Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow

Vasily Smyslow (1977)
Surname	Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow
Association	Russia
Born	March 24, 1921 Moscow , Soviet Russia
Died	March 27, 2010 Moscow
title	Grand Master (1950)
World Champion	1957-1958
Best Elo rating	2620 (July 1971 and July 1972)

Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow ( Russian Василий Васильевич Смыслов , scientific transliteration Vasilij Vasil'evič Smyslov ; born March 24, 1921 in Moscow ; † March 27, 2010 ibid) was a Russian - Soviet chess grandmaster and baritone. In 1957 he became the seventh world chess champion .

Tournament chess

Smyslow, who had been at the top of Soviet chess since 1940, took part in 15 of the 17 world championship cycles of FIDE between 1948 and 1997. Until the early 1990s he was one of the best players in the world.

From 1948 to 1958 he competed with Mikhail Botvinnik for the world title: In 1948 Smyslow finished second, in 1954 their competition ended in a draw, in 1957 Smyslow was able to conquer the world title, but lost it again in 1958.

For an overview see the list of chess tournaments by Vasily Smyslow .

World title

With third place in his first international tournament in Groningen in 1946 behind Botwinnik and Max Euwe , Smyslow had won the right to participate in the world championship tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE in 1948 for the world championship title , which was vacant after the death of Alexander Alekhine .

In the tournament, which was held in five rounds of five rounds each in The Hague and Moscow, Smyslow was second out of five players behind the new world champion Botvinnik.

As a participant of this five-man competition he was qualified for the Candidates Tournament in Budapest in 1950, where he was third behind the two tournament winners Isaak Boleslawski and David Bronstein . So Smyslow was again qualified for the following candidate tournament in 1953 in Neuhausen and Zurich, which he won with a clear two-point advantage. In the 1954 competition in Moscow with Botvinnik, Smyslow failed to start when he scored only one draw from the first four games. But Smyslow was able to take the lead with wins in the seventh, ninth, tenth and eleventh game, which meant that the competition was open again. Although Botvinnik managed to take the lead again two more times, Smyslow was able to make the competition 12-12 (with only 10 draws), which nevertheless secured Botvinnik's title defense.

The 1956 Candidates Tournament in Amsterdam Smyslow was able to win again. When he was still tied with Keres at the top three laps before the end, Smyslow was able to secure a clear 1½ point lead with a win against Bronstein, a draw against Boris Spasski and a win against Pilnik.

In the following competition with Botvinnik in the spring of 1957 Smyslow was well prepared. After Smyslow's victory in the first game, Botvinnik was able to take the lead with wins in the fourth and fifth game, but Smyslow could clearly shape the further course for himself. He won with 6 wins, 3 losses and 13 draws and was the new world champion. Smyslow considers his play in this match to be more even and harmonious and attributes this to his preparation for the opening and the analysis of the resulting middle game positions. However, he also regards his understanding of the final phase as an important reason for his success and draws attention to his win with Black in a minor piece ending in the seventeenth game.

According to the FIDE rules of the time, a dethroned world champion was entitled to a fight for rematch. In the competition in the spring of 1958 in Moscow Botvinnik was able to take the lead immediately with 3½-½ by winning the first three games as at the beginning of the competition in 1954 and did not give up his lead in the further course. Smyslow lost this match with five wins, seven losses and eleven draws. As the reason for his defeat, Smyslow recognizes the thorough preparation and great experience of his opponent, but also points out that he had been affected by flu during the match , which led to pneumonia towards the end of the event .

In total, both players played around 100 games against each other.

Later world championships

Vasily Smyslow, 1972

In the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Bled, Zagreb and Belgrade, he was fourth of eight players behind Michail Tal , Keres and Tigran Petrosjan . This meant that he was no longer eligible for the next candidate tournament and did not take part in the 1962 interzonal tournament.

The 1964 interzonal tournament in Amsterdam Smyslow was able to win tied with Bent Larsen , Spasski and Tal. In the candidate competitions, which were first carried out in the knockout system, he lost in the quarterfinals to Efim Geller with 2½ - 5½ in 1965 .

In the next but one interzonal tournament in 1970 in Palma de Mallorca for six places to be awarded in the candidate competitions, Smyslow reached eighth place and thus just missed out on progress.

From 1973 two parallel interzonal tournaments were carried out, in each of which three candidates were determined. In the 1973 Petrópolis tournament , Smyslow finished fifth and narrowly failed again, as did his fifth place in the 1976 Biel interzonal tournament.

After Smyslov 1978 Zone Tournament of Lemberg was able to prove with seven of 14 games only a middle seat, he succeeded in the following cycle, a surprising comeback with second place behind ZOLTÁN RIBLI 1982 in Las Palmas, a parallel of this time three Interzone tournaments for two candidate sites.

His quarter-final match against Robert Huebner in Velden in 1983 was a draw after the planned 10 games, as well as after the four extra games scheduled. If the score was 7-7, a lottery ticket was drawn by throwing a roulette ball, which was in Smyslov's favor.

Then Smyslow won the semi-final match in 1983 in London against Ribli with 6½ - 4½ and was only defeated in the candidate final in Vilna against the aspiring future world champion Garri Kasparow with 4½ - 8½.

Smyslow continued to take part in the World Cup cycles of FIDE and mostly reached middle places. In the 1985 Candidates Tournament in Montpellier he scored 7.5 points from 15 games, in the 1987 interzonal tournament in Subotica 7.5 from 15, in the 1990 interzonal tournament in Manila 5.5 from 13 and in the 1993 interzonal tournament in Biel 6.5 points from 13 games. At the 1997 KO candidate tournament in Groningen, he was eliminated in the first round with 0: 2.

In 1991 Smyslow won the first-ever senior chess championship in Bad Wörishofen at the age of 70, tied ahead of his “old” rival Geller, who was four years his junior.

USSR championships

He took part in the final of the 12th USSR Championship in 1940, where he was third behind Igor Bondarewski and Andor Lilienthal , but ahead of Botvinnik. In the subsequent tournament for an "absolute champion of the USSR", which Botvinnik won, Smyslow was again third. Smyslow won the USSR championships in 1949 shared with Bronstein and was shared tournament winner with Geller in 1955, which he was subject to in a playoff. Smyslow took part in a total of 20 finals of the USSR championships; in addition to the three tournaments mentioned above, also in the years 1944 (2nd place), 1945, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1960, Moscow 1961, Baku 1961, 1966, 1969, 1971 (2nd - 3rd place), 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 and 1988.

In 1951 he also took part in the semi-finals of the USSR championships and took 1st place there.

International tournaments

His numerous successes include victories in Moscow in 1956 shared with Botvinnik, in 1959 in Moscow shared with Bronstein and Spasski, 1963 in Moscow, 1964 shared with Wolfgang Uhlmann and 1965 in Havana, 1966 in Mar del Plata, 1969 in Monte Carlo shared with Lajos Portisch and 1971 in Amsterdam.

National team

Nine times (on the 2nd board 1952 in Helsinki , 2nd board 1954 in Amsterdam , 2nd board 1956 in Moscow , 2nd board 1958 in Munich , 1st replacement board 1960 in Leipzig , 3rd board 1964 in Tel Aviv , 2nd replacement board 1968 in Lugano , 1st replacement board in 1970 in Siegen and on the 3rd board in 1972 in Skopje ) he played at the Chess Olympiads in the Soviet team, which each won the gold medal. With consistently good results, Smyslow had a large share in this success, in the individual ranking he won four gold, two silver and two bronze medals. In addition, Smyslow won the World Team Championship in 1985 and the European Team Championships in 1957, 1961 , 1965, 1970 and 1973 with the Soviet Union. For the USSR against the rest of the world , Smyslow was nominated for the Soviet Union team in both 1970 and 1984. In 1970 he reached on the sixth board against Samuel Reshevsky a 1.5: 1.5 and defeated Friðrik Ólafsson in the last round , in 1984 he was defeated on the fourth board Ljubomir Ljubojević with 0.5: 1.5.

societies

Smyslow played for Burevestnik and won with this in 1961, 1968, 1971, 1974 and 1976 the Soviet club championship and in 1976 and 1979 the European Club Cup . At the European Club Cup he took part in two other events, in 1982 he reached the final again playing for Burevestnik , and in 1990 he was in the semifinals with Tigran Petrosyan Moscow .

Play style

Views from other players

Smyslow was particularly strong in the endgame and also wrote some endgame studies. The fifth world champion Max Euwe characterized him as follows: “Smyslow's style is mainly based on a positional basis, but this should not mean that he avoids combinations or is even 'peace-loving'. He only reaches his goal less directly, but rather by stealth, so to speak, and that is why Smyslow is particularly dangerous. " The sixth world champion Botvinnik saw Smyslow as “a universal chess talent. He handles the opening precisely, he can attack stormily, defend himself persistently and maneuver in cold blood. But his real element is the endgame, where he looks for his own kind. Here he often finds features that astonish even the connoisseur. ”Botvinnik's assessment is also shared by the thirteenth world champion Garri Kasparov.

Anthony Saidy emphasizes that, in contrast to competitors like Botwinnik, Bronstein and Keres, Smyslow did not try to put his own stamp on chess or to adapt it to his personality. With Smyslow "everything is cheerfulness and equilibrium, without compulsion or peculiarity". Saidy recognizes an objective artistic style:

“In his games, Smyslov shows an antipathy towards established opinions, a practical willingness to stage a positional attack, to defend it, to play different systems, to research freely and to discover the possibilities of chess. They don't say 'this is a typical Smyslov game', but rather 'this is a fine example of artistic chess' ”.

According to Saidy's psychological interpretation, Smyslow was a personality without charisma, who could only have the recognition he deserved by attaining the highest honor of the world championship. Saidy explains from the circumstances of the time that Smyslow was world champion only for a short period of one year: there was less incentive to try to become world champion as the title was increasingly viewed as first among equals.

The tenth world champion Boris Spassky points to Smyslov's pronounced intuition and calls him "the hand":

"... because his hand knows exactly which figure to place on which square at a certain moment; actually he doesn't need to calculate anything. "

The fourteenth world champion Vladimir Kramnik describes Smyslow as the "truth in chess". His game is correct, true and has a natural style. For Kramnik, too, this effortless and brilliant game seems as if Smyslow's hand was pulling by itself, and attests to him the “feeling of Mozart's light touch”. He was able to maintain his skill level over a long period of time because it was not based on his energy, drive or character, but on a deep understanding. Kramnik suspects that Smyslow could have held the world title for a longer period of time if he hadn't had the burning desire to do so.

Importance of tactics

Opinions are divided as to whether the main strength of Smyslow's game is his tactical ability, an extraordinary patience in defense, or the depth of his strategic ideas. In his strict and sparse game commentaries, Smyslow himself hardly emphasized his combinations.

For Alexander Kotov and Michail Judowitsch , Smyslov's chess talents are primarily in tactics. He studied strategy, technique and endgames thoroughly in order to perfect himself.

However, Ken Whyld sees Smyslow's mature game rather characterized by a coherent understanding of position, powerful endgame technique and well thought-out opening strategy, but only to a relatively small extent through combinations. Whyld refers to an investigation of Smyslov's games in the 34th USSR championship 1966 to 1967 by Mikhail Tal. Smyslow had a positional advantage in almost all games after 25 to 28 moves, but in many cases received a positionally lost position almost imperceptibly after a few more moves, and ultimately only won four. Tal recognizes here an unwillingness to calculate precise tactical variants.

In Kramnik's opinion, Smyslow's preparation for the opening and tactics were good, but not outstanding, but with his positional play he surpassed his predecessors on the world championship throne and created his own brand of chess. He was the first player to achieve the highest precision. With this style of step-by-step, “millimeter-by-millimeter” increase in positional pressure on the basis of an exact calculation of short variants, Smyslow was a forerunner of Anatoly Karpov .

Self-assessment

Smyslow emphasizes the importance of the permanent search for a harmonious line-up of figures for his style of play. The sense of harmony is, in Smyslow's view, crucial for playing chess as well as for other creative professions, arts and sciences.

He learned to play chess at the age of 6 from his father, who was himself a strong chess player in the first category. At the same time, he received piano lessons and developed a strong passion for music. The father tried to give him an understanding of positions with few stones right from the start. Smyslow assumes that from the exact knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the chess pieces in such "simple" positions, a feeling for harmony develops, which enables the chess player to find the right solution even in complicated positions. Up to the age of 14 Smyslow only played at home and studied the master games and classical chess literature from his father's library, which included at least 100 chess books. Smyslow does not give a single master as a role model, but he benefited most from studying the games of Mikhail Chigorin and Alexander Alekhine , who always knew how to find out the specific content of a position.

At the age of 14 he took part in his first tournament and reached the third category. From 1935 to 1936 he attended international tournaments in Moscow as a spectator with his father and was able to observe the ease of the intuitive game of José Raúl Capablanca and the energetic struggle of Emanuel Lasker .

In the following 2-3 years Smyslow reached the first category and since then has considered his style "toute proportion gardee" to be fully formed.

Smyslow compared his taste in music and chess and wrote:

“The strict beauty and harmony, the informality and the elegance, the infallible intuition of the artist, the absolute mastery of the technique and, as a result, the absolute independence from it - that is my ideal. In the game of chess, too, I am a staunch supporter of the classical logic of thought. A game of chess must involve searching for the truth. Victory is the confirmation of this truth. The greatest imagination, the highest technique, the deepest understanding of psychology are not able to turn a game of chess into a work of art if they do not lead to the main goal - the search for truth. These properties - taken individually - only indicate the extraordinary talent of their owner. "

Opening game

Although he emphasizes the importance of the endgame, Smyslow has also discovered a number of new openings . Influenced by the ideas of Mikhail Chigorin , he is particularly interested in the Spanish game 1. e2 – e4 e7 – e5 2. Ng1 – f3 Nb8 – c6 3. Bf1 – b5 as an opening in which the parties fight for a classic pawn center and she played with both colors. The closed defense of the Spanish game 3.… a7 – a6 4. Bb5 – a4 Ng8 – f6 5. 0–0 Bf8 – e7 6. Rf1 – e1 b7 – b5 7. Ba4 – b3 d7 – d6 8. c2 – c3 0 –0 9. h2 – h3 he treated at the Moscow Championship in 1943 with the maneuver 9.… Nf6 – d7 10. d2 – d4 Be7 – f6 . Against Tal in Baku in 1962 he chose 9.… h7 – h6 10. d2 – d4 Rf8 – e8 11. Nb1 – d2 Be7 – f8 , and in 1959 against Keres the move order 9.… Qd8 – d7 10. d2 – d4 Rf8 – e8 where Black can answer 11. Nf3 – g5 with 11.… Nc6 – d8 .

With both white and black, he liked to choose systems with the fianchetto of the king's runner. In later years he often chose the Catalan opening with white or the closed variant against the Sicilian defense , and with black the fianchetto variant of the Spanish game. With Black he has always been an expert in the Grünfeld-Indian defense 1. d2 – d4 Ng8 – f6 2. c2 – c4 g7 – g6 3. Nb1 – c3 d7 – d5 .

Grünfeld Indian

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 8. Bc1 – e3

In the Grünfeld-Indian Defense in 1946 in Groningen he tried Botwinnik in the variation 4. Ng1 – f3 Bf8 – g7 5. Qd1 – b3 d5xc4 6. Qb3xc4 0–0 7. e2 – e4 Bc8 – g4 8. Bc1 – e3 for the first time a list of the knights on c6 and b6. Smyslow played 8 ... Nc6 , but lost that game. In some tournament games in 1947 Smyslov tried the improvement of 8.… Nf6 – d7 . With this variant he lost a game against Euwe in 1948, but was able to prove the playability of the system against the same opponent in the final round and win.

In the 1983 candidate semi-final against Zoltan Ribli, Smyslow had specifically prepared for his preferred defense, the Improved Tarrasch Defense 1. d2 – d4 Ng8 – f6 2. Ng1 – f3 e7 – e6 3. c2 – c4 d7 – d5 4. Nb1 – c3 c7 – c5 5. c4xd5 Nf6xd5 6. e2 – e3 Nb8 – c6 7. Bf1 – d3 Bf8 – e7 8. 0–0 0–0 9. a2 – a3 c5xd4 10. e3xd4 Be7 – f6 . In the fifth game he surprised his opponent with the move 11. Qd1 – c2 , and in the seventh game Smyslow, following the previously known moves, brought 11. Bd3 – e4 Nc6 – e7 12. Nf3 – e5 g7 – g6 13. Bc1 – h6 Bf6 – g7 with 14. Bf6xg7 Kg8xg7 15. Ra1 – c1 a new plan.

In 1984 the influence of Mikhail Chigorin was still evident. This had to Wilhelm Steinitz at the World Chess Championship 1889 which was later named after him with black, in modern chess as dubious applicable Chigorin Defense 1. d2-d4 d7-d5 2. g1-f3 Bc8-g4 3. c2-c4 Sb8- c6 is used, in which Black attacks the white pawn center with the knights. In addition, Tschigorin had shown the possibilities of the jumping pair on several occasions compared to the generally considered stronger pair of bishops. Smyslow as black had scored a draw with the Chigorin defense in 1971 in the candidate reserve match with Lajos Portisch and was able to defeat Svetozar Gligoric in the IBM tournament in Amsterdam. In the 11th game of the 1984 candidate final against Garry Kasparov, Smyslow chose the Chigorin defense again, and he managed to defend an open position with two knights against two runners.

Game example

Keres - Smyslow, Zurich Candidates Tournament 1953

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 19.… d5xc4

Of great sporting importance was Smyslow's exact defense against the attack of his compatriot Paul Keres in the Zurich Candidates Tournament 1953 :

1. c2 – c4 Ng8 – f6 2. Nb1 – c3 e7 – e6 3. Ng1 – f3 c7 – c5 4. e2 – e3 Bf8 – e7 5. b2 – b3 0–0 6. Bc1 – b2 b7 – b6 7. d2 – d4 Now the Queen's Indian defense is reached with 4. e3 c5xd4 8. e3xd4 d7 – d5 9. Bf1 – d3 Nb8 – c6 10. 0–0 Bc8 – b7 11. Ra1 – c1 Ra8 – c8 12. Rf1 – e1 Nc6 -B4 13. Bd3-f1 Nf6-e4 14. a2-a3 Ne4xc3 15. Rc1-c3 Nb4-c6 16. Nf3-e5 Nc6xe5 17. Re1xe5 Be7-f6 18. Re5-h5 g7-g6 19. Rc3-h3 d5xc4 ! According to Smyslow stronger than the assumption of the rook sacrifice, 19.… g6xh5 20. Qd1xh5 Rf8 – e8, after which White draws with 21. Qh5 – h6 d5xc4 22. d4 – d5 Bf6xb2 23. Rh3 – g3 + Kg8 – h8 23. Rg3 – h3 force or continue the attack with 21. a3 – a4. 20.Rh5xh7

On 20. b3xc4 20.… g6xh5 21. Qd1xh5 Bb7 – e4 is possible, on instead 21. Bf1 – d3 Black defends himself with 21.… Rf8 – e8 22. Qd1xh5 Kg8 – f8 23. a3 – a3 Qd8 – d6. However, Bronstein has the solution 20. Qd1 – g4! c4 – c3 21. Bb2xc3 Rc8xc3 22. Rh3xc3 Qd8xd4 23. Qg4xd4 Bf6xd4 24. Rc3 – c7 g6xh5 25. Rc7xb7 Rf8 – c8 26. Bc1 – c4 suggested, after which the usability of the black 20th extra pawn according to Smyslow ? 21. Rh5xh7 Rc8 – c2 22. Bf1 – d3 Qd8 – c7 23. Rh3 – h6 or 21.… Qd8 – c7 22. Rh5 – h8 +! Bf6xh8 23. Qg4 – h4 Kg8 – g7 24. f2 – f4 White has that Continuous chess sure.) 20.… c4 – c3! 21. Qd1 – c1 Dd8xd4 22. Dc1 – h6 Rf8 – d8 23. Bb2 – c1 Bf6 – g7 24. Qh6 – g5 Qd4 – f6 25. Qg5 – g4 c3 – c2 26. Bf1 – e2 Rd8 – d4 27. f2– f4 Rd4 – d1 + 28. Be2xd1 Qf6 – d4 + White resigned.

His victory with Black against Botvinnik in the 14th game of the 1954 competition is one of the most famous Smyslovs. This game has been analyzed by Smyslow and Garry Kasparov , among others :

1. d2 – d4 Ng8 – f6 2. c2 – c4 g7 – g6 3. g2 – g3 Bf8 – g7 4. Bf1 – g2 0–0

With this move, Smyslow surprisingly plays the King's Indian Defense for the first time and dispenses with the previously usual treatment of the position with 4.… d7 – d5, which leads to the Grünfeld Indian defense .

5. Nb1-c3 d7-d6 6. Ng1-f3 Nb8-d7 7. 0-0 e7-e5 8. e2-e4 c7-c6

Smyslow had prepared this move for the competition after David Bronstein played twice against Botvinnik in 1949 and 1951. Smyslow thinks it is stronger than 8.… e5xd4 because it keeps the tension in the center.

9. Bc1-e3

It is true that Kasparov considers this move by Botvinnik to be an innovation in his commentary, but Smyslow was known to be a forerunner role. Because of the black answer move, nowadays 9. h2 – h3, 9. b2 – b3 or 9. d4 – d5 are played.

Against Vladimir Bukal, Smyslow as black in 1980 was like playing on 9. h2 – h3 after the familiar moves 9.… Qb8 – b6 10. Rf1 – e1 e5xd4 11. Nf3xd4 the game with 11.… Nf6 – e8! which represents an improvement compared to the usual move 11.… Rf8 – e8. He had only played the King's Indian Defense in a few games in between and, according to his own statements, prepared this move for his match against Botvinnik in 1954.

9.… Nf6 – g4! 10. Be3-g5 Qd8-b6 11. h2-h3

Smyslow knew this position from a game Andor Lilienthal - Alexander Konstantinopolski , Sotschi 1952, in which the retreat took place 11.… Ng4 – f6, and had discovered an improvement:

11.… e5xd4! 12. Nc3-a4 Qb6-a6 13. h3xg4 b7-b5 14. Nf3xd4 b5xa4 15. Nd4xc6

While Smyslow considers White's position to be difficult after 15. b2 – b3 Nd7 – e5 16. Bg5 – e7 Bc8xg4 17. f2 – f3 Rf8 – e8 18. Be7xd6 Ra8 – d8, Kasparov appreciates it after the next moves 19. c4– c5 Bg4 – c8 as unclear and indicates the possibility 19.… Ne5 – d3 20. Nd4xc6! down.

15.… Qa6xc6 16. e4 – e5 Qc6xc4 17. Bg2xa8 Nd7xe5 18. Ra1 – c1

On 18. Bg5 – e7 Bc8xg4 19. Qd1 – d5 Rf8 – e8 20. Be7xd6 Re8 – d8 21. Qd5xc4 Ne5xc4 White loses a bishop. On 18. Qd1xd6 Smyslow suggests 18.… Qc4xg4. Kasparow, on the other hand, points out the possibility of 19. Bg5 – f6 and instead prefers 18.… Bc8xg4 19. Ba8 – d5 Qc4 – d3 with equalization.

18.… Qc4 – b4 Kasparov finds 18.… Qc4 – b5 “more unpleasant for White”.

Smyslow - Liberson, 1968

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

After 26.… Bf7xd5

19. a2-a3

While Smyslow gives this move an exclamation mark, Kasparov points out the possibility 19. Bg5 – e7 Bc8xg4 20. Be7xd6! whereupon Black should have found 20.… Qb4 – b6 21. Qd1 – d5 Bg4 – f3 22. Qd5 – c5 Rf8xa8 23. Bd6xe5 Qb6 – e6 in order to avoid having to defend a slightly worse endgame.

19.… Qb4xb2 20. Qd1xa4 Bc8 – b7! 21. Rc1 – b1?

The position after 21. Ba8xb7 Qb4xb7 22. Rc1 – c3! h7 – h6 23. Bg5 – f4 Ne5 – f3 + 24. Rc3xf3 Qd7xf3 25. Bf4xd6 Rf8 – d6 26. Bd6 – c5 would be equal (Kasparov) or “almost equal” (Smyslow).

21.… Ne5 – f3 + 22. Kg1 – h1 Bb7xa8 23. Rb1xb2 Nf3xg5 + 24. Kh1 – h2 Ng5 – f3 + 25. Kh2 – h3 Bg7xb2 26. Qa4xa7 Ba8 – e4 27. a3 – a4 Kg8 – g7 28. Rf1 – d1 Bb2 –E5 29. Qa7 – e7 Rf8 – c8! Activating the tower is crucial.

30. a4-a5 Rc8-c2 31. Kh3-g2 Nf3-d4 + 32. Kg2-f1 Bd5-f3 33. Rd1-b1 Nd4-c6 White gave up.

The combination victory at the USSR team championship in 1968 with White against Grandmaster Vladimir Liberson caused a stir .

1. c2 – c4 e7 – e5 2. Nb1 – c3 Nb8 – c6 3. g2 – g3 g7 – g6 4. Bf1 – g2 Bf8 – g7 The closed structure of Sicilian in a suit 5. Re1 – b1 d7 – d6 6. b2 -B4 a7-a6 7. e2-e3 f7-f5 8. Ng1-e2 Ng8-f6 9. d2-d3 0-0 10. 0-0 Bc8-d7 11. a2-a4 Ra8-b8 12. b4-b5 a6xb5 13. a4xb5 Nc6 – e7 14. Bc1 – a3 Bd7 – e6 15. Qd1 – b3 b7 – b6 16. d3 – d4 e5 – e4 17. d4 – d5 Be6 – f7 18. Ne2 – d4 Qd8 – d7 19. Ba3 –B2 g6 – g5 20. Nc3 – e2 Kg8 – h8 21. Rb1 – a1 Ne7 – g6 22. f2 – f4 e4xf3 ep 23. Rf1xf3 Ng6 – e7 24. Nd4 – c6 Rb8 – e8 25. Ne2 – d4 Nf6xd5 26. c4xd5 Bf7xd5 27.Nd4xf5 !! White offers a queen sacrifice, which Black has to accept three moves later. 27.… Rf8xf5 28. Bb2xg7 + Kh8 – g8! Smyslow praises this move as a cold-blooded defense. 29. Rf3xf5 Bd5xb3 30. Rf5xg5 Ne7 – g6 31. Bg7 – h6 Qd7 – e6 32. h2 – h4 Qe6xe3 + 33. Kg1 – h2 De3 – c3 34. Ra1 – f1 Bb3 – c4 35. Rf1 – f2 Qc3 – e1 36. Rg5 – f5 Bc4xb5 37. Bh6 – d2 De1 – b1 38. Bg2 – d5 + Kg8 – h8 39. Bd2 – c3 + Ng6 – e5 40. Nc6xe5 d6xe5 41. Rf5xe5 Black resigned. This game was chosen by an expert jury in Schachinformator 6 with a high score of 75 out of 80 possible points as the best of the 2nd half of the year.

Chess composition

Vasily Smyslow congratulates Yuri Averbach on his 80th birthday and hands him Moi Etjudi , a book of his chess studies

Since 1936 Smyslow had published a few studies. A three-move from him from the thirties has also come down to us. One of his best-known discoveries is the motif of the black tower blocked by his own figures in a drawing study from 1938:

Vasily Smyslow Schachmaty w SSSR , 1938 4th prize   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   draw

Solution: 1. Bb2 – f6 + e7xf6 2. f3 – f4 Ra8 – h8 + 3. Kh6 – g7 Rh8xh5 4. a2 – a4 Rh5 – g5 + 5. Kg7 – h8 Kh4 – h5 6. Kh8 – h7 Rg5 – g6 7. Kh7 – h8 Rg6 -H6 + 8. Kh8-g7 Rh6-g6 + 9. Kg7-h8 Kh5-h6 stalemate

In 1957 Smyslow was named by FIDE as the International Referee for Chess Composition .

In the last ten years of his life he had increasingly published endgame studies, and because of his poor eyesight he composed virtually blindly . At the age of 80 he published 48 of his studies in a booklet. In it he notes:

Apart from the aesthetic enjoyment, the study composition undoubtedly helps with development and perfection in the endgame

Vasily Smyslow source unknown, between 1935 and 1938   a b c d e f G H   8th 8th 7th 7th 6th 6th 5 5 4th 4th 3 3 2 2 1 1   a b c d e f G H   Mate in 3 moves

Solution: 1. Da8-h1 (the second threatens Qh8 + Kg6 3. DG7 matt ) 1 ... Kf6-e5 2. Kf8-e7 f1-g3 / f7-f5 / Sf1-d2 3. Dh1-a1 / Dh1-h8 / DH1 h2 or Qh1 – a1 mate 1.… Nf1 – h2 2. Qh1 – a1 + e6 – e5 / Kf6 – g6 3. Qa1 – a6 / Da1 – g7 mate

Singer

Smyslow was a trained opera singer. Since 1948 he took several years lessons with Konstantin Wassiljewitsch Slobin and took part in a singing competition in Moscow's Bolshoi Theater . As a lyrical baritone , he has had records and CDs of opera arias and classical romances recorded in Russia. Up to the age of 80 he gave concerts; For example, on Karpov's 50th birthday in May 2001 he sang in the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. He named Enrico Caruso as a musical role model .

Others

In 1967 he was awarded the Order of Lenin of the Soviet Union for his services to chess .

His last Elo rating was 2494, but Smyslow had not actively participated in tournaments for several years. Instead, he continued to write books, mostly about finals. His best historical rating prior to the introduction of Elo ratings, which he achieved in September 1956, was 2,800.

Private

Smyslow left behind his widow Nadezhda Andreevna Smyslowa, who died in the same year. His stepson Vladimir Selimanow (* 1939; † 1960), who was also a chess player and who took part in the U20 World Cup in Toronto in 1957 and finished fourth, committed suicide after his return and between the two World Cup matches.

Reference in art and culture

Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick named the figure of a Russian astronomer "Andrei Smyslov" in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey .

Works

• Izbrannie partii (" Selected Parts "), 1952
  • Selected chess games , translated from Russian by Edmund Budrich , edited by Kurt Richter , Sportverlag, Berlin 1954.
  • My Best Games of Chess 1936-57 , into English and revised by Peter Hugh Clarke , with a biography of Smyslow by PA Romanovsky, Routledge & Kegan Paul
• Theory and practice of rook endings , together with G. Löwenfisch , 1985
• “In search of harmony”, 1979
  • 125 Selected Games , into English by Ken Neal, Pergamon Press, 1983
  • My 130 most beautiful games from 1938–1984 , supplemented German edition, Schachverlag Rudi Schmaus, Heidelberg 1988.
• The art of the endgame , edited and translated from the Russian by Dagobert Kohlmeyer, Bock and Kübler, Berlin-Fürstenwalde 1996, ISBN 3-86155-076-8 .
• Smyslow, Wassili Wassiljewitsch: Moi etjudy , Isdatelstwo 64 , Moscow, 2000, ISBN 5-94046-001-1 . (Russian)
• Secrets of the rook endgame , translated from Russian by Dagobert Kohlmeyer, supplemented by Karsten Müller , Olms, Hombrechtikon and Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-283-00520-6 . (Practice chess 74)

literature

• Genna Sosonko : Smyslov on the Couch . Elk and Ruby, Moscow 2018. ISBN 978-5-9500433-2-1 .

Web links

Commons : Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow in the catalog of the German National Library
• Compositions by Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow on the Schwalbe's PDB server
• The most important thing is harmony , interview by Dagobert Kohlmeyer with Wassili Smyslow (November 22, 2004)
• Replayable chess games by Wassili Wassiljewitsch Smyslow on 365Chess.com (English)
• Chessmetrics Player Profile: Vassily Smyslov (Results January 1939 - October 2001, English)

Obituaries

• Dagobert Kohlmeyer : "In Memoriam Wassili Smyslow" , Chessbase News , March 27, 2010
• Tim Harding : Vasily Smyslov, The Career of a World Champion ( Memento from March 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), The Kibitzer 167 on Chesscafe.com , April 2010, (15 pages pdf; 1.2 MB)
• Arne Moll: 7th World Champion Vasily Smyslov dies at 89 , March 27, 2010

Individual evidence

1. ^ Dagobert Kohlmeyer: 85 years of Wassily Smyslow In: de.chessbase.com. March 24, 2006, accessed November 18, 2019.
2. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 Most Beautiful Games , 1988, pp. 19-20.
3. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 Most Beautiful Games , 1988, p. 20.
4. ↑ After 7: 7 the ball decided for Smyslow. Korchnoi won over Portisch 6: 3 . Schach Aktiv 5/1983 (reports, pictures)
5. ↑ Wassili Smyslow's results at the Chess Olympiads on olimpbase.org (English)
6. ↑ Wassili Smyslow's results at team world championships on olimpbase.org (English)
7. ↑ Vasily Smyslow's results at European Team Championships on olimpbase.org (English)
8. ^ Vasily Smyslow's results at Soviet club championships
9. ↑ ^{a b} Wassili Smyslow's results at European Club Cups on olimpbase.org (English)
10. ↑ quoted from: Schach 11 1993, p. 60.
11. ↑ Michail Botwinnik, quoted from Schach 11/1993, p. 58.
12. ↑ Garri Kasparow: My Great Predecessors, Part II , Everyman, 2003, p. 381, here taken from Mark Weeks: Smyslovs Style , chessforallages.blogspot.com , April 29, 2007
13. ↑ Anthony Saidy, Kampf der Schachideen , de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1986, pp. 80–81.
14. ^ Anthony Saidy, Kampf der Schachideen , de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1986, p. 85.
15. ^ Anthony Saidy, Kampf der Schachideen , de Gruyter, Berlin, New York 1986, p. 87.
16. ↑ "I call him 'Hand' because his hand knows exactly on which square to put which piece at a given moment; actually, he does not have to calculate anything. ", Lev Khariton: No Regrets: Boris Spassky at 60 , Kingpin 29, Fall 1998
17. ↑ "He is truth in chess", Vladimir Barsky: Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov ( Memento from December 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive ), Chess Monthly , May 15, 2005
18. ↑ "This has the feel of Mozart's light touch", Vladimir Barsky: Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov, Chess Monthly , May 15, 2005
19. ↑ Vladimir Barsky: Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov, Chess Monthly , May 15, 2005
20. ^ PA Romanovsky in: My Best Games of Chess 1935-57 , 1958, pp. Xx-xxii, here taken from Mark Weeks: Smyslovs Style , chessforallages.blogspot.com , April 29, 2007
21. ↑ Alexander Kotov and Michail Judowitsch : The Soviet School of Chess , Dover 1961, p. 140, here taken from Mark Weeks: Smyslovs Style , chessforallages.blogspot.com , April 29, 2007
22. ↑ Ken Whyld : Vasily Smyslov, in: Edward Winter : World Chess Champions ; Pergamon, 1981, pp. 94-95, here taken from Mark Weeks: Smyslovs Style , chessforallages.blogspot.com , April 29, 2007
23. ↑ Vladimir Barsky: Kramnik Interview: From Steinitz to Kasparov, Chess Monthly , May 15, 2005
24. ^ ^{A b} D. Kohlmeyer: The most important thing is harmony. Interview with ex-world champion Wassili Smyslow , ChessBase 2004
25. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 most beautiful games from 1938–1984 , p. 9.
26. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 most beautiful games from 1938–1984 , p. 15.
27. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 most beautiful games from 1938–1984 , p. 16.
28. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 Most Beautiful Games , 1988, pp. 237–240.
29. ↑ on the game Smyslow - Gligoric 1971 see Smyslow: Meine 130 Schönsten Partien , 1988, p.
30. ↑ Wassily Smyslow: My 130 most beautiful parts , Heidelberg 1988, pp. 83–85.
31. ↑ Analysis ( Memento from February 22, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) by Garri Kasparow on chessbase.de
32. ↑ International referees for chess compositions
33. ↑ Smyslow, Wassili Wassiljewitsch: Meine Studien , Isdatelstwo 64 , Moscow, 2000, p. 417, ISBN 5-94046-001-1 . (Russian)
34. ↑ Chess questions: Wassili Smyslow, Schach 4 2001, pp. 64–65.
35. ^ Helmut Pfleger in: Zeitmagazin No. 23, 2010, p.44
36. ↑ Smyslow: My 130 most beautiful games from 1938–1984 , p. 22.
37. ↑ " Chess Blog: Symslows misfortune ". Retrieved August 27, 2014.