a population of over 506,000, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. ... This article is about the city in Bulgaria. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ...

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. But at Hamburg 1965, he struggled on board two with only 3½/8. 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. Oberhausen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... For other uses, see Hamburg (disambiguation). ... There have so far been three official chess matches featuring Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ... Milan Matulovic (b. ...

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. But he remained involved with competitive chess, appearing in several highly-rated tournaments and continuing to produce memorable games. Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ...

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). 1990s Pressure-sensory Chess Computer with LCD screen 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. Botvinnik died of cancer in 1995. “Yeltsin” redirects here. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

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).^[12] David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ... Boris Markovich Verlinsky (born 8 January 1888, Bakhmut, Ukraine – died 1950, Moscow, Russia) was an Ukrainian-Russian chess master. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ...

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. 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. Nikolai Krylenko Nikolai Vasilyevich Krylenko (Russian: Николай Васильевич Крыленко) (May 2, 1885, Bekhteevo (Бехтеево), Smolensk region, Russian Empire – July 29, 1938, Moscow) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and a Soviet politician. ... This article needs to be wikified. ...

Botvinnik sent an effusive telegram of thanks to Stalin after his victory at the great tournament in Nottingham in 1936. Many years later he said that it had been written in Moscow and that KGB agents told him to sign it.^[30][31] Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ...

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. 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".^[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.^[30] He won this tournament convincingly, and thus reclaimed his position as the USSR's top player. Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky (May 12, 1913, Rostov-on-the-Don, Russia – June 14, 1979, Piatigorsk) was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster in both over the board and correspondence chess, International Judge, trainer and author of chess books. ... Andre Lilienthal (born 5 May 1911) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For other uses, see Molotov (disambiguation). ...

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.^[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.^[11] This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Samuel Herman (Sammy) Reshevsky (born Szmul Rzeszewski, November 26, 1911, Ozorków, (then German Empire, today Poland) - died April 4, 1992, New York, USA) was a leading American chess Grandmaster. ... Reuben Fine (October 11, 1914 â€“ March 26, 1993) was one of the best chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through the early 1940s, an International Grandmaster, as well as a chess author, psychologist, and psychology author. ... Machgielis (Max) Euwe (last name is pronounced /ø:wÉ™/) (May 20, 1901 – November 26, 1981) was a Dutch chess Grandmaster and Mathematician. ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ... A sport governing body comes in several forms. ...

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. 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] 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 1946. ...

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.^[34] This article needs to be wikified. ...

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. 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] Averbakh in the 1950s Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922) is a Russian chess player and author. ...

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. 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] The Candidates Tournament was an annual chess tournament in which various chess players play against each other. ...

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. 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] Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ...

While there is no doubt that Botvinnik sincerely believed in Communism, he by no means followed the party line submissively. 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".^[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] This article is about the form of society and political movement. ...

In 1976 Soviet grandmasters were asked to sign a letter condemning Viktor Korchnoi as a "traitor" after Korchnoi defected. 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.^[24] 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. ... Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij) (Russian: ) (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian-French chess grandmaster. ...

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.^[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).^[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 article examines a number of methodologies that have been suggested for the task of comparing top chess players throughout history, particularly the question of comparing the greatest players of different eras. ... 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 mathematician and chess enthusiast who is also known for being the former husband of the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability, and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ... José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (November 19, 1888 – March 8, 1942) was a Cuban world-class chess player in the early to mid-twentieth century. ... Emanuel Lasker (December 24, 1868 – January 11, 1941) was a German World Chess Champion, mathematician, and philosopher born at Berlinchen in Brandenburg (now Barlinek in Poland). ... Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy, Kortchnoy, Kortschnoi, etc. ... Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij) (Russian: ) (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian-French chess grandmaster. ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ... Chessmetrics is a system for rating chess players devised by Jeff Sonas. ...

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. Even with this added challenge, Botvinnik still held the world title longer than any of his successors until Garry Kasparov. 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). 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).^[42] The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Wilhelm (later William) Steinitz (May 17, 1836, Prague–August 12, 1900, New York) was a Jewish-Austrian-American chess player and the first official world chess champion. ... The Chess Olympiad is a chess event which has been officially organised by FIDE since 1927 and takes place in even years. ...

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. 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.^[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).^[4] In the game of chess, a sacrifice is the deliberate giving up of a chess piece by a player, allowing or even forcing the opponent to capture it. ... An all-rounder is a cricket player who excels at both batting and bowling. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ... Reuben Fine (October 11, 1914 â€“ March 26, 1993) was one of the best chess players in the world from the mid 1930s through the early 1940s, an International Grandmaster, as well as a chess author, psychologist, and psychology author. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... Akiba Rubinstein (born 12 December 1882, died 15 March 1961 in Antwerp) was a brilliant Polish chess master and a famous grandmaster at the beginning of the 20th century. ...

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. Keres smiled and said: 'But can you imagine what it was like to play him when he was young?'"^[47] Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ...

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.^[50][51][52] 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.^[48] This article needs to be wikified. ... Averbakh in the 1950s Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922) is a Russian chess player and author. ... Viacheslav Vasilyevich Ragozin (October 8, 1908 – March 11, 1962) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster, an International Arbiter of chess, and a World Correspondence Chess Champion. ... Semyon Abramovich Furman (born December 1, 1920 in Pinsk, died March 17, 1978 in Leningrad) was a Soviet chess International Grandmaster and trainer. ... Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: ) (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007. ...

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. 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] The Queens Gambit Declined: 1. ... Moves 1. ... The French Defence. ... The English Opening is the chess opening 1. ...

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.^[53][54] Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: ) (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007. ... Sergei Tiviakov (b. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov (Aleksejs Širovs, Алексе́й Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Latvia), is one of the top chess grandmasters in the world today. ...

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.^[55][56] 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.^[57] 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.^[58] 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.^[55][48] Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Alexei Shirov Alexei Shirov (Aleksejs Širovs, Алексе́й Широв) (born July 4, 1972 in Riga, Latvia), is one of the top chess grandmasters in the world today. ... Vladimir Akopian (Russian: ); born December 7, 1971 in Baku) is a leading Armenian chess Grandmaster. ... Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 at Tallinn in Estonia) is a chess player. ...

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.^[59]

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).^[4] Milan Vidmar (June 22, 1885 – October 9, 1962) was a Slovene electrical engineer, chess player, chess theorist, philosopher and writer, born in Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia). ...

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.^[60] 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.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.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.^[61][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.^[62] AI redirects here. ... In chess, ply refers to a half-move: one turn of one of the players. ... Flowcharts are often used to graphically represent algorithms. ... In computer science, a brute-force search consists of systematically enumerating every possible solution of a problem until a solution is found, or all possible solutions have been exhausted. ...

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.
• 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.
• 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.^[53]

The Semi-Slav Defense is a variation of the Queens Gambit chess opening, defined by the opening moves (in algebraic chess notation 1. ... Arnold Sheldon Denker (February 20, 1914 – January 2, 2005) was an American chess player. ... In chess an exchange sacrifice occurs when one player gives up a rook a minor piece (knight or bishop). ...

References

• Winter, Edward G. (ed.) (1981). World chess champions. Pergamon. ISBN 0-08-024094-1. 
• Hooper, David and Kenneth Whyld (1996). The Oxford Companion To Chess. Oxford University. ISBN 0-19-280049-3. 
• Sunnucks, Anne (1970). The Encyclopaedia of Chess. Hale. ISBN 0709110308. 
• Hartston, William R. (1986). Kings of Chess. Pavilion. ISBN 1-85145-075-0. 

The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. ... Keter, in Jewish mysticism, is the topmost of the Sephirot, or Tree of Life. ... For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Schocken Verlag was establish in Berlin witha publishing office in Prague in 1931 by the Department Store owner Salman Schocken. ... This article is about the state. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... McFarland is the name of several places in the United States: McFarland in California McFarland in Kansas McFarland in Wisconsin This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Jefferson is a town in Ashe County, North Carolina, United States. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Antisemitism (alternatively spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism, also known as judeophobia) is prejudice and hostility toward Jews as a religious, racial, or ethnic group. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Pinhas Rutenberg (February 5, 1879 — January 3, 1942; Russian: , Pyotr Moiseyevich Rutenberg; Hebrew: ) was a prominent engineer and a businessman, a Russian socialist and a Zionist leader. ... Kibbutz Merom Golan as seen from Bental mountain A Kibbutz (Hebrew: Translit. ... A homeland is the concept of the territory to which one belongs; usually, the country in which a particular nationality was born. ... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... The Encyclopaedia Judaica is a 26-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people and their faith, Judaism. ... Gerald Abrahams is a British chess player, born in 1907. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... 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 mathematician and chess enthusiast who is also known for being the former husband of the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, Kim Campbell. ... For other uses, see The Independent (disambiguation). ... Averbakh in the 1950s Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922) is a Russian chess player and author. ... Averbakh in the 1950s Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922) is a Russian chess player and author. ... Robert E. Byrne (born April 20, 1928) is a leading American chess player who won the U.S. Championship in 1972. ... Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: ) (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007. ... Jan Timman Jan Timman (born December 14, 1951) is a famous Dutch chessplayer who had his greatest successes in the 1970s and 1980s. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 161st day of the year (162nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (Russian: ) (born June 25, 1975) is a Russian chess grandmaster and the World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007. ... Jaan Ehlvest (born 14 October 1962 at Tallinn in Estonia) is a chess player. ... Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ; born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... 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 David Hooper) of the Oxford Companion to Chess, the standard single-volume chess reference work in English. ... Patricia Anne Sunnucks (born 21 February 1927) is an author and the several time British Womens Chess Champion (1957, 1958, 1964). ...

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.M. (May 7, 1995). Mikhail Botvinnik, Chess Champion and Teacher of Champions, Dies at 83. New York Times.

Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ...

External links

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Mikhail Botvinnik

• Mikhail Botvinnik at ChessGames.com