Tal, Petrosian, Spassky And Korchnoi A Chess Multibiography With 207 Games - Andrew Soltis.pdf

Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

ALSO BY ANDREW SOLTIS AND FROM MCFARLAND

Mikhail Botvinnik: The Life and Games of a World Chess Champion (2014) The United States Chess Championship, 1845-2011, 3d ed. (2012) Los Voraces 2019: A Chess Novel (2004) Chess Lists, 2d ed. (2002) Soviet Chess 1917-1991 (2000; paperback 2015) The 100 Best Chess Games of the 20th Century, Ranked (2000; paperback 2006) Frank Marshall, United States Chess Champion: A Biography with 220 Games (1993; paperback 2013)

Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi A Chess Multibiography with 206 Games ANDREW SOLTIS

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina

FIRST EDITION, first

printing

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Names: Soltis, Andy, 1947- author. Title: Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi : a chess multibiography with 207 games / Andrew Soltis. Description: Jefferson, North Carolina : McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2019 I Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018039096 I ISBN 9781476671468 (library binding : alk. paper) @) Subjects: LCSH: Chess players-Soviet Union-Biography. I Tals, Mihails [sic; Tal, Mikhail Nekhemyevich], 1936-1992. I Petrosian, Tigran Vartanovich, 1929-1984. I Spassky, Boris Vasilyevich, 1937Korchnoi, Viktor [Lvovich], 1931-2016. I Chess-History-20th century. Classification: LCC GV1438 .S64 2019 I DDC 794.1092/2 [BJ -dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018039096 BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

ISBN (print) 978-1-4766-7146-8 ISBN (ebook) 978-1-4766-3478-4 © 2019 Andrew Soltis. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America Edited by Robert Franklin Designed by Susan Ham and Robert Franklin Typeset by Susan Ham

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com

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Table of Contents Preface Introduction: The Soviet Team of Rivals

1 5

Four Boys Growing Pains Overkill Culture War Spassky, Spassky, Spassky! Volshebnik Three Directions A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Why Not Me? Private Lives, Public Games Candidacy Humors Whose Risk Is Riskier? The Fischer Factor Countdown to Calamity

15 43 62 79 93 109 133 151 180 197 222 247 276 301 318

Epilogue: Four Aging Men Appendix A: Chronology, 1929-2016 Appendix B: Ratings Comparison Chapter Notes Bibliography Index of Opponents Index of Openings-Traditional Names Index of Openings-ECO Codes General Index

335 339 353 355 373 377 379 381 382

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

V

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Preface after Korchnoi defected and was free to tell his story, his first books got his own birthday wrong. Twice. 1 Spassky trained to be a professional jour­ nalist but wrote little about his life. We have to rely largely on his interviews and com­ ments by friends and rivals. On the other hand is Tal, who wrote extensively about his roller-coaster career. But his words have to be weighed carefully. As he told his first wife, 'Tm a speaker, not a writer:' He seemed to have dictated much of his magnificent mem­ oir, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tai, at the cost of misremembered events and fudged details. Tal also had "one small but forgivable weakness" as his friend Yuri Averbakh put it: He liked "to embellish'' the truth. 2 Tal also glossed over insults and snubs. He wrote that he was not invited to play on the Soviet Olympic team in 1968 because "a place had not been found for me:' The truth was that he was humiliated at the last moment be­ cause of an infamous bar incident at the pre­ vious Olympiad. Some of the most important events in the lives of these four men have been ignored completely by respected sources. Shortly after the 1962 Candidates tournament, every avid chess fan knew that Bobby Fischer al­ leged that Petrosian, Paul Keres and Yefim Geller conspired to draw their mutual games. But there is not a word about the Petrosian-

Everyone who takes chess seriously knows the games of Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi. But they know very little about their private lives. This is remarkable because their life stories are much more dramatic, heart-rending, even terrifying than those of today's elite players. It is hard to imagine a top 21st century grandmaster who, at age 11, had to use his sled to drag the body of his grandmother more than a mile over icy streets so he could bury her. But Korchnoi did that. And it is hard to imagine one of today's elite players conspiring to have his wife divorce him so that he could play in a major tournament, then drop the divorce proceedings after the tournament. Yet that was one of many strange turns in Tal's private life. This is a book I wanted to write 20 years ago, when I was researching Soviet Chess 1917-1991. I could not because most of the proper source material did not exist at the time. Much of what has been written about these four extraordinary men is still in dis­ pute. Improbable tales have circulated for decades about Tal's parentage, how Petro­ sian's marriage came about, ofSpassky's tor­ tured personal life, how telepaths and hyp ­ nosis influenced Candidates matches, and so on. Yet some of them are true. And in some cases, the subjects of this book have been just plain sloppy with the facts of their lives. Even

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2

Preface

Geller-Keres alliance in, for example, Garry Kasparov's treatment of Petrosian, in My Great Predecessors, Part III, or in Viktor Vasiliev's biography of Petrosian, which has been the standard source of information about him. We have a clearer picture of some events in Tal and Korchnoi's life because they wrote memoirs. But autobiography is a well­ practiced art of omission. Tal made almost no mention of his first wife in The Life and Games ofMikhail Tai, despite their astonish­ ing relationship and its affect on his career. He glossed over many bizarre events in his life, such as playing a tournament game in a hotel bath when he was too ill to appear at a playing site, or his emotional collapse for weeks after the death of his father. Korchnoi added and subtracted details in the two versions of Chess Is My Life. Readers of the 1977 version might have been sur­ prised to discover, from the 2004 version, that he was Jewish. But in the 2004 edition they would not find the account in the earlier work of how he was often "conceited" and "drunk'' in his 20s. 3 The historical record is further flawed because hundreds of the early-and some later-games of these play­ ers have vanished. For example, one author­ itative database says that Tigran Petrosian and Viktor Korchnoi played 70 games and the score was five wins for Petrosian and eight for Korchnoi. An equally respected data­ base gives 59 games including 11 victories for each. And the two-volume "The Games of Tigran Petrosian'' has perhaps the most ac­ curate collection, 68 games, including eight victories for Petrosian and 12 for Korchnoi. Petrosian died two years before Mikhail Gorbachev announced a government­ endorsed policy of candor called glasnost. As a result, Petrosian's words often sound like agitprop ("I grew up in Tbilisi in a workers' family"). What was written about him was a 1960s form of political correctness (his father was "not yet literate"). That leaves us with

just a caricature of the ninth world cham­ pion. No wonder that Nigel Short said he had eight biographies of Petrosian yet "I have never succeeded in thinking of Petrosian as being anything other than an exceptionally rude, ignorant Caucasian peasanf' 4 Inevitably there are conflicting accounts of events. After Sally Landau, Tal's first wife, wrote a memoir about him, it was ridiculed by his third wife. "People sometime have a rich sense of fantasy;' she said. 5 In the main, I've provided both sides of issues in dispute and let the reader decide. In some cases, there are more than two sides. Tal and his two seconds met in a hotel room to decide what opening he should play in the last round of the 1959 Candidates tournament. Yet each of the three men gave a strikingly different account of what went on. It is often said that journalism is a very rough first draft of history. This is true. But journalists generally avoid writing a "single­ source story:' Every new fact must be sub­ jected to review by other sources, to confirm, deny or refuse comment. Historians, how­ ever, regularly write about events based on a single source because there is no other. For example, Tal's first wife said he threatened suicide during one of his violent episodes with her. There are Tal confidants who recall their many break-ups and reconciliations. But they do not confirm the suicide threat or many other of Sally Landau's recollections. Similarly, we have no source to confirm the grim accounts of Korchnoi's life during the blockade of Leningrad or the dialogue he claimed Petrosian and his other "enemies" engaged in during the last round of the 1960 Soviet championship. Where possible, I've relied on the great chroniclers of Soviet chess, including Gennady Sosonko, Yuri Averbakh, Viktor Vasiliev and Isaac and Vladimir Linder. But there are inevitably many holes in the historic tapestry, even a history this recent. In selecting illustrative games I favored

Preface the lesser-known over the often-published. For comparisons of players and tournaments I relied on the retroactive historical ratings of www.chessmetrics.com. Where the En­ glish translation of Russian literature seemed faulty, I've substituted my own. To help the reader, I've included a timeline of events in the lives of Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and

3

Korchnoi as well as a comparative chart of their ratings. Finally I would like to thank Robert Franklin, without whose prodding I would never have started this project, and Marcy Soltis, without whose support, I would never have finished it. And thank you Misha, Tigran, Boris and Viktor.

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Introduction: The Soviet Team of Rivals Riga, 2 a.m. February 14, 1958. Yuri Averbakh was returning to his hotel room after dinner at a seaside restaurant. "The place was as silent as the grave, except for the next room, where Spassky was stay­ ing:' he wrote. "The tap-tap of chess pieces could be heard:' 1 Hours earlier Boris Spassky, the 21-year-old widely seen as a future world champion, adjourned his last-round game of the 25th USSR Championship against Mik­ hail Tal. That game was the focus of attention of the more than 1,000 fans who squeezed into the playing site, the newly-built Palace of the Academy of Sciences, the tallest build­ ing in Latvia. When the final round began, the leaders were: Tigran Petrosian and Tal-11½ points. David Bronstein-11 points. Spassky and Averbakh-10½ points. It was not just the modest first prize money that was at stake. This Soviet championship was a "Zonal:' the first step towards the world championship match of 1960 against the aging and vulnerable Mikhail Botvinnik. Only the first four finishers in the tourna ment would advance to the next stage, an In­ terzonal tournament. That meant that one of the five leaders in this championship would miss out and have to wait until at least 1963 for a shot at the world title.

When the round began Averbakh was paired with his good friend Petrosian, the least ambitious of the world's elite players. Petrosian found a quick way to create draw­ ish bishops of opposite color and assure him­ self of a ticket to the Interzonal. Temporarily, he alone led the scoretable with 12 points. But two other games could change that. One was:

Spassky-Tal 25th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1957 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E26) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 e5 8. Ne2 e4 9. Bbl b610. Ng3 Ba6 ll. f3!? Bxc412. Nf5?! 0-0 Tal signals that he was willing to play an equal middlegame, rather than a risky one after 12. . . . dS! 13. Nxg7+ Kf8 14. NfS Rg8.

13. Nd6 Bd3 14. Bxd3 exd3 15. Qxd3 cxd4 16. cxd4 NeS 17. Nf5 d518. a4 Nd619. Nxd6 Qxd6 20. Ba3 Nb4 21. Qb3 a5 22. 0-0 Rfc8 Tal offered a draw here. He had shocked the chess world by winning the previous So­ viet Championship. But that success was written off as a mysterious mixture of bluff,

5

6

Introduction

trickery and pure luck. A draw in this game would vindicate him by giving him a tie for first place. Spassky, looking fastidious in his bow tie and glasses, considered Tal's offer. While he thought, spectators turned to another huge demonstration board. It showed Viktor Korchnoi pressing David Bronstein. The out­ come meant little to Korchnoi: He would fin­ ish somewhere between 7th and 14th place regardless. At 26 he was still relatively young but had seen two younger men, first Spassky, then Tal, surge ahead of him in the previous two years. His chances of joining them in the world elite would have to be postponed once more. Korchnoi offered a draw after 25 moves and Bronstein shook his hand. The standings were updated to show Bronstein and Tal temporarily tied for second place, a half point behind Petrosian. Meanwhile, Spassky refused Tal's offer and their game continued:

23. Rael Qe6 24. Bxb4 axb4 25. Kf2! Qd6! 26. h3 Kf8 27. Rc2 Rxc2+ 28. Qxc2 g6 29. Rel Qd7 30. Qc6 Qxc6 31. Rxc6 Ra6 32. a5! b3! 33. axb6 b2 34. b7 bl(Q) 35. Rc8+ Kg7 36. b8(Q) Ra2+ 37. Kg3 Qel+ 38. Kh2 Qxe3 39. Rg8+ Kf6 40. Qd6+ Qe6 41. Qf4+ Qf5 42. Qd6+ Qe6 43. Qg3 Qe3 44. h4 Re2 45. Qd6+ Qe6 (see diagram)

After 45. ... Qe6 Spassky sealed his next move: The game would be played off the next morning. As Yuri Averbakh left the playing hall he felt

glum. It was clear to him that Tal was losing. He did the arithmetic: If Tal lost, Petrosian would finally become Soviet champion. Spas­ sky would finish in a tie for second place. Averbakh would finish fifth and be the odd man out. This was his thinking when he arrived back at his hotel at 2 a.m. The "tap-tap" he heard in the next room was Spassky moving pieces of the adjourned position with his longtime second Alexander Tolush, veteran grandmaster Alexander Kotov, and the Len­ ingrad master Dmitry Rovner. Kotov had many friends in the vlasti, the Communist Party authorities. A win would please the vlasti. Spassky seemed the ideal successor to Botvinnik. He was young, handsome, athletic and very Russian. Averbakh was trying to sleep when the telephone rang. "Morning, grandmaster! " said a voice. "Excuse the disturbance. This is Robert, Misha's uncle. Could you come over and help us? We will send a car:' 2 Aver­ bakh had to agree: A draw would mean he would tie with Spassky for fourth place and play a match to see who would go to the In­ terzonal. Twenty minutes later Averbakh arrived at Gorky Street, number 34, the Tal family res­ idence. Tal and his second, Alexander Kob­ lents, had been deluged with phone calls from fans all night. "Misha, are you ready if Spas­ sky plays so?" one supporter asked. "Misha what will you do if Spassky does this?" another wanted to know. The situation was grim. "The more we looked at the position, the more complex the problems facing us looked;' wrote Koblents.3 He was the father­ figure who Tal reverently called "Maestro:' Even with the addition of another pair of eyes, Averbakh's, they could not find a forced win for Spassky. But the position simply felt like it should be won. This was the feeling Tal so often sensed when he was the attacker. There was simply too much pressure, both tactical and psychological, for a defender to endure.

The Soviet Team of Rivals

7

Spassky (left) prepares to seal his 46th move in his dramatic last-round game with Tai (right) at the 25th USSR Championship finals in Riga. Chess Review, September 1959 (used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

Back at his hotel, Spassky and his team came to the same conclusion. There was no clear forced win. But White could test Black's defenses here and probe them there. Spassky could maintain the initiative for at least an­ other 10 moves, maybe 20. And if he could not find a win, he could always force perpet­ ual check and then try to beat Averbakh in a playoff match. The two analysis sessions continued with­ out reaching a definite conclusion. At 4:30 a.m. Tal's doting mother Ida came into the room with a glass of kefir for her son and a bit of motherly advice. "I think Misha should lie down and get to sleep;' she said.4 "The most important thing is that he plays with a fresh head:' Tal and his helpers were about to fall asleep at the board. "I just got sick of being mated" in the analysis, Tal said, ex­ plaining why he gave up at 5 a.m. 5 Across town, Spassky also concluded he needed sleep.

"Tomorrow I will mate him!" he announced. "But now I'm going to bed:' Averbakh left the Tal home and went back to his hotel. Koblents also left but wondered how Tal could possibly get to sleep "when Spassky's heavy pieces are pursuing his king across the whole board:' 6 Salo Flohr, the vet­ eran grandmaster who had learned from his games with Alexander Alekhine what a lost adjournment looked like, wrote: "Tal and all Riga slept badly that night:'

The Draw Not Taken Spassky liked to attend important games after a bath and a shave and wearing a suit. But he had analyzed so late that he left for the tournament site "very disheveled and fa­ tigued:'7 He encountered Petrosian along the way. They had met five years before at an

8

Introduction

international tournament in Bucharest, Ru­ mania, when the Armenian was the world's youngest grandmaster and Spassky was only a 16-year-old national master. They drew in 15 moves, thanks to an angry telegram from Moscow ordering the Soviet players in the tournament to stop beating one another. Since then they had become good friends. Spassky knew how easily excited Petrosian could be. This morning he found him strangely subdued. "Today you will be cham­ pion;' Spassky told him. Petrosian did not even smile. But he was wearing a new suit, white shirt and tie, "apparently all ready for his interview as champion:•s Spassky pro­ ceeded to the playing site and sat down at the board with his own glass of kefir when the game resumed at 9 a.m. Meanwhile, Averbakh finally got to sleep. When he got up and went for a walk, he heard Latvian youths, obviously fans of their hometown hero, shouting "Tal is champion! Tal is champion! " 9 Averbakh could not believe it. Still groggy, he managed to run back to the site and pushed through the departing crowd. He discovered what had happened: 46. Qf4+! Qf5 47. Qh6! Ke7 48. Qf8+ Kf6 49. Qg7+ Ke7 50. Ra8 This was among several times when Spas­ sky could have repeated the position and drawn. "Why did you refuse draws?" Boris Veinstein, the wartime boss of Soviet chess and mentor of David Bronstein, asked him at the final banquet. "You wouldn't have be­ come champion even if you had won the ad­ journment:' 10 "I very much wanted to win;' Spassky replied. Years later he admitted, "I was like a stubborn mule:' 11 50. . . . Qd7 51. Qf8+ Kf6 52. Ra6+ Re6 53. Qh8+ Ke7 54. Ra8 Rel 55. Kg3 h5? 56. Kf2 Re6 (see diagram) 57. Rc8?

After 56. ... Re6 Tal gave this move an exclamation point when he first annotated the game, as did Garry Kasparov in 2004. But it spoils the at­ tack. Forced wins, with variations many moves deep, were found at various points after the game. The most convincing was 57. Qb8!!, with a threat of 58. Ra7. The idea is to force 57. . . . Kf6 so that 58. g4! will be followed by a killing g4-g5+. But the position is stagger­ ingly difficult. When Tal reanalyzed the game more than 25 years he failed to find this and other wins. 57. . . . Rd6? 58. Qf8+ Kf6 59. Re8? White misses another win beginning with 59. g4! , which was also good a move ago. White cannot catch the king with just a queen and rook, as the players realized only after the game. 59. . . . Re6 60. Qh8+ Kf5 61. Qh6! Kf6 62. Qh8+ Kf5 63. Rd8 Qc6 64. Rc8 The Black king is safe and this indicates that Spassky had run out of ideas. He must have understood by now that all three out­ comes of the game were possible-win, draw or loss. In a voice that did not sound like his, he offered a draw. Tal took his time deciding. Ever the psychologist, he realized Spassky had mentally played the role of attacker since the game was adjourned. Now Spassky was in no condition to defend. He felt pity for his friend. They had bonded

The Soviet Team of Rivals

9

together as teens and would become lifetime soul mates. But the fate of so many others depended on the outcome of this endgame. "Let's play further;' Tal said. 12 64. . . . Qa6 65. Kg3 White can no longer draw by perpetual check. But he can force Black to do it with 65. Qd8! and the threat of Qg5 mate. Black would have nothing better than 65. . . . Qe2+ 66. Kg3 Qel+ 67. Kh3 f6 68. Qc7 Qhl+ 69. Kg3 Qel+, for example. White might also have drawn after 65. Rc2 but that move admits that Tai would have the only winning chances. "In the heat of battle how difficult it can be to soberly assess a change in the chess climate! " Tai wrote. 13 65. . . . Qd6+ 66. Kh3 Rel 67. g3? Tal's understanding of chess psychology was working. Spassky was not able to calcu­ late the most aggressive move, 67. g4+!. Even well after the game Tai thought that lost to 67. . . . hxg4+ 68. fxg4+ Kf4 69. Qh6+ Ke4 70. Re8+ Kf3 "and the White king is mated:' But 69. Rc3 is not clear. Instead, Black should try the immediate 67. . . . Kf4, when again 68. Rc3! defends in mind-numbing variations. The move Spas­ sky played should have lost immediately, to 67. . . . Qa6! and . . . Qfl+. 67. . . . Rgl 68. f4 Rel 69. Rc2? The final error. White still had excellent drawing chances after 69. Re8!. 69. . . . Qe6! 70. Rf2 Rhl+ 71. Kg2 Qe4+ 72. Rf3 Kg4! 73. Qc8+ f5 (see diagram) Petrosian, reduced to spectator, could not stand tense situations like this. Journalists had dubbed him "Iron Tigran:' But he knew this was a myth. Petrosian's nerves would not allow him to follow the game in the audito­ rium, where every move drew oohs and aahs from the audience. Instead, he awaited word of the outcome in the press room.

After 73. ... f5 "Suddenly they announced 'Spassky is los­ ing! "' he recalled. "I couldn't take it and went to the stage:'14 Over the years Petrosian had grown to envy the "theatrical calm" that his friend Spassky managed to maintain even in desperate positions. But he could not do it this time. "When I approached the table, Spassky raised his eyes to me. They were the eyes of a cornered animal:' 15 Spassky resigned. On his way out of the building he began to cry, as he used to do more than ten years ago when he first be­ came the darling of the vlasti. "I went out into the street. I was absolutely depressed, tears running down my cheeks;' he recalled.16 Outside he met David Ginzburg, a friend of his trainer Tolush. Ginzburg was a checker master, chess journalist and a survivor of eight years in the Gulag. "Don't be upset;' Ginzburg told him. "I know what happens next. Tai wins the Interzonal, then the Can­ didates, then he defeats Botvinnik, then he loses the return match . . . . Then your time will come! " Only years later, after it all came true, Spassky was able to smile: "Such an accurate forecast, better than any fortune teller! " he said.

Fren emies These four players-Spassky, Tai, Petro­ sian and Korchnoi-were intense rivals. But

10

Introduction

their competition helped create a golden age in chess, perhaps never to be repeated. They fought each other as individuals. But they played alongside one another as teammates in winning Olympiads, European Team Championships and other events. In con­ trast, Bobby Fischer and Samuel Reshevsky, by far the strongest American players of the era, only played together once on the same United States team. In 1970, a Soviet team took on the "Rest of the World:' There were angry disagree­ ments among the players and with the vlasti, the Soviet authorities, over who should play on the top boards. "The atmosphere was ter­ rible;' Spassky said. The other side, which consisted of ten players from seven coun­ tries, capitalist and communist, got along with one another much better. During the rounds, some of the Soviet players were de­ lighted to see their teammates having trouble. But when it mattered, they put aside their emotions and won the historic match. These four rivals inevitably studied each other's games and, just as inevitably, influ­ enced one another. Tal fell in love with po­ sitional Exchange sacrifices after he saw Petrosian's celebrated 25. . . . Re6! ! against Re­ shevsky in the 1953 Candidates tournament. Spassky emulated Tal's piece sacrifices and his use of the clock in the late 1950s and then learned from Petrosian in the 1960s. "To de­ feat Petrosian he had to play like Petrosian;' Korchnoi said. 17 Korchnoi, meanwhile, tried to perfect his endgame technique by studying Petrosian's games. Petrosian adopted and im­ proved on some of Korchnoi's openings and middlegame strategies. Their rivalry was exceptionally long­ running. Between the first and last Spassky ­ Korchnoi games, 61 years passed. By com­ parison, the Reshevsky-vs.-Vasily Smyslov rivalry lasted 52 years, Emanuel Lasker-vs. ­ Frank Marshall lasted 40 and Anatoly Kar­ pov-vs. -Garry Kasparov a mere 34, as of 2018.

The personal relations of these rivals were highly complex. Petrosian and Tal were de­ voted friends. When Tal reached the final Candidates match in 1965, Petrosian was asked what would happen if Tal became his 1966 world championship challenger. "I would remain champion;' he said, "because all of our games would end in draws:' 18 Spassky said his "tragic" last-round loss to Tal in the 25th USSR Championship should have made them bitter, lifelong foes. But it only drew them closer together. "It was the appearance of Christ on earth, a player of di­ vine kindness;' Spassky said of Tal. 19 Never­ theless, they made only one short draw in their first 22 games. The hostility between Korchnoi and Petrosian became legendary. They even dis­ agreed about when it began. Korchnoi said it was 1960 when he claimed Petrosian started plotting against him. Petrosian believed it began with an accidental snub in 1971. Yet they admired personal qualities in each other. "If only I had Korchnoi's character;' Petro­ sian said, 20 regretting a missed opportunity that might have saved his world champion­ ship title in 1969. Korchnoi often shared meals and hotel rooms with Tal. But he was deeply jealous of him. "How many times do I have to win [ from him] for them to stop calling him a genius?" Korchnoi asked the powerful editor Alexander Roshal. "There's no such number, Viktor;' Roshal replied. 21 Korchnoi had mixed feelings about Spassky, whom he treated with contempt when they were schoolboys. Spas­ sky shrugged off Korchnoi's often venomous attitude. Six decades after he first met Korch­ noi, Spassky was asked if this offended him. ''I'm not offended by anyone;' Spassky said.22 "Chessplayers are not social people, and each of them can have some kind of human weak­ ness or insufficiency:' Petrosian and Spassky managed to remain good friends even after two world champi­ onship matches. When Petrosian won the

The Soviet Team of Rivals 1966 match, Spassky joined him at a celebra­ tory meal at an Armenian restaurant and toasted him. Yet Petrosian rooted for Bobby Fischer in the 1972 world championship match because he feared Spassky would be­ come too powerful if he remained with the title. Some of their strained relations can be blamed on what the Russians call "sporting malice;' a way of artificially heightening a player's intensity. During their 1968 Candi­ dates final match in Kiev, Spassky entered a popular restaurant and noticed Korchnoi at a table, eating borscht. Being Spassky, he greeted Korchnoi and sat down at his table. Korchnoi, being Korchnoi, took his bowl and moved to another table, without a word. He knew that if he was friendly with Spassky he could not play well with him. Petrosian, in contrast, could not play well against some­ one he truly disliked. Tal seemed to like everyone. But his last wife said, "He was a great actor:' 23

Why Th em? Why did these four men reach the Everest of chess but not others? Why Petrosian in­ stead of Yefim Geller, for example? Why Tal instead of Leonid Stein? Why Spassky instead of Mark Taimanov? Or Korchnoi instead of Lev Polugaevsky? These other elite grand­ masters could beat one of the four rivals on a good day. Stein's record against them was nine wins and five losses out of nearly 60 games. Yet he never reached the Candidates stage of the world championship cycle. Tal did it six times, Spassky seven, Petrosian eight and Korchnoi nine times. Mikhail Botvinnik said there were four critical factors in chess success: Talent, the capacity for hard work, willpower and good health. He later refined this by replacing ca­ pacity for hard work with "complete theoret­ ical preparation:' 24 He said Bent Larsen and

11

Isaac Boleslavsky never became world cham­ pion because they "lacked character:' Samuel Reshevsky "was deficient in preparation:' And so on. But this fails to explain the four rivals. Tal's health since childhood was clinically dread­ ful. Spassky admitted he was lazy and often could not remember the opening prepara­ tion that he did prepare. Petrosian's nerves often undermined his willpower. And Korch­ noi "has no chess talent! " as Spassky liked to say.zs They were unlikely candidates for chess fame. Their most impressionable years were ravaged by World War II. Three of them grew up in poverty that was appalling even by Soviet standards. Three came from broken homes, with parents who divorced, separated or died. A generation or two after them, the stars of the chess world came mainly from comfortable, middle-class, educated families that encouraged them. But chess was not a favored pastime in the Petrosian or Spassky family. The four rivals did have good teachers­ and what is equally important, appropriate teachers. The tutorial style and playing style of their mentors was just right for them. But Petrosian's first trainer lost interest in him and paid more attention to another young player. Spassky was trained by a grandmaster, Alexander Tolush, in part because Korchnoi refused Tolush's services. Moreover, the rivals did not have the kind of hands-on teaching you might expect. They mainly taught them­ selves. "We developed independently:' Korch­ noi wrote of his Leningrad Pioneer Palace beginnings.26

Timing, G eography, Luck They were favored by other factors. First, they were lucky to be born when they were: Before 1950, chess was not a profession in the USSR-and, officially, it was not one for many

12

Introduction

years. But thanks to a change in vlasti atti­ tude, strong players could receive stipends and gain other benefits after they joined powerful organizations called "voluntary sports societies:' Petrosian and Spassky owed their homes to their sports society. They also benefited by a change in Kremlin policy. Be­ fore 1952, Soviet players rarely played abroad and before 1955 they could not keep foreign prize money and honoraria. But by the late 1950s, chess provided a very good standard of living at a time when there were few Soviet alternatives. "Nowadays:• Tal said in a 1969 interview, "young people are busy with things like physics, electronics, cybernetics, the cos­ mos. There are probably fewer who are keen on chess:'27 Later, Spassky said, "chess is ex­ periencing difficulties because of the high competition'' with the "great choice of occu­ pations" for young people. 28 Some of the other talented players of the postwar era found a career elsewhere and never realized their chess potential. Taima­ nov was the 18th highest rated player in the world at age 24 and peaked at number five. But he had an alternative career, a spectac­ ular one as a concert pianist. Alexander Niki­ tin, two years older than Spassky and Tal, was one of the world's top-rated players at age 17. But as a "very devoted Komsomolets:' or member of the Communist Party 's youth wing, he felt obligated to serve Marxist­ Leninism by entering a technical institute. "My studies took a huge amount of time and much energy and this predetermined a break in my chess career. I swiftly began to lag be­ hind my former colleagues:' he said. 29 There is another way that timing favored the four rivals: If they had been born some­ what earlier they would likely have faced combat in World War II. The war's toll was evident on opponents they faced regularly in the 1950s and 1960s. For example, Abram Khasin, six years older than Petrosian, was 19 when he lost both legs in the Battle of Stal­ ingrad. Georgy Borisenko was 19 when he

was sent to the front in 1941 and was wounded three times. Oleg Moiseev was 18 when he was badly wounded in the brutal fighting near Vitebsk in 1943. They survived and fared well when they faced the four rivals in the 1950s and 1960s. How great they might have been, we will never know. Yefim Geller managed to avoid the front lines. He was drafted at a time when one out of three recruits from Odessa was destined to die before the war's end. Instead of being sent to the front Geller became a senior sergeant at a military aircraft repair aerodrome. But because of the war "he only became a [chess] master at 23:• as Averbakh put it. 30 Geller's youth was an advantage when he challenged the pre-war generation in the early 1950s. But his age was clearly hurting him when he got into bad time pressure regularly against Spas­ sky and Korchnoi in the Candidates matches of the 1960s when he was past 40. Another advantage the rivals enjoyed was geographic. They grew up in big cities where it was easy to find chess clubs, teachers and stiff competition. The Leningrad of Spassky and Korchnoi competed with Moscow as the capital of Russian chess. Tal's Riga was not far behind. Petrosian was fortunate that the Tbilisi Pioneer Palace was opened on Rus­ taveli Avenue in the heart of his capital shortly after he learned the moves. Lev Polu­ gaevsky grew up in a city of one million res­ idents, Kuibyshev. But there was no "chess tradition'' in the city "nor any strong oppo­ nents" or a second. "I studied at home and we didn't have many chess books:' 31 Lajos Portisch, one of the strongest non-Soviet players in the 1960s and 1970s, said, "My bad luck was I was born in a small village far from Budapest. There was no chess life:'32

Political Skeletons There is one other factor in the success of the rivals. They were ideologically safe. This

The Soviet Team of Rivals was important in the final days of Stalin and the early Khrushchev era. Soviet publicity often mentioned that Petrosian came "from a workers' familY:' as did Spassky. And unlike some other promising players, there were no political skeletons in the rivals' biographies. "I was lucky that there were no people around me who were repressed by the vlasti:' Korch­ noi said. "Even that my father perished in the war was better than if he had been ar­ rested after the war:'33 Some of their opponents were considered politically suspect. Ratmir Kholmov was the world's eighth highest rated in 1960 and in the top 20 as late as 1970. But he was never allowed out of the Communist bloc until its final days. Before Vladimir Bagirov was one year old his father was "repressed" -the So­ viet euphemism for being arrested and quickly executed. Anatoly Bannik, many­ time champion of Ukraine, was branded a "son of an enemy of the people" because his father was an Orthodox priest and spent ten years in the Gulag. Each of these players could play on equal terms with the four rivals but did not get their opportunities for great­ ness. And consider the case of Yuri Sakharov. He remains virtually unknown in the West. But in 1951 candidate master Sakharov won a Soviet Championship semifinals in Lvov, a very strong tournament. By the time of the Championship finals he was an "unperson'' whose name disappeared from Soviet chess publications. Sakharov's father, an official in the Don-

13

bass mining industry, had been arrested dur­ ing the height of the Stalinist purges in 1937. That made Sakharov a "son of an enemy of the people:• When the Ukraine was overrun early in World War II, the Nazis sent him to work in a Belgian coal mine. After the U.S. army arrived, Sakharov joined them, fought on their side and earned a Purple Heart. When his unit reached the Elbe, he was repa­ triated. Back home in Ukraine, he began his adult life, married, studied and got a job.34 But in the fall of 1951, after his Lvov tri­ umph, he was arrested and accused of coop­ erating with the Gestapo during the war. In a closed-door trial, his role in the U.S. army also worked against him, and he was given a long sentence in the Gulag. He was freed on amnesty after Stalin died and eventually won full rehabilitation. Slowly, he rebuilt his chess career and eventually became the 17th high­ est rated player in the world. But he was al­ ready 46.35 Finally, good fortune shapes every great success. Slight changes could have easily al­ tered chess history: ifTal's family had not raced out of Riga in the opening days of the Nazi invasion. if Spassky's train had not es­ caped aerial attack when he was evacuated from Leningrad. ifKorchnoi's inconveniently located home had been bombed during the blockade. if Spassky and Korchnoi had not been rescued from starvation. if the destitute Petrosian had lost his home when his parents died. if. . . But these ifs did not happen. What did is the subject of this book.

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1. Four Boys Tigranchik

ness that kept him out of school for a year and apparently was the cause of partial deafness that plagued him for the rest of his life. Survival became more of a challenge for the Petrosians when Vartan died, at age 70. His survivors might have lost their home in the officers club but Tigran managed to in­ herit his father's job, which included clearing snowdrifts. "I was a weak boY:' he said. 4 'J\nd I was ashamed of being a street sweeper­ that's natural, I suppose. It wasn't so bad in the early morning when the streets were empty, but when it got light and the crowds came out I really hated if' But he did have his outlet. He was attracted to games early in life and was playing a backgammon-like game called nardy by age five. "I recommend it to anyone who wants to develop quick thinking habits and fast reac­ tions:' he later said5 Petrosian discovered chess shortly after he turned 11, at a camp for mem­ bers of the Young Pioneers. 6 This was a Scouting-like organization designed to imbue Soviet youths 10 to 15 with Communist values. Pioneer camps and urban "houses" and larger "palaces" had substantial state support despite chronic Soviet shortages in other ways. Without them, it is doubtful that Petrosian, Viktor Korchnoi, Boris Spassky or Mikhail Tal would have blossomed as quickly as they did-

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian described his childhood tersely. "I survived very bad days:' he said. "Chess was my only safety valve:'1 Petrosian (accent on the "sian'') was born June 17, 1929, in Tbilisi, then the capital of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Georgia. He had just turned 12 when the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union. His older brother Hmayak, the bedrock of the Petrosian family, was drafted. Before Tigran was 13, his mother died. According to one account, she perished from grief after hearing that Hmayak was killed at the front. 2 About half of the esti­ mated 700,000 Georgians in the Red Army were killed but Hmayak in fact survived. With Hmayak away, Petrosian and his sister were left in the care of their father Vartan and an aunt. Vartan, a refugee from Turkey, was nearly 60 when Tigran was born. He worked as a groundskeeper/janitor at the Tbilisi Home of Officers, where he was granted a small living quarters for his family. The aunt, whom Tigran called "Babo:' moved in to help out. "She gave me bread when I was sick and hungry:' he re­ called. "She really saved me:' 3 Petrosian had to take odd jobs, including street sweeper and movie theater projectionist, to help put dinner on the table. He came down with a severe ill-

Early biographical details about Petrosian are from Vasiliev, Tigran Petrosian, pages 15-19.

15

16

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

or perhaps not at all. "In the 1930s-50s despite all the tragic and negative events in our country the government devoted huge atten­ tion to the upbringing of children;' recalled grandmaster Mark Taimanov. 7 At the houses and palaces, children "had the opportunity to work on sports or study music with the best trainers and eminent teachers. Money was not an issue;' he said. Taimanov had discovered chess in 1937 in the majestic, white marble Leningrad Pioneer Palace, a real palace bec­ ause it had belonged to the Romanov dynasty before the 1917 revolution. When a Tbilisi Pioneer Palace was opened, Petrosian and his friends rushed to sign up for a "circle;' or pastime group. He joined one devoted to appreciating railroads but quickly lost interest. "I was there all of one time;' he said. 8 But at the palace one day he noticed a room where a man was walking from chess board to chess board as he played several games with youngsters. Petrosian had never seen a simultaneous exhibition. He became fascinated by the game, but got little encour­ agement at home. Before they died, his par­ ents, especially Vartan, were strongly op­ posed to his wasting time on chess. "Study! You won't earn your bread from chess;' his father warned. 9 When he was not working or studying, Petrosian learned chess. In June 1942 he managed to play in a simultaneous exhibi­ tion against a real grandmaster, the visiting Salo Flohr. This appears to be Petrosian's old­ est surviving game.

Petrosian-Salo Flohr Simultaneous exhibition, Tbilisi, 1942

Budapest Defense (A52)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. e4 hS This trappy opening (5. f4? Bc5!) seemed ideal to play against a provincial adolescent. It boomerangs.

5. h3 Nxe5 6. Be3 Nbc6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Qd2 d6 9. f4 Ng6 10. Nf3 Qe7 11. Bd3 f5!?

Now 12. Ng5! would have given White a powerful pull.

12. exfS Nxf4 And here 13. 0-0 is strong because 13. . . . Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nxd3 is not check, as in the game. White gets a strong attack from 15. Bg5! (15. . . . Qf7 16. Qxd3 Bx5 17. Qd5!). But even as a grandmaster, Petrosian rarely played like that.

13. 0-0-0 Bxc3 14. bxc3 Nxd3+ 15. Qxd3 (see diagram)

l�A m- i1 � t i� ���-�- �� �i�

,. . . ,� �tff' -�� -· · ·'�

W/4 �&' '• '� 1

�� �� �� ��

-\ �W i�� ft � ��i���4J-

■M•M D■�.ft �H

� -. . . . . ,� , , , � �

.ft

�

0�

�'Gi b �� !::::. After 15. Qxd3

Flohr must have planned on 15. . . . Bxf5 16. Qxf5 Qxe3+. But now he realized there would be no good move after 17. Kc2 threatened 18. Rhel (17. . . . Qe2+ 18. Kb3 or 17. . . . Ne7 18. Qb5+ c6 19. Qxb7). Instead, 15. . . . Qf7 16. g4 Bd7 offers Black drawing chances, perhaps in a bishops-of-opposite-color end­ game (17. Qd5 Qxd5 18. cxd5 Ne5).

15. . . . Bd7? 16. Rhel 0-0-0? 17. BgS Qf7 18. Bxd8 Rxd8 19. g4 Na5 20. QdS Qxd5 21. cxdS and wins.

Teach er Numb er Two "My teacher number one was life itself;' Petrosian liked to say. "And number two was Archil Ebralidze:' 10 Ebralidze was 33 when he took over as chief of the Tbilisi palace chess circle, around the time Petrosian first

1. Four Boys visited the building. He had won three Geor­ gia republic championships with a solid po­ sitional style and quickly cultivated Petro­ sian's interest in Aron Nimzowitsch. One of Tigran's few personal possessions was a copy of Chess Praxis that he acquired by "saving my kopecks. Instead of buying food I held onto them until I had enough for a book:' 11 "I was so carried away by that book that I tried to take it to bed with me at night and put it under the pillow so I could read it some more in the morning when I woke up:' he added. 12 Petrosian discovered that by reading the book without a board and pieces, he could visualize the course of a game from one diagram to the next. This helped develop his ability to foresee future positions and cal­ culate. He committed chunks of the book to memory. "It is no wonder that in the end I knew it by heart:' he wrote of the book. 13 Ebralidze's own hero was Jose Capablanca, and he convinced Petrosian to study the Cuban's games and adopt the Caro-Kann Defense. Petrosian was impressed by the idea of playing "according to position:' that is, let­ ting logic and positional rules dictate your moves. But after a year and a half, Ebralidze began to lose interest in Petrosian. He shifted his attention to Alexander Buslaev, who was a few months younger. Buslaev was a good player. He defeated Mikhail Tal in a 1956 tournament game. But he was no Petrosian. A decade later Ebralidze tried to explain why he underestimated Petrosian. "You must understand that you were rather modest, rather quiet:' Ebralidze told him. "But in chess, character is necessary. You have to have confidence in yourself'14 That is, Petro­ sian had an inferiority complex. There was no reason for it. By 13 Petrosian had moved up the Soviet ranking system from the lowest chess grade, fifth category, to sec­ ond category. He reached first category status at 14 and candidate master a year later. There is no exact Elo rating equivalent for these rankings. In Petrosian's era, a first-

17

category player might be playing at a 2000plus level. A second-category player would be roughly 1800-plus, and so on. The same category system existed for physical sports. Boris Spassky, who could high jump an inch and a half above his own height, achieved second-category status in light athletics. Paul Keres was a first-category tennis player. When teenaged Petrosian began a chess diary he admitted to himself that Ebralidze was right, according to his biographer, Yiktor Vasiliev. He did overestimate other players. In one early game he resigned because he saw a winning plan for his opponent. It did not occur to him that his opponent had not seen the plan. Petrosian also had a propen­ sity to blunder and-ironically-a failure to appreciate sacrifices of a rook for a bishop or knight.

Malashkhia-Petrosian Georgian Championship, Tbilisi, 1944 Sicilian D efense (B74) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 cxd4 5. Nxd4 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. Be2 0-0 8. 0-0 Nc6 9. Nb3 Be6 10. f4 Na5 11. f5 Bc4 12. Nxa5 Bxe213. Qxe2 Qxa5 14. g4 The practical defense is 14 . . . . Rfc8! and then 15. gS Rxc3! . Computers may favor White after 16. gxf6! Rxe3! 17. Qxe3 Bxf6 but humans find it much easier to play Black.

14. . . . Qb4 15. Radl? The consistent 15. gS works after 15. . . . Nxe4? 16. NdS Qxb2 17. Nxe7+ Kh8 18. f6! . More testing is 15. . . . Nd7 (16. NdS Qxe4).

15. . . . Qxb2! 16. Bd4 Nxg4?? The correct 16. . . . Nd7! would favor Black, e.g., 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. NdS QeS. 17. f6! Bxf6 Or 17. . . . exf6 18. Qxg4 and 17. . . . Nxf6 18. NdS Qxa2 19. Nxe7+ Kh8 20. Rxf6! .

18. Rxf6! Nxf619. Nd5 Black resigns

18

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

In view of 19. . . . Qxa2 20. Nxe7+ Kg7 21. Nd5 and a capture on f6. During the war, Petrosian would walk, "emaciated and pale" as Vasiliev put it, through Tbilisi. A pocket chess set inside his cotton jacket was his only companion. He did not need it. Thanks to his visualizing his way through Chess Praxis, he discovered he could play entire games without sight of a board. "Between the years of 13 and 15 I played a lot of blindfold chess;' he wrote. 15 Tbilisi was one of very few major Soviet cities where chess life proceeded almost nor­ mally during the war, and Petrosian man­ aged to squeeze chess into his daily routine. He remembered how during the republic championship in November 1944 he would rise in the early morning to perform his offi­ cers club duties, then walk to school, return home for a quick supper, go outside to clear new-fallen snow with a spade and then turn to the day's school homework. When all this was done, he could rush off to play the next round of the championship. At the end of the day, he would catch some sleep at home be­ fore he had to start over again. 16 His games often took on a distinctly Nim­ zowitschean flavor:

Bakhtadze-Petrosian Georgian Championship, Tbilisi, 1944 English Opening (A28) 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d4 e4 5. Nd2 Bb4 6. e3 Bxc3 7. bxc3 0-0 8. Be2 Qe7 9. 0-0 d6 10. a4 Na5 11. Ba3 c5! Black tries to compromise White's center by forcing dxc5 or d4-d5. He can attack c4 with . . . b6, . . . Ba6 and . . . Rac8.

12. Nb3?! Nxb3 13. Qxb3 Bg4 A Nimzowitsch recipe: Trade off the op­ ponent's better bishop when he has the "two bishops:'

14. Ra2 Raes 15. h3 Bxe2 16. Rxe2 Rc7 17. Rdl Qe618. Red2 g5! (see diagram)

Not 18 . . . . cxd4 19. Rxd4!. Petrosian's move creates Luft for his king (compared with 18 . . . . Rfc8 19. dxc5 dxc5 20. Rd8+). It also seeks a kingside target, e.g., 18 . . . . g5 19. dxc5 dxc5 20. Rd8 g4!.

19. Qb5 Qf5 20. Kh2? Both players failed to appreciate a strong Exchange sacrifice, 20. dxc5 dxc5 21. Rd5! Nxd5 22. Rxd5 followed by Bxc5 and Bxa7. For example, 22. . . . Qg6 23. Bxc5 Rfc8 24. Bxa7 h6 25. Bd4 in view of 25. . . . Rxc4? 26. Qxc4 Rxc4 27. Rd8+ and mates.

20. . . . g4 21. Rhl KhS! 22. hxg4 The threat was 22. . . . gxh3 23. gxh3 Rg8 and . . . Ng4+! with a mating attack.

22. . . . Qxg4 23. dxc5? RgS 24. g3 Qf3! 25. cxd6 Ng4+ 26. Kgl Nxe3! 27. Qe5+ f6 White resigns

Vitya At 15 Petrosian was one of the strongest players in Soviet Georgia. At the same age, Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi had just graduated from fifth-category-just above beginner; his youth was far more trying than that of Petro­ sian, who ultimately became his bitterest rival. Korchnoi (accent on "noi") was 21 months younger than Petrosian and grew up think-

1. Four Boys ing he came from quite a different social sta­ tion. His paternal grandfather, on "the Polish­ Ukrainian aristocratic" side of the family as he put it, went to serve in the Tsar's army in World War I and never returned. His mater­ nal grandmother died in 1919, from "the bay­ onet of a Denikin soldier:' during a Jewish pogrom carried out by White Russian forces in the Russian Civil War. The two surviving wings of his family fled "the horror of the collectivization carried out by the Bolshe­ viks" in the Ukraine during the 1920s and ended up in Leningrad, where his parents met and married, Korchnoi wrote. "The fam­ ily was very poor" but his parents were mem­ bers of the intelligentsia and his father was accepted into the Communist Party. Korch­ noi would feel a class superiority over Petro­ sian and Boris Spassky even late in his life. His parents were very different people. His half-Jewish father, Lev Merkurevich Korch­ noi, born in 1910, had "a soft character;' Korchnoi recalled. His mother, born Zelda Gershevna Azbel in 1909, was a conservatory­ trained pianist who was "eccentric" and had "a sharp and pugnacious personality:' He said, "They became enemies" and quickly separated. His mother took possession of the baby, known as Vitya. But she "was unable to feed and raise me:' She could not afford normal furniture. "Her room held nothing but an old bed, a stool, a chair, a cupboard and a fragment of mirror. Even her piano was borrowed her whole life:' She reluctantly handed the baby back to Lev Korchnoi but changed her mind and sued him for custody of Vitya. "In five years Mother turned to the courts six times to return the child;' Korch­ noi wrote. "But the court invariably judged that I remain with Father:' When that failed, she played the political card: "Mother went to the [Communist] Party committee at the factory where he worked and said he goes to church and prays:' That, too, failed. Until Lev Korchnoi remarried, Korchnoi lived with his father and paternal grand-

19

mother Elena Alekseeva. "I spent the first ten years of my life with her:' he wrote. Though his father taught the Russian language and literature, Korchnoi grew up speaking his grandmother's Polish. "She dressed and un­ dressed me;' he wrote. "She taught me to pray before sleep. She put me to bed speaking Polish. She took me to the Catholic church where we prayed together:' Korchnoi was baptized and christened in a Polish church in Leningrad when he was three. He later said religion played little role in his life. How­ ever-and "howevers" are common in Korch­ noi's life story-he also said, "my whole life was so strange that if l had not been religious I surely would have become religious:' 17 He believed all people whose fates could be quickly changed were to some degree reli­ gious. (At the end of his life he said "God" punished Petrosian for his treatment of him.) The Korchnois shared a single four-by­ four-meter room in a 13-room kommunalka, or communal apartment, that they shared with ten other families. This was more crowded than officially allowed by the USSR's "sanitary norm:' Each Soviet citizen was sup­ posed have 12 square meters of living space. Instead, the Korchnois lived in a tight em­ brace. "Grandmother slept on a bed, father on a divan and me on stools;' he said. When Korchnoi was returning home from a foreign tournament in 1960 he bought a $300 bed­ room set in Rome and had it shipped to his grandmother because he could not forget how terrible it was growing up without fur­ niture. "Father also taught me to play chess when I was six;' he wrote. He began to play against his father, Uncle Konstantin and other family members. When grandmaster games ap­ peared in a children's magazine, he and his father tried to understand the moves "but we didn't succeed:' His uncle told him, "If you don't speak Polish then I won't play chess with you:' But chess was not a major interest. Reading was. Korchnoi discovered a nearby

20

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

library and at age nine began devouring works of Jules Verne, Mark Twain, James Fenimore Cooper, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Jack London and O'Henry.

War Life for ten-year-old Vitya turned much worse when the Germans invaded in June 1941. His father was too old for the regular army. But every able-bodied Leningrad male 16 to 50 years old was forced into duty. Lev Korchnoi ended up in the poorly-trained, poorly-fed, poorly-armed "people's militia:' As a member of the Party with higher edu­ cation, he was made a commander in charge of a platoon in the 56th Reserve Rifle Regi­ ment. 1 8 In November 1941, his father "came home from the barracks already swollen by hunger. I never saw him again:' Korchnoi said. 1 9 Lev Korchnoi was killed while trying to build the "Ice Road:' which eventually brought sup­ plies to the beleaguered city from the east across frozen Lake Ladoga. His barge was bombed and sank. But he was listed as missing-in-action and that was a blot on his surviving relatives: It could also mean he sur­ rendered, was captured or had gone over to the other side-all strictly forbidden. Korchnoi might also have been a bombing victim. He lived near the Liteiny Bridge that crosses the Neva River. This was dangerously close to the city headquarters of the NKVD, the secret police forerunner of the KGB. (The KGB's successor, the FSB, occupies the build­ ing today.) The headquarters was a top target for the Luftwaffe and, it was widely believed, they were getting targeting tips from anti ­ Soviet Leningraders. A bomb of more than 400 pounds fell on the sidewalk in front of Korchnoi's apartment building but did not explode, he wrote. Shortly after the invasion began, Soviet authorities began ordering the evacuation of

Leningraders, beginning with children. The first 15,192 children left by train by June 29. A massive dislocation was being carried out all over the Soviet Union and influenced the lives of millions of people, including future grandmasters. In the Ukraine, Leonid Stein's family was transferred to Uzbekistan where his father died of typhus. 20 Mark Taimanov saw his family torn in half. He, his father and a brother were also evacuated from Lenin­ grad to Uzbekistan, apparently over the Ice Road. His mother remained with his younger brother and two-month-old sister. They sur­ vived the blockade "on bouillon from leather belts:' he recalled. 21 Along with hundreds of other children, Korchnoi was packed on a train headed for the Urals. But his mother panicked when she learned that the Nazis had penetrated the al­ legedly impregnable Luga Line of defense and had begun bombing trains. Her son's train was stopped about 180 miles south of Leningrad, near Lake Ilmen, where she man­ aged to reach it. She took him off and re­ turned to Leningrad. The last road out of the city was cut on September 8, sentencing them and the rest of the city to a 900-day block­ ade. Each Leningrader had to scramble for ne­ cessities. Korchnoi remembered walking a kilometer from home with two buckets to get water from an ice-hole in the Neva River. For food, there were four categories of ration cards, and Korchnoi, classified as a depend­ ent, was eligible for the lowest. In the awful winter of 1941-42 the monthly allowance for a dependent fell to about three thin slices of bread and a few other foodstuffs. This typi­ cally amounted to fewer than 500 calories a day. No wonder that a dependent's ration card became known as a smertnik, from the word for "death:' Korchnoi alluded to the desperation of others when he said his grandmother's cat, Machek, disappeared in September 1941 without a trace. 22 People as well as pets were

1. Four Boys vulnerable as the starvation panic spread. As of December 1942 there had been 2,015 ar­ rests in the city for cannibalism. Taimanov said he never got over learning that his 25year-old aunt Lida had been killed by canni­ bals. 23

Soy Chocolate Korchnoi's family grew smaller: His uncle's wife died of hunger and his uncle vanished after stealing a piece of bread from a bakery. "Probably a tribunal shot him;' Korchnoi said of the drumhead justice in effect. Korch­ noi survived because his father left him his ration card. The ration cards of the dead re­ mained temporarily valid. He also had one of the most valuable tools a blockaded Lenin­ grader could have, a children's sled. Korchnoi recalled how he had to bury his grandmother and her brother. "Our neighbor and I would wrap the corpse in a sheet, lie it on a sled and drag it right across town to the cemetery;' some two miles away. 24 "We kept the food ra­ tion cards, of course. The living have to go on living:' 25 If you were not a Party official, a Lenin­ grader's best chance for long-term survival was a job in food production. Luckily, Korch­ noi's stepmother, Rosa Ambrovna Fridman, was a supervisor at the Mikoyan confec­ tionary firm. "Several times my stepmother . . . managed to take me to the firm so I would have something to eat:' 26 She gave him "chocolate" bars. They were "not genuine" but made from soy beans, he recalled. "But it was excellent:' 27 He said two factors saved his life, his stepmother's job and being ad­ mitted to a hospital in the summer of 1942 with "dystrophy:' This was the Soviet euphe­ mism for clinical starvation. Somehow Leningrad schools reopened in autumn 1942 and Korchnoi was promoted from third grade to fifth. But the aptitude for study that would make him a chess student

21

extraordinaire was absent in academic sub­ jects. "I wasn't industrious, and did poorly in the subjects in which one had to work:' he recalled. "But I was full of ambition and if they gave me some kind of goal then I usually achieved it. I loved literature and memorized poetry, and recited it with pleasure. The teacher was struck by how many poems of [Nikolai] Nekrasov I memorized:' Indeed memorization would be one of his strongest suits. 28 "But I lived in my own isolated world. I remember in the fifth grade, in 1942, they as­ signed us to write a b ylina:' a Russian epic poem, he recalled in 64, in September 2005. "I called my bylina Hitler Alfredovich. What was this? A war was going on, millions are killed defending me but I didn't know who was the enemy of our nation?"

Th at L eft Ch ess Korchnoi had three hobbies and hoped to turn one of them into a profession. First, he wanted to be a pianist and began taking les­ sons in the sixth grade. But his family had neither the money to buy a piano nor room for one in their apartment. At 13 "I gave up music study without special regret:' 29 His second priority, and "secret wish:' was to be an actor or a reciter of poetry. "I learned a lot of Lermontov by heart, and also Push­ kin, and also some modern poets like Maya­ kovsky and Konstantin Simonov. These days I still like to do this:' he recalled in 2011. But again there was a problem. His pronuncia­ tion, particularly of words with an "r:' was not stage-worthy. "For some time I visited a speech therapist but then, with tears in my eyes, gave up this study as well. That left chess:' When the blockade was eased, he entered a chess section at the Pioneer House in Leningrad's Dzerzhinsky region, where he had also tried his hand at stage recitation.

22

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

He scoured Leningrad for tournaments to play in and for reopened bookstores that had chess literature. His first chess books in­ cluded an Emanuel Lasker primer and Savielly Tartakower's tournament book on Kecskemet 1927. When Alexander Alekhine's collection of best games appeared "I, of course, tried to memorize it by heart. Gen­ erally, I believe this is useful, to memorize by heart:' Fortunately, he found the ideal place to indulge his new interest, the Leningrad Pio­ neer Palace. Located in the former Anich­ kov Palace about a mile from his home, this was where Mikhail Botvinnik gave lessons before the war to youngsters such as Tai­ manov. There was no Botvinnik to mentor Korchnoi but two other men proved critical in his early playing years. "My first chess teachers were Andrei Batuev and Abram Model;' he said. 30 Model, a math teacher, became the city 's champion in 1944 and ran the palace's chess club. Batuev, a profes­ sional musician and vocalist, tied for second place in the 1945 city championship. It was not technical knowledge they imparted that mattered most to Korchnoi. It was the stories they told and the love of the game that they conveyed to Leningrad's young players. During the Leningrad school champion­ ship of 1943-4, held in the Pioneer Palace, Korchnoi unexpectedly finished third. One of the other contestants, Oleg Skuratov, re­ called being paired with "a thin, black-haired boy in a quilted jacket" and being surprised at how he carefully wrote down his moves in a school notebook. When Skuratov resigned a lost pawn endgame he was depressed. He walked up to Model and said "I lost! " "To whom? " Model asked. "To some Korchnoi;' Skuratov said "with annoyance:'31 Petrosian preserved many of his early games. "I look at my old games as friends;' he said in 1969. 32 But few of Korchnoi's early games survive. Here is one.

Dmitry Rovner-Korchnoi Third-category tournament, Leningrad, 1945 Scotch Gam e (C47)

I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Bg5 0-0 7. Be2? White should seek equality with 7. Nxc6 bxc6 8. Qd4.

7. . . . h6! 8. Bh4 Re8? Black can safely win a pawn with 8 . . . . gS!.

9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Qd4? Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 g5 12. e5 Nd5 Simplest was 12. . . . cS! with a sizable ad­ vantage (13. QxcS gxh4 14. exf6 Ba6!).

13. Bg3 d6 14. 0-0-0 dxe5 15. Bxe5? Qe7! This wins a piece (16. Bh8 f6!). White sets a desperate trap.

16. Bc4 QxeS 17. Rhel (see diagram)

After 17. Rhel Now 17. . . . Qxel! 18. Rxel Rxel+ would win eventually.

17. . . . Qf4+?? 18. Qxf4 Nxf4? 19. Rxe8+ Kg7 20. Rdd8 Black resigns The palace chess teachers had so many would-be students that they evaluated them quickly. One junior, Oleg Yatsekevich, re­ called how Abram Model dismissed his abil­ ity in a matter of minutes. "Model sat me down in front of him and proposed to start

23

1. Four Boys a game;' Yatsekevich remembered. "After several moves the teacher indifferently an­ nounced: fourth categorY:' 33 But early on Andrei Batuev spotted prom­ ise in Korchnoi. "Somehow he saw that I was playing blindfold with one of my colleagues;' Korchnoi recalled. "'O-o-o' he exclaimed. 'Sit down, we'll play: He took White, sat at a board but sat me in the corner without a board. I remember it was a Hungarian Defense and I lasted about 18 moves. Batuev was satisfied. 'You will be a master; he said:' 34

Zak Korchnoi got his first view of top-flight competition when he served as a demonstra­ tion board operator during a Leningrad semifinals of the 14th USSR Championship in April 1945. His life changed further in Au­ gust when Vladimir Grigorievich Zak was demobilized from the Soviet army with bat­ tlefield decorations and returned to his chess work at the Pioneer Palace. Zak, then 32, could relate to the brutal times Korchnoi en­ dured. His own father perished during the blockade and he developed a fatherly fond­ ness for 14-year-old Korchnoi. "As I was one of the strongest in the club, Zak was in con­ stant contact with me;' Korchnoi said. Zak loved poetry and he charmed Korchnoi by reciting lines by Alexander Vertinsky, a Ukrainian singer/composer, when they played blitz. Unlike Ebralidze in Tbilisi, Zak did not try to mold his students' repertoire, but en­ couraged Korchnoi to try various openings. This was fortunate. A more didactic teacher might not have helped Korchnoi because he was a born skeptic. In school he liked to chal­ lenge authority. "I remember when I was in the seventh grade a film came out called 'Six o'Clock in the Evening After the War' and we had to write a review of the contents;' he recalled. This was a 1946 movie with a strong

patriotic theme. It was a Stalin Prize-winning hit with general audiences and with the Communist vlasti, the authorities. But Korchnoi hated it. "I slammed it to smithereens! " he recalled, and indicated he may have been held back a grade in school because of that. Zak said Korchnoi and Boris Spassky, his other star student, stood out with their ex­ ceptional love of chess. But the similarity ended there. Korchnoi developed more slowly. He did, however, demonstrate a high degree of self-criticism, a quality Zak valued, when making notes to this losses. By 1946 he had begun to show tactical talent.

Korchnoi-Razov

Leningrad Junior Championship, 1946 Hungarian Defense (CSO) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. Nc3 d6 7. Be3 0-0 8. f3 Korchnoi's bold plan calls for 0-0-0. But Black can equalize at least with 9. . . . NeS! in view of 10. Bb3? cS 11. knight-move c4.

8. . . . Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Be6 10. 0-0-0 Nd7 ll. Nd5 More punishing is 11. Bxe6! fxe6 12. Qc4 (12. . . . Rf6 13. f4).

11. . . . Bxd512. Qxd5 Ne5 13. Be2 Bf6 14. g4! Qc8 15. g5 Be7 16. Rdgl Qe6? 17. Qxe6 fxe6 18. f4 Ng6 19. Rg4 Rti 20. Bc4! Nf8 21. f5 d5! 22. exd5 exf5 (see diagram)

After 22. •.• exf5

24

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

23. d6! fxg4? Black can still fight on an Exchange down after 23. . . . Bxd6.

24. dxe7 Ng6 25. Rdl Nxe7 26. Rfl! Rf8 27. Bc5! Black resigns Zak never earned the master title himself. He brought much stronger players to address his students. Korchnoi was particularly im­ pressed by Grigory Levenfish and Igor Bon­ darevsky. The two were diametrically differ­ ent. Levenfish was one of the greatest Soviet/ Russian players before World War II but al­ most a political pariah. Bondarevsky, on the other hand, was well connected to the vlasti, the government and Party authorities. Zak did not lecture as Levenfish or Bon­ darevsky did but gave lessons to small groups of talented students. One of his subjects was his love of a variation in the Open Defense of the Ruy Lopez, 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Bc5 10. Nbd2 0-0 11. Bc2 Bf5 12. Nb3 and now 12. . . . Bg4. This was rarely played by anyone other thanZak. Korchnoi remembered it and, with the help of his seconds, used it effectively in his 1978 world championship match against Anatoly Karpov.

Emulating Emanu el Perhaps Zak's greatest influence was deep­ ening Korchnoi's respect for Emanuel Lasker. Zak was a young fan when the former world champion lived in the USSR, during 1935-7. Zak eventually won permission from Soviet authorities to publish his book of Lasker games. Lasker became a model for Korchnoi, as Nimzowitsch and Capablanca had for Petrosian, and Alekhine and Mikhail Chig­ orin would be for Spassky. As a result, Korch­ noi learned to defend difficult positions even though it did not come naturally to him. "I

was taught early to play defensively, to give the opponent the initiative-the opponent loses vigilance and then I beat him;' he said. "But in life I was completely the other way!" 35 In another interview, Korchnoi attributed his youthful materialism to growing up in pov­ erty. "I . . . began my chess career like a poor man: defending, grabbing material, making only moves. And, well, I often won that waY:'36 "I was no child prodigy. Chess knowledge did not come easily to me:' he recalled. His climb up the category system was slow. "Step by step, usually on the second attempt, I breached the next barrier:' 37 At the end of his life he acknowledged that Petrosian, Spassky and others had more natural talent than he did. But he worked harder. A teenage col­ league, Gennady Dymov, said, "I was struck by his tireless energy. You know after playing 50 five-minute games (giving huge odds!) he switched to playing poker or [ the card game] preferance with frequent success." 38 Korchnoi sometimes played until dawn and had to pay a ruble to a dezhurnaya, a Soviet-era floor monitor, to be let into his apartment build­ ing, Dymov recalled. By age 14 Korchnoi was impressing mas­ ters with his energy and forceful character. Mark Taimanov gave a simul at the Lenin­ grad Pioneer Palace in 1945 when he noticed "an animated fellow running from board to board and breaking etiquette by suggesting moves to many of the participants in the simul:' 39 Zak told Taimanov that the boy was Vitya Korchnoi, who was known for his "ob­ stinate'' opinions and his refusal to compro­ mise. But he had not yet formed the rock-hard character that carried him to greatness. In the 1946 Leningrad Junior Championship Korchnoi was leading after five rounds. After a loss he got upset, began to "lose without putting up a fight" and finished near the bot­ tom. In a later junior tournament he was so distraught he "wrote a tearful letter" to Zak,

25

I. Four Boys confessing that he didn't believe in himself. Zak shot back an angry note that forced Korchnoi to take control of himself. And somehow, "I decided to become a chess pro­ fessional;' Korchnoi said. 40 "That was mod­ ern thinking at that time because the only chess professional was Botvinnik. Nobody else:'

With Trembling Hands Tigran Petrosian left Georgia for the first time in August 1945 to play in the USSR Jun­ ior Championship in Leningrad. Korchnoi almost certainly saw him for the first time then. What Petrosian's biographer Viktor Vasiliev tells us is that Petrosian had heard so much about the other juniors, such as local star Aron Reshko, that he felt he did not have a chance for a prize. He was paired with Reshko in the first round and "made his first moves with trembling hands:' 41 As his posi­ tion improved he got angry at himself for his lack of confidence.

Petrosian-Aron Reshko

USSR Junior Championship, Leningrad, 1945 French Defense (C07) 1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. Ngf3 a6? 7. Bxc6+ bxc6 8. 0-0 cxd4 9. Rel+ Be7 10. Nxd4 Qc7 11. Qf3 Nf6 12. Qe3 This stops 12. . . . 0-0 (13. Qxe7) but would offer little after 12. . . . Ng4. 12. . . . cS 13. Nc6! Be6 14. Nxe7 Qxe7 15. Nb3 RcS 16. Qe5 h617. f4 Ng4? (see diagram)

After 17. ... Ng4 And he would have compensation after 23. . . . Qd6!. Better was 23. Bb6! .

23. . . . Ne4 24. c4! dxc4? 25. Qxe4 cxb3 26. Bc3! Qc7 27. a4! The passed a-pawn and long diagonal (27. . . . Qd7? 28. QeS) doom Black.

27. . . . Ra8 28. a5 Rba7 29. Qe3 Kh7 30. Radl Rxa5 31. Bxa5 Rxa5 32. Qc3 c4 33. Re4 Qa7+ 34. Kh2 Ral 35. Rd8! Qgl+ 36. Kg3 g5 37. fxg5 Kg6 38. Qf6+ Kh5 39. Qxh6 mate Petrosian tied for first place with Reshko and Yuri Vasilchuk. Vasilchuk, who became a professor at the Russian Academy of Nat­ ural Sciences, said he detected qualities that held the 16-year-old Petrosian back. "Most of all, his surprising modesty, his certainty that his opponent saw as much as he did;' Vasilchuk said. 42 At the end of the year, Petrosian started well in another Georgian Championship. Prizes in Soviet tournaments were typically minuscule. But a winter coat was the first prize in this one. Desperately poor, Petrosian counted on winning it. A friend broke his heart:

Black sets a trap: 18. Qxg7? Qh4! and wins (19. Qxh8+ Kd7 or 19. Rxe6+ fxe6 20. Qxh8+ Kf7!).

Tengiz Giorgadze-Petrosian

18. Qe2 Rc719. Bd2 g6 20. Ba5 Rb7 21. h3 Nf6 22. Qxa6 0-0 23. Qe2

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. Nc3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 e6 6. d4 dxe4 7. Nxe4 Qxd4 8. Bd3

Georgian Championship, Tbilisi, 1945-6 Caro-Kann Defense (Bll)

26

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Nf6 9. 0-0 Nxe410. Bxe4 Nd7 ll. Be3 Qf6 12. Bxc6? bxc6 13. Qxc6 QdS 14. Radl RcS 15. Qa4 Bc5 16. Rd3 Bxe3 17. fxe3 Rc7 18. Rfdl QcS 19. c4 Ke7! 20. Qb5 Nc5 21. Rd4 Qb7 22. Qa5 Qb6 23. Qel Qxb2?? 24. Qg3? Qb6? 25. Qg5+ Black resigns Petrosian had met Tengiz Giorgadze on a snowy day in December 1944 when he wore a threadbare coat and Giorgradze had a warmer padded jacket. They became good friends. The day after this game he went as usual, to visit Giorgadze at his home. "Be­ cause of Tengiz I lost my coat;' he blurted out to Giorgadze's aunt. "She calmed down Tigran;' Giorgadze recalled. "Maybe you will still win;' she said. 43 The boys set up the pieces to prepare for Petrosian's next oppo­ nent, Nikolai Sorokin. A transplanted Ukrain­ ian, Sorokin had once been the strongest player in Georgia and had preceded Ebra­ lidze as chess circle leader at the Pioneer Palace.

Petrosian-Nikolai Sorokin

Georgia Championship, Tbilisi, 1945-6 Slav Defense (D14)

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 c6 3. d4 d5 4. cxd5 cxd5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Bf5 7. e3 Qb6 8. a3 White gets too much compensation for a pawn after 8 . . . . Qxb2? 9. Na4 Qc2 10. Qxc2 Bxc2 ll. Nc5. For example, 11. . . . b6? 12. Bb5!.

8. . . . e6 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 Res n. 0-0 White's basic plan is b2-b4 and Na4/Rfcl, when he would have the usual tiny edge of a symmetrical pawn structure.

11. . . . Na5 12. e4!? dxe4 "I well remember how happy I was when in reply to 12. . . . Qxb2 I found 13. Bd2, with dangerous threats;' Petrosian wrote. 44 Did he find it over the board or at Giorgadze's home? And did he consider the dangerous 13. . . . Qb3! 14. exd5 Qc4? He did not say.

13. Nxe4 Nd5 14. Bg3 Qb3 15. Qd2 Nc4 16. Qg5 Petrosian said a "general assessment of the position is undoubtedly favorable for White:' An older Petrosian might have considered 16. Rael! ? in view of 16. . . . Nxd2 17. Rxc8+ Kd7 18. Nfxd2 queen-move 19. Rb8 when it is hard for Black to complete development.

16. . . . h6! 17. Qg4 h518. Qg5 Rh619. Rael!? (see diagram)

After 19. Rael He was proud of his threat: 20. QxdS! exdS 21. Nf6+ and mates. But more exact was 19. Rfel! so that 19. . . . Qxb2 20. Rahl and Rxb7 is strong.

19. . . . Nxb2 20. Nfd2? Qb5 21. f4 Rg6 White bet heavily on f4-f5, rather than 20. Nd6+! Bxd6 21. Bxd6. He was wrong since 21. . . . Nd3! would have favored Black, e.g., 22. f5 Nxel 23. fxe6 Rxe6 or 22. Rbl Qa6 23. f5 f6.

22. Qxh5 Rh6 23. Qf3 Qd3 24. Qf2 g6? White had one threat and this only looks like it stops it. Better was 24 . . . . f5! 25. Ng5 Rc6 or 25. . . . Rc2.

25. f5! gxf5 26. Qxf5! Qxd4+ Or 26. . . . exf5 27. Nf6+ and mates. The rest is a massacre.

27. Khl Be7 28. Qxf7+ Kd7 29. Nf3 QhS 30. Be5 Qh7 31. Qxh7 Rxh7 32. Bxb2 Rc2

27

I. Four Boys 33. Bd4 Bxa3 34. Ne5+ Kd8 35. Ng5 Rh5 36. Nxe6+ Ke7 37. Ng6+ Kd6 38. Ngf4 Nxf4 39. Nxf4 Black resigns Petrosian won the tournament and got his coat after all. Oddly, the next Georgian cham­ pionship began two months later and Petro­ sian only finished fifth in a field of 20. But he got his first chance to play a world-class opponent on equal terms.

Petrosian-Paul Keres

Georgian Championship, Tbilisi, 1946 Grunfeld Defense (DBO)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2? dxc4! Keres, playing hors concours, had won 13 of his 14 previous games in the tournament and was already at least equal in this one.

6. Nf3 0-0 7. 0-0 c6 8. Ne5 Be6 9. e4 Na6 10. Be3 Ne8! 11. Qe2 Nd6 12. Radl Qc813. a3 f6 14. Nf3 Nc7 15. d5! cxd5 16. exd5 Bf5 17. Bf4! Since he would have little compensation for a pawn after 17. Rfel Bd3 18. Qd2 Rd8, Petrosian makes one of his earliest Exchange sacrifices. Black should decline it with 17. . . . Re8!.

17. . . . Bd3 18. Qxe7 Rf7! So that 19. Qxd6? Bf8!. White might have done better with 18. Rxd3 cxd3 19. Qxe7 and later Qe3xd3.

19. Qe3 Bxfl 20. Bxfl Qd7? (see diagram) With 20. . . . Nce8, chances would be even.

21. Bxd6! Qxd6 22. Ne4 Qb6! Keres recognized that 22. . . . Qa6 23. d6 Ne6 24. d7! is bad because of the threat of Rd6. For example, 24 . . . . Qa4 25. Rd6 Nd8 26. Nc3! Qb3 27. Nd4! Qxb2 28. Bxc4 and White wins.

23. d6 Rd7 24. Bxc4+ Kh8 25. Qxb6?

After 20. ... Qd7 Petrosian was already a fine tactician but he misses a deadly idea: 25. Qf4! followed by Nh4 and Nxg6+! . For example, 25. . . . Ne8 26. Nh4! gs 27. Ng6+ hxg6 28. Qg4 followed by Qh3+ or Qxd7.

25. . . . axb6 26. Rel? Better winning chances are offered by 26. Rd3. Now Keres can return the Exchange to kill the frightening d6-pawn.

26. . . . Ne8! 27. Bb5 Rxd6! Petrosian apparently counted on 28. Bxe8, overlooking 28 . . . . Re6! when he must fight for a draw. The game was drawn soon after 28. Nxd6 Nxd6 29. Bd3 fS. As he and Keres signed scoresheets, Petro­ sian heard spectators applauding him. That had never happened before. He was so deeply moved he kept his scoresheet for years, until he lost it. In 1964 Keres, who had become a good friend, gave Petrosian a present-his own 18-year-old scoresheet of the game. 45

Armenia The second time Petrosian was applauded was two months later, in the Armenian Cham­ pionship. He felt at home. There were more ethnic Armenians than Georgians in Petro­ sian's hometown of Tbilisi when he was born and attended the 73rd Armenian school. By visiting Yerevan, there was more to learn than

28

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

in Georgia. The best-known Armenian player, Genrikh Kasparian, was an eminent end­ game composer but also the 64th best player in the world shortly before the war curtailed his career. In the Soviet Union's 47th Army he fought in several major engagements in­ cluding 1942's Battle of the Kerch Peninsula and was demobilized with honors in Novem­ ber 1945. He met Petrosian over the board in March 1946.

Genrikh Kasparian-Petrosian Armenian Championship, Erevan, 1946 Caro-Kann Defense (Bll) 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. Be2 e6 5. d4 Nf6 6. e5 Nfd7 7. 0-0 Be7 8. Nel Bxe2 9. Nxe2 cS 10. f4 g6 ll. dxcS NxcS 12. Be3 Nc6 13. Bxc5?! Bxc5+ 14. Khl Qb6 15. Rf3 Rd8 16. a3 0-0 Petrosian was a bit better but offered a draw around this point and was rejected.

17. Nd3 Be7 18. Qd2 fS 19. h3 Rc8 20. c3 Na5 21. Nd4 Nb3 22. Nxb3 Qxb3 23. Ncl Qb6 24. Ne2 Rc4 25. Nd4 Bes 26. b3? Rxc3! What did White overlook? Certainly not 27. Qxc3 Bxd4 or 27. Rxc3 Bxd4 when Black will simply be a pawn ahead.

27. Nxe6 Rxf3 (see diagram)

After 27. ... Rx/3 Perhaps Kasparian intended 28. QxdS but now saw that 28 . . . . Rd3! wins (29. Qxd3 Qxe6 or 29. Qc4 Qxb3).

He should try to resist with 28. NxcS Rxh3+ 29. gxh3 QxcS 30. Rel.

28. Nxf8? Rf2 29. QxdS+ Kxf8 30. Rel Be7 Perfectly safe was 30. . . . Bxa3!. But "un­ necessary caution" and "Tigran Petrosian" were already synonymous. "He was the only world champion whose style and creativity was not a secret;' Taimanov said. "From the beginning his motto was 'Safety before any­ thing."' 46 In 2017 Anatoly Karpov said Petro­ sian was "the first to sacrifice his mobility to limit his opponent's:' 47

31. Kh2 Qe3 32. Rc8+ Kg7 33. Rc4 Rd2 34. Qxb7 Kfl 35. Qa8 Rdl 36. e6+ Qxe6 37. Qxa7 Qel 38. Rd4? Qgl+ White resigns Petrosian was already known for being emotional. When Kasparian resigned, "Tig­ ran blushed from embarrassment and joY:' 48 He went on to take first prize. Emotions also played a role when one of Armenia's chess activists, Andrannik Akopian, convinced Petrosian to temporarily leave his hometown and family during the summer of 1946. He moved to Yerevan where he was paid a small salary. Officially it was to teach at a chess club, but as usual in the Soviet system it was really to allow him to study. For a while Petrosian lived as a guest in the home of Karen Kalantar, a talented player whose older brother Alexander had been Armenian champion. A month after winning the Armenian Championship, Petrosian revisited Lenin­ grad and repeated as Soviet junior champion, a full point ahead of Yuri Vasilchuk. Alexan­ der Buslaev, the same player Ebralidze had jilted Petrosian for a few years before, tied for last place. Next to last was Nikolai Kro­ gius, who would prove a key figure in the ca­ reers of a generation of Soviet grandmasters. And tied for 11th out of 16 was a thin, dark­ haired, first-category player whom Petrosian would meet over the board more than 60 times.

I. Four Boys Petrosian-Korchnoi

USSR Junior Championship, Leningrad, 1946 Dutch Defense (A90) l. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 d5 5. 0-0 Bd6 6. c4 c6 7. b3 0-0 8. Ba3 Bxa3 9. Nxa3 Qe8 10. Nc2 Qh5 11. Qcl Ne4 12. Neel White wants to occupy the best outpost, eS, with a knight but also be able to reinforce it with a second knight (not 12. NeS Nd7 and . . . NxeS).

12. . . . g5 13. Nd3 Nd7 14. Nfe5! Petrosian was already adept at looking for the best positional move and, if there seems to be a flaw (14 . . . . Qxe2), then looking for a little tactic to make his move work. Here it would be 15. f3! NxeS 16. Nxe5 Nd2 17. Rel or 16. . . . Qd2 17. Qxd2 Nxd2 18. Rfdl).

14. . . . Kh8 15. f3 Nd6 16. e4! (see diagram)

29

When a group photo was taken, Petrosian sat in the center of the first row of tourna­ ment participants, with Korchnoi and Kro­ gius assigned to the upper right, third row. The snapshot shows Petrosian's distinctive features. A longtime friend, pianist Andrei Gavrilov recalled, "He had a swarthy face with a big Caucasian nose and protruding ears, dark brown, slightly sad, wise eyes glit­ tering in deep eye sockets. During the game of chess, he wrinkled his forehead:' 49 Back in Yerevan, Petrosian found doors opened to him. Genrikh Kasparian treated him warmly, often inviting Petrosian to his home, even though by moving to Armenia the teenager had become Kasparian's chief rival. That autumn the 36-year-old Kas­ parian and 17-year-old Petrosian agreed to play a match for the title of republic cham­ pion. According to Chessmetrics.com, Petro­ sian was already quite a bit stronger than his opponent. After a rocky start, he won the match 8-6. That was worthy of making Petrosian a "master of sport:' But master titles had to be approved by a national qual­ ification commission. When the Armenian chess federation asked it to certify Petrosian as a master, it refused.

Breakout After 16. e4 White would enjoy a sizable positional advantage after 16. . . . fxe4 17. fxe4 Nxe4 18. Bxe4 (18 . . . . dxe4 19. Rxf8+ Nxf8 20. NcS or 18 . . . . Rxfl+ 19. Qxfl dxe4 20. NcS). A strong alternative was 16. Qa3! Nf7 17. Qe7.

16. . . . Nf7 17. cxd5 Ndxe5 18. dxe5 cxd5 19. exd5 exd5 20. f4 This is a strategic rout in view of the threats of QcS, BxdS and fxg5/Nf4.

20. .. . Rd8? 21. Qc7 b6 22. fxg5 Ba6? 23. Nf4 Black resigns

Back in Leningrad, Korchnoi broke out of the pack of talented youngsters. He won the city's 1947 and 1948 junior champi­ onships. Wins came more easily. But it was a draw with future grandmaster livo Nei in the 1947 tournament that gave him a strange new sensation. "For the first time I experienced pleasure in a difficult de­ fense" when he held on "on the verge of defeat for a long time;' he wrote. It was another game, against the pre-tournament favorite, that gained attention when it was annotated in the October issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR.

30

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Yuri Vasilchuk-Korchnoi Leningrad Junior Championship, 1947 Sicilian Defense (B74)

33. Re3? Kf8! 34. Nf6 Ke7 35. Ng4 Rc6! (see diagram)

I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be2 Bg7 7. Be3 0-0 8. 0-0 Nc6 9. Nb3 a5 10. a4 Be6 11. f4 Bxb3 12. cxb3 Nb4 A better plan is 12. . . . e6 and 13. . . . dS. Now White can launch a kingside attack based on Bc4 and f4-f5.

13. Rel Nd7 14. Bc4 Rc8 15. Qg4 Nc5 With 16. Rfdl he would be comfortably ahead in space.

After 35. ... Rc6

16. f5? Ncd3!

The rook ending would be drawish (35. . . . Nxe4 36. Rxe4 f5 37. Rf4 fxg4 38. Rxg4).

Now 17. Rbl NeS 18. Qe2 Nxc4 19. bxc4 Qc7 is fine for Black.

36. h4! Rb6 37. h5 Rxb3 38. Rxb3?

17. fxg6 hxg6 18. Qxg6? Rxc4? As strong as this appears, Black would have won faster with 18 . . . . dS!, threatening to take the queen. Then on 19. Qg3 dxc4 20. Bh6 Black has 20. . . . Qb6+. Or 20. RfS Nxcl 21. Rg5 Ne2+! 22. Nxe2 Qdl+.

19. Qg3! Nxcl 20. bxc4 Black is skating on thin ice because of Bh6 or a rook shift to g4 or gs. But he would win after the unlikely 20. . . . Nca2! . The point is that 21. Bh6 Qb6+ 22. Khl Qd4 23. RfS, as in the game, allows 23. . . . Nxc3 with a threat of . . . Qdl+.

20. . . . Ncd3? 21. Bh6 Qb6+ 22. Khl Qd4 23. Rf5! Rc8 24. Bxg7 Nf2+! 25. Rxf2 Qxg7 26. Qxg7+? An extra pawn in an endgame is worth far less than the middlegame attack of 26. Qh4 (26. . . . Kf8 27. NdS) or 26. Qh3 (26. . . . Rxc4 27. Rf3).

26. . . . Kxg7 27. b3 Nd3 28. Rf3 Nc5 29. Nd5 e6 30. Rg3+ Kf8 31. Nf6 Ke7 32. Ng8+ Ke8 White should seek a draw (33. Nf6+ Ke7 34. Ng8+ Ke8).

But the knight endgame is bad. After 38. eS! the key line is 38 . . . . Rxe3 39. exd6+ Kxd6 40. h6! Rg3 41. h7 Rxg4 42. h8(Q) Rxc4 with a likely draw. Or 38 . . . . dxeS 39. RxeS Rg3 (39. . . . b6? 40. h6) 40. RxcS Rxg4 41. RxaS.

38. . . . Nxb3 39. h6 Kf8 40. Nf6 Nc5! 41. Ne8! Kg8 42. Nxd6 b6! 43. Kgl Nxa4 44. Kf2 Nc5 45. Ke3 f6 46. e5!? This should lose quickly (46 . . . . fS!). A better try was 46. Ne8 Kh7 47. Nxf6+ Kxh6 48. Kd4.

46. . . . fxe5? 47. g4 Kh7 48. g5 a4 49. Nb5 Nb7 50. Na3? The outcome remains in doubt after 50. Nc3 a3 51. Ke4.

50. . . . Nd6! 51. Kf3 Kg6 52. Kg4 Nfi 53. h7 Kxh7 54. Kh5 Nd6 55. g6+ Kg7 56. Kg5 e4 57. Nc2 Nxc4 58. Kf4 e3 59. Ke4 a3 60. Kd3 a2! White resigns Korchnoi's later memoirs added an inci­ dent he did not mention in his first, 1977 ver­ sion. He won two crucial games with Black against fellow Leningraders in the tourna­ ment. He postmortemed after one of those games and spoke in what he said was a light-

I. Four Boys hearted manner. (He was already known for insulting his opponents.) His losing oppo­ nent took offense. "What's with you? " he asked. "You know they forced me to lose to you! "so "This was a shock for me;' Korchnoi wrote. Since teachers and sports organizations were evaluated "by the success of their foster­ children" someone had conspired to help him win. His victory was tainted and he learned that "everything is sold and bought:' Nevertheless Korchnoi enjoyed the fruits of winning. "They took me to a tailor's work­ shop and [got] a suit. A good, excellent suit! . . . bright blue;' he said. 5 1 Among those unimpressed by his first prize was a master, Vitaly Tarasov. "The next one you' ll receive in about 20 years;' Tarasov told him. "But within 13 years I became champion of the USSR among adults;' Korchnoi wrote. 52

Obvious Discord Petrosian could have moved up the Soviet totem pole faster if he had the aspirations of a Korchnoi. Svetozar Gligoric, a friendly rival of both, later described how he was struck by the "obvious discord between [Petrosian's] enormous chess talent and his lack of ambi­ tion:' 53 This was demonstrated in a crucial final round of a national championship semi­ finals:

31

Petrosian needed a draw to finally secure the master title. But a win might advance him to the USSR Championship finals, the best tournament that almost any Soviet player could dream of entering. Viktor Korchnoi would later face a similar situation and make a different decision. Petrosian offered a draw. When, is un­ known but his biographer said it was after he obtained "an almost won position:' 54 Vladimir Simagin, one of the world's two dozen highest rated players at the time, re­ fused.

18. Nd3 Nc5 19. Bxc5! A favorable bishop-takes-knight exchange would become one of the hallmarks of a Petrosian win. Black cannot keep the White knight from reaching e6 now.

19. . . . bxc5 20. Rael Bf8? Black would have had just enough coun­ terplay after 20. . . . Rt7 21. f4 exf4 22. Nxf4 Qd7 and . . . BgS or 22. . . . Bf6 23. Ne6 Qe7. Now his bishop becomes paralyzed on f8.

21. f4! exf4 22. Nxf4 (see diagram)

Petrosian-Vladimir Simagin

16th USSR Championship semifinals, Moscow, 1947 Dutch Defense (A96) I. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. g3 e6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 a5 8. Qc2 Nc6 9. a3 e5 IO. d5! Nb8 II. Nel

After 22. Nxf4

With 11. NgS and Ne6! White would secure a powerful pull.

White's advantage was obvious and he could play for a win without risk. But he of­ fered a draw a second time at some point. Simagin again refused.

11. . . . Na6 12. e4 fxe4 13. Nxe4 Bf5 14. Be3 b615. Nxf6+ Rxf616. Be4 Bxe417. Qxe4 a4

22. . . . Qd7 23. Ne6 Rxfl+ 24. Rxfl Be7 draw

32

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

According to Gennady Sosonko, when Petrosian offered a draw again he said it would be the last time. Seeing how strong 25. Qg4! was, Simagin accepted. White would win after 25. . . . g6? 26. Qf3! or 25. . . . Bf6? 26. Rxf6. He would have a bind after 25. . . . Bf8 26. h4 or 26. Qf3 Qe7 27. b3 axb3 28. Qxb3. It is the kind of posi­ tion Petrosian could play with virtually no chance of losing. But he was content to make slow career progress.

Borya Boris Vasilyevich Spassky grew up even poorer than Petrosian and in a family as troubled as Korchnoi's. Instead of starving in Leningrad, he nearly died in the evacua­ tion that Korchnoi was denied. Born January 30, 1937, Spassky remem­ bered his first home as a kommunal k a at Nevsky Prospect, number 104, flat 2, now in a fashionable area of St. Petersburg. Soon after the Nazi invasion, he and his brother Georgy, nearly three years older than he, were evacuated by train. They were headed for Perm, 1,500 miles away. On the way to the Urals the train was heavily shelled several times. "We were incredibly lucky as we slipped out in the second group: the first and third were bombed;' he recalled. 55 "Finally we arrived at Perm where I was placed in an orphanage:' It was "an extremely beautiful building on the site of an old convent." His fellow evacuees "played all games, including chess," he said. But he just watched. He did not know the rules until he began having games with his brother. Meanwhile his father, Vasily Spassky, a construction foreman, was pressed into mil­ itary duty in Leningrad. Spassky was never particularly religious but his father was de­ scended from Vladimir Spassky, a prominent Russian Orthodox priest. He said his mother, the former Ekaterina Petrov of a Pskov peas-

ant family, was deeply religious but also a leader in the Komsomol junior wing of the Communist Party. She survived the war be­ cause she inherited her mother's ration card after she died. 56 Spassky's father "was on the verge of death from starvation and even ended up on the death ward" for servicemen. "You' ll never guess how she saved my dad: she sold all her things and bought a bottle of alcohol;' Spas­ sky said. "She arrived in the ward and started to look for him among dozens of people, but he'd lost so much weight that she didn't even recognize him. My father was stern despite his weakness and shouted at her: Don't you recognize your own husband? After that, he drank the whole bottle and got up. A miracle? No, they say vodka has calories. The moment my father recovered they immediately trav­ elled to our orphanage, when I was dying from hunger." 57 This was in the summer of l943. "The ar­ rival of my parents saved me:' he recalled. "When they collected us from the chil­ dren's shelter I was like a sack of bones and couldn't get out of bed:' 58 He said his parents "took my brother and me to the outskirts of Moscow:' But when Spassky's mother was three months pregnant with a daughter, Vasily Spassky abandoned them and remar­ ried. During the winter of 1943-44, Spassky and his mother, an elementary school teacher looking desperately for work, lived in an izba, or hut, according to Alexander Nikitin, a longtime friend and grandmaster. 'J\t night the temperature was below zero and to sleep you needed to wear outer clothing;' Spassky recalled. "When living became unbearable, Mom would quote [Nikolai] Nekrasov:' Spas­ sky told an interviewer. "She knew his poems by heart. I still remember those lines about hardships of Russian life." 59 Spassky and his mother soon had to move again. He never forgot the new location and returned to find it in the final days of the USSR. "I was horri-

1. Four Boys fied: the same entrance, the same smell, the same rats:• he said. 60

Fairy Tale World In 1946 Spassky's mother moved once more, taking her children back to ravaged Leningrad. One day Spassky's older brother took him to Kirov Park, which had housed military hardware up until 1944. They found the chess pavilion, a common feature in large Soviet-era parks. Spassky remembered it had "a glass veranda surrounded by trees" with "a large black knight in front": "It was mar­ velous weather. The wind from the bay of Finland played with the birch leaves, the sad northern sun shone on the glass of the ve­ randa:' There was no one inside but he was mesmerized by the tables, boards and pieces. "I was seeing a fairy tale world . . . . I lost my sense of reality. . . . A wild passion took pos­ session of me:' 61 He returned to the pavilion the next day, and the day after that. He was there from the hour that the pavilion opened to when it closed at 9 p.m. But he was too shy to try to play. "I observed the clocks, watched others play, not sitting at a board. This went on for about two weeks. I was delighted by the movement of the pieces. The pieces were covered by fresh lacquer and from them came a special, unique smell:' He recalled the experience in interview after interview. "Look­ ing back, I had a sort of predestination in my life," he said. "I understood that through chess I could express myself and chess be­ came my natural language. . . . Then came the day when brother signed me up for a chil­ dren's blitz tournament. I fell into a children's mate on f7 and cried bitterly. The fairy tale world revealed a stern face:• he said. But that helped cure his shyness. ''.And I had to play every day. I couldn't do anything else:' When he came home, exhausted, "I didn't undress, I tumbled into bed and fell asleep. Some-

33

times I was late for school. I asked Mama to write an explanatory note and all my sins were forgiven:' The first crisis of his new obsession came when the Kirov Park pavilion closed at the end of the summer season. "I had no place to play chess:• he recalled. So in October 1946 he found his way to the Leningrad Pioneer Palace. Mark Taimanov, then 20 and a Palace veteran, remembered "with satisfaction the first chess steps of Boris:' He said the light­ haired nine-year-old showed up one day and asked shyly, "I want to sign up for the chess circle, can I?" ''.And do you know how to play chess?" an administrator asked. 'Tm the champion in my third grade class;' he re­ plied, perhaps fibbing. 62 He was accepted. His family was so poor that he barely had anything to wear to the palace. "How did you come to chess?" he was asked in a 2003 interview. "Barefoot:' was the answer. 63 "I remember that my mother gave me her soldier's boots. She used them when she was harvesting potatoes to feed the fam­ ily. So in these boots, which reached up to my stomach, I went to the Pioneer Palace." 64 He said his strongest childhood memory was arriving at the palace before it opened and watching the nearby Fontanka River flow. "By a strange coincidence, a couple of con­ doms would always float bY:' he said. 65 At the palace he discovered how seriously people took chess. He saw a photo of a slim, dark-haired teenager who had just won a tournament in the palace, the national junior championship. It was Petrosian. "I, as a nine­ year-old boy, saw him as a folk hero:• Spas­ sky recalled. 66 At the palace he also met Vladimir Zak, "a remarkable trainer and a wonderful man:' Zak quickly became de­ voted to Spassky and began teaching him in his home, as he had with Korchnoi and a few others. "He always did this if he saw someone with talent;' Spassky recalled. "He lived for this:' 67 According to one account, Spassky was playing in a second-category

34

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

tournament two months after he arrived at the palace. 68 Other palace regulars were not as welcom­ ing as Zak. One of Zak's favorite teaching de­ vices was to have an older student give a si­ multaneous exhibition for younger, weaker players. Zak chose Korchnoi, then a cocky first-category player, to conduct a simul and to play one of the games blindfolded. As luck would have it, he played blind against Spas­ sky. Their game began 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. eS. Korchnoi quickly built up an attacking for­ mation and won with a routine Bxh7+, NgS+ combination. Spassky burst into tears. Spassky also cried after he drew games he should have won. When he sobbed after missing the first-category norm by a half point in a tournament, Zak told him "Don't cry, Borya. A half point is a formality. You will play in a first-category tournament:' 69 He was right. In a year and a half Spassky went from beginner to first category, an as­ tonishing leap. In 1947 the first published photo of Spas­ sky appeared: He was playing a board in a simul given by Mikhail Botvinnik. He won

but the score has not survived. Spassky also got his opportunity to operate a demonstra­ tion board during major tournaments. He loved it, because he earned 10 rubles a day and because he was performing an impor­ tant duty on a stage full of famous players. 70 Larisa Volpert, who later became a lead­ ing Soviet women's player, was another stu­ dent of Zak's. She came from a politically correct family: her doctor father served the Bolshevik army during the Civil War and married the nurse who helped cure him of typhus. Volpert remembered the "rich and very informative" lessons Zak gave at his home when she was 19. "There I often met nine-year-old Borya Spassky and 14-year­ old Vitya Korchnoi. Both were without fathers and both found a second home in this family;' she said. 71 Zak introduced Spas­ sky to culture, she said. He played a record of C armen that made Spassky a lifelong opera fan, and he recommended authors to him, such as Mark Twain. Spassky was par­ ticularly fond of Th e Prince and the Paup er because of the sea change in fortunes of the two main characters. Spassky, who nearly starved during the war, became well­ fed thanks to his vis­ its to Zak's home. "Zak not only showed me various opening variations but on his poor sal­ ary (and he had a big family) fattened me up. And I have a fe­ rocious appetite;' he said. "I still remem­ ber the chicken broth, which was prepared by Vladis­ lavovna Tatiana, his Spassky (right) was the youngest Soviet first category player when this wife. It was a divine photo appeared in the February 1949 issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR, and dish, with American stewed pork:' 72 soon the youngest candidate master and youngest master.

35

I. Four Boys

Friends in High Places In the fall of 1947 a team match was held between Leningrad and the far eastern city of Vladivostok, some 4,000 miles away. Moves were transmitted by radio. One of the boys who relayed the moves from the boards to the radio operator was Spassky. He watched Alexander Tolush on first board. Tolush was known for his bravery on the board and on the battlefield, during the wartime fighting outside Leningrad. Still only 10, Spassky was considered responsible enough to get the radio moves right. "Borya looked unusual: a thin, light-haired boy;' recalled Mikhail Beilin. Only his large gray eyes revealed his maturity, he said.73 In later years Spassky portrayed himself as a life-long rebel. "I was always a lone wolf;' he said. "I never had any patrons:' This was not true. From virtually the beginning of his career, Spassky had friends in high places like Beilin, later a very influential figure in Soviet chess politics. His supporters may have seen Spassky as an ideal Soviet youth: a non-Jew­ ish ethnic Russian from peasant/worker stock and with some family connection to the Communist Party. The Vladivostok match was organized by the veteran Leningrad chess official Yakov Rokhlin, who had mentored Mikhail Botvin­ nik twenty years before. "I remember Rokhlin always brought a pillow for Borya so that he could comfortably sit in a chair during a game;' said another trainer, Boris Arkhangel­ sky.74 His oldest surviving games show little of his potential:

Spassky-Shman Trud sports society tournament, Leningrad, 1948 Queen's Gambit Declined (D37)

l. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 0-0 7. 0-0 a6 8. b3 b6 9. Bb2 Bb7 10. Qc2 c5 ll. Ne5 Bd6 12. f4 h6 13. Qe2 Ne414. Radl cxd4 15. exd4 f516. Bxe4 fxe4?

After 16. . . . dxe4 Black is close to equality (17. Na4 Bc7).

17. Qg4! ReS 18. Nxd7 Qxd719. cxd5 Qe7 20. dxe6 Qxe6 21. f5 Qf6 22. Na4? White overrates his tactical chances along the b2-f6 diagonal. Better is 22. d5 (22. . . . e3 23. Ne2! Be5 24. Bxe5 with a small edge, but not 23. . . . Qxb2?? 24. f6 and White wins). 22. . . . e3! 23. d5 Bes 24. Qe2? b5? Black would be better after 24 . . . . a5! and . . . Ba6.

25. Bxe5 Qxe5 26. Nc5 Bxd5 27. Nd7! Qd6 28. f6 Qxd7 29. f7+ (see diagram)

After 29. p+ The outcome remains in doubt after 29. . . . Qxf7! 30. Rxf7 Bxf7 because of the e-pawn (31. Rd3? Bh5! 32. Qxh5 e2).

29. . . . Kh8? 30. fxeS(Q)+ Rxe8 31. Rd3 Qb7 32. Rxe3 Rxe3 33. Qxe3 Bxg2? 34. Rf8+ Kh7 35. Qe8! Black resigns In 1948 Spassky was considered strong enough to give his own simultaneous exhi­ bition at the Officers' House in Minsk, the same kind of place where Petrosian had served as a janitor in Tbilisi. Spassky check­ mated one officer, who asked if he could take his move back. Spassky agreed-and two moves later he was checkmated. "I began to cry bitterly and the game was stopped for 15 minutes. When I calmed down I finished the

36

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

game;' he remembered. He resolved never to allow opponents to take back moves, even in simuls. His fee allowed him to buy a winter coat. "So that was money, tears and a coaf' 75 That year Zak, with the help of Grigory Levenfish, accomplished something unprece­ dented: They secured a government stipend for his best student. Spassky recalled it as 35 rubles a month. 76 Other sources give a much higher figure, 1,200. Figuring the value of a ruble at that time is difficult because of a sharp currency devaluation at the end of 1947. In any case, Spassky's stipend appears to be higher than the monthly wage of many Soviet workers. Stipends were new and rare for even the best Soviet players. For a boy it was stunning. This "allowed me and my family to stand on our own feet. It was a huge, simply fantastic help to the family;' Spassky said. "I was a pro­ fessional at age 10:' 77 Spassky claimed he played chess for "per­ haps five hours a day between 1946 and 1950:' It was during this period that the longest running rivalry in grandmaster history began. Korchnoi included the following in Korch­ noi's 400 Best Games although it clearly was not one of his best.

Korchnoi-Spassky

Leningrad, 1948 Sicilian Defense (B71) I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Bg4 7. Bb5+ Nbd7 8. Bxd7+ Qxd7 9. Qd3 e5 10. Nf3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qg4?? 12. Nd5 Black resigns? (see diagram) Once again Spassky burst into tears. He cried harder when Korchnoi said, "What's with you?" and pointed out that 12. . . . Kd8! would have saved a piece. White should still win after 13. Qxg4 Nxg4 14. h3! and then 14 . . . . Nh6 15. fxe5 dxe5 16. Bg5+. Spassky said he was in awe of Korchnoi at the time. "For me he was like a chess god;' he recalled. Did he resent Korchnoi's hostil-

After 12. Nd5 ity? "No, I was more bewildered than any­ thing;' he told an interviewer many years later. 78 He said he vividly recalled how Korch­ noi would overreact to losses at the Lenin­ grad Pioneer Palace. "He would throw pieces, scream, insult the opponent. If someone was better than him at anything, Korchnoi was ready to tear him apart:' 79 Spassky was discovering that being preco­ cious came with an emotional price. He never forgot how, after he would outplay his elders at blitz, they called him names, like "little swine;' and told him, "You don't know how to play." 8 0 And it pained him that he failed miserably when he was given a chance to play a grandmaster.

Vasily Smyslov-Spassky

Simultaneous Exhibition, Leningrad, 1948 Sicilian Defense (B76) I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. N xd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 0-0 8. Qd2 Nc6 9. 0-0-0 Nxd4 From virtually the start of his career, Spas­ sky was stronger in the middlegame than in the opening. He was more familiar with 9. Bc4 and then 9. . . . Nxd4 10. Bxd4 Be6, e.g., 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. 0-0-0 Qa5 13. h4 b5 with counterplay.

10. Bxd4 Qa5 11. Bc4! Rd8? Confused by 9. 0-0-0, Black misses an op-

1. Four Boys portunity to head into the previous note with 11. . . . Be6!.

12. Kbl Be613. Bxe6 fxe614. h4 RacS 15. h5 b5? Spassky recognized that 15. . . . NxhS was bad in view of 16. Bxg7 Kxg7 17. g4 Nf6 18. Qh6+ (18 . . . . Kg8 19. gs NhS 20. RxhS! gxhS 21. g6 and mates). Zak recommended 15. . . . eS 16. Be3 Rxc3 but 17. Qxc3 Qxc3 18. bxc3 NxhS 19. Bxa7 is a bad endgame. There were defensive chances in 16. . . . NxhS (17. g4 Nf4! 18. Qh2 h6).

16. hxg6 hxg6 17. Qg5! An easy move to overlook before 15. . . . bS was played. Black is lost.

17. . . . e518. Qxg6! exd419. Nd5 So that 19. . . . NxdS 20. Rh7 and mates.

19. . . . Rd7 20. Rh3 Qd8 21. Rdhl Black re­ signs Once again Spassky burst into tears and promised never to cry again after a loss. 81 He kept his word-until that final round game with Tal in the 25th Soviet Championship.

Misha Mikhail Tal's life story seems so improba­ ble-and has been told in so many contra­ dictory ways-that it is difficult to separate history from story and from myth. The con­ ventional version tells us that he was born on November 9, 1936, the second son of the best neurologist in Riga, Nekhemya Boriso­ vich Tal. His father had married a cousin, Ida Grigorievna Tal. Tal's paternal grandfather was also a doctor as was his older brother, Yakov, known as Yasha. But people who knew Tal well, including his first wife, Sally Landau, and his friend Mark Taimanov, said that while Nekhemya

37

Tal was his "official father:' his biological fa­ ther was "Uncle Robert:' Robert Papirmeister was a fellow physician and close friend of Nekhemya's, but not a blood relative. 82 Nev­ ertheless, he was identified as Tal's uncle by almost everyone the family let into their inner circle. Landau said shortly after Ida's first son was born, Dr. Tal came down with a severe viral infection "and became impo­ tent:' This was a tragedy for other families, Sally said. But "the Tal family came to a so­ lution and it didn't occur to others:' 83 "He resembled his uncle very much. But his patronymic, Nekhemyevich, all the same is taken from his official father, who died early;' Mark Taimanov, a Tal confidant, re­ called in a 2009 interview. 84 It was a conven­ ient family fable. "Robert knew that he was Misha's father and Misha knew that he was the son of Robert. Nevertheless, for Misha the father was Dr. Tal and for Robert, Misha was the son of Doctor Tal;' Sally Landau wrote. 85 She said the family never discussed this in her presence. But Gennady Sosonko, who became a frequent visitor to their home, recalled how when Tal was acting out of line, his mother would say, "Misha, don't be rude. Please don't forget that he [Robert] is, after all, your father:' 86 But Tal's third wife Angelina, known as Gelya, sharply disputed this. "It's hard to re­ main silent when my husband's biography gets perverted so often," she said. 87 Robert did live in the Tal family home "but he was just a close relative, not Mikhail Tal's father:' she said. The two Tal wives also gave sharply dif­ fering accounts of how his deformed hand came about. Landau said that Tal's mother told her that one night when she was seven months pregnant she was sleeping in the family's dacha, or summer home, on the Riga seashore. Ida fainted when a huge rat ap­ proached her face. Doctors feared that this would affect her pregnancy. But the only complication in Tal's birth was that he was

38

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

born with electrodactyly, a congenital birth defect. It left him with three oversized fingers on his right hand. Two were fused together. 88 Gelya Tal dismissed the rat story as "another legend." The truth, she said, is that "in Dr. Tal's absence, Ida Grigorievna injected her­ self with potassium chloride intramuscularly rather than intravenously, and this caused complications during the pregnancy. But Misha didn't mind his disability at all;' she said. 89 Tal learned to play the piano and, accord­ ing to Taimanov, a world-class pianist, "he played well:' When Tal played chess, he usu­ ally moved the pieces in his left hand-the right one often held a cigarette. He played table tennis with his right hand. That Tal was a sickly child, there is no dis­ pute. Sally Landau thought he inherited all of the ailments that plagued him until he died. When he was six months old, he came down with a high fever and suffered convul­ sions that appeared due to viral meningitis. One of the doctors who treated him said that children who survive such an illness often grow up to greatness. Asked if meningitis could be the source of Tal's brilliance, Tai­ manov said, "That's fully possible. They say that after people have such an illness they ei­ ther become madmen or geniuses. That is, if they survive:' 9 0

Yurla and Chess Tal survived and soon showed signs of re­ markable intellect. He learned to read at three and could multiply three-digit numbers at five. When he entered school at seven he was immediately promoted from first grade to third. This "deprived me of my childhood;' he recalled. 91 He was soon promoted to the fourth grade and remained years younger than his classmates for the rest of his aca­ demic career. He also inherited a love of music-ranging from light music to Rakh-

maninoff, Verdi, Tchaikovsky and Chopin­ from his father, who played the violin, and his mother, who played the piano. His mother also bestowed on him a thirst for literature and an appreciation of the arts. When Ida Tal was young she spent some months in Paris and had met Pablo Picasso, Ilya Ehren­ burg and the surrealist poet Louis Aragon. When the Nazi invasion began on June 22, 1941, the Germans established a bridgehead across Latvia's vital Dvina River in just three days. The Red Army abandoned Riga on July 5. Tal's mother felt the family was safe. Like many Rigans, the Tals were fluent in Ger­ man. "Why should we go anywhere? We are actually Germans," she told Robert. "They will not touch the Germans:' he replied. "But they will slaughter Jews," like the Tals. 92 He insisted the whole family leave for Siberia. Quickly the family headed for the Ural mountains. En route their train was bombed. The family fled into a field where Ida threw herself over Misha to shield him as Dr. Tal attended to victims. 93 After several days they reached Yurla, a remote town near the west­ ern slope of the Urals, not far from where Spassky would be living. The Tals returned to Riga in November 1944, almost immedi­ ately after the Nazi retreat. Tal recalled how during the evacuation, he saw patients playing chess as they waited for treatment in his father's medical office. He asked his father, a first-category player, to teach him the moves. But Tal was not aware of chess literature until the fall of l945, when he was in a fifth-grade singing lesson at the 77th Riga school. He noticed a class­ mate leafing through a bulletin of the 14th USSR Championship finals. Tal's interest re­ mained minimal. He played only with doting relatives, who let him win most of the time and seemed to shelter him from the world. He said his first "serious game" was in 1946 against a visiting cousin, who was not so gen­ erous. Tal fell into a four-move Scholar's mate, much like Spassky's traumatic early game.

I. Four Boys "My vanity was deeply hurt;' he said. "How­ ever, it was that humiliating child's check­ mate that launched me on my chess career:' 94 Tal's introduction to organized chess was as accidental as Petrosian's. He went to the Riga Pioneer Palace to sign up for a drama circle. He was a natural performer and later appeared in student plays. But he noticed a sign that said "Chess Section:' Remembering his cousin, he went in to find out how to get revenge, and soon became a student of the section teacher, Yanis Kruskops, whose day job was teaching English. Kruskops, "my first teacher (now they say 'trainer' but I like 'teacher' more), was not a famous player. But he was a true mentor;' Tal said. "He loved chess and he loved children:' 95 Kruskops was not a master but created the environment where youngsters could find their potential. The pioneer palace became "a place where you could play a good game, tackle a mind­ boggling chess puzzle, study a new variation and find out why you suffered defeat yester­ day" or just do your homework, Tal said. 96 Tal began to devour chess literature, the way he speed-read his way through thick novels. He studied "according to the prin­ ciple the more the incomprehensible, the more interesting:' 97 He was a mere fourth­ category player at 11 yet his teachers managed to get him into the 1948 youth championship of Riga. Spassky's mentor Zak said this was the right thing to do: Trainers should have faith in their talented students. Tal did not reach second-category until he was 13, well behind Spassky's pace. But he demonstrated a hint of his potential dur­ ing a simultaneous exhibition when he beat Paul Keres, shortly after Keres finished third in the 1948 world championship match­ tournament. Tal thought he used psychology by defending the Queen's Gambit with the Botvinnik Variation. The game made a big impression on him. But not on Keres. When Tal told Keres of their game in 1958, Keres only remembered, "Oh yes, I lost to some

39

boY:' 9 8 Instead, it was another simul game that won attention for Tal.

Ratmir Kholmov-Tai Simultaneous Exhibition, Riga, 1949 Semi-Slav Defense (D44) l. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 c6 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e4 b5 7. e5 h6 8. Bxf6 Botvinnik's pet line, begun by 6. . . . b5, had withstood tests of 8. Bh4 g5 9. exf6 and 9. Nxg5! hxgS 10. Bxg5. 8. . . . gxf6 9. exf6 Bb4 10. Be2 Qxf6 ll. 0-0 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Nd7 13. a4! Bb7 White would have compensation for a pawn after 14. Rbl!, e.g., 14 . . . . Ba6 15. Nd2 or 14 . . . . a6 15. Bxc4. 14. Ne5? Nxe5 15. dxe5 Qxe5 16. Bf3 Rd8 17. Qc2? Rd3! (see diagram)

After 17. ... Rd3 But now he faces 18. Rfel Qxc3 19. Qxc3 Rxc3 20. axb5 Rxf3!. Then 21. gxf3? Rg8+ should win. Play might go 21. Rxa7 Rd3 22. Rxb7 cxb5 23. Rxb5 Ke7 24. Res, with drawing chances in the rook endgame. 18. axb5? Rxf3! 19. Rxa7 Not 19. gxf3 Rg8+ 20. Khl cxb5 21. Qdl Qf4. After 19. Rxa7 there was more than one way to win, 19. . . . Rxc3 or even 19. . . . Rh3 20. gxh3 Rg8+ (21. Khl cxb5+ 22. Rxb7 Qd5+).

40

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

19. . . . Qxb5 20. gxf3? The win would be a bit harder than in the previous note after 20. Rxb7 Qxb7 21. gxf3.

20. . . . Qg5+ 21. Khl Rg8 White resigns Fortune smiled further on Tal in 1949 when Alexander Koblents, who ran the chess program at the 22nd Riga Middle School, went to the assembly hall to give a lecture. He was Latvia's most famous player and won the Latvian championship for the fourth time that year. Koblents recalled how stunned he was at the school when "a thin boy with sur­ prisingly tender, large dark eyes approached the demonstration board" and quickly solved the problem Koblents had posed. 99 He learned that this was Misha Tal, who was also the goalie of his grade's soccer team and the checker champion of his school. He was renowned among classmates for his light­ ning reflexes at whatever game he played. Koblents had much in common with the Tal family. He was Jewish and more Euro­ pean than Russian. He had also managed to escape the Nazis, being evacuated to Samar­ kand during the war. His mother and sisters remained in Latvia and died during the oc­ cupation. Gradually Koblents came to learn more about Tal and become his mentor. Tal called him "Maestro" and Koblents called Tal "Mishenka." Koblents met Tal's parents, "often comforting them that it wasn't so ter­ rible that a boy spends so much time on chess:' 100 It is significant that Koblents was 20 years older than him. Archil Ebralidze was 21 years older than Petrosian. Zak was 18 years older than Korchnoi and 24 years older than Spas­ sky, making them the right age to serve as a father figure. But more important is that Koblents' playing style melded perfectly with Tal's instincts. Like Kruskops, Koblents was a Romantic-style attacker. His 1937 book of the 100 best combinations by Latvians was known to all Latvian players and it inspired

Tal. A decade later, fans would joke: If Tal's trainer had been Ebralidze and Petrosian's was Koblents, they would have turned out to be merely average masters. Tal also tasted fame for the first time when a game of his was published.

Tal-Leonov Riga Junior Championship, 1949 Caro-Kann Defense (Bl3) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nf6 5. h3 h6 6. Bf4 e6 7. Nf3 Bd6 8. Bxd6 Qxd6 9. c3 Nc6 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Ne5 Qc7 If Black tries to oust the knight, 12. . . . Nd7 13. f4 f6, White has the uncomfortable 14. Qh5! .

13. f4 Nxe5? 14. fxe5 Nh715. Qh5 A more mature Tal would surely see that White gets a nice edge in the center or queen­ side with 15. Na3 and Nb5-d6, or 15. . . . a6 16. c4!.

15. . . . Re716. Na3 a6 17. Nc2 Qd718. Ne3 Qe8 19. Rf6! (see diagram)

After 19. Rf6 This is usually annotated with a note that shows how 19. . . . gxf6 20. exf6 Nxf6 21. Qxh6 Ne4 22. Bxe4 dxe4 23. Ng4 would end the game. But after 22. . . . fS! (instead of 22. . . . dxe4??) there is no quick win. The right way was 20. Bxh7+! Kxh7 21. Ng4 and then 21. . . . Qf8 22. Rfl! f5 23. Nf6+ and Rf3.

I. Four Boys 19. . . . QfS 20. Rf4 And here 20. Ng4 or 20. Bxh7+ Kxh7 21. Ng4 was more accurate because . . .

20. . . . Bd7 21. Ng4 BeS? Black could still fight after 21. . . . Bb5 22. Bc2 Kh8.

22. Nf6+! Nxf6 23. exf6 Rc7 24. fxg7 Kxg7 25. Qe5+ Black resigns Tal remained virtually unknown outside Latvia for another five years. Not so, Korch­ noi and Spassky, whose photographs ap­ peared in the October 1949 issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR, the leading Soviet chess magazine. This was in a report on the All­ Union Youth Team Championship held that summer in Moscow. They played first and second boards respectively for the winning Leningraders. The magazine report was writ­ ten by Pyotr Romanovsky, whose playing ca­ reer began when he and Alexander Alekhine were teenage opponents. But Romanovsky did not think much of Spassky. Others shared his opinion. In the key Leningrad-Moscow match, Spassky played 14-year-old Alexander Nikitin, who was described as one of the strongest first category players in Moscow. Before the match, Moscow captain Lev Aronin told

41

Nikitin, "Spassky is no opponent for you. You' ll crush him easilY:' 101 One reason is that for all his talent, Spassky was often timid. "I began my chess career not like a military commander, striv­ ing for battle. . . . I wanted nobody to threaten me in any way;' Spassky wrote in what Nikitin called an unpublished autobiography. "Once I heard one of the spectators say, 'He plays like an old man: These remarks didn't embarrass me at all. I never played for the public:' 102

Spassky-Alexander Nikitin

All-Union Youth Team Championship, Moscow, 1949 English Opening (A18) 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. e5 d4 6. exf6 dxc3 7. dxc3? Qxf6 8. Be3 Bd6 9. Nf3 0-0 10. Be2 Nc6 11. 0-0 Be6 12. Qa4 h6 13. Rfdl a6 Romanovsky said Black "apparently isn't even dreaming of the initiative" but then nei­ ther was White.

14. Rd2 Ne5 15. Nxe5 Bxe5 16. Bf3 Rahs 17. Radl Qe7 18. Ba7 Ras 19. Be3 Rahs 20. h3 c6 White is better but Black is ready to con­ test the d-file with . . . Rfd8. Romanovsky

The leading Soviet chess magazine featured photos of 12-year-old Spassky (left) in his game with Alexander Nikitin and his Leningrad teammate 18-year-old Korchnoi (left in second photo) in a match with Moscow in the 1949 All-Union youth team championship. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1949.

42

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

pointed out that 21. Bb6 allows 21. . . . Qg5 and then 22. Khl Qf4. Correct, he added, was 21. Qa5 and, if 21. . . . Bc7, then 22. Bb6. "But how did Spassky play? Alas, he of­ fered a draw!" Romanovsky, the chief arbiter, wrote with little-disguised contempt. "He was taught, apparently, by some of our lead­ ing chessplayers, authors of so-called 'grand­ master draws:" 1 03 His play was uninspired and cautious. He was boring Boris. But Romanovsky had nothing but praise for Korchnoi, who was awarded the candi­ date master title thanks to a score of five wins and a draw. Spassky saved his enterprising play for other events.

Spassky-Avtonomov Soviet Junior Championship Qualifier, Leningrad, 1949 Queen's Gambit Accepted (D28)

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 c5 5. Bxc4 e6 6. 0-0 a6 7. Qe2 Nc6 8. Nc3 b5 9. Bb3 cxd4?! IO. Rdl Bb7?11. exd4 (see di­ agram)

11. . . . Na5 12. d5! Nxb3 13. dxe6 has led to quick wins. That is why 11. . . . Nb4 looks right. Then 12. Ne5 and 12. a4 are both prom­ ising and it is a tribute to Spassky that he did not settle for either.

11. . . . Nb4 12. d5! Nbxd5 13. Bg5! Spassky could not have been certain that, for example, 13. . . . Qe7 14. Ne5! was good. Lines such as 14 . . . . h6 15. Rxd5 (15. . . . hxg5 16. Rxb5!) or 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Rxd5! were hard to foresee. Instead, he must have been relying on his feeling for the White possibil­ ities.

13. . . . Be714. Bxf6! gxf6 15. Nxd5 Now 15. . . . exd5 poses slightly more diffi­ cult problems, e.g., 16. Nd4 Qd7 17. Rel Kd8 or 16. Nh4 Qd7 17. Rel Kd8.

15. . . . Bxd516. Bxd5 exd517. Nd4 Spassky could feel confident that he had enough compensation for the pawn because of continuations such as Nc6 or Nf5, Qh5 and Rel. For example, 17. . . . Qd7 18. Qf3 0-0 19. Nf5 wins. He would regain the pawn and keeps the initiative after 18 . . . . Kf8 19. Nf5 Rd8 20. Rd3 and 21. Radl.

17. . . . Kf8? 18. Nf5 h5 19. Rxd5! Qxd5 20. Qxe7+ Kg8 21. Qxf6 Black resigns

After 11. exd4 White looks for an opportunity to push his d-pawn, even as a sacrifice. For example,

As the 1940s were drawing to a close, Spassky and Tal were still boys with much more promise than accomplishment. Korch­ noi was a struggling teen and Petrosian a self-doubting 20-year-old. They would grad­ ually learn more about each other and form the relationships that would shepherd Soviet chess for more than two decades.

2. Growing Pains Petrosian-Iosif Pogrebissky

In the Soviet Union, no tournament was more important than the annual finals section of the national championship. They were "the strongest tournaments in the world;' David Bronstein recalled. "But;' he added, "this could also be said about the semifinals:' 1 He was boasting but also telling the truth. The championship semifinals at Tbilisi that Tigran Petrosian entered in April 1949 had an average rating of more than 2565. That was above the average for the year's strongest international tournaments, at Mar del Plata, Venice and Hastings. The heavy favorite in the Tbilisi semifi­ nals was Ratmir Kholmov, the barrel-chested ex-sailor who gave Mikhail Tal a taste of fame in their simul game that year. The tour­ nament had the usual mix of pre-war veter­ ans but also two fresh faces. One was Petro­ sian. The other was Yefim Geller, a stocky 24year-old master from Odessa. Despite his five-foot-seven height, he excelled at basket­ ball and managed to intimidate taller oppo­ nents on the hardwood. Friends called him "Petrovich'' (his patronymic) and "Fima:' Petrosian preferred to call him "Fimka:' At the Tbilisi tournament they quickly bonded and ripped through a field of better-known players from Moscow, Leningrad and else­ where.

17th Soviet Championship semifinals, Tbilisi, 1949 Neo-Grunfeld Defense (D74) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 0-0 5. Bg2 d5 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. 0-0 c5 8. e4 Nf6 9. e5 The more Petrosian-like 9. Nc3 cxd4 10. Nxd4 is refuted by 10. . . . Nxe4! . White's center is collapsing in any case.

9. . . . Nfd7 10. Ng5? cxd4 On the previous move, 10. e6 would have given White a slight edge (10. . . . fxe6 ll. Ng5). Now 11. e6 favors Black after 11. . . . Ne5 12. exf7+ Nxf7 13. Qb3 Qb6.

11. f4 Nc5 12. b4 f6 Petrosian was beginning to notice Ex­ change sacrifices more often. He wrote that 12. . . . Ne6 13. Nxe6 Bxe6 was correct be­ cause 14. Bxb7 Bd5 15. Bxa8 Bxa8 "could have cast doubts on White's strategY:' 2 Com­ puters prefer White after 16. Nd2 and 17. NO. Annotators concluded Black was lost after 12. . . . f6. Not true, but 12. . . . Nca6 was bet­ ter.

13. exf6 exf614. Nxh7! Kxh715. bxc5 Nc6 Petrosian might have made his own Ex­ change sacrifice after 15. . . . d3! . A key line is

43

44

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

16. Bb2 Na6 17. f5 BxfS 18. RxfS gxfS 19. Qh5+ Kg8 20. Qxf5. But Black can defend with 20. . . . Re8 and there was no reason to take risks in such a balanced position.

16. Bb2 Qc7? It is no longer balanced. Reasonable alter­ natives include 16. . . . Qe7 and 16. . . . fS.

17. Nd2 Be6 18. Ne4 Rad8 19. h4 Qd7? 20. h5! Bg4? 21. hxg6+ Kxg6 (see diagram)

sian. But Genrikh Kasparian came to the res­ cue. Kasparian was headed for the bottom half of the scoretable and he agreed to help Petrosian analyze the Makogonov adjourn­ ment. He found what was described as "a study-like maneuver" that enabled Petrosian to draw. On the last day, Petrosian had White against Geller. They quickly traded pieces and drew in the minimum of 30 moves. That gave Geller first place, with Petrosian a half point behind. It was the first of 20 "grandmaster draws" they played with one another over the next 13 years. It soon became clear to their colleagues that Petrosian and Geller were bonded in a tacit alliance, one of the first forged by elite grandmasters.

Tigran, Don't Think-Move After 21. ... Kxg6 White had planned to meet 22. fS+ QxfS with the killing 23. Qbl! (23. . . . Qe5 24. Nxf6+).

22. f5+! Bxf5 23. Nd6 Bg4 Or 23. . . . Be6 24. Be4+ f5 25. Nxf5! BxfS 26. Qg4+ and wins.

24. Be4+ Kh5 25. Rf4! f5 Also 25. . . . Bxdl 26. Rg4+ Kg5 27. Bel mate. Petrosian could also have won rou­ tinely with 25. Qc2.

26. Rxg4 fxg4 27. Qd2 Rh8 28. Kg2 Black resigns Petrosian seemed certain to qualify for the championship finals until he lost to Alexan­ der Chistiakov in the 12th of 17 rounds and adjourned in a difficult position with Vladi­ mir Makogonov in the next. Makogonov was a many-time champion of Azerbaijan, a fu­ ture teacher of Garry Kasparov-and a much more experienced endgame player than Petro-

Petrosian grew up dreaming of becoming a soldier, a diplomat or a graduate of the elite Nakhimov Naval School in his native Tbilisi. But as he approached his 20th birthday he began to think solely of life as a chess player. To realize that goal he had to admit he had outgrown Armenia. "As time went by it be­ came obvious that to continue mastering the chess art it was necessary to live in a major chess center;' he wrote. There were two pos­ sibilities: Moscow and Leningrad. Opportunity knocked when Nikolai Kolo­ bov, an official of the powerful Spartak sports society, learned of Petrosian's talent and wishes. 3 Soviet sports societies attracted mil­ lions of amateur athletes, who took part in a wide range of sports and "physical culture" activities, including chess. Every Soviet chess fan knew which stars played for which sports society: Viktor Korchnoi for Trud, Vasily Smyslov for the college-oriented Burevestnik society and so on. Sp artak, named after Spartacus, was the oldest and perhaps most prestigious society. The Olympics-quality members of its teams

2. Growing Pains were national heroes. Kolobov proposed to Sp artak's directors that they take Petrosian under their wing at their Moscow headquar­ ters. How much would he cost, he was asked. "He needs very little:' Kolobov replied. "Tick­ ets for football matches, and money-for ice cream:' 4 But Petrosian had second thoughts. He had rediscovered his Armenian roots in Yerevan. Did he really want to move for the second time in three years? He was swayed by Vladimir Makogonov. Makogonov and his brother Mikhail had also been talented juniors. When the war began Mikhail was drafted and died in the fighting at the Kursk Bulge. Vladimir Makogonov was evacuated to safety and became one of the world's top dozen players. 5 Yet few fans outside of the Caucasus knew his name. When Petrosian confidentially told Mako­ gonov that he was torn, he immediately re­ plied, "Tigran, don't think. Move. If I had moved to Moscow in my better years, some ten years ago, my fate would have turned out differentlY:' 6 Within weeks Petrosian had a new home, the Spartak football team's training camp at Malakhovka, outside the capital. The only luggage he brought with him was "a few chess books;' according to Gennady Sosonko. The veteran grandmaster Andre Lilienthal, who had previously met Petrosian in Tbilisi, found him one night at the Spartak quarters. They spent the evening chatting. "When it was midnight, I said, 'Time to go home?'" Lilienthal recalled. Petrosian told him he was going to stay there. ''And it turned out that Tigran lived there and slept on the floor;' Lilienthal said. 7

Inventing the Bicycle Petrosian and Yefim Geller were very dif­ ferent people. Moscow's avid chess fans quickly realized this when the 17th Soviet Champi-

45

onship finals began on October 16, 1949. The bull-necked Geller was a confident, "genuine Odessian'' who strode about the tournament stage like someone who knew he belonged there. In contrast, Petrosian was shy and al­ most in awe of the famous players like David Bronstein and Vasily Smyslov who were sit­ ting at nearby boards. He lost his first-round game to Alexander Kotov in a matter of min­ utes, by making the kind of blunder he had warned young players at the Yerevan Pioneer Palace about (I. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Qc2 Ne4?? 8. Bxe7 Qxe7 9. Nxd5! cxd5 10. Qxc8+ Qd8 11. Bb5+ Nc612. Bxc6+ bxc613. Qxc6+ Black resigns). In the next four rounds Petrosian also lost to Smyslov, Salo Flohr, Paul Keres and even Geller, who had also started badly and needed to recover. When it seemed appropriate, Geller and Petrosian played real games with one another. What had happened to the Petrosian who dominated Armenia and Georgia? The sim­ ple answer is that he was the victim of rapid success. Up to then he had beaten his typical opponents, weak masters or candidate mas­ ters, by applying the positional rules of Ca­ pablanca and Nimzowitsch that they did not understand. He played "according to posi­ tion:' Openings did not matter because his opponents didn't know any of them better than he did. But when he faced strong mas­ ters it was not nearly enough. His rating was roughly the same after this tournament as it had been two years before. Some Moscow fans shook their heads at his games, such as when he thought for 40 minutes after Kholmov offered a draw in a complex position. Petrosian accepted and ex­ plained that he had rejected a dangerous looking Exchange sacrifice. Today's computer analysis says he made the right decision: Kholmov stood much better whether or not Petrosian sacrificed. But the long think and apparently timid acceptance of a draw made Petrosian look like just another over-rated

46

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

championship newcomer who had had a lucky semifinals. While Geller contended for first place until the tournament's last day, Petrosian finished 16th in a field of 20 play­ ers. Petrosian's best game came on the final day, and he annotated it twice-once after the tournament, and then, with more insight, 26 years later in the magazine he edited, 64. Here are some of the later comments: ''At the end of the 1940s when I began to regularly play masters, a certain question was before me: How to construct an opening repertoire? In struggles with more experi­ enced masters, who knew chess theory not only from publications but constantly tested recommendations in their own games, I was in a disadvantageous position;' he wrote. "Salvation came somewhat without notice from old books:' 8 He discovered the Torre Attack, 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. BgS!?, a trendy idea of the 1920s that had fallen out of master favor.

Petrosian-Viktor Lyublinsky 17th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1949 Torre Attack (A46) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bg5 c5 4. e3 Be7 A year later in the Moscow Champion­ ship, Yuri Averbakh played 4 . . . . b6. Petro­ sian responded routinely, 5. Nbd2 Bb7 6. Bd3 Be7 7. c3 0-0. Black equalized and a draw soon followed. When Petrosian looked at the game at home he was struck by an unusual idea, 5. dS! and 5. . . . exdS 6. Nc3. He tried it in the Leipzig Olympiad in 1960 and quickly established positional superiority (6. . . . Bb7 7. NxdS BxdS 8. Bxf6 Qxf6 9. QxdS) and won in 41 moves.

5. Nbd2 d5 6. c3 Nbd7 7. Bd3 0-0 8. Ne5! Petrosian felt that White's opening suc­ ceeds if he can play NeS safely. Black could

have stopped that with 7. . . . Qc7. But Petro­ sian's opponents often failed to look for fi­ nesses because they did not take 3. BgS seri­ ously. They considered it "a provincial way of 'inventing the bicycle;" Petrosian wrote. 9

8. . . . Nxe5 9. dxe5 Nd710. Bf4!? Classically-trained players would prefer 10. Bxe7 Qxe7 ll. f4, to get rid of White's bad bishop. But trades help Black (11. . . . f6 or 11. . . . c4 12. Bc2 bS). After 10. Bf4! Black avoided 10. . . . f6 be­ cause of 11. QhS and then 11. . . . g6 12. Bxg6 hxg6 13. Qxg6+ Kh8 14. h4 with threats that can not be met, Petrosian said. He was right about 14 . . . . fxe5 15. QhS+ Kg8 16. Bh6 Rf6? 17. Rh3 and Rg3+. But 16. . . . Bf6! would have complicated.

10. . . . f5 11. h4! c4 12. Bc2 b5 Petrosian recalled a 1951 game in which Anatoly Bannik played 12. . . . NcS against him. Play continued 13. Nf3 Bd7 14. Nd4 Qb6 15. BgS and Petrosian wrote: ''Apparently the experienced Bannik did not want to agree to a draw with the young Petrosian:' 10 He explained by analyzing 15. . . . BxgS 16. hxg5 Qxb2 and then 17. Rxh7 Kxh7 18. QhS+ Kg8 19. g6 Qxal+ 20. Ke2 Rfc8. "White has nothing better than perpetual check;' he wrote. But it is not hard to find a forced mate beginning with 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Ke7 23. Qxg7+ (23. . . . Kd8 24. Qf8+ Kc7 25. Qd6+ Kd8 26. g7). Moreover, 20. . . . Rf7! is among the wins for Black.

13. Nf3 Nc5 14. g4 b4 No comment on this move in either the 1949 or 1975 annotation. But 14 . . . . fxg4! would have tested White (15. NgS hS).

15. gxf5 "Clearly 15. cxb4 Nd3+ 16. Bxd3 Bxb4+ 17. Kfl cxd3 18. Qxd3 fxg4 or 18 . . . . aS is not to be liked;' he wrote. But 15. Nd4 bxc3 was also poor.

2. Growing Pains 15. . . . exf516. Ng5? g6? (see diagram) Both players must have imagined a mating attack after 16. . . . h6 17. QhS. But Black can ignore that with 16. . . . bxc3! 17. bxc3 QaS, when White is worse.

After 16. ... g6

17. h5! Nd3+ Suddenly Black is in serious trouble (17. . . . BxgS 18. BxgS QxgS 19. QxdS+)

18. Bxd3 cxd319. hxg6 Faster is 19. Nxh7! (19. . . . Kxh7 20. hxg6+ and wins).

19. . . . hxg6 20. Qxd3 bxc3 21. bxc3 White has an extra pawn, a strategic edge and a winning attack (21. . . . QaS 22. Rh6!).

21. . . . Bxg5 22. Bxg5 Qa5 23. Bf6 Res 24. Qd4 Kti 25. e6+! Rxe6 26. Bd8 Black resigns

47

was a frail young man" and needed to get into physical shape, he recalled. "You have to be strong to play well;' a fellow Lenin grader, Mikhail Noakh, told him. "I advise you to eat oatmeal porridge each morning:' 11 Korchnoi took the advice and got his step­ mother to cook it for him, as she did all his home meals. He also began distance run­ ning. When young Leningrad players went to a sports camp at Vyritsa, south of Lenin­ grad, in 1949, the other athletes laughed at their training attempts. Korchnoi said he challenged them to an 800-meter race, with a chocolate bar as the prize. He won by ten meters, he said. 12 Meanwhile, Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky were still enduring the growing pains of jun­ ior chess. But Tal, only a first-category player, was playing games that people remembered, despite the flaws.

Leonov-Tal

Latvian Junior Championship, Riga, 1950 Queen's Indian Defense (£17) 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 e6 3. c4 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 Ne4 8. Nxe4 Bxe4 9. b3 f5 10. Bb2 Bf6 11. Nel Bxg2 12. Kxg2 d6 13. Nf3 Nd7 14. Qc2 Qe8 15. e4 Qh5! 16. Rael g5? Tal counted on 17. exfS! g4. But he mis­ calculated 18. Nh4! Bxh4 19. fxe6 or 18 . . . . eS 19. f3, when White's advantage is clear.

Growing Pains

17. Ngl? f4 18. f3 e5! 19. dxe5 Bxe5 20. Bxe5? Nxe5 21. g4 Qh4 22. Rdl h5

As 1949 ended, Petrosian was not the only young player thinking of the next national championship. Viktor Korchnoi was seeded into a championship quarterfinals in Minsk because he was a candidate master. But he fmished in a disappointing tie for eighth place. One of his problems was stamina. He was still the scrawny youth who nearly starved to death during the war blockade. "I

Now 23. h3? hxg4 24. hxg4? Qg3+ 25. Khl Kg7! and . . . Rh8+ wins.

23. gxh5 Qxh5 24. h3 Kg7 25. Rd5 Kf6 26. Qc3 Ke6? 27. Rfdl (see diagram) 27. . . . Rh8?? 28. Qd4?? White could have turned the tables with 28. cS! or 28. RxeS+! dxeS 29. RdS.

48

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi 8. Bg5 Na5 9. es h6 10. Bh4 gs "Now it becomes completely clear that the bishop must retreat since 11. exf6 gxh4 is fol­ lowed by the queen taking on f6 and receiv­ ing a practically won game;' he told view­ ers. 13

11. Bf2 Nh5 12. h4 f5 13. exf6?

After 27. Rfdl 28 . . . . Rad8 29. b4 Qh4 30. Qc3 Qg3+? 31. Kfl g4? A move before this would have won30. . . . g4! 31. hxg4 Qg3+ 32. Kfl Rhl or 31. fxg4 Nxg4 (32. hxg4? Qxg4+). But after 31. . . . g4? Tal's queen can not defend es. That allows 32. Rxe5+! dxe5 33. Rd5! with a likely draw.

32. hxg4?? Rhl 33. Rxe5+ dxe5 34. Rxd8 Qxgl+ White resigns While his elders advised Tai to play more carefully, Petrosian was getting the opposite advice. In August 1950 he placed third in the Moscow Championship, drawing ten of his 15 games. That prompted the veteran master Vasily Panov to write: "I would advise the young master to display more southern tem­ perament and less northern rationality:' Trans­ lation: Play more like an adventurous Ar­ menian. But Petrosian had a different sense of adventure.

Vladimir Simagin-Petrosian Moscow Championship, 1950 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E24) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 Nc6!? 6. f3 b6 7. e4 Ba6 The 5. . . . Nc6 variation was very new. In a 1983 lecture on Soviet TV Petrosian said he had prepared this position before the game with the "funny idea" of 8. e5 Ng8, e.g., 9. Nh3 Na5 10. Qa4 Qh4+ 11. g3 QhS.

"During the game I feared 13. g4 (perhaps, unjustifiably). Then let's say 13. . . . Nf4 14. hxg5 Qxg5 15. Bh4 and a double-edged position arises. And today I would defend Black's po­ sition;' he added-but conceded it might be a difficult defense. Computers say 15. . . . Qg8! 16. Nh3 Nxh3 is unclear.

13. . . . Qxf6 14. c5? "Positional capitulation;' Petrosian said. But defending the c4-pawn with 14. Qa4 leaves White way behind in development after 14 . . . . 0-0-0.

14. . . . Bxfl 15. Kxfl g4! 16. Qd3 Of course, 16. fxg4? Ng3+ loses. After 16. Qd3 Petrosian said he considered 16. . . . 0-0-0 but felt White could improve his chances with 17. Qe4 Kb8 18. Qxg4 com­ pared with the game.

16. . . . 0-0!? 17. Rel Nf418. Qc2 Nc419. g3 Qf5! The killer: 20. QxfS Nd2 is mate.

20. Rel Qd3+ 21. Qxd3 Nxd3 22. Rdl Ndb2 23. Ral gxf3 24. Nh3 bxc5 25. Kgl Nd3 26. Kh2 Rab8 27. Ra2 Rb3 28. dxc5 e5 29. g4 e4 "You know, chessplayers have their pro­ fessional language:' he wrote:' And here you can say that Black pawns are like locusts­ you can't stop them:'

30. g5 e3 31. gxh6 exf2 32. Nxf2 Nxf2 33. Rxf2 Kh7 34. Rdl Rti 35. c6 d6!? 36. Rd3 Rb2 37. Kg3 Rxf2 38. Kxf2 Ne5 39. Rd4 Nxc6 40. Ra4 Kxh6 White resigns

2. Growing Pains Eleven years later the same opening arose after 11. . . . Nh5 in Bannik-Petrosian, Spartak Team Championship, Moscow 1961. Petro­ sian criticized12. Qa4 because he saw 12. . . . f5 13. h4 g4!. Play went14. fxg4 fxg4 15. Qc2 Qe7! 16. Qe4 Bb7 17. Qxg4 Qf7 and White was fatally behind in development. What makes this game of particular inter­ est is the way he rejected Exchange sacrifices that likely would have won faster. The first came after 18. Nh3 Rg819. Qe2 0-0-0 (Not 19. . . . Bxg2?? 20. Bxg2 Rxg2 21. Qe4!) 20. Qe3. (see diagram)

49

S econd Try Petrosian took more chances in his 1950 USSR Championship semifinals in Gorky, a so-called "closed city" because its munitions industry meant it was off limits to many out­ siders. Petrosian lost three games but tied for second place and advanced to the finals. There his lack of opening finesse again be­ trayed him but he managed to swindle Paul Keres.

Paul Keres-Petrosian

18th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1950 French D efens e (C03) I. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. c3 f5? The book move was 4 . . . . e5! but Petrosian apparently lacked the confidence to allow 5. exd5 Qxd5 6. Ngf3 exd4 7. Bc4, in which Keres was an authority.

After 20. Qe3 He passed up 20. . . . Rxg2! 21. Bxg2 Bxg2. Black would be winning after 22. Rgl Qf5! 23. Rxg2 Nxc4, for example. And 22. Rh2 Qf5 23. 0-0-0 Bf3 is bleak. Instead, 20. . . . Rg4 21. Be2 Re4 22. Qd3 was played. Again he rejected a strong Ex­ change sacrifice, 22. . . . Rxe2+! (23. Qxe2 Bxg2 24. Rh2 Qf5 25. Ngl? Nf4 and wins). Petrosian would become celebrated for Exchange sacrifices that were not just good moves but often the only moves that could lead to a win. In this game he was still win­ ning after 20. . . . Rg4 and now with 22. . • . Rg8. The rest was mutually sloppy: 23. Rgl Qf5? (23. . . . Nf4!) 24. Be3? (24. Kdl!) Ng3 (24 . . . . Rg3!) 25. Bf3? Rxe5! 26. 0-0-0 Bxf3 27. dxe5 Qxd3 28. Rxd3 Ne2+ 29. Kd2 Nxgl 30. Nxgl Be4 31. Rd4 Nb3+ White re­ signs.

5. exf5 exf5 6. Bd3 Bd6 7. Ne2 Nge7 8. Nf3 0-0 9. Qc2 Qe8 10. Bd2 Bd7 11. 0-0-0!? Na5 12. Bf4! b5 Black has to play for attack because 12. . . . Bxf4+ 13. Nxf4 and Rhel is positionally aw­ ful.

13. Rdel b4!?14. Bxd6 cxd6 15. cxb4 Nac6 16. a3 a517. b5 Nb4!? 18. axb4 Rc819. Nc3 axb4 Petrosian thought this was the game's turning point because 20. Qe2! would have won (20. . . . Ng6 21. Qxe8 Bxe8 22. Kd2 or 22. Rxe8!? Rfxe8 23. Bxf5). He made no mention of 20. Nxd5!? Rxc2+ 21. Bxc2 Rf7 22. Ng5.

20. Kd2 Qf7 21. Qb3 bxc3+ 22. bxc3 Rb8 23. Re3 Doubling rooks looks so natural that it was easy to underestimate 23. Ng5! Qf6 24. f4! and then 24 . . . . h6 25. Nf3 and Re3. The point is that Black is denied . . . f4 and his bishop remains bad.

so

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

23. . . . h6 24. Rhel Nc8 25. c4 Nb6 26. cxdS Rfc8 Petrosian felt he had outplayed Keres since 20. Kd2 and that even after the best line, 27. Rel Rxcl 28. Kxcl QxdS, "chances would have been roughly equal:' 14 That is overly gen­ erous because White would be a pawn ahead and could get his rook behind the b-pawn after 29. Be2 followed by QxdS and Rb3.

27. Re7! Qf6 28. h4? (see diagram)

She was divorced and four years older than Petrosian and was looking for a hus­ band to share her life and help bring up her young son Mikhail. Rona was short-Petro­ sian was less than five-foot-eight but towered over her. But she completed him. She had personality traits that Petrosian lacked. He later joked about his superstitious streak. Re­ calling the final round of the 18th USSR Championship, he said, "The day I ended up in the hard-luck 13th place I discovered my wife:' 16

Shakhmaty

After 28. h4 Keres could have clinched first prize with a win. His edge has been reduced and here he throws it away. With 28. Rxd7! Nxd7 29. Re6 he would dominate the light squares and secure his b-pawn.

28. . . . Ra8 29. R7e2 f4! Counterplay from 30. . . . BfS or 30. . . . Bg4 and time pressure prompts an unsound piece sacrifice and a quick White collapse.

30. NeS? dxeS 31. dxeS Qe7 32. Re4? Ra3! 33. Qb2 BfS 34. Qd4 Ra2+ 35. Kdl Qa3! White resigns This and a last-round win over Igor Bon­ darevsky enabled Petrosian to move up to a tie for 12-13th place out of 18. At the closing ceremony his life changed when he met a spectator, Rona Yakovlena Avinezer. She was a second-category player, "a big Botvinnik fan:' and a student at the Institute of Foreign Languages in Moscow, studying to become an English translator. 15

By 1950 Vladimir Zak's focus had shifted from Victor Korchnoi to Boris Spassky for three years. Nevertheless, after Korchnoi fin­ ished second in the 1950 Leningrad Cham­ pionship, Zak annotated Korchnoi's victory over the tournament winner in Shakhmaty v SSSR (Chess in the USSR). This was a big break. The magazine was by far the most sig­ nificant Soviet chess publication. No one was considered a legitimate Soviet master until one of his games was annotated in Shakh­ maty v SSSR, recalled Alexander Nikitin, then a promising Moscow junior.

Mark Taimanov-Korchnoi

Leningrad Championship, 1950 Dutch Defense (A97) 1. d4 e6 2. g3 fS 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c4 d6 7. Nc3 Qe8 8. Qc2 QhS 9. b3 Zak said 9. e4 would give Black a good po­ sition after 9. . . . fxe4 10. Nxe4 e5 (11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Nxf6+ Bxf6 13. Nd2 Nc6).

9. . . . Nc6 10. Bb2 Bd7 11. a3 Rae8 12. dS! Nd813. Nd4 Zak preferred 13. dxe6 Nxe6 14. Nd5 Bd8, which he regarded as equal. At some point Black should shoot for . . . f4/ . . . Bh3.

13. . . . eS 14. NdbS Nf7?! 15. Nxc7 Rc8

2. Growing Pains Zak claimed Black would have a dangerous attack after "15. . . . Ng5!! 16. Nxe8 Ng4 17. h4 Bxe8! " and . . . f4. However, White can defend with, for ex­ ample, 18. Bel.

16. Ne6 Bxe6 17. dxe6 Ng5 18. Nd5 White's superiority would be evident after 18. h4 Nxe6 19. Nd5.

18. . . . Nxd519. Bxd5 f4 20. f3? Black's attack is evident after 20. h4 fxg3 21. fxg3 Qg4! with at least a perpetual check. But he was not threatening anything and 20. Bxb7! was quite safe (20 . . . . f3 21. Rael).

20. . . . fxg3 21. hxg3 Qh3 22. Kf2? White keeps equality with 22. Rf2, e.g., 22. . . . Qxg3+ 23. Rg2. But he was probably counting on a counterattack, 22. Kf2 Qh2+ 23. Ke3 Qxg3 24. Rhl and Ragl.

22. . . . Nxf3! 23. Ke3? White rejected 23. exf3 Qh2+ and 24 . . . . Qxc2. But his king could walk a different tightrope, 23. Bxf3 Rxf3+! 24. Kxf3 Rf8+ 25. Ke4, with some drawing chances.

23. . . . Nd4 24. Qdl Qxg3+ Faster is 24 . . . . Rxfl! 25. Qxfl Qxg3+ 26. Bf3 Bg5+.

25. Rf3 Nxf3 26. exf3 b5! (see diagram)

After 26. ... b5 Opening a second front is decisive. Now 27. Qhl bxc4 28. Bxc4 allows 28 . . . . d5!

51

29. Bxd5 Qg5+ 30. Kd3 e4+! 31. Bxe4 Rfd8+ and 31. fxe4 Qg3+.

27. Qhl bxc4 28. bxc4 Rb8 29. Bc3 Rb3 30. Kd3 Qf2 31. Qel e4+ 32. Bxe4 Rxf3+ 33. Bxf3 Qxf3+ 34. Kc2 Rxc3+ 35. Kb2 Rb3+ White resigns Korchnoi, who sharply criticized the ethics of other players, failed to mention that he finished second in the tournament because Anatoly Lutikov lost on purpose to him. Ac­ cording to Gennady Sosonko, Korchnoi re­ turned the favor by losing to Lutikov in the 1951 Chigorin Memorial. 17

Petrosian's Surge Youngsters are often plagued by wildly er­ ratic results. They do well in some tourna­ ments but get crushed in stronger events. Mikhail Tai was becoming known for erratic results within a tournament. When he grad­ uated to the adult championship of Riga at the end of 1950, he managed a win and a draw against the tournament's only masters. That was good, and so was scoring 3½-1½ against the tournament's five candidate mas­ ters. But facing fellow first-category players, he was outclassed, 4-8. "The first successes of Tai were signifi­ cantly more modest than the successes of Boris Spassky, not to mention Robert Fis­ cher;' his trainer Alexander Koblents wrote. 18 Actually, Spassky was almost invisible during this period. Some databases have not a single Spassky game played in 1950 and only a few from 1951. Petrosian was not erratic. His results were consistent-and that was a problem. "Several years had passed in which I did not notice a particular advance in my play;' he said. That changed in 1951 and no small help came from his collaboration with "Fimka:• Colleagues thought Geller was a great chess thinker. But he was not a true p lay er. He

52

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

lacked pragmatism and lost his objectivity when there were sudden shifts in a position. "Geller had one, but important, flaw: He often overestimated himself and underesti­ mated his opponent;' Yuri Averbakh said. 19 But Geller had great attributes. Without a clock ticking, he was superb at evaluating a position. This proved an immense help to Petrosian. "They analyzed together a lot, finding new, interesting ideas in already well­ known opening variations and middlegame positions;' Averbakh recalled. There were no secrets they did not share, according to Petro­ sian's biographer.20 One result of their collaboration is that Petrosian began to beat masters quickly, as Geller often did. Petrosian rolled through the next Moscow city championship, scoring 9½-2½ with games like:

Grigory Fridshtein-Petrosian Moscow Championship, 1951 French Defense (COS) I. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Bb5+ Nc6 6. Qe2+ Be7 7. dxc5 Nf6 8. Ngf3 0-0 9. 0-0 White should try to justify his previous moves with 9. Nb3.

9. . . . Bxc510. Nb3 Bb611. c3 Bg4! 12. Qd3 Qd6 13. Nbd4 Ne4 14. h3 Bh5 15. Be3 f5! 16. b4 f4 17. Bxc6? fxe3 White resigns After 17. Bd2 Black has a choice of strong continuations, including 17. . . . Bxf3 18. Nxf3 NeS 19. Nxe5 Qxe5 and 17. . . . Nxd4 18. cxd4 Bg6. The new Petrosian style was evident in Sverdlovsk 1951, a semifinals for the 19th USSR Championship. He started badly, hang­ ing his queen in the first round, and did not share the lead until the ninth round. But then it was a race between him and Geller for first place. Veteran grandmaster Isaac Boleslavsky had formed his own close alliance in the 1940s

with a player who had a very similar style, David Bronstein. Geller and Petrosian had very different styles. Boleslavsky was struck by how the two young masters seemed to have traded their chess personalities: Geller was suddenly a drawish, positional player while "Petrosian won eight games, six of them by an attack on the king:' 21

Alexander Cherepkov-Petrosian 19th Soviet Championship semifinals, Sverdlovsk, 1951 King's Indian Defense (E94) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Nbd7 8. Be3 Re8 9. d5 Ng4 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 Nh6 12. b4 a6 13. Qcl Nti 14. Nel f5 15. f3 f416. Nd3 h517. c5 Nf6 18. b5 g519. bxa6 bxa6 This is the type of position in which Petro­ sian was usually more comfortable as White while Geller would love to be Black. White has the better prospects after 20. Rbl or 20. Bel g4 21. Bh4.

20. Nb4? dxc5! 21. Nc6 Qd6 22. Na4 Nd7 Black's last move was given an exclamation point by annotators but 22. . . . NxdS! is stronger. It regains a knight favorably after 23. exd5? QxdS 24. Na5 Qd4+.

23. Bel Bf8 24. Bf2 Qg6! (see diagram)

After 24. ... Qg6 The kingside attack was praised by Pyotr Romanovsky, who had been so critical of

2. Growing Pains Spassky's caution two years before. But Ro­ manovsky misunderstood Petrosian. "He loves sharp positions and is not averse to taking risks;' he wrote. "Of less interest to him is the technical aspect and also the endgame, where he most frequently makes mistakes:' 22 White would be better after the consistent 25. Nxc5 or, next move, 26. Bxc5.

25. Qdl? Nf6 26. Nxc5 g4 27. Qcl? gxf3! 28. Bxf3 Ng5 29. Qc3 Bd6 30. Rfel Ng4! The powerful threat of 31. . . . Ne3 (32. Bxe3? Nxf3+) mesmerizes White. He would have a hard defense after 31. Rael.

31. Kfl?? Nxh2+ 32. Ke2 Bg4! 33. Rgl Bxc5 34. Bxc5 Nxe4 White resigns The top four finishers in the tournament were guaranteed a place in the finals. An other of the contenders was Yuri Averbakh, then 29. Averbakh had met Petrosian by accident in 1946 when he was walking down Moscow's fashionable Arbat promenade, near his apartment, and encountered the vet­ eran Tbilisi master Alexander Blagidze. Next to Blagidze was a "thin, dark-haired youth'' who he had brought to the capital to compete in the national junior championship. Now five years later, Averbakh, Geller and Petro­ sian were tied for the lead in Sverdlovsk with four games to go. Before the next round, Geller asked Averbakh, "Do you want to win this tournament?" "No. I am just concerned with qualifying for the final four;' Averbakh replied. "Then let's allow Petrosian to go ahead. He has only just moved to Moscow and he needs to establish his authority;' Geller said. 23 Averbakh agreed. Petrosian took the lead and was due to play Geller in the final round. Viktor Vasiliev told his Shakhmaty v SSSR readers that "a sharp struggle was expected:' But they drew quickly. It was Petrosian's first tournament victory since leaving Arme­ nia.

53

Grandmaster Educations Nearly a generation later, Soviet publica­ tions would deplore Bobby Fischer's stunted education. It showed a lack of culture, they said. But Petrosian, like Fischer, had no schooling beyond the secondary level when he became world champion. And while Korchnoi and Spassky got college degrees they admitted privately that their education was a sham. Diplomas were a way of gaming the Soviet system: No one could officially be a profes­ sional chess player. Top players needed a col­ lege degree so they could claim a paper pro­ fession. "One had to complete a course at an institute:' Korchnoi said. 24 As a result, Geller was officially an economist, Averbakh was listed as a chemist and Vasily Smyslov "was a student at the Institute of Aviation;' he said. Korchnoi initially thought of studying sci­ ence but realized it would be too demanding. He settled on history because he had been fascinated by ancient Greece and Rome. If he had not played chess, "I would be a his­ tory teacher;' he said 50 years later.25 Unfortunately, "instead of studying his­ tory, I was given an extended course in Marx­ ism:' He graduated from Leningrad State University after submitting the required "diploma'' paper, but later said he barely re­ called the subject. "I think it was called something like 'The Popular Front and the Communist Party in France on the Eve of the Second World War:" He recalled his col­ lege days "with disgusf' 26 The reality of his six college years was: "I studied chess intensivelY:' When he was told that his choice of subject was "wonderful" because "You will write a history of chess! " Korchnoi snorted. "I won't write history, they' ll write about me!" he replied, according to Gennady Soso­ noko. 27 In contrast, Mikhail Tal, a born multi­ tasker, was a serious student as well as a chess player. He progressed so quickly that it

54

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

created a problem when he finished second­ ary school at 15½. He applied to enter the University of Latvia law faculty. A five-year program would have given him a degree at 20. But under Soviet law he could not work as a "public accessor" or do some other legal work until he was 21. This would mean a year of "enforced idleness;' something discour­ aged in a Soviet Union suffering manpower shortages because of World War II casualties. Instead, he won special permission from the Latvian ministry of education to enter the university 's history-philology department.28 That would allow him, upon graduation, to fulfill his obligation to the state in another way, such as by teaching school, while still playing chess. Tai was also learning about his chess weak­ nesses. At the USSR junior team champion­ ship of 1951 he was criticized by the Latvian team captain for sacrificing a pawn and losing. Tai tried to play positionally for the rest of the tournament, "for the team:' But that stifled his instincts. He kept getting into time pressure and ended up with a score of 3½-5½.

Mastery Delayed After he defected, Korchnoi portrayed his Soviet career as repeatedly hampered by bu­ reaucrats and the political whims of the vlasti. But he also received many benefits denied to others. One example arose in a Chigorin me­ morial tournament in early 1951, after he eas­ ily dispatched his former teacher.

Korchnoi-Vladimir Zak Chigorin Memorial, Leningrad, 1951 Veresov Opening (DOO)

1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Bf5 3. Bg5 c5?! 4. dxc5 d4 5. e4! Bg6 6. Nb5 Nc6 7. Nf3 (see diagram) "I have always been an untidy person;' Korchnoi admitted later. "And for this reason some 600 games from the first years of my chess career have been lost:'29

After 7. Nf3 In some cases the moves found today in databases are suspect. Did Korchnoi really miss 7. Nd6+ exd6 8. Bxd8? Or did he think 7 . . . . Kd7 8. Qg4+ was not crushing? But 7. Nf3 is the move you will find in databases.

7. . . . f6 8. Nfxd4! Black is doomed after 8 . . . . fxg5 9. Ne6 Qxdl+ 10. Rxdl. He had to play 8 . . . . a6.

8. . . . Nxd4? 9. Nxd4 Bxe4 Or 9. . . . fxg5 10. Bb5+ Kf7 11. Qf3+ Nf6 12. Qb3+.

10. Ne6! Qc8 11. Bc4! fxg5 12. Nxg5 Qf5 13. Be6 Rd8 14. Qh5+ g6 15. Bxf5?! gxh5 16. Bxe4 Black resigns Black could have played on but would not have gotten that chance after 15. Qh4! . Korchnoi scored 7½ -5½, which was enough for the master norm. But this hap­ pened "not entirely honestly:' He explained that he adjourned a "dead drawn position" against "an experienced master" in the final round. "Being a young player, I had a num­ ber of supporters, including the organizers of the tournament. They put strong pressure on my opponent, threatening not to hand over the cash prize due him, if he did not agree to their demands:' 30 His opponent found a way to lose. Korchnoi played along, and even "laughed at my opponent:' He said he regretted behaving "quite improperly:'

2. Growing Pains A surviving game that might fit the bill was versus Mikhail Kamyshov. However, he finished next to last and was not in con­ tention for any cash prize. And besides, Korchnoi was proud of his play in the end­ ing:

Korchnoi-Mikhail Kamyshov

Leningrad, 1951

55

binations:' Nevertheless, he was seeded into a semifinals tournament. He was in con­ tention for one of the four qualifying spots for the championship finals. But he needed to beat a world-class player, Vasily Smyslov, in the final round.

Korchnoi-Vasily Smyslov

19th USSR Championship semifinals, Leningrad, 1951 Hungarian Defense (CSO) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 d6

After 45. e4 This was the first game he chose for his collection of best games with the white pieces. He pointed out that 45. . . . f4? loses because it releases pawn tension. Black might hold with 47. . . . hS and . . . Kd6, for example. Play went 46. Ke2 Kd6 47. Kd3 Kc7? 48. Kc4 Kb8 49. Kd5 Rd7+ 50. Kxe5 Rd2 51. a7+ Ka8 52. Kxf4 Rxg2 53. e5 and Black soon resigned. As in the case of Petrosian, the national title qualification commission had to ap­ prove his title. Instead of rejecting the appli­ cation, the commission dragged its feet. 'J\nd, no doubt, [his opponent's dubious play] in­ fluenced the decision of the committee mem­ bers:' Korchnoi said. 31 But his supporters had another way of helping him. Korchnoi was one of lll players competing in the seven quarterfinal tourna­ ments of the 19th USSR Championship. He had a mediocre result and fell well short of qualifying for the semifinals. The veteran master Ilya Kan wrote in Shakhmaty v SSSR that Korchnoi sometimes was "overly keen on calculation of fantastic options and com-

Smyslov had bought theater tickets for that night and needed a quick draw, perhaps after 5. dxeS dxeS 6. Qxd8+, to use them. But Korchnoi was in the same situation that Petrosian faced in his 1947 game with Sima­ gin: A draw would mean another master norm and that would be enough to earn his delayed title. However, a win would advance him to the championship finals. Petrosian

One of the greatest honors a young Soviet player could achieve was to be featured on the cover of Shakhmaty v SSSR (September 1951), as Korchnoi (left) was when he drew with Vasily Smyslov (right) and achieved the master title.

56

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

had made a Petrosian decision. Korchnoi makes a Korchnoi decision. He avoids a draw.

5. d5 NbS 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. h3 c6 8. c4 b5 9. Nc3 b410. Ne2 0-011. Be3 cxdS 12. cxd5 Nfd7 13. g4!? Korchnoi was fearless when it came to stamping out counterplay, compared with 13. 0-0 Na6 14. a3 Ndc5 15. Bc2 Rb8 and . . . f5! .

13. . . . Na6 14. Ng3 NacS 15. Be2 ReS 16. 0-0 Qa5 17. Nd2 QdS Perhaps hinting he still has theater tickets in his pocket (18. Nf3 Qa5 19. Nd2 Qd8).

18. a3! RbS 19. axb4 Rxb4 20. Rxa7 Rxb2 21. Nc4 Rb7 22. Ra3 Qc7 23. Qc2 NfS? 24. Rc3! White will win a pawn with Nxd6 (24 . . . . Nfd7 25. NfS Bf8 26. Ncxd6 Bxd6 27. Nxd6 Qxd6 28. Bxc5, for example).

24. . . . Bd7 25. Nxd6! Bxd6 26. Bxc5 Bxc5 27. Rxc5 Qb6 28. Rel RaS 29. Rc7? Rxc7 30. Qxc7 Qh6! 31. Rbl (31. Kg2 RcS) Qxh3 32. gs h6 33. gxh6 Qxh6 34. Qxe5 Res 35. Qh5 Qf4 36. Qf3 Qg5 37. Qh5 Qf4 38. Qf3 Qg5 The draw is still there. Computers like Qe3 on either of the next two moves and claim a major advantage.

39. Rb7 Ng6 40. Qh5? Qcl+ 41. Kh2 Ne5 Korchnoi said the position was adjourned "in an unclear position:' During the night he analyzed it with Alexander Tolush. Tolush, 41, had tried to become Korchnoi's teacher the previous year. Korchnoi rebuffed him and later disparaged him. But that night in 1951 Korchnoi welcomed his help. It is not known when the game was adjourned but 42. Qh4 Ng6 was no way to try to win. Better was 42. Kg2 Ng6 43. Qhl. 42. Bdl? g6! 43. Qe2 Kg7! 44. f3? (see dia­ gram)

·l=l•.tt•., •-�,�•� -■■·ft /1 "g W ✓

�� �a ,.

■·­

�� lj ft � ]

��,� ��'· · ·····•'}'1 After 44. f3

Now 44 . . . . Rh8+ wins (45. Kgl Ba4!). It was hard to see that 45. Kg2 Bh3+ 46. Kgl Nd3! followed by 47. . . . Qc5+ or 47. . . . Qg5 is lost. Or 46. Kf2 Bc8! and . . . Rh2+.

44. . . . Qf4? 45. Kg2 RhS 46. Qf2 Rh2+? Spectators-and annotators-loved this move. But computers tell us 46. . . . Bh3+! 47. Kgl Nd3 would have won. For example, 48. Qd4+ Kg8 49. Ne2 Qg5+. Now Korchnoi builds a fortress.

47. Kxh2 Ng4+ 48. Kg2 Nxf2 49. Kxf2 Qd2+ 50. Be2 Bh3 51. Rb3 Qd4+ 52. Kell Qgl+ 53. Nfl g5 54. Rd3 Bxfl? 55. Bxfl Qg3+ 56. Ke2 Qd6 57. Ke3 Kf6 58. Kf2 Ke5 59. Kg3 Kf6+ 60. Kf2 Draw This gave Korchnoi a tie for fifth place, not good enough to reach the Soviet Champi­ onship finals but enough to finally satisfy the title qualification commission. And, in a rare perk, he got the biggest publicity boost a So­ viet player could get: He appeared on the cover of the September 1951 Shakhmaty v SSSR, playing the Smyslov game. In his memoirs he claimed he did not like to exploit his new-found fame. Yes, he ad­ mitted, he managed to skirt the requirements to get into college by making it known he was a two-time national junior champion. But in 1951 when he was headed to a tourna­ ment in Odessa, he arrived at Leningrad's Vitebsk Station and found it swarming with hundreds of other people in lines for tickets.

2. Growing Pains He had to hang out at the station for three days before he got a ticket "but without a re­ served seat! I slept on the floor for two days;' he wrote. 32

Hall of Columns The tipoff that the 19th USSR Champi­ onship would be special was when the loca­ tion was announced: the Hall of Columns of the House of Unions in Moscow. This was the most prestigious venue of any kind in the Soviet Union. Adorned by 44 chandeliers and with seating for 2,000, it was where Communist Party Congresses and infamous show trials were staged. 33 There was always a political footprint when the hall was used. When the 19th Championship finalists sat at their boards on a large stage in the hall, above them was a huge portrait of Stalin, next to smaller portraits of his cronies Lavrenti Beria and Vy­ acheslav Molotov. It turned out to be the strongest Soviet championship held up to that time. World Champion Mik­ hail Botvinnik agreed to play after a six-year absence from the tour­ nament. Also entering were his past and future match challengers, David Bronstein and Smyslov. Moreover, the tournament was a Zonal: It qualified players for the 1952 Interzonal. Petrosian, once again the youngest player in the championship, began it as he had his two previous ones, with a stun­ ning loss.

57

b6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. Bd3 c5 7. 0-0 0-0 8. a3 cxd4 9. Na4 Be7 10. exd4 Qc711. b4 Ng4 The reason these odd-looking moves were played quickly is that they appeared in a Botvinnik-Bronstein world championship match game eight months earlier.

12. g3 f5 13. Rel f4!? Black's last move was suggested by the world championship annotators. Nikolai Kopilov was an enterprising player and this was the tournament of his life. He also won a stunning game from Botvinnik and beat Paul Keres.

14. Bxf4 Rxf4 15. gxf4 Qxf4 16. d5! exd5! This was the best practical chance, despite computer preference for the defeatist 16. . . . Nf6 17. Nc3.

Petrosian-Nikolai Kopilov

19th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1951 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E54)

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3

Yefim Geller (left), his close ally Petrosian (center) and Petro­ sian's trainer Andrei Lilienthal analyze a position after Geller and Petrosian tied for second place in the 19th USSR Championship in Moscow. Chess Review, February 1952 (used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

58

The tournament book correctly said the answer to 16. . . . exd5 was 17. cxd5. A critical variation is 17. . . . Nxf2 18. Kxf2 Bh4+ 19. Kg2 Qg4+ 20. Khl Bxel and now 21. Qe2! would have left White a safe piece ahead.

30. Kfl? bxc4 31. Ne3? c3 32. Rel? c2

17. Rxe7? Nc6!

Black missed the immediate win of 32. . . . Bb5+.

Petrosian likely expected 17. . . . dxc4 and saw 18. Be4! Bxe4 19. Re8+ Kf7 20. Rxe4! and wins (20. . . . Qxe4 21. Ng5+). Computers point out 17. . . . Nc6 18. Rxd7 Nee 5. Then 19. Be4! seems to win (19 . . . . Nxf3+? 20. Qxf3 Qxh2+ 21. Kfl). But 19. . . . dxe4 20. Rd8+ is a draw.

18. Rel Rf8 19. Be4! Now 19. Be2 Nees is lost. If White tries to defend f2 with 19. Ra2 he might win the 19. . . . Qxf3 20. Qxf3 Rxf3 ending. But not if Black finds 19. . . . Nxb4! 20. axb4 dxc4 fol­ lowed by . . . Bxf3 or . . . cxd3.

19. . . . dxe4 20. Qd5+ Kh8 21. Qxe4 Qf6! Note that 21. . . . Qxe4 22. Rxe4 Nxb4! is fairly equal. As time pressure hits, Black raises the ante.

22. Qxg4 Nd8 23. Qg3 Bxf3 24. Rael Ne6 25. Nc3 Nd4 26. Re3 Bc6?! 27. Nd5 Qf7 Now 28. b5! would stop Black's next move and maintain a small White advantage.

28. Reel b5! 29. Re7?! Qg8 (see diagram)

29. Ne7 Nf3+ 30. Rxf3. Now he needed to defend with 30. R7e3 but undergoes a rare meltdown.

33. Nxc2? Qc4+ 34. Kel Nf3+ White for­ feited Petrosian also lost in the second round but then steadied himself with a 23-move draw with Geller that was probably not pre­ arranged. After that he looked like a different player. He finessed an endgame win from Igor Bondarevsky, outplayed Alexander Kotov and battled Botvinnik in a 100-move, 11-hour draw. In the Botvinnik game he sacrificed an Exchange to create an impregnable fortress. But to modern eyes, what was striking in the following game was the Exchange sacri­ fice he did not make.

Nikolai Novotelnov-Petrosian

19th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1951 Sicilian Defense (B92)

I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6! Petrosian began playing the Najdorf Vari­ ation the previous year, almost certainly due to the influence of Geller.

6. Be2 e5 7. Nb3 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. f4 Nbd7 10. Qel? b5! Defending the e4-pawn is already a White problem.

11. a3 Bb7 12. Bf3 Rc8 13. Khl Re8! 14. Qf2 Bf8

After 29. ... Qg8 Petrosian avoided the potentially drawish

Petrosian was praised for preparing 15. . . . d5!. Not mentioned by annotators was 14 . . . . Rxc3! 15. bxc3 Nxe4. Today this might be the first continuation to occur to a grand­ master.

2. Growing Pains Then 16. Qel? Bh4! is bad (17. g3 exf4!) and 16. Bxe4 Bxe4 17. a4 Bh4 is poor. And 16. Qa7 Qa8 or 16. . . . Qb6 gets White an un­ favorable endgame.

15. Bd2 White made 15. . . . Rxc3 less attractive. He also prepared 15. . . . exf4 16. eS! with some tactical chances on the kingside after 16. . . . Bxf3 17. exf6 bishop-move 18. fxg7.

15. . . . d5! 16. Nxd5 Black is much better after 16. fxeS dxe4!. Pyotr Romanovsky thought there was a lot of fight left after 16. exds e4 17. Bdl Nxds 18. Nxds Bxds 19. Nd4. Black does better with 17. . . . Nb6! and 18 . . . . Nc4 or 18 . . . . Nbxds.

16. . . . Rxc2! 17. fxe5 Nxd5 Black should have played 17. . . . NxeS be­ cause now White would get chances from 18. Bdl! and Bxc2 or Qxf7+. For example, 18 . . . . Rxd2! 19. Qxf7+ Kh8 20. Nxd2 Ne3! 21. Rel NxeS 22. Qxb7 Qxd2 and 21. Bb3 Be7. But 19. Nxd2! would have been less clear, e.g., 19. . . . N5b6 20. Qxf7+ Kh8 21. e6 Re7 22. QfS Nf6.

18. exd5? Nxe5 (see diagram)

After 18. ... Nxe5 Black's knight defends the key f7-square and enables him to pillage the queenside with . . . Rxb2.

59

For example, 19. Be4 Rxb2 20. Rfbl Rxbl+ 21. Rxbl Ng4 22. Qf3? Rxe4. Or 22. Bxh7+ Kxh7 23. QfS+ Kg8 24. Qxg4 QxdS and wins.

19. Nd4? Nd3! 20. Nxc2 Nxf2+ 21. Rxf2 Bxd5 22. Bxd5 Qxd5 23. Bc3 Qc4 24. Rafi f6 25. Rdl Re2 26. b3 Qe4 White resigns Petrosian won in the next three rounds and drew with Keres, the tournament front­ runner. His collaboration with Geller was ev­ ident when they each played a risky varia­ tion, soon to be christened the Geller Gam­ bit, in the same round:

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 c6 5. e4 b5 6. es Nd5 7. a4 e6 8. axbs Nxc3 9. bxc3 cxbs 10. Ng5 Bb7 11. Qh5 g6 12. Qg4 Be7 13. Be2 Nd714. h4? h5 15. Qg3 Nb616. 0-0 a5! (see diagram)

-,��i, ,. ��­

�����f �fm ru � tff:-■�f•r � • · . . . , · · ��r�-r:;y�-- -�■ �?:1- -

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.. -)��.?' § ����------� � § �,,,_ z,

After 16. ... a5

Both Geller and Petrosian sank into thought here. They knew, by looking at the giant demonstration boards, that they were play­ ing the same position. Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors, Part III credits Petrosian with daring. "Geller was always regarded as a sharper player. . . . However, it was Petro­ sian, not Geller who made the . . . incredible move! " Kasparov awarded17. d5 two exclamation points, although he acknowledged it would not even earn White equality. 34 Instead, Geller chose 17. Rbl? and was quickly lost, 17. . . . b4 18. f4 Qd7 19. Ral b3 20. fS gxfS 21. Nh3 a4 .

60

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Why did Geller play such a poor move if he saw how 17. dS turned out on Petrosian's board? The answer is that he did not see it­ because he moved before Petrosian. "The Odessian was the first to make a decision;' Geller's friend Eduard Gufeld recalled. 35 Instead, Petrosian saw Geller's 17. Rbl? and decided it was time to go desperate. After 17. d5!? and the faulty 17. . . . Nxd5? he de­ veloped a strong initiative with 18. Rdl Qc7 19. Ne4 and went on to win. In the penultimate round Petrosian was trailing Keres by a half point when he won a pawn from the Estonian after 16 moves. "Petrosian is winning!" was heard whispered in the audience. A 20-year-old was poised to become national champion. 36 But Keres liq­ uidated material, leaving a textbook example of how to draw a rook endgame. The final round helped spin the myth of "Iron Tigran." He fought his way out of a nearly-lost position and won. That landed him in a tie for second place with Geller, be­ hind Keres. Since the top five finishers would qualify for the 1952 Interzonal, Petrosian's courage rewarded him with an international master title, fans said. But Petrosian had already qualified for the Interzonal when he drew with Keres the round before. What was at stake in the last round was the meager prize money. He won because he tried to avoid losing by sharpen­ ing the position.

Rb8 15. Rg3 Kh816. Bf5 Qd817. Qg4 Rg8 18. Qh5 Evgeny Terpugov had just become a mas­ ter, in the same Leningrad semifinals in which Korchnoi played. In the previous 16 rounds Terpugov had only one win and three draws. But here he was close to his biggest upset (18 . . . . Rf8? 19. Rg6! mates).

18. . . . Qe819. b3 Bf8 One of Petrosian's greatest assets was his ability to make it difficult for his opponents to make progress. He avoided 19. . . . Ne5? 20. f4! and then 20 . . . . Nd7 21. Nc4 Bf8 22. Be6!. Or 20. . . . Bxf:5 21. exf:5! Nd7 22. Re3 and Qe2/Rfel.

20. Qe2 g6 21. Bh3 f5! 22. f4 Nf6 23. Rel? (see diagram)

After 23. Rel In time trouble, White unravels. He would still be favored after 23. Nc3 fxe4 24. Bxc8.

Evgeny Terpugov-Petrosian 19th USSR Championship finals,

23. . . . fxe4 24. Bxc8 Qxc8 25. Nxe4 Nxe4 26. Qxe4 Bg7 27. Rd3? Rb4

Moscow, 1951 Irregular Benoni Defense (A46)

Now 28. c4 Qb7 29. Ree3 Kh7 and . . . Bd4/ . . . Rgb8.

I. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Bg5 Qb6 5. Nc3 h6? 6. Bxf6 exf6 7. e4

28. Qf3? c4! 29. Rd2 cxb3 30. cxb3 Qf5 31. g3 gs 32. Qd3? Qxd3 33. Rxd3 gxf4 34. Re7? fxg3 35. hxg3 Rgb8 36. Rxf7 Rxb3 37. Rxb3 Rxb3 38. Kg2 Rb4! 39. Rf4 Bd4 White resigns

This is a simpler way to secure an edge than 7. Qd3 b4 8. Qe4+ (8 . . . . Be7? 9. d6!).

7. . . . a6 8. a4 bxa4 9. Nxa4 Qc710. Be2 d6 11. 0-0 Be712. Nd2 Nd713. Bg4! 0-014. Ra3!

By qualifying for the Interzonal, Petrosian inspired another myth: Both Petrosian and

2. Growing Pains Geller had sought Rona Avinezer's hand in marriage. She wanted to marry the one with the best chance to become world champion. She decided to let a chess tournament decide her fate. "The Interzonal will tell! " she de­ clared. (In some versions, "The Interzonal will show:') A more credible account comes from jour­ nalist Valery Asrian: Petrosian's rival was not Geller, but rather Semyon Furman, a Lenin­ grad master who had had better results than Petrosian. Rona asked a good friend, the Moscow master Yakov Neishtadt, "who was the more talented:' Asrian wrote. "Neishtadt named Petrosian and for this (and perhaps for other reasons) the fate of the admirers was decided:' But her son Vartan said, ''All these stories . . . are fantasY:' 37 Only his father pursued Rona, no one else, he said. Gennady Sosonko said the Interzonal story is probably apoc­ ryphal but added that there was a saying in chess circles: "Where Rona is, there's the

61

crown!" In Russian, crown ("Korona'') rhymes with and contains Rona. 38 In any case, she married Petrosian. There is no reason to doubt they loved one another. Theirs turned out to be the only lasting first marriage of the four great rivals. Yuri Aver­ bakh attended the Petrosian wedding along with Andre Lilienthal as the groom's best men. Averbakh said later that there were two early turning points in Petrosian's life. One was moving to Moscow. "If he had remained in Georgia, he would hardly have become world champion:' he said. 39 The other was marrying Rona. There were equally talented men who never became world champion, said Borislav Ivkov, another elite grandmaster of the 1960s. And there were those who had a champion's capacity to work. But they were not aggres­ sive enough. Petrosian was not aggressive, Ivkov said. "But he had Rona. Without her Petrosian would never have become world champion:'40

3. Overkill "I began my chess career as a positional player:' Boris Spassky recalled. "But when I was 14 I understood there was something wrong with my style. I came to understand that chess has something extra besides strat­ egy-attacks, sacrifices, creative ideas. There was a revolution in my style:' 1 He had begun eliminating habits and weaknesses that held him back. It was a slow process and it took more than a decade for him to win recogni­ tion as the ideal "universal" player. First he had to abandon his "boring Boris" traits. At a 1951 tournament in Riga, he looked over some of his games with a local player named Mikhail Tal. Tal was two months older than he but at least two years behind in de­ velopment. Nevertheless, they shared ideas about the proper way to conduct a chess game. Tal could understand Spassky's think­ ing when Spassky postmortemed this game from the tournament.

The 7. QhS+ Qf7 8. Qxf7+ endgame is even, and that is the best White can expect.

7. . . . Be6 8. Bb5 Bd6 9. 0-0 Nh610. f3? (see diagram)

After 10. /3 10 . . . . Qh4! 11. g3 Bxg3!

Yakov Estrin-Spassky

Before the 1950s, a move like 11. . . . Bxg3 was typically labeled "speculative:' That was annotator code for "risky" because it could not be calculated to a conclusion. Today it is the kind of move a grandmaster plays on in­ stinct, knowing that it is not essential to cal­ culate it to the end.

l. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. c3 f5!? 4. d4 fxe4 5. Nxe5 Qf6 6. Nc4?!

12. hxg3 Qxg3+ 13. Ng2 Bh3 14. Qe2 0-0 15. Qf2? Qg6!16. Be2 Rf617. f4 NfS 18. Kh2 Qh6 19. Rhl Bxg2+ White resigns

20th USSR Championship quarterfinals, Riga, 1951 Ponziani Opening (C44)

If this knight was headed for e3, the forc­ ing 6. Ng4 made more sense.

After Yakov Estrin, an experienced 28-year­ old master, resigned he asked Spassky what had happened. "Where do you think, Borya,

6. . . . d5! 7. Ne3

62

3. O verkill that I erred? You know, the sacrifice was hardly correct:' "There you are, Yakov Borisovich;' Spas­ sky replied. He said Estrin's position "was completely hopeless" after the sacrifice. 2 After making so little an impression in 1950-1, Spassky was improving again. It hap­ pened so quickly that he appeared to leap­ frog Viktor Korchnoi. He finished a strong second in the 1952 Leningrad Championship, two points ahead of his former Pioneer Palace tormenter.

Korchnoi-Spassky Leningrad Championship, 1952 Slav Defense (DlO) I. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. a3 Be7 8. dxc5 Bxc5 9. b4 Be7 10. Bb2 0-0 11. c5 Qc712. Bd3 Rd8? 13. Qc2 b6?14. b5 Creating a connected passed pawn is good. But 14. Nb5! is better, e.g., 14 . . . . Qd7 15. Ne5 or 14 . . . . Qb7 15. Nd6! Bxd6 16. Bxf6 with advantage.

14. . . . Na515. c6 Nc416. Bxc4 dxc417. Ne5? Nd5! 18. Nxc4 Bc5 19. Ndl a6! 20. a4 f6 Chances would be balanced by 20. . . . Nb4 and . . . Nd3+.

21. Qb3 Ra7 22. Nf2 Qf7? 23. 0-0-0!? Young Korchnoi was an aggressive castler. A better way to exploit the d-file pin and pre­ pare 24. e4 was 23. Rdl!.

23. . . . axb5 24. axb5 Qg6 25. Rhel Qxg2! 26. Nd3 Bf8 27. e4! Nc7 White has been preparing e4-e5 and should continue with 28. Rd2 Qg4 29. Re3 Qg6 30. e5! with advantage.

28. f5?! Re8? Black would again be equal after 28 . . . . Qxh2 because then 29. e5 runs into 29. . . . Rd5! .

63

29. Kbl Kh8 (see diagram)

After 29. ... Kh8 Now was the time for 30. e5!. For example, 30. . . . Nd5 31. Nd6 with advantage, or 30. . . . fxe5 31. Rxe5 Qxh2 32. Nxb6. (But not 30. Nxb6 Ra5.)

30. Bd4? Nxb5! 31. Bxb6? Korchnoi overlooked 31. Qxb5 Qa2+ 32. Kcl Ra4 and then 33. Ndb2? Rb4!. He could have cut his losses with the humble 31. Bb2! .

31. . . . Na3+ 32. Kcl Ra6 33. Rd2 Qf3 34. Rf2 Qh3 35. Ncb2 Qh5 36. Nc5 Bxc5 Spassky plans a sound piece sacrifice. But simpler was 36. . . . Qg5+! . For example, 37. Rd2 Bxc5 38. Bxc5 Nbl! . 37. Bxc5 Rxc6! 38. Qxa3 exf5 39. Kbl fxe4 40. Bd4 Qd5! 41. Qe3 Be6 42. Rc2 Ra6 43. Kcl The threat was 43. . . . Ral+!. Young Korch­ noi often played until just before mate.

43. . . . Rd8 44. Rc4 Qb5 45. Rc5 Qb4 46. Bxf6 Ral+ 47. Kc2 Rd2+! White resigns Spassky had been the youngest candidate master in the country and would soon be the youngest master, a title considered more pres­ tigious than international master by many Russians. 3 He was benefiting from the influ­ ence of powerful friends, such as Dmitry Postnikov, an avid player who was a longtime

64

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

official of the Sports Committee, which su­ pervised the Soviet Chess Federation. And he had a new trainer, Alexander Kaz­ imirovich Tolush-or "Kazimirich" as Spas­ sky fondly called him. Tolush, 27 years older than Spassky, had survived some of the blood­ iest fighting in the Nazi onslaught towards Leningrad. "Such was this fighter who never knew fear, who came through the battle at Pulkovo and the deathly lottery of Nevsky Pyatachok;' Mikhail Tai wrote. 4 "Losses don't cost me sleep" Tolush liked to joke about his chess games. 5 Mark Taima­ nov recalled how another Leningrad master, Vitaly Chekhover, once offered Tolush a draw in a sharp position. They were friends but Tolush was outraged. "Why a draw? You have a decisive attack;' he replied. "But I don't see a forcing continuation. I'm afraid of miscalculating;' Chekhover replied. "Afraid? Then you shouldn't play chess;' Tolush said furiously. "Stay home! " 6 Tolush was Paul Keres' trainer off and on for about eight years. "But when the boy Borya Spassky came to our home, the Keres­ Tolush creative collaboration came apart;' recalled Tolush's wife Valentina "Then the love for chess, knowledge, experience, heart­ Alexander Kazimirovich gave all of it to this boy. We didn't have children and Borya was a son to us:' 7 Korchnoi was jealous, again. He had seen how Vladimir Zak shifted his attention from him to Spassky a few years before. Now he saw Tolush transforming Spassky. "It wasn't just that Boris played more strongly. He began to play differently;' Korchnoi said. "He fought for the initiative, since Tolush himself fought for the initiative:'

Genrikh Chepukaitis-Spassky Leningrad, 1952 Falkbeer Countergambit (C31)

1. e4 e5 2. f4 d5 3. exd5 e4 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bc4

Bc5 6. Nge2 0-0 7. d4 exd3 8. Qxd3 Res 9. h3 a6! Spassky improves on a Mikhail Chigorin­ Frank Marshall game (!) that went 9. . . . Nh5 10. Qf3! Qh4+ 11. Kdl and White won after 11. . . . g6 12. Bd2 Nd7 13. g4! Ng7 14. Ne4. Spassky's idea is to win back a pawn after 10. . . . b5 11. Bb3 Bb7.

10. a4 Qe7 11. Bd2 c6! 12. dxc6 Nxc6 13. 0-0-0 Nb4 14. Qf3 (see diagram)

After 14. Q/3 Now 14 . . . . Bf5 15. Bb3 would allow White a breather.

14. . . . b5! 15. QxaS bxc4! Spassky passes up a good but not winning endgame (15. . . . Bb7 16. Qxe8+ Qxe8).

16. Qf3 Bf5 17. Rhel Qd7 18. Ng3 Bxc2 19. RxeS+ NxeS Better was 19. . . . Qxe8!, e.g., 20. Rel Qb8 (threat of 21. . . . Nd3+) with swarming pieces (21. Ndl Bd3 or 21. . . . Nfd5).

20. Nce4 Qxa4 Here 20. . . . Bd4! was strong (21. Bxb4 Bxdl 22. Qxdl Bxb2+). Spassky is beginning to "swim:'

21. Bxb4 Bxb4 The endgame, 21. . . . Bxdl 22. Qxdl Qxb4 23. Nxc5 Qxc5, was good but not a certain win. Korchnoi felt Spassky's more daring style

3. O verkill was surprising, considering how poor his family was. "It would seem that from such families come bankers, people of restraint, cautious, practical. From such a family came Rothschild:' Korchnoi said. ''And yet here is Tolush teaching Spassky: you must fight for the initiative, you must sacrifice in every game. I remember he said to him: Do not go home until you've sacrificed something! " 8

22. Rd8 Bd3 23. Rxd3 cxd3 24. Qxd3 Qc6+ 25. Kbl g6 26. Qd8! Kf8 27. Qd4! White, a legendary speed-chess player, grabs his chance in mutual time pressure.

27. . . . Bd6 28. QhS+ Ke7 29. Qxh7 Bxf4 30. Qh4+ g5 31. Nxg5?? A draw was likely after 31. NfS+ (31. . . . Ke6 32. Qh6+ or 31. . . . Kd8 32. Qel).

31. . . . QcI+ 32. Ka2 Bxg5 33. Qb4+ Kd7 34. Qa4+ Qc6 35. Qg4+ Qe6+ White re­ signs Nearly half a century later Korchnoi said, "I became jealous and hurt that I didn't get to Tolush in time:' 9 But Tolush had offered to be Korchnoi's trainer in early 1950: "Give me Korchnoi and I 'll make him a master in two years:' Korchnoi replied, ''I 'll manage without him:'10 In his later years Korchnoi claimed he would never have had anything to do with Tolush because of his oily reputation. Tolush informed on Keres to the KGB while serving as his trainer, Korchnoi claimed. "He was a person who was doing his dirty jobs in white gloves:'11

Doctors Plot Spassky's new mentor, like his former one, taught him more than chess. Zak had begun his physical conditioning by teaching him to ice skate and swim, and Spassky became a lifelong athlete. Tolush also introduced social

65

graces to him. He "taught me how to cor­ rectly tie a necktie, how to eat with a knife and fork, that you have to brush teeth and wash the neck, to change shirts every daY:' Spassky said. 1 2 For important games, you should be "clean, well-dressed:' Spassky said he had never used a table napkin before he met Tolush. In short, Zak had made him a chess player. Tolush made him an adult. Spassky never parted well with the trainers he accumulated over the years. He claimed Zak wanted to be replaced because Spassky had outgrown him. "The experienced trainer felt that his disciple needed a stronger chessplayer-practician:' as Spassky's friend Alexander Nikitin put it. 13 But Larisa Volpert, another student of Zak's, said Zak told her many times that he intended to be Spassky's teacher until he attained the master title. According to Volpert, Spassky changed trainers because of the Kremlin-orchestrated campaign of anti-Semitism known as the "Doctors Plot:'14 Jewish doctors were allegedly implicated in the death of Soviet officials. As a result, Jews were ousted from their jobs in various Soviet cities. Many were arrested and sent to the Gulag. Sally Landau, who became Mikhail Tal's first wife, was the daughter of two Jewish actors. ''All the Jewish theater [companies] were disbanded, many leading actors were imprisoned:' she said. "It was a terrible time:' 1 5 The "Plot" investigation, which touched the lives of many players, was led by Sergo Goglidze, the older brother of International Master Viktor Goglidze. Spassky had lived with Zak and his family and by 1948 Zak wanted to make their rela­ tionship official. "Zak was even going to adopt Boris, so that he had a place to live and to be fed and to play chess day and night:' accord­ ing to a 2006 article based on an interview with Spassky. "The documents were already prepared, but not followed through:' 16 Zak felt that in view of the repression, an adop­ tion would harm Spassky and so his "move was taken back:'

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Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Korchnoi and Volpert said there was a later effort to fire Zak from the Pioneers Palace because he was Jewish and had many Jewish students. Both Tolush and Igor Bondarevsky were involved in this, according to Volpert. While Zak was away from Leningrad at a tournament with Volpert, Tolush "lured" Spassky to him and convinced him to accept him as his new trainer, she said. Zak regarded this as treason and was deeply hurt, she added. 17 Spassky later claimed ignorance, saying he did not even know of the Doctors Plot. "No, I was not yet 16, and I was living in another dimension;' he said in 1998. 18 Korchnoi said he went to local Communist Party district committee to defend Zak. "Spassky should also have gone but he did not;' he said. 19

sion. "I nearly fell off my chair;' Taimanov recalled in 2001. "There was no alternative to victory;' he said. "And we shared first and second place:'20 It was just a first step. From 1952 on, the vlasti sought to make lopsided victory cer­ tain in every foreign event their players en­ tered. Next up was a Geza Mar6czy memo­ rial tournament in Budapest, the strongest international round-robin of the year. The Soviets sent an all-star contingent: World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres, Vasily Smyslov and their two new stars, Tig­ ran Petrosian and Yefim Geller. There is no indication that they were or­ dered to draw with one another. Of the ten games played among the Soviets, four were decisive, including this in the second round:

Overkill

Budapest, 1952 Nimzo-Indian Defense (£53)

Soviet players had competed in events re­ lated to the world championship since 1948 but they virtually ignored other foreign com­ petitions. This changed in 1952 when the Kremlin decided to demonstrate the unmis­ takable superiority of USSR masters. The first target was the first "world student cham­ pionship:' Failure was not an option. The tourna­ ment, held in Liverpool, England, was in­ tended for university-enrolled amateurs. It drew a weak field. But the Soviets sent David Bronstein, who had no higher education but was the world's second ranked player. He was joined by Mark Taimanov, who was among the world's top 25 players. They were sum­ moned to the office of Nikolai Mihailov, the powerful secretary of the Central Committee of the Komsomol, the Communist Party jun­ ior wing. "The conversation was short. 'You must finish first. Do you know who signed your travel paper? Iosif Vissarionovich! '" That meant Stalin himself authorized their mis-

Petrosian-Paul Keres

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Nf3 d5 6. Bd3 c5 7. 0-0 b6 8. dxc5 If Keres wanted a quick draw, the symmet­ rical endgame of 8 . . . . dxc4 9. Bxc4 Qxdl 10. Rxdl Bxc5 was the way to go. 8. . . . bxc5 9. Ne2 Nbd7 IO. b3?! e5! The threat of 11. . . . e4 at least equalizes.

11. Bbl e412. Nd2 Ba613. Bb2! (see diagram)

After 13. Bb2 Like Spassky, Petrosian had been learning

3. O verkill from a more aggressive trainer, Andre Lilien­ thal. A world-class player before World War II, Lilienthal encouraged Petrosian to sacri­ fice pawns to avoid passive positions such as 13. Qc2 Ne5 14. Bb2 Nd3 15. Bc3 Qe7. After 13. Bb2! he would have compensa­ tion for a pawn, 13. . . . Bxd2 14. Qxd2 dxc4 15. Rdl. A safe road to equality begins with 13. . . . Nb6.

13. . . . Qa5? 14. Nxe4! dxe4 Black would have a weak e-pawn after 14 . . . . Nxe4 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Qxd7 as well as a weak king (Qg4).

15. a3 Bd2 16. b4 cxb4 17. Qxd2 Bxc4 18. axb4 Qg5? 19. Ra5! Qh4 20. h3 Rfb8 21. Ng3! The threat is to win the queen with 22. NfS Qh5 23. Ne7+. That is why 18 . . . . Qb6 or 18 . . . . Qb5 were better and would leave White with a modest edge.

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still had to play Botvinnik, he was in danger of finishing in the bottom third of the field of 18. This could have set his career back years. But Petrosian drew with Botvinnik, won his other games and avoided humiliation by tying for seventh place. The tournament book said Petrosian was "unable to exceed his domestic achievements in his first inter­ national competition:' But at 22, he had "un­ rivaled possibilities" to improve.21 The tournament winner was Keres who was regarded by many as the true world champion. Viktor Korchnoi never got over his crushing loss to Keres in their first game, in the 20th USSR Championship. "He be­ came forever my most difficult opponent;' he said. 22 After the Budapest tournament, Keres gave a 25-board simultaneous exhibi­ tion in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. The only player to earn a draw, 17-year-old Lajos Por­ tisch, said Keres became his hero as a result.

21. . . . Rb5 22. Rxb5 Bxb5 23. Rel Bd3 White threatened to win with 24. NfS Qg5 25. Rc5! . Petrosian is tactically outplaying one of the greatest tacticians of all time.

24. Bxd3 exd3 25. Bd4 Ne4 26. Qxd3! Nxg3 27. fxg3 Qxg3 28. Qe4! Rd8? 29. Qe7 Qb8 30. Bxa7 The a-pawn was lost in any case. Now Black can resign in view of 30. . . . Qa8 31. Rc7.

30. . . . Qxa7 31. Qxd8+ Nf8 32. Qe8 Qa3 33. Rc7 Qb3 34. Qe7 Qd5 35. Kh2 h6 36. Rc8 Black resigns The next day Petrosian lost to Herman Pilnik when he allowed a strong-but by today's standards, somewhat obvious-Ex­ change sacrifice. That seemed to deflate his ambition. It was followed by draws with weaker players and losses to worthy oppo­ nents, such as Pal Benko, Laszlo Szabo and Gideon Stahlberg. With four rounds to go, Petrosian had a minus-one score. Since he

Lucky Breaks Korchnoi never considered himself lucky. But fortune favored him in late 1951 when he had a poor fourth place finish in the 20th USSR Championship quarterfinals. His tie break points allowed him to advance to a semifinals the next summer.

Korchnoi-Georgy Bastrikov

20th USSR Championship semifinals, Minsk, 1952 Pirc Defense (B07) I. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nbd7 4. f4! e5 5. Nf3 exd4 6. Qxd4! c6 7. Bd2 Qb6 8. 0-0-0 Be7 9. h3 Korchnoi had great faith in the value of a spatial advantage, even in an endgame.

9. . . . Qxd4 10. Nxd4 NcS 11. Rel Nh5 (see diagram)

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Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi increase the number of qualifiers and that is how Korchnoi advanced to his first national championship.

G agra

After 11. ... Nh5

12. g4!? Ng313. Rh2 Nxfl14. Rxfl h5!15. g5 g616. f5 0-0 Black would have been relatively secure after 16. . . . Bd7 and 17. . . . 0-0-0.

17. Bf4 Rd8? 18. b4! Na6 Korchnoi had noticed that 18 . . . . Nd7 loses to 19. fxg6 (19. . . . fxg6 20. Ne6 Re8 21. Nc7). His next move is based on 19 . . . . cxbS 20. NdS with a steadily growing initiative.

19. b5 Nb8 20. Rd2 Bd7 21. h4 d5? 22. exd5 Ba3+ 23. Kdl cs Black mistakenly counts on continuations such as 24. Nde2 BxfS.

24. Ne6! fxe6 25. dxe6 Bb4 26. Rf3 Nc6! Now 27. dxc6? Bxc6 and Black has chances of survival.

But he was not considered worthy of being sent to a secret training camp in July 1952 at a VIP sanatorium in the Black Sea town of Gagra. The invitees were to prepare for the Olympiad in Helsinki the next month or for the Interzonal in Sweden the month after that. Missing from the camp was David Bron­ stein, who was out of favor with the vlasti be­ cause he had broken up with his wife. 24 This should have been a warning to Boris Spassky and Mikhail Tai: Your private life influences your public career. The Gagra players took part in a match­ tournament of teams. "The Veterans"-Bot­ vinnik, Keres, Alexander Kotov and Smy­ slov-played two games each with "Youth" Petrosian, Geller, Bronstein and 32-year-old Isaac Boleslavsky. Opening secrets were be­ ing tested, so the game scores remained con­ fidential for decades. When they surfaced in the 1980s and 1990s, it became known that Petrosian split one win apiece with Botvinnik and Kotov and scored ½-1½ against Smyslov.

Alexander Kotov-Petrosian Training match-tournament, Gagra,

27. exd7 Nd4 28. Rxd4! cxd4 29. Nd5 Ba5 30. fxg6 Rf8 31. Ne7+ Black resigns

1952 King's Indian Defense (A48)

Alexey Suetin was a Moscow master five years older than Korchnoi who would be­ come one of his many minor enemies. Suetin delivered a backhanded compliment in his Shakhmaty v SSSR report on the tournament: Korchnoi demonstrated "good sporting qual­ ities" since he had won bad positions-in­ cluding one against Suetin. 23 Korchnoi tied for second to fourth place and this time his tie breaks failed him. But his luck held: Soviet chess officials agreed to

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. Bf4 Bg7 4. e3 0-0 5. Nbd2 cs 6. c3 cxd4 7. exd4 Nc6 8. h3 d6 Black prepares 9. . . . Re8 and . . . es. White's attempt to stop him boomerangs.

9. Nc4?! b5! 10. Ne3 b4 Now on 11. Bd3 or 11. Be2 Black can seek an advantage from 11. . . . bxc3 12. bxc3 Re8 and . . . es. Or 12. . . . NaS and . . . Bb7.

11. d5? bxc3! 12. dxc6

3. O verkill White is also clearly inferior after 12. bxc3 Ne4.

12. . . . cxb2 13. Rbl Ne4 14. Bd3 QaS+ 15. Kfl Ba6! (see diagram)

After 15. ... Ba6 Much better than 15. . . . Nc3? 16. Qd2. Now 16. Bxa6 Nc3! is bad. So is 16. Qc2 Nc3 17. Rxb2 es.

16. Nc4 Bxc4 17. Bxc4 Nc3 18. Qd2 Qa4 19. Bd3 Nxbl 20. Bxbl Rfc8 21. g3 Rxc6 22. Kg2 Rac8 With 23. . . . Rel coming, White can safely resign. Kotov, a worthy rival for Botvinnik before World War II, seemed over the hill at age 39.

23. Bh6? Rel 24. Bxg7 Rxhl 25. Kxhl Rel+ 26. Kg2 Rxbl 27. Qh6 Qdl The threat of mate on hl stops 28. NgS and ends the game.

28. g4 Qhl+ 29. Kg3 Rgl+ White resigns Botvinnik's poor showing alarmed Mos­ cow. Overwhelming victory in the Olympiad was the only acceptable result. As a result of Gagra, Botvinnik was kicked off the national team over his outraged protests. The Soviets placed first in Helsinki by 1½ points. But it was the narrowest winning margin for the USSR for 18 more years. The next test of the Soviets came at the In­ terzonal in the resort of Saltsjobaden, near Stockholm. Westerners thought they would

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do well. But not very well. Former world champion Max Euwe predicted in Chess Re­ view that the inexperienced Petrosian and Geller might finish behind at least six of the foreigners. Petrosian thought his good start was partly due to luck. ''.At the drawing of lots I very much wanted to pick number seven;' he re­ called. 25 He did, and it meant he would have White in the first round against the oppo­ nent he considered the tournament's weak­ est. This was Povilas (Paul) Vaitonis, repre­ senting Canada. Born in Vilnius, Vaitonis fled Lithuania just before the Red Army re­ turned in 1944 by getting onto an overloaded fishing boat headed for Sweden. Petrosian beat him in a nice game and coasted until round 15. He clung to a share of second place when:

Laszlo Szabo-Petrosian

Interzonal, Saltsjobaden, 1952 Sicilian Defense (B93)

1. e4 cs 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. f4 Qc7 7. Be2 es 8. Nf3 Be6 9. f5 Bc410. BgS Nbd711. Nd2 Bxe212. Qxe2 Rc8 13. a3 Qb6 14. 0-0-0?! Rxc3! After the Central Chess Club opened in Moscow in 1956, an anonymous wit inscribed a message on the wall of a men's room com­ mode: "Here Tigran Petrosian thought up the Exchange sacrifice:' 26 But it was not until April 1959, when Vladimir Simagin spelled out the case for . . . Rxc3 in a Shakhmaty v SSSR article, that the sacrifice was widely appreciated. Nevertheless, in his tournament book notes, Petrosian called 14 . . . . Rxc3 "the stan­ dard sacrifice:' 27 He said White could have safely castled queenside after 13. Bxf6, and later aim for Nft-e3-d5.

15. bxc3 dS 16. Nbl Nxe4 (see diagram) While Szabo was thinking about his 16th move, Petrosian looked ahead at 17. RxdS

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Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi of time, Szabo should not have allowed him to make easy moves such as 25. . . . 0-0. In­ stead, "one must admit that the right move was 25. Rhdt:' 28 Again, this is intuition talking. Black would have all the winning chances after 25. Rhdl?! Nxd5 26. Qxd5 Qc8 and . . . Rf8-f7. Szabo was moving quickly to exploit Petrosian's time pressure.

After 16. ... Nxe4 Nxg5 and realized 18. h4! would trap his knight. Looking further, he saw a possible escape, 17. . . . Qxbl+! 18. Kxbl Nxc3+ 19. Kb2 Nxe2. But that, too, had a flaw, 20. Rel f6 21. Be3 Nf4 22. Bxf4. He was ready to play 16. . . . dxe4 instead but took one last look at 16. . . . Nxe4-and forgot why he had abandoned it.

17. Rxd5 Nxg5 He should have reexamined 17. . . . Qxbl+ 18. Kxbl Nxc3+ 19. Kb2 Nxe2 20. Rel be­ cause he might have seen 20. . . . Be7! (instead of 20. . . . f6). Black would be fine after 21. Bxe7 Nf4!.

18. h4 Bc5? Petrosian's sense of danger was founded on intuition, not deep calculation: He smelled danger. Here he rejected 18 . . . . Be7 19. Rhdl in view of 19. . . . Nc5 20. Qxe5. He also gave up on 19. . . . Nf6 after seeing 20. Rxe5 Nge4 21. Rxe4 Nxe4 22. Qxe4. But he overlooked 22. . . . Qh6+ and 23. . . . Qxh4!, when Black is equal.

19. hxg5 Be3+ 20. Nd2 Bxg5 21. Qd3 Petrosian considered this best, although 21. Qc4! favors White solidly.

21. . . . Qc7 22. Kdl Bxd2 23. Kxd2 f6 24. Kcl Nb6 25. Rd6 Petrosian felt that since he was very short

25. . . . 0-0 26. Rdl Qc5! 27. Rd8! Qxa3+ 28. Kbl h5!? Petrosian was proud of this move, which threatens 29. . . . Na4 30. Qd5+ Kh7. By stop­ ping g2-g4, it makes the g2- and fS-pawns vulnerable. Yes, but if White had found 29. Rhl! , he would have a sizable edge-and Petrosian would have regretted rejecting the modest 28 . . . . h6! .

29. Rxf8+? Qxf8 30. Qe4 Qe7 31. Qb4 Qc7 32. Qd6? The final error. Now 28 . . . . h5 looks like a genius move because the h-pawn is fast.

32. . . . Qxd6 33. Rxd6 Nc4 34. Rd7 b5 35. Ra7? White had to stop Black's knight with Rd3 on this or the previous move.

35. . . . Ne3 36. Rxa6 Nxg2 37. Kcl h4 38. Kd2 h3 39. Ral Nh4 40. c4!? bxc4 41. Rhl Nxf5 42. Kc3 Nd6 43. Rxh3 Kf7 44. Rh7 f5 45. Kb4 f4 46. Kc5 f3! 47. Rhl e4 White resigns After this round, Soviet players held the four top places and looked like they might capture all five qualifying spots for the 1953 Candidates tournament. Petrosian assured his spot with draws of 15, 19, 12 and 24 moves in his next four games. A win in the penul­ timate round gave him a tie for second place, behind the surprising Kotov, who had looked so bad at Gagra. Petrosian's result satisfied the conditions

3. O verkill fo r the grandmaster title. Today, when 15year-old GMs are somewhat routine, 22 sounds old for a brand-new GM, like Petro­ sian. However, in 1952 it was remarkable. The youngest new GM up to then had been Sve­ tozar Gligoric, who earned the title at 28.

Debutant A first-time player in a major Soviet tour­ nament was a debutant. For Viktor Korch­ noi's debut in the 20-player finals of the 20th USSR Championship, he drastically over­ hauled his openings. He had been a king­ pawn player since the Leningrad Pioneer Palace. But in the championship he went back and forth between 1. e4 and 1. c4. As Black he began to abandon his favorite Dutch, Nimzo-Indian and Bogo-Indian Defenses and adopt the Griinfeld Defense. Learning an opening was a challenge in an era with no databases and few textbooks. The better Soviet chess clubs had huge files filled with index cards on which theoretical games were recorded. But you had to be a strong player to be worthy of access to them. Even when he was a world-class player, Mik­ hail Tal was not trusted with the Riga chess clubs files "because he was known to mis­ place things from time to time:' 29 In his research Korchnoi hand-copied "about a hundred Griinfelds" to study. He admitted, "My opening play was still rather weak:' However, his real problem was being "helpless in the middlegame:' 3 0 He wished he could go straight from opening to end­ game. He did exactly that in the first round when he swapped queens after 15 moves with Smyslov, the world's premier ending player. The result was Korchnoi's first win from a grandmaster. But when he tried to mix it up in a middle game against Alexander Konstantinopolsky in the next round, he was crushed in 29 moves. He regularly tried to swap queens after that.

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But his instincts were still that of a pawn­ grabbing defender:

Korchnoi-Yefim Geller

20th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1952 Two Knights Defense (CSB) 1. e4 eS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. NgS dS 5. exdS NaS 6. d3!? This alternative to 6. Bb5+! had been con­ sidered almost unplayable since before World War I.

6. . . . h6 7. Nf3 e4 8. Qe2 Nxc4 9. dxc4 BcS! Korchnoi was becoming an authority on this variation. He had beaten Alexander Cherepkov in 1950 after 9. . . . Be7 10. Nd4 Bg4?! 11. f3 exf3 12. gxf3 Bh3 13. Nc3 followed by Be3 and 0-0-0. Earlier in 1952 he overcame Alexey Suetin after 9. . . . Bg4 10. h3 Bh5 11. g4 Bg6 12. Nd4 c6 13. Nc3! Bb4 14. Bd2 dxc4 15. 0-0-0.

10. h3 0-0 11. Nh2 This looks ugly but it is difficult to get at White's weaknesses. For example, 11. . . . e3 12. Bxe3 Bxe3 13. fxe3 Ne4 14. Nfl Qh4+ 15. g3 Qf6 16. c3 BfS is thematic. But it is also the kind of position that al­ lows Korchnoi to defend and defend, until he could countersacrifice. His game with Sliwa from Bucharest 1954 went 17. Qf3 Ng5 18. Qf4 Qg6 19. Nbd2 Nxh3 20. Qxc7 Bg4? 21. Rxh3! Bxh3 22. 0-0-0 and he eventually won after 22. . . . Bxfl? 23. Rxfl Qd3 24. e4.

11. . . . Re812. Be3 Bxe313. fxe3 Qd614. Nc3 a615. 0-0-0! Bd716. Rd4! (see diagram) White's king is relatively secure, he is a pawn up and he can choose between target­ ing the kingside and the e4-pawn. That puts the onus on Black, just the kind of psycho­ logical situation Korchnoi liked.

16. . . . bS! 17. Nfl b4 18. Ndl c6! 19. dxc6 Qxc6 20. Nd2 ReS! 21. Rfl

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Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi Black would hold the high cards after 39. Qxa3 Qxa3 40. bxa3 RgS.

39. bxa3 Bb3? This threatens 40. . . . Qxc2 mate and 40. . . . Rgxc6. But 39. . . . BfS! does it better in view of 40. Qc4 Qxa3+ 41. Kd2 Be6 or 40 . . . . Qxc4 41. Rxc4 Be6 with advantage.

40. Qd3! Rxc6 41. Nc3 Qxa3+ 42. Kd2 draw After 16. Rd4 Black's idea was . . . Qa4, since Kbl would allow . . . Ras. Korchnoi opts for counter­ attack, based on Rxf6. For example, 21. . . . Qa4 22. Rxf6! gxf6 23. Nxe4 Kg7 24. Ng3 is strong. Geller finds a way to defend his kingside with his rook.

21. . . . Be6 22. g4 Qa4 23. Qh2! Rg5! 24. Rxf6! gxf6 25. Nxe4 Rg6 26. Qf4 Kg7 27. Ng3 Better was 27. Kbl! , since . . . Ras is no longer possible. Then a trade of queens, such as after 27. . . . QaS 28. Ng3 QeS, would favor White considerably (29. NhS+ Kh8 30. b3 Qxf4 31. exf4 with two pawns for the Ex­ change). 27. . . . Qxa2! 28. Nh5+ Kh8 29. Qc7 Korchnoi evidently feared 29. Nxf6 b3 and tricks such as 30. QeS bxc2 31. NdS+?? f6! and wins. 29. . . . Kh7 30. Nf4 Rg7 31. Qb7 Res 32. Qxb4 f5! 33. Nh5 Rg6 34. c5? fxg4 35. hxg4 Time pressure takes over. Black would be OK after 35. . . . Qal+ 36. Kd2 Rc8. 35. . . . as? 36. Qb7 Res 37. c6? White has had repeated chances to harass the g6-rook and now was the time for 37. Nf4!. For example, 37. . . . Rf6? 38. Qe4+ and 39. Ra4!. 37. . . . a4 38. Qa6? a3!

White could have played on at little risk after 42. . . . Be6 43. Nf4. This was the first of the great battles between Korchnoi and Geller. Tigran Petrosian passed up the tourna­ ment and instead pursued his sideline career as a journalist. He and Vitaly Tarasov wrote daily reports for the widely-circulated Sovi­ etsk y Sport. "The points collected by Korch­ noi speak for themselves;' they said. 31 This was the same Tarasov who told Korchnoi in 1947 that he would not win another tourna­ ment for 20 years. The veteran master Pyotr Romanovsky praised Korchnoi's technique and courage but also said he complicated unnecessarily. "Often, when clear and simple solutions are required, he tends without reason to unnec­ essary complexity;' he said. 32 Korchnoi contended for a top place until running into Bronstein and Keres in rounds 17 and 18. Neither grandmaster was having a great tournament but they disposed of Korchnoi fairly easily. Bronstein, who even­ tually became a close friend, turned Korch­ noi's strategy against him by trading queens at move 16 and winning a splendid endgame. In the final round Korchnoi did not allow his opponent, an opening expert, out of the open­ ing.

Korchnoi-Isaak Lipnitsky 20th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1952 English Op ening (Al3)

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. 0-0 Be7 7. Nc3 Nxc3

3. O verkill More popular was 7. . . . 0-0 and 8. Nxd5 exd5 as Keres played.

8. bxc3 0-0 9. d4 Nc6 10. Rbl QaS 11. Qc2 cxd412. Nxd4! Nxd413. cxd4 The threat of 14. Bxb7 is why 12. Nxd4! was stronger than 12. cxd4. Now . . . Rd8-d7 is an ugly way to defend his queenside.

13. . . . Bf6?! 14. Rdl Rd8 Now 15. e3 Rb8 would mean a minimal White edge.

15. Be3! Qa6 The pressure would mount after 15. . . . Rb8? 16. Bf4. Or 15. . . . Rd7 16. Rd3 Rc7 17. Qb3.

16. Rb4 Be717. Ra4 Qd6 Or 17. . . . Qb5 18. Rbl Qd7 19. Rc4 and White penetrates with Rc7.

18. Bf4 Qd719. dS! Bes (see diagram) Or 19. . . . exd5 20. Bc7! rook-move 21. Bxd5 with a bind. After the text there are a variety of wins, including 20. d6.

After 19. ... Bc5 20. Rd2 Qb5? Also lost is 20. . . . Bb6 21. dxe6 Qxe6 22. Rxd8+ Bxd8 23. Re4 Qd7 24. Bh3! .

21. Bc7! Rd7 22. Ras Black resigns The win allowed Korchnoi to move past Bronstein and Smyslov into sole sixth place­ exceptional for a debutant.

73

Fateful Buch arest European chess revived agonizingly slowly after World War II. Rumanian officials or­ ganized minor international tournaments in 1949 and 1951 in Bucharest and only became more ambitious with a 20-player round robin in January 1953. They sought the strongest Soviet players. Moscow agreed to send Smy­ slov, Isaac Boleslavsky and Petrosian. The fourth spot would go to a teenager, either Spassky, 16, or Alexander Nikitin, 18. Nikitin had become a master in the previous year while Spassky was still a candidate master. But Dmitry Postnikov, "our sports boss" as Nikitin called him, liked Spassky and was also on good terms with Alexander Tolush.33 Postnikov decided to send two players, not Spassky and Nikitin but Spassky and Tolush. In that way Spassky, who was too young for a passport, could travel on his trainer's pass­ port. Petrosian later said it was probably the first time a Soviet citizen traveled abroad without his own passport. The tournament "was fateful for Boris;' Nikitin recalled. It also influenced how hard Soviet players would play against one another in some future foreign events. In the early rounds Spassky crushed Smyslov and Smy­ slov defeated Tolush. After seven rounds, Laszlo Szabo of Hungary was in first place in a tournament that Soviet officials had ex­ pected to win. The Soviet delegation in Bucharest re­ ceived an angry telegram from Moscow: "Stop the disgrace. Begin making draws among yourselves:' 34 As a result, the remaining games between Soviet players were drawn, often quickly. The first-ever Spassky-Petrosian game was a bloodless 15-mover. Spassky sensed resentment from some of his elders. The normally polite Smyslov would not speak to him until the tournament was over. He was also experiencing the extreme stress of international chess. Nearly 40 years later he said, "It's necessary to be a little crazy

74

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

about chess. In 1953 I showed up at a tour­ nament" -apparently this one-"wearing two neckties. My concentration was that strong:' 35 In the next-to-last round, he knocked Szabo out of contention with the King's In­ dian Defense, an opening Tolush loved but Spassky had rarely played. Spassky also won a best-played-game prize with a related open­ ing:

Bd4+ 24. Khl Nxd5! 25. cxd5 Bxd5 (26. Qxd5?? Nxg3 mate).

20. . . . exd5 21. exd5 Ra2 22. g4? (see dia­ gram)

Olaf Barda-Spassky Bucharest, 1953 Benoni Defense (A43) I. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 cs 3. d5 g6 4. g3 Bg7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. h3 b5! White's delay in playing c2-c4 or e2-e4 means the d5-pawn will be a target and Black will have more queenside space.

8. a4 Bb7 9. Nh2 a6 10. axb5 axb511. Rxa8 Bxa8 Black can make progress by controlling the a-file, e.g., 12. e4 Bb7 13. Be3 Nbd7 and . . . Qa5/ . . . Ra8.

12. Na3 Qd713. b3 Na6 14. Bb2 Nc7 15. e4 Bb716. Qe2 Ra817. Bel The more natural 17. Ral would allow 17 . . . . Nxe4! (18. Bxg7 Kxg7 19. Bxe4 b4 with advantage). But he can neutralize the a-file with 17. c4! b4 18. Nc2 and 18 . . . . Ra2 19. Bel.

17 • • • • Ra718. f4? Now 18 . . . . Nh5! would have been annoy­ ing (19. Qel Bd4+ 20. Khl b4).

18. . . . e619. c4 Black would be better after 19. dxe6 Qxe6 20. Rel Nh5 or 20 . . . . b4 21. Nc4 Nxe4! 22. Bxe4 Bxe4 23. Qxe4 Qxe4 24. Rxe4 d5.

19. . . . b4 20. Nc2 Among the pretty results of 20. Nbl exd5 21. exd5 is 21. . . . Ral 22. Nd2 Nh5! 23. Qf3

After 22. g4 White would have been only slightly worse after 22. Rf2.

22. . . . Nfxd5! 23. cxd5 Ba6 24. Qdl Bxfl 25. Bxfl? White's best chance was 25. Nxfl Nb5 26. Qd3, although his minor pieces do not play well after 26. . . . Nc3 and . . . Qe7.

25. . . . Nxd5 26. Qxd5 Rxc2 27. Be3 Qe6 28. Qa8+ The pawns can not be stopped after 28. Qxe6 fxe6 29. Bb5 d5.

28. . . . Bf8 29. Bf2 Qxb3 30. gs Rel 31. Kg2 Qa3 32. Qd5 Ral 33. Ng4 Qa8 34. Bc4 Bg7 35. Qxa8+ Rxa8 36. Nf6+ Bxf6 37. gxf6 Ra3 38. Bel b3 39. Bc3 Ra2+ 40. Kf3 Rc2 White resigns Once again Petrosian was the only player to go undefeated. And once again he did not try very hard to win. Aside from his four quick draws with fellow Soviets he had other draws of 14, 18, 21, 23, 24 and 28 moves. The surprise of the tournament was Tolush, who finished first by a point. It was his greatest achievement. Spassky tied for fourth place. Under the FIDE rules of the day, this was enough for a promotion. "Thanks to a Krem-

3. O verkill lin order, I became an international master;' he said many years later, alluding to the telegram from Moscow. 36

L earning Curbs If there had been any doubt before, Spas­ sky was committed after Bucharest to chess as a profession, Nikitin said. Spassky even­ tually entered Leningrad State University, the same school as Korchnoi. He also began with tough courses-mechanics and mathemat­ ics-then switched to the humanities. "I was a very lazy schoolboy;' Spassky remembered. He transferred to the philological school "be­ cause I took a lot of extended leaves for chess tournaments. You can't do that with mathe­ matics;' he said. The university rector, Alex­ ander Danilovich Alexandrov, a Stalin-prize­ winning scientist, allowed him to play frequently in tournaments. Spassky admitted he "lost five years" by pretending to be a stu­ dent. "I got no real education! " he said. "It was easier to study something yourself-an­ tique literature, philosophy. Soviet universi­ ties did not give much education. They were mostly beating around the bush:' 37 As a graduate, Spassky could claim he was fulfilling his obligation to the state by becom­ ing a journalist. But unlike Korchnoi, he never got into the habit even of reading newspa­ pers. Many years later, when Spassky was asked what he would be doing if chess were not his profession he took a long pause and then said, "I don't know. I would be a beg­ gar:'Js As Spassky's chess learning curve arced sharply upward, Korchnoi searched for con­ sistency. While the Bucharest tournament was going on, Korchnoi had a minus-one score in ten games as first board in a USSR team championship. He followed that with second place in the Leningrad Champion­ ship. He caught the eye of Mikhail Botvinnik when he defeated Grigory Goldberg, who

75

served as the world champion's second in three of his title matches.

Korchnoi-Grigory Goldberg

Leningrad Championship, 1953

After 58. ... Kg7 The natural move is 59. Ke4 but Korchnoi went for 59. a7!?. This is somewhat daring because in similar positions White's rook is immobilized on a8 and he can only draw. Korchnoi's idea was to attack the c-pawn with his king and prepare g3-g4. For exam­ ple, 59. . . . Kh7 60. Ke4 Kg7 61. Kd4. Black loses immediately after 61. . . . Rxf3? 62. Rg8+!. On 61. . . . c3, White would reply 62. Kd3 Kh7 63. g4!. Then the passive defense, 63. . . . Kg7 64. gxhs gxhs, loses to 65. f4 (65. . . . Kh7 66. fS Kg7 67. f6+ Kg6 68. Rg8+ or 67. . . . Kh7 68. e6!). The game went 59. . . . c3 60. Ke3 c2+ 61. Kd2 Ra2 62. g4! hxg4 63. fxg4 Kh7 64. h5! gxh5 65. gxh5 Kg7. Korchnoi had foreseen that 66. h6+! Kh7 67. Kell creates Zugzwang. Black must surrender the c-pawn. He found another Zugzwang: 67. . . . Ral+ 68. Kxc2 Ra6 69. Kd3 Ral 70. Ke4 Ra5 71. Kf5 Ra6 72. Ke4 Ra5 73. Kd4 Ral 74. Kc5 Ra6 75. Kd5!. Black's rook had to move: 75. . . . Ral 76. Kd6 Ra5 77. Kd7! Black resigns. A third Zugzwang loomed (77. . . . Ral 78. Ke7 or 77. . . . RdS+ 78. Kc6! RaS 79. Kb6 Ral 80. Rf8). In the summer of 1953 Korchnoi met Mik­ hail Tal, then a IS-year-old-candidate master,

76

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

in a Leningrad-Latvia team match. A pawn down, "my young self-confident opponent offered a draw!" Korchnoi recalled. 39 He won on the 94th move but the score is apparently lost.

Tigran, Stop Clowning! That spring Petrosian was sent to another secret training tournament at Gagra. Eleven top players, led by Smyslov, Keres and Bole­ slavsky, met in a round-robin. Petrosian beat Taimanov with an Exchange sacrifice and won his oldest surviving victory from "Fimka'' by accepting all of Geller's sacrifices. He lost one game, to Boleslavsky, but had the satis­ faction of being the only one to defeat tour­ nament winner Smyslov. The Gagra training session was designed to prepare the nine Soviet players who would compete in the 1953 Candidates tournament. That began August 30 in the Kirchgemein­ dehaus, or Parish Hall, in the Swiss town of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, and later moved on to Zurich. There were cash prizes but one award mattered most, the right to challenge Botvinnik in the 1954 world championship match. Petrosian traveled to Switzerland in a play­ ful mood. In the Soviet delegation's railway compartment he played game after game of blitz chess with Tolush, who was still serving as Keres' occasional second. When Petrosian played speed chess, he became a 12-year old again. He reacted "theatrically" to each To­ lush move: He opened his eyes wide, shook his head, leaned forward, made his reply and then shot a glance at Tolush, according to the delegation translator, Lev Zaitsev. "Tigran, stop clowning in the face of elders!" Tolush exclaimed, as onlookers laughed. 40 Zaitsev had met Petrosian in Tbilisi in 1943. After graduating from the Moscow State In­ stitute of International Relations, an elite diplomat-training school, he was assigned to

the Sports Committee. Thanks to his lan­ guage skills, Zaitsev was sent to major for­ eign chess events as a member of the Soviet delegation. He and Petrosian were often the youngest delegation members. Zaitsev re­ membered the Petrosian of those days as "charming and excitable:' During their free time at the Candidates tournament, Petro­ sian, Zaitsev, Geller and Averbakh would hang out together "at the nearest bar" to play table football. Zaitsev and Petrosian were al­ ways on the same side and Petrosian was in­ tensely competitive. Zaitsev said, "In the heat of battle he furiously lectured me" if he let Geller score a goal. Afterward he would al­ ways apologize if he got out of hand. 4 1 Petrosian began the Interzonal with four draws, then suffered two losses, to Taimanov and Miguel Najdorf. He battled back to a plus score by round ten when he defeated Max Euwe in a nice endgame. In later years Petrosian joked, apparently about this game, that he turned the adjourned queen ending over to his second, Andre Lilienthal, for analysis and went to bed. When he awoke, he found a note slipped under his hotel door. It read in its entirety: "Dear Boy. There are a lot of bagatelles in the queen endgame. Te­ geranchik, don't miss them! " 42 After 19 of the 28 rounds, Petrosian only had an even score. Smyslov was plus five by then. Since only first place really mattered, Petrosian drew seven of his remaining games in 28 moves or less. This was good enough to finish in clear fifth place. And that was good enough. Petrosian was still influenced by his destitute youth, his boyhood chum Tengis Giorgadze said. When Petrosian was a teen, he was so afraid of going home empty-handed from a tourna­ ment that he would figure out how many points he would need to be sure of some prize. It did not have to be first prize. In his mid20s he even began to see benefits in not winning a tournament. "It's better to be fifth;' he told a friend,

77

3. O verkill Mikhail Beilin, after the Candidates tourna­ ment. "And he explained that it's more peace­ 43 fut:' He had married Rona in 1952 and was beginning to build his private life. These were the happiest days of Petrosian's life, his biographer learned. 44

Petrosian, Tal and Risk Nevertheless, Petrosian, like Spassky, was refining his thinking about how to play chess. In his best-known game from the Swiss tour­ nament, against Samuel Reshevsky in the second round, he sacrificed the Exchange to create an impregnable blockade. This made a deep impression on Tai. So did Petrosian's observation about the nature of risk. The conventional view-the Botvinnik view-held that an attacker who gives up material is the one who takes chances. But that changed in the 1950s as the stock value of the initiative soared. Petrosian was criti­ cized by fans for preferring defense. "But who has demonstrated that defense is a less risky and dangerous occupation that attack?" Petrosian wrote. 45 This was striking to Tai, who also rebelled against the Botvinnik view. Tai's approach to chess was influenced by Petrosian's thinking. Defense is just as risky as attack. But Tai would reach the opposite conclusion: There­ fore, you might as well attack. The two men would become the dialectical antipodes of 1950s-60s chess. Tai did not spell this out clearly until his 1969 articles-in Petrosian's publication, 64under the headline "Knowledge? Intuition? Risk?" In the early 1950s his moves revealed his thinking.

Tal-Josif Zilber

Latvia Championship, 1953 Sicilian Defense (B93) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 a6 3. Nc3 d6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nxd4 Nf6 6. f4 Qe7 7. Nf3 g6 8. Bd3 Bg7

9. 0-0 0-0 10. Qe2 Ne6 11. h3 NaS 12. g4 Be6 13. fS! Be4 14. Bd2 Rae8 The quiet 15. b3 Bxd3 16. cxd3 and 17. Rael would secure a simple positional pull. In­ stead, Tai aims for Qh4/Bh6 and Ng5. Dur­ ing this period he was plagued by "an old ill­ ness"-a dislike of winning by technique and "eternal searches for the 'blue bird"' of a com­ bination, he said. 46

15. Qel? Bxd316. exd3 Qb6+17. Khl Qxb2 18. Rbl Qe219. gs NhS 20. NdS Ne6 21. Rb3 Rb8 White might draw an endgame after 22. Qbl Qxbl 23. Rfxbl but Tai had an unrealistic view of his chances in a middlegame two pawns down.

22. Bc3? Bxc3 23. Rxc3 Qxa2 24. Rf2 QaS 25. Qcl Qd8 26. f6! es Simpler is 26. . . . e6 and 27. Nf4 Nxf4. Black intends to oust the dS-knight with . . . a5/ . . . Nb4.

27. Kh2 as 28. Rg2 Re8 29. Qel Nb4! 30. Ne3 Re8 31. Rb3 Qd7 32. NfS Tai plays for 32. . . . gxfs 33. Qh4 Nf4? 34. Qh6.

32. . . . Qe6 33. Nd2 Re2! 34. Ra3 (see dia­ gram)

After 34. Ra3 Now 34 . . . . Nf4 35. Nh6+ Kh8 should have ended matters soon. But Black was in severe time pressure.

78

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

34• . . • KfS? 35. Qh4 Recs? 36. Ng7! Nxg7? Black would be barely holding on after 36. . . . Qd7 37. Nxhs gxhs 38. Qxhs Ke8. 37. Qxh7 Rel? 38. Qh8 mate Tal was already at master strength and should have earned the title in the fall of l953 when his team placed fourth in the USSR youth team championship. But he ran into the same obstacle as Petrosian and Korch­ noi-the Soviet Federation's qualification

commission. The commission felt it could not give the master title to two Latvians at the same time, and his teammate Janis Klavii;is was more deserving, Tal said. His consolation was being allowed to play a match to prove he was worthy of the title in 1954. He was, by all measures, at least two years behind Spassky and Korchnoi, and five be­ hind Petrosian, in chess development. Who would have guessed that he would reach the pinnacle of the chess world long before them?

4. Culture War Viktor Korchnoi overcame a first-day loss by defeating Yefim Geller in a game that began 1. e4 with 1. . . . cS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. BgS e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. f4. Geller had played Black's 9. . . . eS, now a standard variation, against Vyacheslav Ragozin during the Gagra train­ ing tournament the previous summer. But the Gagra games were a virtual state secret. Korchnoi was not yet worthy of seeing them and he punctuated Geller's move as "9 . . . . eS?! " in the tournament book. The first Korchnoi-Petrosian game since the 1946 Soviet Junior Championship was a spirited sixth-round draw. Viktor Korchnoi said this is when his "rivalry" with Petrosian began but said it soon became a personal "war:' 1

"Overkill" was the tactical goal for Soviet chess in the 1950s. But for what strategic pur­ pose? The answer was revealed in a remark­ able international propaganda campaign waged with culture. It was designed to use chess and other arts to prove the superiority of the USSR way of life. Soviet teams made foreign tours that had not been attempted before-and were never repeated-and the first Soviets appeared in events such as the World Student Team Championship and the World Junior Championship. Who went abroad in this campaign-and who played abroad in general-was based chiefly on who excelled at home. Competi­ tion in the USSR Championship intensified in the 1950s because a high place in the score­ table usually meant an opportunity to bring home foreign prize money or exhibition fees or to buy abroad the kind of consumer goods few Soviet citizens had. It became harder just to get into a tourna­ ment like the 21st USSR Championship finals, which began in January 1954 in Kiev's House of Culture of Light Industrial and Food Work­ ers. Among those who failed to make the cut from semifinals tournaments were Tigran Petrosian's trainer, Andre Lilienthal, and Mikhail Tal's trainer, Alexander Koblents. Petrosian was among only four players who were "personally" invited, that is, without having to qualify.

Korchnoi-Petrosian

21st USSR Championship finals, Kiev, 1954 King's Indian Defense (E60) I. c4 Nf6 2. g3 g6 3. Bg2 Bg7 4. d4 0-0 5. Nf3 d6 6. 0-0 Nc6 7. d5 NaS Genrikh Kasparian had tried the . . . Nc6a5 idea in the late 1940s, and that is how Petrosian likely became acquainted with it.

8. Nbd2 c5 9. e4 a6 10. Rbl b5 11. b3 White should not isolate the Black b-pawn

79

80

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

immediately with 11. cxbS axbS 12. b4 Nb7! 13. bxcS NxcS because he gets a weak a­ pawn.

34. . . . Ne7 35. Rxf8+ Bxf8 36. Be6 Ng8 37. Qb8 Kg7 38. Nd2 Qe7 39. Nc4 Nf6 40. Kf3 hS draw

11. . . . Rb8 12. cxbS axbS 13. b4 cxb4?! 14. Rxb4 eS 15. Rel Bd716. Bfl Ne817. Nb3

Counterpunch er

Korchnoi is adopting a low-risk strategy of liquidating the queenside pawns in hopes of penetrating with his heavy pieces. It nearly succeeds.

17. . . . Nxb3 18. Rxb3 Qe7 19. a4 Nc7 20. axbS NxbS 21. BgS f6 22. Be3 Nc7 23. Qbl Rxb3 24. Qxb3 fS 25. Ral (see dia­ gram)

Petrosian again went through a tourna­ ment undefeated. But he finished behind Korchnoi, who lost three times. Unlike Petro­ sian, who often lost enthusiasm in the final days of a tournament, Korchnoi kept piling up points, often with his opponent's help.

Alexey Sokolsky-Korchnoi 21st USSR Championship finals, Kiev,

1954 French Defense (C03)

I. e4 e6 2. d4 dS 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 g6? 5. c3 Bg7 6. Bd3 Nh6 7. 0-0 0-0 8. Rel f6 9. b4! a610. a4 Re8 11. Qb3 Ne712. Bb2 b6 13. c4 Nti 14. Re2! Qd7 15. Rael

After 25. Ral White occupies e4 favorably after 25. . . . fxe4 26. Nd2 BfS 27. Bg2 and Nxe4.

25. . . . f4 26. Bb6 Rb8! 27. Ra7 Na8! 28. Bh3! Nxb6 29. Bxd7 Kh8 Black avoids Be6 with check. Computers point out 29. . . . Kf8! has the added benefit that 30. QbS could be answered by 30 . . . . Nxd7 31. Qxd7 Bf6.

30. QbS fxg3 31. hxg3 Qf6! 32. Kg2 Rf8? A strange lapse, since 32. . . . Nxd7 33. Qxd7 Rf8 is harmless.

33. Bg4! Nc8 34. Ra8? Korchnoi did not defeat Petrosian until 1961. Here he misses a fine opportunity with 34. Rc7 Ne7 35. Qb6! or 34 . . . . hS 35. Rxc8 hxg4 36. Rxf8+ and Nh2.

The tournament book recommends wait­ ing with 15. . . . Bb7. But then 16. cxds exds 17. eS! enlarges White's edge. Korchnoi goes for counterplay.

15. . . . dxc416. Nxc4 gS?! 17. dS! es Black can lose quickly after 17. . . . exdS 18. exdS and 19. d6 cxd6 20. Nxd6 Qxd6 21. Bc4. Or 18 . . . . Nd6 19. Nxd6 cxd6 20. NxgS.

18. Ne3 bS 19. axbS axbS 20. Rc2 Bb7 21. Reel Recs 22. Res Nd6 The tournament book ticked off maneu­ vers that would improve White's already powerful position: He could shift his d3bishop to g4. Or a knight to cS and e6. Or a knight to b3 and aS. Almost anything seemed to bring victory closer. There are also tactics lurking below the surface, such as 23. Be2 with the idea of Bg4. The game could see 23. . . . hS 24. NxeS! fxeS 25. BxhS and Bg4. Lines like that suggested to White that he could win quickly, without maneuvers.

4. Culture War 23. BxbS! NxbS 24. d6+ Kh8 25. dxe7 Bxe4 (see diagram)

81

or he allows his opponent to attack, creating a few weaknesses, which he hopes to exploit later:' 2 Korchnoi had become the second type of player, the counter-puncher. But when his opponent handed him the initiative, he did not let go:

Korchnoi-Salo Flohr

21st USSR Championship finals, Kiev, 1954 English Opening (A34) After 25. ... Bxe4 The best move is hard to find when there are too many very good ones. One is 26. Nxe5! fxe5 27. Bxe5 with advantage (27. . . . Rg8 28. Qf7). Another strong idea is 26. Qc4!, in view of 26. . . . Nd6 27. Rxc7! Nxc4? 28. Rxd7 Bc6 29. Rd8+!.

26. Rdl Nd6 27. NxeS fxeS 28. RxeS Bg6! Of course not 28 . . . . Bxe5?? 29. Bxe5 mate. After the text, White would still have compensation with 29. Rel. But he had spent almost all his remaining minutes seeking the knockout since move 23.

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 cS 3. Nc3 dS 4. cxdS NxdS 5. g3 Nc6 6. Bg2 Nc7 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qe4!? e6 How did Black, once a world-class player, lose so badly? Annotators said 7. . . . Bd7 (rather than 7. . . . Qd7) and 8 . . . . e6 was to blame, and later theory recommended 8 . . . . g6!.

9. 0-0 Be7 IO. d4 cxd4 Il. Nxd4 0-012. Rdl Qc8 13. Be3 Ne8 14. Rael Nf6 15. Qf4 Bd8? 16. Nxc6 Bxc6 17. NbS Bb6 18. Nd6 Qb8 19. Bxb6 axb6 20. Bxc6 bxc6 21. Rxc6 Rxa2 22. Qd4 h6 23. Rdcl Ra8? (see dia­ gram)

29. Re6? Rg8 30. Ng4 Bf7! 31. Rdel Bxe6 32. Rxe6 Nc4 33. Bxg7+ Rxg7 White for­ feits This game helped burnish Korchnoi's rep­ utation for skilled defense. He explained his philosophy in terms that Emanuel Lasker would have approved: When players of roughly equal strength meet, natural moves will lead to balanced but often lifeless posi­ tions. (This was a drawback to playing "ac­ cording to position;' a la Capablanca-or Petrosian.) "The chess player who does not like draws (and I belong to this number) must some­ how destroy the basic 'equilibrium' of a chess position;' Korchnoi wrote. "Either he sacri­ fices, and thanks to this, seizes the initiative,

After 23. •.• Ras Black puts up more resistance with 23. . . . Qa8 24. Rxb6 Nd5.

24. Nc8! Kh7 25. Qd3+ g6 26. Nxb6 Ra7 27. Qd4 Kg7 28. Rd6! Re8 29. f4! Kh7 30. Rdl Black resigns

82

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

With three rounds to go, Yuri Averbakh led with 12½ points. Korchnoi had 12, fol­ lowed by Mark Taimanov and Petrosian at 10½. Korchnoi was the favorite of young fans. When he got a substantial, early edge in his game with Averbakh, "a group of spec­ tators began to chant 'Resign, Averbakh. Re­ sign! "'3 But Averbakh managed to draw in 55 moves and went on to clinch first prize. Korchnoi and Taimanov shared second place. Petrosian tied for fourth. But the youngest player in the tournament "won the general respect with his bold and multi-faceted play;' Alexander Konstan­ tinopolsky wrote in the tournament book. "The hero of the tournament was master Korchnoi:' 4 The result earned him his first foreign trip and-because he would be representing the USSR-the opportunity to buy presentable clothing at exclusive government stores. His invitation was to a tournament in Bucharest in February. Accompanying him were Rat­ mir Kholmov, Rashid Nezhmetdinov and Semyon Furman, who had shown they were worthy by finishing well in the 21st USSR Championship finals. Korchnoi was seriously into physical train­ ing by then. He said he normally worked out every morning with weights and even brought three-kilogram dumbbells to Bucharest. 5 Within a few years he had put on weight, more than 20 pounds, he said. He fought from move one in Bucharest and finished with a 13-4 score, securing first prize and the international master title. The tournament broadened Korchnoi's world view. "For the first time in my life I met peo­ ple from a different world, definitely non ­ Soviets;' he wrote. "It gave me something to think about:' 6 Despite his first prize, Korch­ noi was not yet in the league of Averbakh, Taimanov and Petrosian, who were selected for the more prestigious international team tour.

Showcas e Soviet chess had become world famous during 1945-6 thanks to crushing victories over American teams. When tensions hard­ ened into the Cold War, contact with for­ eigners all but disappeared. But after Stalin died in March 1953, the new Kremlin lead­ ership authorized an ambitious and expen­ sive propaganda campaign to demonstrate the superiority of socialism. "The USSR stood on three things, ballet, the circus and chess;' Mark Taimanov said. 7 These were the cultural weapons that would prove Marx and Lenin were right. Ballerinas, jugglers, clowns and grandmasters, as well as concert musi­ cians, movie actors and directors and others were enlisted in the 1954 culture war. The Soviet chess team members were sent to a training camp to be physically ready for combat. But for Petrosian this meant mara­ thon rounds of table tennis. Yefim Geller re­ called how he and Petrosian tried skiing at the camp. But "we aren't very good on skis:' When they were tricked onto a steep slope, Geller repeatedly fell down. Petrosian did not even try. Instead, he joked about his rep­ utation. "He threw away the sticks, sat down in the snow and, shouting 'Safety first: slid down the slope;' Geller said. 8 Petrosian had first gotten a taste of foreign team chess in November 1953 when he vis­ ited Vienna for a double-round match against the best Austrians. It was another case of overkill: The Soviets outrated their oppo­ nents by about 200 points on every board and won 17½-2½. The propaganda campaign truly began four months later. An eight-man team left Moscow's Vnukovo Airport on a typically circuitous Soviet trip, because of the lack of direct flights on Aeroflot, the state airline. They made brief stops in Prague, Paris, Madrid, Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo and Montevideo before reaching their destina­ tion, Buenos Aires. According Averbakh and

4. Culture War Taimanov, there was a large crowd of chess fans at the airport to cheer them-including members of Argentina's surprisingly large Armenian community. Chanting "Petrosian! Petrosian! " they picked him up and carried him aloft in their hands. 9 The Argentinians won silver medals in the 1950, 1952 and 1954 Olympiads. But Olym­ piad matches were conducted on four boards. An underlying premise of the 1954 Soviet team trip was that they must play on at least eight boards because that would assure vic­ tories. The USSR-Argentina matches were conducted on eight boards and they crushed the home team 20½-11½. Along with the chess matches, Soviet authorities arranged for showings of Russian-made movies and visits by other USSR cultural stars. They in­ cluded violinist David Oistrakh, pianist Ta­ tiana Nikolaevna and movie actors such as Sergei Bondarchuk and Sergei Stolyarov. Oistrakh and Bondarchuk later became good friends of Petrosian. The Soviet team visit had a diplomatic goal. Argentine president Juan Peron had been reviled in the Soviet press for years as a fascist. But his country had just signed a trade agreement with the USSR. The chess players were going to help solidify the ties, at least in a public relations way. Peron in­ vited the Soviet team to his office on March 18 and chatted with them for half an hour. Grandmaster Miguel Najdorf, who settled in Argentina during World War II, was a good friend of Peron. (He dedicated his book about the 1953 Candidates tournament to "El Presidente:') Najdorf got Peron to make the ceremonial first move of his first game with David Bronstein in the first round of the match. 10 Petrosian also performed propaganda duty. More than 1,500 Armenian-Argentinians turned out to hear him speak one night in Buenos Aires. He told his audience they had been duped into believing Soviet minorities, like the Armenians, could not speak their

83

own language. Speaking in Armenian, he said books in Armenian were published in the USSR. 11 Soviet-published chess books were rare in the 1950s. But the 1954 tour was regarded as so important that the vlasti authorized two books about it. One, written by Mark Taima­ nov, was a kind of chess travelogue, with games, photos and descriptions of their des­ tinations. It described Petrosian as "impetu­ ous, excitable" and Geller as "more re­ strained:' Neither Taimanov, nor Igor Bondarevsky in a second book, mentioned the next stop on the tour: a brief visit to Montevideo for a two-round match with a vastly outgunned Uruguay national team. The players' tables were arranged on the hardwood of a basket­ ball court at a sports club, while spectators sat in stands. This was of little interest to the wider chess public but was diplomatically useful to the Kremlin. Uruguay had been the first South American country to recognize the Soviet Union, in 1926, seven years before the United States. The Soviets allowed one draw in 20 games, and this was a typical mis­ match:

Petrosian-Hector Korali

USSR-Uruguay match, Montevideo, 1954 Queen's Gambit Declined (D35) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 dS 4. cxdS exdS 5. BgS Nbd7 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3 0-0 8. Nge2 Re8 9. Qc2 c6 10. h3 Ne4 11. Bf4 Ndf6 12. f3? Nxc313. bxc3 Thanks to White's slip Black has two good ways to seek an edge. The safe way is 13. . . . c5!. More adventurous is 13. . . . Nh5!?, so that 14. Bxh7+ KhS 15. Bd3 Nxf4 or 15. Be5 Bd6.

13. . . . Bd6? 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. e4 Black is a bit worse and soon much worse. 15. . . . NhS? 16. es Qh6 17. Qd2! (see dia­ gram)

84

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi silver medals, Korchnoi might have been blamed because of the following game.

Nikolai Minev-Korchnoi World Student Olympiad, Oslo, 1954 Sicilian Defense (B22) I. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. d4 cxd4 5. cxd4 Nc6 6. Nf3 e6 7. Nc3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 d6 9. exd6 Bxd6 10. Bd3 Be7 After 17. Qd2 The endgame favors White big time be­ cause of the impending g2-g4. There was no reason to take risks with 17. g4 Nf4 18. Bxh7+ Kf8 19. Bf5 Ng2+.

17. . . . Qxd2+18. Kxd2 g619. g4! Ng7 20. h4 Also good is the immediate push of the f­ pawn to fS. Now 20. . . . h5 would not slow White in view of 21. Ragl and 22. Nf4.

20. . . . h6 21. Rafi Bd7 22. Rhgl b5? 23. f4 a5 24. f5 gxf5 25. gxf5 Kh8 26. e6! fxe6 27. f6 Nf5 28. Bxf5 exf5 29. Rg7 Black re­ signs Resignation is j ustified by 29. . . . Be6 30. Nf4. After Uruguay, the Soviet delegation flew to Paris for another double-round match. The French national team had a pre-war fla­ vor-pre-World War I, that is. On the top two boards, 71-year-old Ossip Bernstein and 67-year-old Savielly Tartakower lost twice to Bronstein and Paul Keres. Petrosian easily scored 2-0 against Ridha Belkadi as the So­ viets rolled to a 15-1 romp. That match ended April 19, the same day as the World Student Team Championship in Oslo. This was the first time the Soviets took part in the "little Olympiad" and they finished a disappointing second, a point be­ hind Czechoslovakia. Korchnoi's 64 percent score was the worst on his team, whose mem­ bers he described as "very weak:' 12 Had Bulgaria nosed the USSR out of the

The most popular move is 10. . . . h6, al­ though 10. . . . 0-0 is playable. Then 11. Bxh7+ Kxh7 12. NgS+ Kg6 13. h4 Kf6 runs out of steam.

11. 0-0 0-0 12. Qe2 Bf613. Rel Qd5?14. Bf4 Rd8 15. Radl Bd7 More usual is . . . g6 at some point to rule out threats to h7. For example, White could have embarrassed the queen with 16. Be5! Bxe5 17. dxe5 and the threat of 18. Bxh7+ and 19. Rxds. His attack would be strong after 17. . . . Qa5 18. Qe4 g6 19. Qh4 and 20. NgS or 20. Qh6/ 21. Ng5.

16. Ne5 Be8 17. Qh5 Now 17. . . . h6 is safe. The right way to at­ tack was 17. Ng4! Be7 18. Bbl and Qc2.

17. . . . g6? 18. Ng4! Surprise: 18 . . . . gxh5 or 18 . . . . Qxh5 are bad after 19. Nxf6+.

18. . . . Be719. Qh6 Qh5 (see diagram)

After 19. •.• Qh5

4. Culture War The hS-pawn will be chronically weak but Korchnoi could see problems with 19. . . . Qxa2? 20. Re3! and Rh3. Or with 19. . . . f5 20. NeS Bf8 21. Qh4 Be7 22. Qg3! Qxa2 23. BxfS!.

20. Qxh5 gxh5 21. Ne5 Rac8 22. Nxc6? Bxc6 23. Re5 Ba4? 24. Rel Ba3 25. Rbl Rxc3 26. Re3 Rdc8?? After the game, Black's 23rd was called the losing move (23. . . . RdS!). But he still would have good chances of survival after 26. . . . Kf8! (27. Rxb7 Rd7).

27. Rg3+ Kf8 28. Rxb7 Rel+ 29. Bfl! Black resigns There was no answer to 30. Bh6+. The Oslo setback was a message to the Sports Committee. They needed to send a much stronger team to the next student Olym piad.

Manhattan The biggest prize the Soviets sought in 1954 was victory over the Americans in New York. Chess was so poorly funded in the United States that it did not enter a team in the 1954 Olympiad in Amsterdam. The So­ viets scored propaganda points by noting that Colombia, Ireland and even "the Saar­ land" managed to send teams to Amsterdam but the Americans could not. "This fact elo­ quently testifies to the difficult position of chess organization in the USA:' wrote Mik­ hail Udovich. 13 A Scandinavian Airlines flight arrived in New York with a large Soviet delegation that included nonplaying captain Igor Bondarev­ sky, translator Lev Zaitsev, and Dmitry Pos­ tinikov, "a sort of chaperoning political commissar:' the New York Times said. The Times added that they were accompanied by Vladi­ mir Ridin and Pavel Smyrnov whose posi­ tion "was not clear:' This was a hint that they might be agents of the newly formed Com-

85

mittee for State Security, known by its Rus­ sian initials, KGB. Taimanov's travelogue book gave Soviet readers a taste of the citadel of capitalism. The team was escorted on tours of the Em­ pire State Building, Wall Street, fashionable Fifth Avenue shops, the Broadway theater district, an Automat fast-food restaurant and even former heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey's restaurant. Officially, they were unimpressed. "Your Broadway is like a theater mask, made for show:' one of the del­ egation members told their host, George Koltanowski. 14 The youngest members of the delega­ tion-Geller, Petrosian, Averbakh and Lev Zaitsev-explored Manhattan on their own. They tried fresh orange juice from a Broad­ way street vendor and marveled at the brightly lit neon signs. "Tigran, with envy, watched as we tested American ice cream:' Zaitsev re­ called. "He was afraid of tasting this product because of problems with his throat and ear:' 15 When they passed a toy shop, Petrosian grabbed Zaitsev at the elbow and pulled him inside. "There we bought four water pistols and, having returned to [the Soviet diplo­ matic compound at Glen Cove] , began a mad running about, sort of like cowboys, shooting water streams at one another:' Za­ itsev recalled. Petrosian stumbled into the delegation head, the stern Postnikov, "and by inertia, spilled water on him:' That evening they all expected a dressing down but Aver­ bakh, as the eldest, bore the brunt. 16 Overkill meant the team members were expected not only to win the overall match but to win each of the four rounds. When play began June 16, Geller and Taimanov quickly registered wins over Al Horowitz and Larry Evans. Since a rout was on, that allowed seventh board Petrosian to draw with Arthur Bisguier, the new U.S. champion, in 35 moves. The next day a large group of friends and well-wishers celebrated Petrosian's 25th birth-

86

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Left to right: Yefim Geller, Petrosian, translator Lev Zaitsev and Yuri Averbakh explore midtown Manhattan on their own during the 1954 USSR-U.S. match in New York. This photo was featured in a book, Zarubezhnyie Vstrechi, about the Soviet chess efforts abroad in 1954-5.

day at the Roosevelt Hotel, where the Soviets were staying. Petrosian loved watermelons and he was delighted when he was presented with one the size of "a torpedo:' 17 In the second round, he again drew after it became apparent that the Soviets would win that match as well. Before the third round on June 23, he and Vasily Smyslov were the only Soviets held winless. That changed with:

Petrosian-Arthur Bisguier USSR-U.S. match, New York, 1954

But even Philidor liked to castle. Black's king is not well placed on f8-and some computers recommend 19. . . . Ke8 on the next move.

19. Rdl Qd7 20. b5 Bb7 21. e5! Ne8 Not 21. . . . dxeS? 22. fxeS because the e2knight would head strongly to f4.

22. d4! Bxg2 23. Nxg2! Rc8 24. Nh4 Rh6 25. Nf3 d5? (see diagram)

English Opening (A36)

1. c4 c5 2. g3 Nc6 3. Bg2 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. d3 d6 6. Rbl h5 7. h3 Bd7 8. e3 Qc8 9. Nge2 Nh6 10. a3 Ne5 11. f4 Bc6?! 12. e4! Nd7 13. Nd5 e6 14. Ne3 f5 This game was described as "very Phili­ dorian" because the players attacked on the wings, kept their pieces behind their pawns and made no pawn trades until move 26.

15. Qc2 b616. b4 Nf717. Rgl!? Nf618. Bb2 Kf8

After 25. ... d5 Most of White's tactics are based on the

4. Culture War location of Black's queen (23. . . . cxd4 24. Nxd4 dxe5? 25. Ndxf5) so 25. . . . Qe7 made sense, rather than opening the center.

26. dxc5 Rxc5 27. a4! Kg8 28. Ba3 Rc8 29. Qa2! Nc7 30. Nc3 g5 31. h4!? g4 32. Nd4 Bxe5 Desperation. After 32. . . . Ne8, for exam­ ple, White could win with 33. NxfS! exf5 34. Nxd5 and Ne7+. But Petrosian would most likely prefer 33. Nde2! .

33. fxe5 Nxe5 34. cxd5 Nxd5 35. Nxd5 exd5 36. Rg2! Rc4 37. Re2 Rxd4 38. Rxe5 Re6 39. Rxd4 Rxe5+ 40. Kf2 Kh7 41. Qd2 Qe6 42. Bb2 Qh6 43. Qxh6+ Kxh6 44. Rf4 Re4 45. Rxe4 dxe4 46. Be5 Black resigns Within three years, fans would hail Mik­ hail Tal for his disregard of traditional chess thinking. But games like this convinced col­ leagues that Petrosian, too, was original. Sve­ tozar Gligoric said he was "staggered" by how Petrosian, "contrary to all the 'rules: through­ out the game . . . left his king in the center (which would never even have occurred to me) and unhurriedly seized space, until his opponent resigned:' 18 The Soviets won the overall match 20-12, about the same as their 12½-7½ margin in the last match with the Americans, in 1946. Before leaving New York, the teams were feted at a banquet at the Soviet UN consulate, where singer Paul Robeson, a hero to Petro­ sian, was the celebrity guest. "Everyone begged him to sing. But he apologized and said he had come without his accompanist:' Taimanov wrote. Well, Robeson was told, we do have a piano player here-meaning Taimanov. "So we played three or four American songs to­ gether:' Taimanov wrote, "and he presented me with a fine picture of him and a dedica­ tion in two languages. First in English, many thanks, and then unexpectedly in Russian, vsyevo khoroshovo, all the best:' 19 The U.S. organizers held their own reception for the

87

teams at the Roosevelt Hotel, and this time Smyslov, a one-time Bolshoi hopeful, sang as Taimanov played. The two teams agreed to hold a rematch in 1955.

B ack to Europ e The tour continued to London, where a USSR-Great Britain match in 1946 had ended 15-5. The Soviet team took time to play tour­ ist. On a VIP sightseeing trip to Parliament, Taimanov had "a short conversation with Winston Churchill. In particular I was inter­ ested in which brand of cigar the eminent politician smoked. 'Of course, a Havana Romeo and Juliet: he replied:' 20 The first round was a 0-10 British disaster. The second, two days later, was barely better, with three draws. Petrosian scored 2-0 against Philip Milner-Barry on sixth board. The tour wound up in Stockholm with another pair of eight-board matches. The Swedish na­ tional team was led by pre-war veterans Gideon Stahlberg and Gosta Stoltz. The So­ viets won 6-2 and 7-1.

Royal Goode-Petrosian

USSR-Sweden match, Stockholm, 1954 King's Indian Defense (E70) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 0-0 5. g3 c5 6. d5 d6 7. Bg2 e6 8. Nge2 exd5 9. exd5 The combination of 4. e4 and 5. g3 was briefly popular in the 1950s. It lost favor be­ cause White does not have any obvious play, while Black prepares . . . b5.

9. . . . Na6 10. 0-0 Nc7 11. h3 Rb8 12. a4 b6 13. Be3 a6 14. Ra2 This protects the b2-pawn and anticipate 14 . . . . b5 15. axb5 axb5 16. cxb5 Nxb5 17. Nxb5 Rxb5 although Black stands well after 18. Nc3 Rb4.

14. . . . Re8 15. Qd2 h5 16. Bg5 Qe7 17. Raal QfS!?

88

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Most King's Indian players would have thought of posting the queen on d7, such as 16. . . . Bf5 and 17. . . . Qd7. Petrosian's move quickly pays off.

18. Nf4? Nh7! 19. Nfe2 Nxg5 20. Qxg5 Bf5 21. Qd2 Bh6 22. f4 Re7! The e-file and e3-square in particular are White's weaknesses. Black could have played . . . b5 at almost any point since move 14. But Petrosian apparently wanted to extract as much as possible out of the kingside and center first.

23. Rfel Rbe8 24. Kh2 Qg7 Not only eyeing . . . gs but also, for exam­ ple, 25. b3 Qh8 !? 26. Rael Bg7 and a decisive . . . Re3.

25. h4 Re3 26. Radl Qf6 27. Rfl Bg4! (see diagram)

After 27• ... Bg4 Petrosian could have won a pawn with 27. . . . Bd3 but preferred to make the pin on the e-file unbearable. 28. Rdel Qe7 29. Rf2 Bg7 30. Bfl Bxc3! 31. bxc3 b5! One piece, the knight, was missing in ac­ tion. Now 32. axb5 axb5 33. cxb5 Nxb5 threatens 34 . . . . Nxc3 and would win after 34. c4 Nd4. 32. cxb5 axb5 33. a5 Na6 34. Qa2 c4! 35. Qb2 Nc5 36. Qxb5 Nd3 37. Ral Bxe2 38. a6 Nxf2 39. a7 Ng4+

Black could have announced mate in nine.

40. Khl Rxg3! 41. Qxe8+ Qxe8 42. a8(Q) Bf3+ White resigns An obvious conclusion from the tour was that foreign countries were relying on an older generation and had not nurtured a younger one. That meant Soviet supremacy in chess was virtually guaranteed for the next decade. Petrosian was one reason to be cer­ tain of that. In six matches abroad since going to Vienna the previous October, he scored ten wins, six draws and no losses. But when a Soviet team was sent to the Olympiad, beginning September 4 in Am­ sterdam, he was not included. The Soviet lineup was Mikhail Botvinnik, Vasily Smy­ slov, Bronstein, Keres, Geller and Alexander Kotov. Petrosian did play that month for Spartak in a championship of Soviet sports societies, in Riga. This was the first time that he, Mik­ hail Tai and Viktor Korchnoi played in the same event. Petrosian had the best score, 73, a point and a half point better than Korch­ noi. Tai finished 4-6 but impressed many of the participants by defending difficult mid­ dlegames and losable endings. Petrosian drew with him in 27 moves. When he returned home he told his wife, "You know, Rona, in Riga I played a lad who, if l'm not going mad, will one day be world champion:' 2 1 Tal's only win, in the first round, had far­ reaching effect. Or so he claimed.

Tai-Yuri Averbakh Soviet Team Championship, Riga,

1954 Belgrade Gambit (C47) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. d4 exd4 5. Nd5 Nb4!? Tai had tried this gambit earlier in the summer in a match with Byelorussian cham­ pion Vladimir Saigin to see which of them would get the master title. He got the better of 5. . . . Be7 6. Nxd4 Nxd5 7. exd5 Nxd4

4. Culture War 8. Qxd4 0-0 9. Be2 Bf6 10. Qd3 when Black allowed 10. . . . Re8 11. d6!.

6. Nxd4? Nxe4! 7. Nf5 Gambiteers tried to revive this line with 7. Nb5 Nxd5 8. Qxd5 and 8 . . . . Nc5 9. Be3. But 8 . . . . Qe7 is a sterner test (9. Be3? c6!).

7. . . . c6! 8. Nxb4 Not 8. Nxg7+? Bxg7 9. Nxb4 Qe7 and Black wins.

8. . . . Bxb4+ 9. c3 Qf6! This is a better way to stifle a young at­ tacker's imagination than 9 . . . . Bes and 10. Qg4 dS 11. Qxg7 Bxf2+ 12. Ke2 (12. Kdl Qf6). After 9 . . . . Qf6 the objectively best but unpleasant play is 10. cxb4 QxfS.

10. Qf3!? Nxc3 11. a3 Ba5? Averbakh had taken two hours for his first ten moves to reject attractive options like 9. . . . Bes and 10. . . . dS. Time pressure ex­ plains why he missed 11. . . . Qe5+!. He would have two safe extra pawns after 12. Be3 Bas. Or 12. Kd2 Ne4+ 13. Kc2 Bf8! and . . . ds.

12. Bd2! d5 Now 12. . . . Qe5+ 13. Qe3 costs a piece (13. . . . Ne4 14. Nd6+!).

13. Ng3 Qe6+ 14. Qe3 d4! 15. Qxe6+ Bxe6 16. f3!? (see diagram)

89

Boldly playing to win the pinned knight under better circumstances than 16. bxc3 dxc3.

16. . . . 0-0-0 17. Kf2 Bb6 18. bxc3 dxc3+ Black would get more compensation for the knight with 18 . . . . Rhe8!, which was bet­ ter a move before. Now the extra bishop counts more than the Black pawns.

19. Be3 Bxe3+ 20. Kxe3 Rhe8 21. Ne4! Bd5 22. g4! Bxe4? 23. fxe4 Rd5 24. Rel! g6 25. Bg2 f5 26. gxf5 gxf5 27. Rhfl fxe4 28. Rxc3 Rh5 29. Rhl Rh4 30. Rc4 Kc7 31. Rxe4 Rexe4+ 32. Bxe4 Rh3+ 33. Bf3 c5 34. Rgl b5 If neither player had been short of time, 35. Rg2 c4 36. Rf2 as or 35. Rg5 Rxh2 36. RxcS+ Kb6 might have quickly led to a draw.

35. Rg7+ Kb6 36. Rb7+ Ka6 37. Rb8? Rxh2 38. Be2 Rh3+ 39. Ke4 c4 40. a4 As Black played 40 . . . . Rh4+ his flag fell. At first it appeared 41. KdS! bxa4 42. Bxc4+ KaS 43. RbS+ Ka6 was winning for White. But there is no significant discovered check. Instead, perpetual check would have ended the game. This was Tal's first win against a grand­ master. He said he "received notification" after it that he had been awarded the master title and this "had a bad effect on me:' 22 He lost three of his four remaining games. He added that Averbakh, chairman of the Soviet title qualification commission, approved Tal's new title only after he lost to him. "This is pure fiction;' Averbakh said many years later. 23 It is true that there were doubters who believed Tal was more swindler than player. Alexey Suetin, for example, said he had been "skeptical" about Tal's ability. 24 But when Suetin asked Saigin about the match, he said: "They are saying I was negligent, but I am sure Tal will be beating grandmasters in two or three years:' 25

90

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Averbakh studied the Tal-Saigin games to see if he was worthy of the title. Most of the games have vanished. But Averbakh saw tal­ ent, not swindles. "The first person I made a master was the young Tal:' 26 To refute Tal's account he posted a photo from a bulletin of the Riga tournament. It shows the two play­ ers. Their name cards read "Grandmaster Averbakh'' and "Master Tai:'

L et's Khuliganit! What is remarkable is that Tal's most memorable game from the tournament went almost unmentioned at the time:

Tai-Lev Aronin

Soviet Team Championship, Riga, 1954 Caro-Kann Defense (BIO) 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nf6 5. Nxf6+ gxf6 6. Bc4 Qc7 7. 0-0 Bg4 8. d4 e6 9. Rel Nd7 10. h3 Bh5 11. Bxe6!! fxe6 12. Rxe6+ Now 12. . . . Kd8 13. NgS! works in view of 13. . . . Bxdl? 14. Nf7+ Kc8 15. Re8+ and wins. Also 13. . . . fxg5? 14. BxgS+ or 14. Qxh5. More testing is 13. . . . Bg6! 14. Rxf6! (threat: Ne6+) Kc8 15. Bf4 Qb6. When Tai analyzed this kind of position with a friend he would use a favorite Russian verb, khu liganit. It can be translated as "to horse around" and comes from the English word "hooligan:' Tal's son Georgy remembered how his fa­ ther would analyze with Alexander Koblents. He often launched into some fantasy varia­ tion with wild sacrifices, saying "Let's khu li­ ganit!" 27 Here 16. Rf7! fills the bill by threatening 17. Rxd7!. It leads to variations such as 16. . . . Bxf7 17. Nxf7 Rg8? 18. Qe2! Bb4 19. c3, when White's attack is murderous. Or to the less clear 16. . . . Qd8 17. dS Bxf7 18. dxc6 bxc6 19. Nxf7 Qf6 20. Qf3.

12. . . . Kti White has at least a draw after this and the question is whether 12. . . . Be7 and 13. Qe2 Nf8 14. Rxf6 0-0-0 or 13. Qel Nf8 (14. Rxf6 Bxf3) is better.

13. Ng5+! fxg5 14. Qxh5+ Kxe6 15. Bxg5 Tal's young Latvian fans, who called him "Mikh;' expected a quick mate after this. So, apparently did Tai. "Unable to contain his emotion, Mikh winked at us, sprang out of his chair, and whizzed around between the boards;' wrote Valentin Kirillov, who later became a Tai second. 28 15. . . . Ne5! On 15. . . . Bg7 16. Rel+ Bes 17. dxe5 the threat of Qg4+ is strong. White's sacrifices are also justified after 16. . . . Ne5 17. dxeS, e.g., 17. . . . Qf7 18. Qg4+ QfS 19. Qb4! .

16. Rel Qg7! (see diagram)

After 16. ... Qg7 17. Qg4+? White had a perpetual after 17. RxeS+ Kd7 18. Qg4+ Kc7 19. Qg3! Kd7 20. Qg4+. But there is better in 20. Qb3! in view of Qxb7+ or Qe6+. For example, 20. . . . bS 21. Qe6+ Kc7 22. Bf4! Kb6 23. c4 dxc4 24. a4! and wins. But let's khu liganit further and look at 17. dxe5. There is a wonderful continuation in 17. . . . Rg8 18. Qg4+ Kf7 19. Qd7+ Kg6.

4. Culture War Then comes 20. Qe6+ ! Kxg5 21. Re4 Qg6 22. Rg4+ Kh6 23. Qxg8! Qxg8 24. Rxg8 and the Black bishop will be no match for the passed kingside pawns. Or consider 21. . . . Kh5, instead of 21. . . . Qg6. Then 22. Qf5+ Qg5 23. Qxh7+ Bh6 24. Qf7+ ! and 25. Qf3+ with mate to follow. Had one of these finishes occurred it would have made Tal famous. And it would have happened three years before the rest of the world knew his name.

17. . . . Kd6! 18. dxe5+? For decades afterwards, White's 17th move was the losing move. However, 18. Rxe5! would have held a draw in lines such as 18 . . . . Qg6 19. Re3. Or it could transpose into the 17. Rxe5+ Kc7 18. Qg3 note after 18 . . . . Kc7 19. Qg3!. Of course, Tal did not see this when he started sacrificing. The orthodox approach to calculation was to mentally map out a "tree of variations" and examine each branch. But in a complex position this is not only dif­ ficult, it is impossible, Tal said. If he had at­ tempted to do it, he would have given up on 11. Bxe6! ! very quickly.

18. . . . Kc7 19. e6 Rg8! White is a rook down and only a few re­ maining tricks.

20. Bf4+ Bd6 21. Bxd6+ Kxd6 22. Rdl+ Kc7 23. Qf4+ Kc8 24. g4 Rd8 25. Rel Qc7 26. Qf5 Qe7 27. c4 b6 28. f4 Kb7 29. Qe5 Rd3 30. Qh5 Rd2 31. Re3 Rad8 32. Qf7 Qxf7 33. exf7 Rxb2! 34. Re7+ Ka6 35. Kfl Rf8 36. g5 Rxa2 37. h4 Rh2 38. f5 Rxh4 39. g6 hxg6 40. fxg6 Rg4 41. Re8 Rxf7+ White re­ signs ( 42. gxf7 Rf4+) Six years later, British chess columnist Leonard Barden interviewed Tal. He won­ dered about reports of his phenomenal mem­ ory and tested it by asking about this game. "Tal responded by repeating the pre-game banter between the players, the course of the

91

game itself, and a further conversation with Aronin at the postmortem:' Barden said. 29

Bridge Building During the 1950s and 1960s the standard procedure for holding an international tour­ nament began with a letter from the tourna­ ment organizer to foreign chess federations. The organizer might request a specific player but it was up to the federations to choose who to send. When Yugoslav organizers planned an international in Belgrade, they asked for the strongest available Soviet play­ ers. The Soviets agreed to provide David Bronstein and Petrosian. Officially, the tournament was held to cel­ ebrate the tenth anniversary of the liberation of the city from the Nazis. Unofficially, it was another diplomatic bridge-building mission. It would help the Yugoslavs forget the bitter Stalin-Tito feud. (According to Averbakh, the Soviets would have entered their first FIDE Olympiad in 1950 but declined because it was held in a Yugoslav city, Dubrovnik.)3° Belgrade 1954 broke the ice. It "was like the American ping pong team that went to China' ' in 1971, Bronstein said. The Soviet ambassador to Yugoslavia kept in regular touch with him to make sure he won the tournament, he said. Politically it was a suc­ cess, Bronstein said: ''.After this tournament [Soviet leader Nikita] Khrushchev went to see Tito:' 31 Petrosian started impressively, scoring 4½-½. He stood 6½-1½ after this methodical win.

Petrosian-Borislav Milic

Belgrade, 1954 King's Indian Defense (E87)

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 e5 7. d5 Nh5 8. Qd2 f5 9. 0-0-0 f4 10. Bf2 Bf6 11. Nge2 Bh4 12. Bgl! Petrosian begins a lesson in Capablanca-

92

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

like positional play. Step one: Do not allow your opponent to trade his bad bishop.

26. . . . a4 27. Ka2 RbbS 28. Rbl Ra6 29. Rhdl RbaS 30. Rd3 Kg7 31. b4

12. . . . b613. Kbl a514. Ncl Na615. Bd3 Bd7 16. Rfl!? Qe7 17. Bc2 Nc5 18. Bxc5! bxc5 19. Ba4!

Step four: Create a passed pawn. White would win the a4-pawn after 31. . . . cxb4 32. Rxb4 followed by Rdl-bl, Nc3 and R4b7.

Step two: Trade off your own bad bishop. Note how 16. Rfl prevents Black from later activating his bishop with . . . Bf2-d4.

31. . . . axb3+ 32. Rdxb3 Ra4 33. Qe2 h5 34. Nc3 R4a5 35. Kb2 QcS 36. Ral Qa6 37. Kc2 BdS 38. Kd3

19 . . . . Bxa4 20. Nxa4 RfbS 21. a3 Nf6 22. Ne2 Nd7 23. Qc2 Nb6 24. Nxb6 Rxb6 25. Nc3 Qd7 26. Nb5 (see diagram)

Step five: Secure your king in an area of the board that can not be opened.

38 . . . . QcS 39. Qb2 R5a6 40. Rbl Rb6 41. Rb5 Qd7 42. a4 Qe7 43. Ral RabS 44. a5 And sixth, push the passed pawn. Some computers regard White's advantage as min­ imal until now.

44 . . . . Rxb5 45. Nxb5 Kh6 46. a6 Qh4 47. a7 RaS 48. Nc3 c6 49. QbS cxd5 50. QxaS d4 and White resigns After 26. Nb5 Step three: Use your knight to render enemy rooks useless. Black's next move allows White to create a passed pawn. But suppose he had passed with, for example, 26. . . . Rbb8? Then White could begin kingside opera­ tions with 27. g3. For instance, 27. . . . fxg3 28. Qg2 gxh2 29. Rxh2 Bf6 30. Rfhl and the queen and knight will outpower the rooks and bishop after 31. Rxh7! Qxh7 32. Rxh7.

In the next round Borislav lvkov, who had won the World Junior Championship in 1951, outplayed Petrosian in an endgame. Petro­ sian scored 5-6 in the last part of the tour­ nament and limped into a tie with lvkov for fourth place. Nevertheless, Petrosian was im­ proving. He had begun to surpass his friend Geller. What he could not change was his nature. His son Vartan later recalled how his father was asked why he didn't play the King's Gam­ bit. "Then I would have to feed my children through another profession;' he replied.32

5. Spassky, Spassky, Spassky! . . . Na5 and . . . Ba6 to win the c4-pawn, while castling queenside.

Mikhail Botvinnik believed a player's form­ ative years ended by age 17. After that one could improve his skills but not significantly change his basic instincts and strengths. Bot­ vinnik was such a dominating authority in 1950s Soviet chess, that his word was gospel. ''A chess player is formed in the years 10 to 17 :• Boris Spassky said. 1 Turning 18 as 1955 began, he was about to test this theory. By then he had quietly become one of the 15 highest-rated players in the world. Yet among Soviet players under age 30, he lagged behind Tigran Petrosian, Mark Taimanov, Vik.tor Korchnoi and Yefim Geller. The first hint that this pecking order would be shuffled came in the national championship in Feb­ ruary when Spassky knocked off the tourna­ ment's early leader:

10. e4 Ba6 11. BgS 0-0-0 12. Ng3! Later in the tournament Geller was praised for finding another use for this knight12. Ncl and 13. Nb3, to discourage . . . Na5. But 12. Ng3 prepares to fight on either wing. He was willing to sacrifice a pawn to open lines, 12. . . . cxd4 13. cxd4 Nxd4 14. a4 Nc6 15. Nh5.

12. . . . h6! 13. Bxf6 gxf6 14. NhS?! "Consistent but mistaken:' said the tour­ nament book. 2 It recommended 14. a4 and computers agree, pointing out that 14 . . . . cxd4 15. a5! Nxa5 16. cxd4 favors White.

14. . . . cxd415. cxd4 Nxd416. Nxf6 Qe7 If Geller had realized how quickly his kingside can collapse he would have played 17. Nd5! exd5 18. cxd5. For example, 18 . . . . Bxd3 19. Qxd3 Qf6 20. Rfdl. Or 18 . . . . b5 19. a4 (19. . . . Rdg8 20. axb5 Bxb5 21. Bxb5 Nxb5 22. Qa4). Black's best answer to 17. Nd5! may even be 17. . . . Qd7! and a draw by repetition after 18. Nf6 Qe7 19. Nd5! .

Yefim Geller-Spassky

22nd USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1955 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E26)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 cs 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 d6 8. Ne2 b6 9. 0-0 Qd7 Spassky was not a natural fit for the Nimzo­ Indian Defense and often seem confused when figuring out what to do with the Black pawns. But 4. a3 forced him into a late open­ ing with well-defined plans. Here he intended

17. Qa4? Bb7 Now 18. Ng4 fS! 19. exfS Rhg8 20. f3 exfS or 20. h3 exfS would reveal that White's king is the vulnerable one.

93

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

94

18. Nh5 Rhg8 19. Qdl (see diagram)

After 19. Qdl Geller admits 17. Qa4 was a failure (19. Qxa7? Rxg2+ 20. Kxg2 Bxe4+ and . . . Qxa7).

19. . . . f5! 20. Rel Qh4 Now 21. Ng3 f4 22. Nfl. Rdf8! makes 23. . . . Qg5 24. g3 Nf3+! a winning threat (25. Qxf3 fxg3).

21. f4 e5! How many youngsters playing in the strongest tournament of their life would resist the temptation to cash in with 21. . . . Qxel 22. Qxel Nf3+? Spassky's point is that 22. . . . exf4 will win faster. If 22. fxe5 dxe5, White is lost in view of 23. . . . fxe4 or even 23. . . . Rxg2+ 24. Kxg2 fxe4.

22. Rel exf4 23. Bfl Qxel 24. Qxel Nf3+ 25. Kf2 Nxel 26. Rxel f3 27. gxf3 fxe4 28. fxe4 Rdf8+ 29. Ke3 Bxe4! 30. Bh3+ Bf5 31. Bxf5+ Rxf5 White resigns Petrosian played his usual safety-chess and remained out of the tournament spotlight until he won an anthologized game against Taimanov in the 12th round. Korchnoi, in miserable form, did not win a game until the 13th round and finished in next-to-last place. What had happened to the surging Korch­ noi of 1952-54? David Bronstein had watched his play since noticing him in a visit to the

Leningrad Pioneer Palace in 1948. Bronstein remembered the "unbelievable burning of his chess fire" and his outspoken nature­ that is, Korchnoi's "willingness to share his chess and nonchess thoughts:' But now in 1955, Bronstein said, Korchnoi was troubled by "symptoms of underrating his opponents and of a desire to win any position" without an objective evaluation of his chances. 3 Korchnoi offered a more candid explana­ tion in the first version of Chess Is My Life. He was "accused of being conceited, of not keeping to a regular routine, and of being drunk:' And, he conceded, "These latter ac­ cusations were not altogether unjustified. . . :' 4 His ingenuity was wasted in this tourna­ ment in game likes:

Spassky-Korchnoi 22nd USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1955 Grunfeld Defense (D87)

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 0-0 8. Ne2 c5 9. 0-0 Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 ll. f3 Na5! This idea was apparently born in the open­ ing laboratory that was Isaac Boleslavsky's mind. Black tries to drive the c4-bishop away so he can retreat . . . Be6. White has several options, including 12. Bd3, 12. Bb5 and 12. Bd5, but none have assured a real advan­ tage.

12. Bxf7+!? Rxf713. fxg4 Rxfl+ 14. Kxfl! The move 12. Bxf7+ was forgotten for 32 years until Anatoly Karpov used it in his 1987 world championship challenge to Garry Kas­ parov. White's 14th move is even older. Spassky was improving on a 1947 game in which an exchange of pawns on d4 had been inserted. In that game Black won back his pawn after 15. Qxfl. Nc4 16. Qf3 Qb6 17. Bf2 Qb2. But after 14. Kxfl.! cxd4 15. cxd4 Nc4 White is favored by 16. Qb3!.

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky!

95

14. . . . cxd415. cxd4 Qd716. h3 Qe617. Qd3 Qc418. Qd2 Qa6! 19. Qc2 Nc4 20. Qb3 Kh8 Spassky is forcing Korchnoi out of his adopted style. A pawn down, he can not wait to deliver a counterpunch. Instead, he sets traps such as 21. Bf4? Rf8 22. Kgl Rxf4. Per­ haps better was 20. . . . e6 21. Kgl Nxe3 22. Qxe3 Rf8 and . . . Qb6.

21. Kgl! Nd2? 22. Bxd2 Qxe2 23. Be3 To see how difficult the position is for both sides, consider 23. Qe3 Qc4. There are more traps (24. Bc3 Rc8 25. Bb2 Qb4 26. Qf2? Rf8 and wins). But 24. eS! is a move that has been in the air for some time. The tournament book gave 24 . . . . Bh6 25. Qc3 Qxc3 26. Bxc3 Be3+ 27. Khl Rc8 or 25. gs BxgS as good for Black. However, in the last line, 26. QxgS! Qxd4+ 27. Kh2 Qxal 28. Qxe7 wins for White be­ cause of 29. Bh6 (28 . . . . Qfl 29. Bh6 Rg8 30. Qf6+!).

den. On the eve of the final round, the only one assured of advancing was Geller. Spassky was a half point ahead of Petrosian, Taima­ nov and Georgy Ilivitsky. Spassky was paired with a veteran master, Georgy Lisitsyn, and soon landed in trouble. But Lisitsyn missed a winning 28th move and could not convert his extra pawn. A handshake on the 52d move guaranteed Spassky a spot in the Interzonal.

23. . . . Rf8 24. e5 b5 25. Rel a5 26. Bg5? h6?

Going West

Both players missed 26. . . . Qf2+ 27. Khl Qxd4 28. Bxe7? BxeS (29. Bxf8 Qf4! with advantage).The final stage of the game, marred by time pressure, is redeemed by the final move.

27. Bxe7 a4 28. Qdl Qe3+ 29. Khl Rf2 30. Qgl! Qf4 Not 30. . . . Qxd4 31. Bes. White is prepar­ ing to push his center pawns.

31. a3 Kh7 32. Bc5 h5!? 33. gxh5 Bh6! 34. hxg6+ Kg7 35. Rel Qg3 36. Bb4 Be3 37. Qh2 Qg5 38. e6 Bf4 39. Qgl Qh4 (see diagram) 40. e7 Rf3! 41. Qh2! Black resigns Yes, 41. e8 (N)+! also wins (41. . . . Kh6 42. Bf8+). This was another FIDE Zonal tournament. Four players would qualify from it for the In­ terzonal later in the year in Goteborg, Swe-

After 39. ... Qh4

Spassky seemed an ideal weapon in the propaganda campaign of the mid-1950s. He was young, handsome and, despite his near­ starvation in childhood, in splendid physical shape. Besides the high jump he was skilled in swimming and boxing. In the arts, he had some traditional Russian tastes. He read Pushkin, Bunin, Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as well as modern authors such as Pasternak. Privately, he loved American jazz. But pub­ licly, he insisted his favorite music was composed by Scriabin and Chopin. 5 The Sports Committee handed Spassky a busy 1955 calendar. Two months after the 22nd Championship finals, he was en route to Lyon, France, for the World Student Team Championship. This was a tournament that Soviet authorities very much wanted to win, after failure in 1954. But Yugoslavia was the favorite team, followed by Bulgaria. 6 The Soviets were paired with their main

96

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

rivals in the first two rounds. Spassky used a forgotten weapon as Black, the Breyer Vari­ ation of the Ruy Lopez, to win a strategic masterpiece against Borislav Milic, and the match with the Yugoslavs ended in a 2-2 tie. Spassky finished the tournament 7½-½, eas­ ily winning a gold medal for best second­ board score. His seventh-round game put the Soviet team ahead for good.

Spassky-Julius Kozma World Student Team Championship, Lyon, 1955 Sicilian Defense (B63) 1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. BgS e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. Nb3 Qb6 10. f3 Rd8 11. Be3 Qc712. Qf2 Spassky's only hiccup in the World Junior Championship two months later came when a West German, Jurgen Klages, played 12. . . . Nd7 and equalized after 13. g4 a6 14. gS bS 15. f4 NcS 16. NxcS dxcS 17. Rxd8+ Nxd8. Spassky tried for a knockout with 18. eS Bb7 19. Bg2 Bxg2 20. Qxg2 Qc6 21. Ne4. But after 21. . . . Rc8 22. h4 QdS 23. Rdl? Qxa2 24. Nf6+ Kh8 there was no mate and little to be gained from 25. Rd7 Bf8. The game ended with 25. Qe4? gxf6 26. gxf6 Bf8 27. Qg2 Nc6 28. Rd6 NaS! 29. BxcS Nb3+ White resigns.

12. . . . dS 13. exdS NxdS 14. NxdS Theory regarded all the moves since 9. Nb3 as best. Here Black should trade rooks, 14 . . . . RxdS 15. RxdS exdS, to accelerate his coun­ terplay, e.g., 16. g4 Bd7 and . . . Re8. Or 16. . . . Be6 17. Nd4 Rc8.

14. . . . exdS?15. g4! Also good was 15. Kbl (15. . . . BfS 16. Nd4 Bg6 17. h4). But Spassky's intuition was being reshaped, thanks to "Kazimirich:' "For suc­ cess in attack it's absolutely necessary to cre­ ate a weakness in the enemy camp;' Alexan­ der Tolush said. ''And it is necessary to take risks:' 7 This challenged the traditional view

since Steinitz that there is no risk if an attack is based on positional advantages. And the possibility of Spassky changing his basic in­ stincts at his age challenged Botvinnik's the­ ory.

15. . . . Be616. Nd4 Nxd4 A 1962 Tal game went 16. . . . Rac8 17. Kbl QaS 18. gS and White had the faster attack after 18 . . . . Nxd4 19. Bxd4! BfS (19. . . . BxgS 20. Rgl Bh6 21. Bxg7!) 20. Bd3 Bxd3 21. Rxd3 Rc6 22. h4.

17. Bxd4 Rac8 18. c3 Qc6 Note that if rooks had been traded (14 . . . . RxdS 15. RxdS exdS), Black would have 19. . . . Qf4+ 20. Kbl? Bxg4! 21. fxg4? Qe4+ and . . . Qxhl.

19. Bd3 bS 20. Kbl Bd7? Black was in a quandary. After 20. . . . Bes, both the endgame (21. f4 Bxd4 22. Qxd4 QcS 23. QxcS RxcS 24. fS) and middlegame (21. Qh4 h6 22. gS) are poor. But on 20. . . . aS and 21. . . . b4, White can make faster threats with 21. Rhel, e.g., 21. . . . b4 22. f4! . For example, 22. . . . bxc3 23. f5 and wins. Or 22. . . . Bf8 23. Qh4 h6 24. cxb4 and 25. gS!.

21. Bxa7! Black incorrectly felt that his attack would be aided by a half-open a-file.

21. . . . Ra8 22. Rdel Inexact because 22. . . . Bf6 would threat­ en 23. . . . Qa6 and give Black some defensive resources after 23. Bd4 Bxd4 24. Qxd4 Ra4 or 24. cxd4 b4.

22. . . . Be6? 23. Bd4! Ra6 (see diagram) The Black attack evaporates after 23. . . . Qa6 24. a3 in view of 24 . . . . Bxa3 25. bxa3 Qxa3 26. Qb2. But 23. . . . b4 24. cxb4 Bxb4 was better. Now White's kingside play de­ cides.

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky!

After 23 . ... Ra6 24. f4! Rda8 25. fS Rxa2 26. fxe6 f6 After 26. . . . fxe6 27. Rhfl Ral+ 28. Kc2 Rf8 White has a flashy win, 29. BfS, and the simple 29. Rxal Rxf2+ 30. Rxf2. 27. gs Qa6 28. gxf6 gxf6 29. Rhgl+ Kf8 30. Qxf6+! Black resigns Because of 30. . . . Bxf6 31. Bes+ Ke8 32. Rg8 mate and 31. . . . Be7 32. Refl+. Tolush said the previous year that Spassky suffered from "weak" winning technique. But as Spassky's tactical and calculating ability improved, he did not need it. He could finish opponents off in the middlegame, as he did in virtually every game at Lyon. Spassky was struck by the zest for life he encountered in the West. When he and Petro­ sian were interviewed before their 1966 world championship match, they were asked about their "most enjoyable incident" abroad. Petro­ sian said it came during the 1953 Candidates tournament when a Swiss newspaper said he looked like "a Persian shah:' But Spassky re­ called the 1955 student Olympiad when he attended a joyous party in Beaujolais to cel­ ebrate the tenth anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. 8

97

j udge of chess talent. That autumn he re­ ceived a surprise telephone call from Riga. He was invited to train two Latvian young­ sters, Mikhail Tal and Aivars Gipslis, for an upcoming USSR championship semifinal. When Suetin arrived in Riga, Tal showed him a draw he had just played and said he regretted how he handled a kingside attack. "To prove this he fired a fantastic volley of variations which he had analyzed at the chessboard. They were some 20 moves deep with a bewildering variety of themes;' Suetin remembered. 9

Bukhuti Gurgenidze-Tal

USSR Teams Championship, Lugansk, 1955 King's Indian Defense (E98) I. c4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. d4 0-0 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d5 Ne7 9. Nel Ne8 10. Nd3 fS 11. Bd2 Nf6 12. f3 f4 13. cs gs A later main line was 14. Rel Ng6 15. cxd6 cxd6 16. NbS.

14. NbS a615. Na3 g416. cxd6 cxd617. Nc4 g3 This is a thematic sacrifice based on 18. h3 Bxh3! 19. gxh3 Qd7. For example, 20. Kg2?! Ng6 and . . . Nh4+. White is safe after 20. Nf2 gxf2+ 21. Rxf2 but White had more faith in:

18. Bas Qe8 19. Qel (see diagram)

Tal's Protective Gu ard Also on the Soviet team in Lyon was Alexey Suetin, who was becoming known as a wise

After 19. Qel

98

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Here Tal played 19. . . . Nh5?, was worse after 20. Nxd6 Qg6 21. Nxc8 gxh2+ 22. Kxh2 but escaped with a draw. We do not know what Tal showed Suetin. It may have been 19. . . . gxh2+ 20. Kxh2 Qh5+ 21. Kgl Nfxd5! 22. exd5 Rf6! followed by . . . Rh6. But if he demonstrated a really long analysis it was more likely something like 19. . . . Qg6 20. hxg3 fxg3 21. Nxd6 Nfxd5!. There are dazzling variations running past move 30, such as 22. exd5 e4! 23. Nxe4! Bd4+ 24. Rf2 ! Nxd5! 25. Nxg3 Qxg3 and then 26. Bdl Kg7 27. Bb3 Bh3!. After one of Suetin's training sessions, "Tal's father asked me, 'Is there any hope that Misha will ever play in an international tour­ nament?"' He reassured Dr. Tal, "Yes, he will and very soon:' Suetin had drawn with Tal at the Lugansk tournament. "Obviously his chess career would be brilliant;' he said a generation later. 10 Alexander Koblents, who was the trainer of Tal's Latvian team, remembered that tour­ nament for another reason. When he ar­ rived at their designated hotel, he could not find Tal. At 3 a.m. he tracked him down, in the room of the Ukrainian team, where he was taking part in a marathon blitz tourna­ ment. 1 1 Tal's family formed a protective guard for him, even when he was playing away from Riga. Earlier in 1955 he went, with his mother, to Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital, for a quarterfinals of the next Soviet Cham­ pionship. When he adjourned a rook endgame against his friend Gipslis he analyzed it in depth, found an apparent win, called home to describe it and then went to sleep. His fa­ ther and uncle called back at 3 a.m. to say they found a flaw in his analysis. Ida Tal did not want to wake her son up until they in­ sisted. Tal picked up the phone, listened and smiled. They were right. 12

Gipslis-Tai 23rd USSR Championship quarterfinals, Vilnius, 1955

After 43. ... h4 It is not clear what the flaw was but here White would likely draw with 44. a6! because of 44 . . . . bxa6 45. Rc3 and 46. c6. However, play went 44. Rc3? h3 45. Kgl e4 46. a6 e3! 47. axb7 Rbl+ 48. Kh2 e2!. Black would mate after 49. b8 (Q) Rhl+ ! 50. Kxhl el(Q)+. Gipslis set a trap with 49. Re3!? fxe3 50. b8(Q) , based on 50. . . . el(Q)? 51. Qf8+. Tal finished off with 50. . . . Rhl+ 51. Kxhl el=Q+ 52. Kh2 Qf2+ 53. Kxh3 Qxf3+ 54. Kh2 e2 55. Qf8+ Ke4 56. Qe8+ Kd3 57. Qb5+ Kc3 White resigns.

Birth of a Hex Korchnoi recovered from his USSR Cham­ pionship debacle by getting healthier. He gave up smoking "for the first time in my life" and "went for medical treatment to a sana­ torium in Sochi;' the Black Sea resort city that was a favorite of the Soviet elite. 13 He benefited from his improved physical conditioning in June, in one of the strongest­ ever Leningrad city championships. He won it with a 17-2 score and finished three points ahead of second-place Alexander Tolush. Margins like that were becoming a Korch­ noi trademark: He sought the maximum score in a tournament even when he was assured

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky! of first prize. In contrast, Spassky would be content with clinching first place. Petrosian would be satisfied with one of the top prizes. And Tal would be happy if he won some nice games. Korchnoi was the best student of the four and he had come to detect their flaws. He beat Tal two more times in 1955. The score of the second game seems to be lost. Here is the first, from a match-tournament pitting teams of Latvian and Russian republic play­ ers.

Tal-Korchnoi

Team Match-Tournament, Riga, 1955 Ruy Lopez (C83) l. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be7 l0. Nbd2 0-0 ll. Qe2

99

Then 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Ng5 h5 22. f4 bxc3 23. f5 is foiled by 23. . . . Rb4! 26. Qf2 Bxf5 27. Bxf5 Qxg5.

19. cxd4 cxd4 20. Be4 Korchnoi was content to play 20. Bxe7 Qxe7 21. Nxd4 Bd5. After 20. Be4, he should have tried 20. . . . Rc8. He would be better after 21. Bb7?! Nd3 22. Qd2 Rc3 or 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Qh6 f6.

20. . . . Bd5? 21. Bxd5? If 21. Bxe7 Rxe7 22. Nxd4? Rc8 Black re­ mains better. But Tal should have found 22. Qh6! with a slight edge after 22. . . . Bxe4 23. Ng5 f5 24. exf6 Rd7 25. Nxe4.

21. . . . Qxd5 22. Bxe7 Rxe7 23. Qh4?

This is an old Paul Keres move in place of the popular 11. Bc2.

After 23. Qh6 Rae8 24. Ng5 Rxe5 25. Qxh7+ Kf8 White can try 26. Rael so that 26. . . . Rxel?? 27. Qh8+. But 26. . . . Nd3 is sufficient.

ll. . . . Nxd212. Bxd2 Na513. Bc2 c514. Qd3 g6 15. Bh6 Re8 16. Qd2 Nc4

23. . . . Rae8 24. Ng5 h5 25. Ne4 Qxe5 26. Nf6+ Kg7 27. Nxe8+ Rxe8

The game follows a Hastings 1946 game that went 17. Qcl fS 18. exf6 Bxf6 19. Bg5 Ne5, with equality. Tal tries a natural gambit.

Black is better because he can advance the d-pawn with the support of his knight, e.g., 28. Rael d3 29. Qb4 Rd8 30. Qd2 Nc4.

17. Qf4!? Nxb2! 18. Bg5 d4!? (see diagram)

28. f4 Qf6 29. Qf2 d3 30. Rfel Rd8! 31. Qd2 Qd4+ 32. Kfl Nc4 33. Qdl d2 White resigns

After 18. ... d4 White's main idea was 19. Qh4 followed by Bxe7 and Ng5. But it is a bit of a bluff be­ cause Black can defend with, for example, 18 . . . . Rab8 19. Qh4 b4.

No two players of their age and strength seemed to take greater chances in the mid1950s than Korchnoi and Tal. Tal did it by sacrificing and Korchnoi by accepting sacri­ fices. Psychology played a double-edged role in the games of both men. Psychology worked in Tal's favor when he gambled against other players. Lajos Portisch, for example, often seemed paralyzed when Tal sacrificed. But Portisch had no psycho­ logical hang-ups against Korchnoi and they played on even terms. On the other hand, psychology worked against Tal when he faced Korchnoi : "Tal played with me as if doomed;' Korchnoi

100

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

recalled. 14 In one of their 1955 games Tal met 1. e4 e6 2. d4 dS with 3. exdS and eventually got the draw he wanted. He later reflected on his Korchnoi hex: "In 1953 I lost my first game against him. I tried to get revenge im­ mediately but you could not do that against Korchnoi. I think that such strange scores are normal for chess. I have my favorite vic­ tims, too:' 15 In May Petrosian took part in a five-board match in Budapest. It was another quasi­ diplomatic mission, to celebrate "the ten­ year anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian-Soviet Friendship SocietY:' The Hungarian team was actually stronger than the one that would finish sixth in the Am­ sterdam Olympiad in 1954 because it in­ cluded Pal Benko. Petrosian avenged his loss to Benko at Budapest 1952.

13. . . . NhS 14. NfS! Qf6 15. fxeS QxeS and then 16. Bh6 (16. . . . Bxc4 17. Ne3 Bxd3 18. Qxd3 and Ng4). Petrosian is playing a positional gambit. The critical continuations 13. . . . Bxc4 14. fxeS QxeS 15. Bf4 QhS 16. Nf3 and 14. Bxc4 Nxc4 15. Nf3, with ample compensation in either case.

13. . . . 0-0-0? 14. Nf3 Also good was 14. fxeS, e.g., 14 . . . . QxeS 15. Nf3 Qxc3 (or 16. . . . QhS) 16. BgS!, winning material. Or 16. . . . Qe7 17. eS. Petrosian's move could lead to 14 . . . . exf4 15. Bxf4 Nxe4 (else 16. eS) and now 16. Bxe4 Qxe4 17. Nd2 Qe7 18. Rel with a powerful attack.

14. . . . d6?15. fxe5 dxe516. Bg5! h617. Bh4 (see diagram)

Petrosian-Pal Benko USSR-Hungary match, Budapest, 1955

Nimzo-Indian Defense (E26)

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Nc6 7. Bd3 b6 8. e4 White threatens 9. es, e.g., 9. . . . cxd4 10. cxd4 Nxd4? 11. es Ng8 12. Qg4 or 11. . . . Bb7 12. Bfl! .

8. . . . e5 9. d5 Na5 IO. Nf3 More vigorous is 10. f4 d6 11. Nf3. Control of eS becomes important in middlegames such as 11. . . . exf4 12. Bxf4 0-0 13. 0-0 Ba6? 14. eS! dxeS 15. NxeS with advantage.

10. . . . Qe7 11. 0-0 Ba6 12. Nh4 The queen is misplaced after 12. Qa4 0-0-0. The main problem with Black's setup is that he must weaken his dark squares to prevent 13. NfS.

After 17. Bh4 The pin is decisive: 17. . . . gS 18. NxgS! hxgS 19. BxgS Rd6 20. Qf3 and wins.

17. . . . Rd6 18. Nxe5! Qxe5 19. Bg3 Qe7 20. e5! Rd7 21. Rxf6 h5 22. h4 Many other players would calculate 22. Qf3 h4 23. e6. Petrosian remains faithful to pro­ phylaxis.

12. . . . g6 13. f4!

22. . . . Bb7 23. Qa4 Rg8 24. Rafi Rg7 25. d6 Qd8 26. e6! Rxd6 27. Bxd6 Black resigns

Now 13. . . . d6? loses to 14. fxeS QxeS 15. Qf3 or 14 . . . . dxeS 15. BgS. The dark squares are also exposed by

The Soviet national team was warming up for a return match with the Americans, be­ ginning June 29 in Moscow. Unlike in the

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky! 1954 match, Mikhail Botvinnik was available. But the world champion turned out to be the only Soviet player to have a minus score, against Samuel Reshevsky. On sixth board Petrosian scored 2-0 against Al Horowitz and, when Horowitz was replaced, 2-0 against Max Pavey.

Sp assky's First Title In July Spassky became the first Soviet player to compete in the World Junior Cham­ pionship. Today there are separate world jun­ ior titles for boys and girls in categories down to under-8-years-old. But in 1955, competi­ tion was considered harmful for young chil­ dren. The Antwerp tournament that Spassky entered was for players up to 20. In the ten-player finals section he started off with two wins, including one over Por­ tisch. He was held to a draw in the next round by Edmar Mednis of the United States but took the lead the next day when he mated a future billionaire.

Spassky-Joop van Oosterom

World Junior Championship, Antwerp, 1955 King's Indian Defense (E85) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 e5 7. Nge2 Nc6 8. Qd2 Nd7 9. 0-0-0 The Samisch Variation was ideal for Spas­ sky because it was flexible, potentially ag­ gressive and not dependent (in 1955) on changes in opening theory. Opening knowl­ edge was Spassky's weakness and Tal's strength. Semyon Furman, a trainer who was renowned for his opening expertise, advised young players: "If you want to know the latest word on theory in this or that varia­ tion, look at Tal's games:' 16 By delaying d4-d5, Spassky enabled Black to seek counterplay in unusual ways like 9. . . . Nb6 10. b3 exd4 ll. Nxd4 Bd7.

101

9. . . . a6? 10. d5! Na7! Promoting . . . bS. But on 10. . . . NaS 11. Ngl White threatens 12. b4 and gains time for 12. h4. Also bad is 10. . . . Ne7 ll. h4 hS 12. g4.

ll. g4 b5 12. Ng3 bxc4 13. h4 f6 The . . . Kf7 escape route is not longterm salvation. After the game, 13. . . . Nb6 14. hS NbS was suggested. For example, 15. hxg6 fxg6 16. Qh2 Kf7 (17. Qxh7 Rh8).

14. h5 Qe7? (see diagram)

After 14. ... Qe7 Black may be positionally lost after 14 . . . . gs or 14 . . . . Nb6. But at least he would not be mated quickly.

15. hxg6 hxg6 16. Qh2 The threat is 17. Qh7+ Kf7 18. Rh6.

16. . . . Kf7 17. Nf5! gxf5 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. gxf5 Rf7 20. Be2 Now it is 21. Rdgl and 22. Qh8 mate. On 20. . . . Kf8 21. Rdgl Qe8 22. Qh7 Black can­ not stop an eventual Rxg7!.

20. . . . Nc5 21. Rdgl Qd7 22. Qh8 mate With a 7½-½ score, and a one-point lead over Mednis, Spassky drew in 13 moves in the last round to secure first prize. No one could have guessed that it would be 14 years before another Soviet player, Anatoly Kar­ pov, became World Junior Champion. Before leaving Belgium, Spassky demon­ strated in other ways that he was not quite

1 02

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

like other Soviet masters. He had grown up amid elders like Grigory Levenfish who knew what pre-Revolution Russia was like. While in Antwerp, Spassky wondered how people lived so well in Belgium "and not study Marxist-Leninism?" 17 More daringly, he asked a Soviet official who accompanied him to Belgium, whether it was true that Lenin died of syphilis. Why did he take such a risk? "Out of curiosity;' he said in a 2006 interview. "It could have turned out very badly for me if I had asked it two or three years earlier;' he added-meaning when Stalin was alive. 18 Spassky's words were apparently reported to Moscow. But the vice chair of the Sports Committee was his guardian Dmitry Post­ nikov. He was able to take over "the Spassky case" and end it there. "But freethinking in those days was not forgiven and Boris be­ came a subject of interest of the KGB;' said Alexander Nikitin. 19

G etting to Plus- Two Days after the junior championship ended, Spassky flew to Sweden for FIDE's third In­ terzonal. Igor Bondarevsky, an elder states­ man of Soviet chess, expressed the general bewilderment that two Americans who had qualified for it-Samuel Reshevsky and Larry Evans-preferred to play in the United States Open Championship because its first prize was a brand new Buick automobile. 2 0 Their absence weakened the Goteborg lineup. The top nine finishers would advance to the 1956 Candidates tournament. Igor Bondarevsky guessed that without the Amer­ icans, there would be so few strong con­ tenders that a modest score of plus-two would probably be sufficient to reach the Candi­ dates. That recommended caution. Petrosian began Goteborg with five draws against fellow Soviets, and three of them­ lasting 14, 14 and 19 moves-looked pre­ arranged. But the Soviets played some real

games against one another: Spassky was crushed by Paul Keres in round four. After that he alternated wins and losses.

Antonio Medina-Spassky Interzonal, Goteborg, 1955

Ruy Lopez (C94)

I. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Nb8 10. d3 The Breyer Variation was so untested that many White players did not trust 10. d4! . Spassky's positional crush of Milic at Lyon went 10. a4 Bb7 11. d3 Nbd7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nbd2 Bf8 14. Nfl c5 15. Ng3 g6 16. Bg5 Qc7 17. Nh2 d5 18. Qf3 Bg7 19. h4 d4! 20. h5 c4! and eventually . . . Nc5.

10. . . . Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Nfl Nc5 13. Bc2 Re8 14. Ng3 BfS 15. Nh2 d5 16. Qf3 g617. Bg5 Be7! 18. h4 aS 19. h5 Ra6! White's kingside pressure is neutralized (20. Ng4 Nxg4 21. Bxe7 Qxe7 22. Qxg4 Bc8 23. Qdl d4!). Spassky used a similar . . . Ra6 maneuver to defend his kingside in the final game of the 1965 Candidates finals match against Tal.

20. Bh6 d4 21. cxd4 Ne6!? Fairly balanced was 21. . . . exd4. A victory would make Spassky plus-two.

22. hxg6 hxg6 23. dxe5 Nd4 24. Qdl Nd7 (see diagram)

After 24. ... Nd7

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky! Among Black's ideas is trapping the h6bishop with . . . gs. He would win after 25. f4? Bc5! . But would he have enough compensa­ tion after 25. Ne2 or 25. Nf3 ousted the d4knight? Perhaps not after 25. Nf3 Bc5 26. Be3 Nxf3+ 27. gxf3!? Bxe3 28. Rxe3 Nxe5 29. f4.

25. Ng4 Bb4! 26. Re3? White was understandably reluctant to play 26. Rfl and then 26. . . . Nxe5 27. Nxe5 Rxe5 28. Be3 or 28. Bf4 Rc5 29. Bbl. After the text, 26. . . . Nxe5! 27. Nxe5 Rxe5 favors Black because he threatens 28 . . . . Qh4. For instance, 28. Ne2 Nxe2+ 29. Qxe2 Rh5 30. Rh3 Rxh3 31. gxh3 gs 32. Qh5 Rg6.

26. . . . Qh4? 27. Bb3? Chances are roughly equal after 27. Nfl! .

27. . . . Nxe5! 28. Nxe5 Rxe5 Now 29. Nf5 would eventually lose after 29. . . . gxf5 30. Rh3 Qxh3! 31. gxh3 Rxh6.

29. Rf3 Qxh6! 30. Rxf7 Nxb3 31. Rxc7 Nxal 32. Rxb7 Rc6 White resigns Spassky fell back to an even score with six rounds to go. He won two games in the stretch and tied with Gideon Stahlberg and Miroslav Filip for the three final Candidates spots. As a result, Spassky became the world's 48th in­ ternational grandmaster, and a new holder of the title of youngest-ever GM.

1 03

Mark Taimanov-Korchnoi Hastings, 1955-56 Sicilian Defense (B67)

I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Bd7 9. f4 Rc8 10. Nf3 Qa5 11. Kbl b5 This was a very new variation and the strength of 12. e5! was not known.

12. Bd3 Nb413. Rhel Nxd3 14. Qxd3 b4 Taimanov was one of the world's experts on this position simply because only one other game apparently was played before­ his game as Black with Geller from the pre­ vious Soviet championship. It went 15. Ne2 (15. Bxf6! gxf6 16. Ne2 is better) BbS 16. Qe3 Be7 with equal chances. His next move was ascribed to home prepa­ ration. It was-but not in the way spectators believed.

15. Nd5 exd5 16. exd5+ Kd8 White has what seemed like compensation after 16. . . . Be7 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. Qe3 Qd8 19. Rd4 f5 20. Rxb4 or 19. Nd4.

17. Bxf6+ gxf618. Qd4 Kc719. Qa7+ Kd8 20. Qd4 (see diagram)

Window on Europe As the Soviet Union gingerly eased into international chess, their young stars learned how to behave before Western audiences. Viktor Korchnoi and Mark Taimanov demon­ strated this when the Sports Committee agreed to send them in late 1955 to the an­ nual holiday tournament at Hastings, En­ gland. When they were paired, they put on a show for the spectators.

In his travelogue book, Taimanov lavished praise on both players. After they shook hands, he asked Korchnoi, "Why didn't you try to

1 04

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

realize your material advantage with 20. . . . Be7?" "Honestly speaking, I feared 21. Ng5 in that case:' Korchnoi replied. "Your attack could become very strong. But perhaps it should have been risked. You know, only three rounds remain! " Spectators saw them analyze 21. . . . BfS 22. Nxt7 + Kd7 and con­ clude Black could win, e.g., 23. Nxh8 b3!. 21 But the postmortem chatter was bogus. Taimanov, who had an adjacent hotel room, "persuaded me to 'compose' the game be­ forehand to make it look like a fierce battle;' Korchnoi wrote in his first memoir. 22 In fact, Black would be better after 20. . . . Rg8 21. Qxf6+ Kc7 or 20. . . . Bg7. Korchnoi went on to share first prize of 50 British pounds, the equivalent of more than $1,500 today. But Taimanov got the last laugh. Korchnoi spent part of his prize on the best electric shaver he found in a high-end store. This was the kind of consumer good that was virtually unknown in the USSR. Taimanov was impressed by Korchnoi's purchase. So he found a small London shop where he bought the same shaver for a fraction of Korchnoi's price.23 Foreign trips like this were the goal of every Soviet GM, said Yevgeny Vasiukov, who became a world-class player in the early 1960s. The Soviet government took 80 to 85 percent of any cash prize won abroad, he said. 24 But if you spent it, there was no way the vlasti could take 80 percent of an electric shaver. Who went abroad-and especially, who went to a capitalist, "hard currency" coun try-was usually decided by the Soviet Chess Federation or by the Sports Committee, which was above it in the government chain of command. Nikolai Krogius said that by the time he headed the chess section of the Committee in the 1980s there were about 100 invitations a year. But there were 500 or 600 requests for them from players. "For exam­ ple, Hastings invited two but ten want to go;' he said. ''And all say, 'Do it. I'm the most de­ serving for this trip: So two go and the eight

who remain are enemies of the department and, in particular, of me:' 25

You Will B e a Grandmaster Hastings ended on January 6. Korchnoi and Taimanov had little time to rest before the start of the 23rd USSR Championship fi­ nals in Leningrad on January 10. It was held in the Chigorin Chess Club, which occupied two floors and a balcony of a large building. The focus of attention was a stage which could accommodate several huge, wood demonstration boards. Spassky, seeded because he was world jun­ ior champion, led the pack for most of the tournament, with Korchnoi close behind.

Spassky-Tal 23rd USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1956

King's Indian Defense (EBO)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 e5 6. d5 Nh5 7. Be3 t'5 8. Qd2 Na6?! 9. 0-0-0 Nf6 10. exf5 Now on 10. . . . BxfS 11. g4 Bd7 12. Bd3 fol­ lowed by h2-h4 and Nge2 leaves Black with a chronic weakness on light squares.

10 . . . . gxf5 11. Bd3 White's basic plan is to attack the fS-pawn, since . . . f4? would surrender control of e4. In the Soviet yearbook, Vladimir Simagin said Black "has already suffered a positional defeat:' But Svetozar Gligoric later showed that with . . . Nd7-f6 instead of . . . Na6 Black has a playable game. 11. • . . 0-0 12. Nge2 Qe7 13. Rdel c5? A common positional blunder in the 1950s, even among good King's Indian Defense play­ ers. Black expects counterplay from . . . b5 but it never materializes. 14. Ng3! Ne8 15. Nh5 Nac7 16. g4! Kh8

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky! White's attack is too strong after 16. . . . fxg4 17. fxg4 Bxg4 18. Nxg7 Nxg7 19. Rhgl, e.g., 19. . . . Bf5 20. Bh6 Nce8 21. Bxf5 Rxf5 22. Ne4.

17. Rhgl Qf718. Nxg7 Nxg719. f4! (see di­ agram)

After 19. /4 Decisive since Black cannot afford 19. . . . exf4 20. Bxf4 Nce8 21. Nb5 or allow White to play fxe5.

19. . . . e4 20. Bc2 b5 21. cxb5 Rb8 22. gxf5 Bxf5 Black is also lost after 22. . . . Nxf5 23. Bxe4 Nxe3 24. Rxe3 and Reg3.

23. Bxe4 Bxe4 24. Nxe4 Qxd5 25. Qxd5 Nxd5 26. Nxd6 Rbd8 27. Bxc5 Nxf4 28. Bd4! The pin on the g7-knight leads to a deci­ sive liquidation. Tai did not look like he would be in Spassky's league in the near fu­ ture.

28. . . . Ng6 29. Re7! Nxe7 30. Bxg7+ Kg8 31. Bxf8+ Kxf8 32. Rfl+ Kg8 33. Rdl Rf8 34. a4 Rf2 35. Nc4 Rxh2 36. Rd7 Nf5 37. Rxa7 Nd4 38. Rc7 Black resigns. Spassky's games were the most popular, Simagin wrote. But if prizes were based on hard work, Korchnoi would have finished first. He played 132 moves before conceding a draw to Tai, a debutant this year. In the tenth round Korchnoi had to defend a diffi-

1 05

cult endgame, with two knights and three pawns against Alexander Tolush's rook and four pawns. He drew in 74 moves. As he left the playing hall, his former teacher, Andrei Batuev told him, "You will be a grandmas­ ter!" 26 This was an echo of Batuev's "You will be a master! " nearly a decade before. He was right again: By the end of 1956 Korchnoi was awarded the grandmaster title. With two rounds to go it seemed likely Spassky, who turned 19 during the tourna­ ment, would break another record and be­ come the youngest-ever Soviet champion. He had led Yuri Averbakh by a half point, with Taimanov, Tai and Ratmir Kholmov below him. But after so much success in the previous year, Spassky revealed a flaw: He often tired in long events. It was also his bad luck to catch Korchnoi in the penultimate round. Unlike others, Korchnoi played as hard at the end of a tournament as in round one.

Korchnoi-Spassky

23rd USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1956 King's Indian Defense (A49) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. b3 d6 6. Bb2 e5 Black's last move was labeled the losing move after the game-only to be repeated successfully in hundreds of later master games.

7. dxe5 Ng4 8. 0-0 Nxe5 White also has the slightly better chances after 8 . . . . Nc6, e.g., 9. c4 Ngxe5 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Qxd8 or 10. . . . Nxe5 ll. Nc3.

9. Nxe5 dxe5 10. Nc3! White saved a tempo by avoiding c2-c4 and that allows him to make an immediate threat of 11. Ba3 Re8 12. Qxd8 Rxd8 13. Nd5. That would win a pawn, since 13. . . . Na6 14. Ne7+ and 15. Nxc8/Bxb7 is much worse. But 10. . . . Nc6! offers Black fine chances.

1 06

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

10. . . . Nd7 ll. Qd2 Nf6? (see diagram)

After 11. ... N/6 Spassky, under the Tolush influence, was beginning to find himself in positions de­ rived from his trainer's favorite opening that he did not fully understand. He needed to play . . . c6 at some point so that he could de­ velop his queen at e7, e.g., IL . . . c6 12. Radl Qe7 or 12. Ba3 Nf6! .

12. Qxd8! Rxd813. Rfdl Rxdl+ Black would be lost after 13. . . . Re8 14. Nb5 and in bad shape after 13. . . . Rd7 14. Na4! . Since he had decided to give up a pawn, 13. . . . Bf5 14. Bxb7 Rab8 was slightly better.

14. Rxdl Bf5 15. Bxb7 Rb8 16. Bc6 Bxc2 17. Rel Bf5 18. Nb5 Also good was 18. NdS Nxd5 19. BxdS Rd8 20. e4. One of the sources of tension between Spassky and his trainers over the years was his reliance on opening advice that did not allow him to show what he could do in the middlegame, his strongest phase. Spassky never got to play a middlegame today.

18. . . . Bh619. Rc4 Be6 20. Ra4 Rd8 Or 20. . . . Rb6 21. Nxa7 so that 21. . . . Nd7 22. Nc8! Rb8 23. Ne7+ wins.

21. Bxe5 Rdl+ 22. Kg2 Rel 23. Bf3 Nd5 24. Nd4! Or the immediate 24. Rxa7. There were several ways to win.

24. . . . Bg7 25. Bxg7 Kxg7 26. Rxa7 Kf6 27. Nxe6 fxe6 28. Ra5 Nc3 29. a4 e5 30. Rc5 Black resigns Spassky managed to finish in a tie with Averbakh and Taimanov, forcing a playoff for first place. Taimanov won the playoff. Spassky made one draw in three playoff games and forfeited the meaningless final game. But the draw, against Averbakh, became legend­ ary. It began I. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. e4 d6 4. d4 Bg7 5. Be2 0-0 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 Qa5 8. Bd2 a6 9. a4 e5? 10. g4 Ne8 11. h4 f5 12. h5 f4 13. g5 Qd8 14. Bg4 Nc7 15. Bxc8 Qxc8 16. Nf3 and in a very poor position Spassky played16. . . . Nc6!!?. On his web site devoted to chess curiosities, Tim Krabbe called it "the most fantastic move ever played:' Taimanov said he would rather resign than play it. But Averbakh took an hour before playing17. dxc6 and could do no more than draw. In one of his last interviews, Korchnoi said of the move, "Such things can not be ex­ plained by logic. They are more easily ex­ plained by parapsychology. It is something that a person can bring out of himself . . . . This is a quality which a world champion must have:' 27

Two Candidates When FIDE's third Candidates tourna­ ment began March 27, six of the ten players who appeared for the opening ceremony in Amsterdam's Vossius Gymnasium were So­ viet citizens. Without Samuel Reshevsky or Miguel Najdorf to challenge them, it was an­ other case of overkill: There was little likeli­ hood that a non-Soviet player would win the right to a 1957 world championship match. It turned out to be the only one of the five Candidates tournaments from 1950 to 1962 that ended with no serious suspicion of So­ viet finagling. If matters had gone slightly differently,

107

5. Sp assky, Sp assky, Sp assky! Petrosian would have begun with four straight wins. Instead, he started 1-3. The heaviest blow came in the second round when he had virtually paralyzed David Bronstein after 29 moves. With seconds left, Bronstein was re­ duced to moving a Black knight back and forth from d4 to c6. Petrosian had plenty of clock time, slowly built up his forces and planted his queen on d6. Bronstein again picked up the knight and put it on c6 without releasing it. But he changed his mind and put it on f5 instead. Petrosian ignored it. Stunned, Bronstein shrugged his shoul­ ders and played knight-takes-queen. Petro­ sian, even more shocked, immediately re­ signed. "I will never forget the look of horror and amazement that Petrosian had as his queen left the board;' a spectator said. After Petrosian departed, another spectator pushed the button on Bronstein's clock to see how much time he had to make the remaining four moves of the control. His flag fell in­ stantly. That evening Petrosian walked and walked with Paul Keres around the streets of Am sterdam. Neither spoke more than three words. Keres knew that nothing he could say would comfort Petrosian, according to his biographer. Later in the tournament, the players attended a dinner in their honor in Leeuwarden, where chefs had fashioned chess pieces out of ice cream. Bronstein took the "queen;' offered it Petrosian and said, "Now we're even:' Petrosian could only smile. 28 From 1,300 miles away, Mikhail Botvinnik watched the Amsterdam games closely. He believed in the grandmaster folk wisdom that chessboard luck has a way of evening out. It did this time. After his gift from Petro­ sian, Bronstein did not win again until the ninth round and then lost a winning position against Keres. "Botvinnik was quite right when he later said the [queen blunder] game killed two people: Bronstein and me;' Petro­ sian said. "The acquired point lay heavily on Bronstein's shoulders and I was profoundly

distressed by the chess injustice of it:' 29 Petro­ sian still seemed shaken in the next round:

Vasily Smyslov-Petrosian

Candidates Tournament, Amsterdam, 1956 King's Indian Defense (E63)

l. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. g3 0-0 5. Bg2 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. 0-0 a6 8. h3 Rb8 9. Be3 Theory later embraced 9. e4 bS and then 10. eS or 10. cxbS axbS 11. Rel.

9. . . . b5 l0. cxb5 axb5 ll. d5 Na512. b4 Nc4 13. Ba7 Rb7 14. Bd4 e5! 15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Bxf6? Smyslov often tried to solve tactical prob­ lems (the threat of 16. . . . eS) without calcu­ lating deeply. Better was 16. NgS es 17. Be3 or 16. Nd2.

16. . . . Qxf617. Rel d518. e3 Qe7! So that 19. Qb3 Rxf3 20. Bxf3 Nd2.

19. Nd4 Qxb4 20. Qd3 Qc5 21. Nb3 Qe7 22. Nd4 Qc5 23. a4! bxa4 24. Nxa4 Qd6 25. h4 Kh8 26. Ne2 Rb4! 27. Nac3 Ba6 28. Ral Rb2 29. Rfcl? (see diagram)

After 29. Rfcl If this were a five-minute game, Petrosian, one of the best-ever speed players, would have played 29. . . . Rd2! and won quickly. For example, 30. Qbl Bxc3 31. Nxc3 Rfxf2. Or 30. Ne4 Rxd3 31. Nxd6 Bxal. Or he might

1 08

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

have won with 29. . . . Na5! 30. Qdl Bxe2 31. Nxe2 Nb3. He had earlier opportunities to put the game away, such as 28 . . . . Na3. But Petrosian was often plagued by a "love of strengthening his position:• as Lev Abramov put it. 30 Rather than go for the kill, he would try to find better and better squares for his pieces in the belief that this would inevitably win. The logic of chess told him this.

29. . . . Rtb8?? 30. Rxa6! Qxa6 31. Nxd5! Suddenly he saw that 31. . . . Rd2 32. Nxc7 saves White. The tournament book recom­ mended 31. . . . Qa3 32. Qxc4 exd5 in view of 33. Bxd5 Rxe2. But 33. Qxc7 is not an easy win. More convincing is 31. . . . Qa2 or 31. . . . Qd6 32. Ndf4 Qxd3 33. Nxd3 Rbl.

31. . . . exd5? 32. Bxd5 Rd2 33. Bxc4 Rxd3 34. Bxa6 The win was gone and White managed to hold the endgame after another 19 moves, for a draw. Boris Spassky also had a slow start in Am­ sterdam. Five draws were followed by two losses and then a worthy win from Smyslov. His most intriguing victory came in the 12th round when Bronstein sacrificed his queen in the opening (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 e5 6. d5 Nh5 7. Be3 Na6 8. Qd2 Qh4+ 9. g3 Nxg3! 10. Qf2 Nxfl 11. Qxh4 Nxe3). Both players missed the best moves in a critical position and Spassky's cooler head prevailed.

The only question in the tournament's final weeks was whether the 1957 world championship challenger would be Smy­ slov, Keres or Yefim Geller. They were tied with four rounds to go and it appeared that whoever won a game or two would prevail. But in a harbinger of what happened in the 1962 Candidates, losses were decisive. Smy­ slov went undefeated in the last four rounds and won the tournament by a point and a half. Spassky and Petrosian finished in a five­ way tie for third place. It was a learning ex­ perience for Spassky. "It was a revelation to me how seriously and nervously the candi­ dates took the tournament work;' he said later. 31 Spassky's achievements during 1955-6 were stunning. Viktor Korchnoi said it was too stunning. Korchnoi had begin to study Spas­ sky as he had Tal. He detected a lack of emo­ tional endurance that comes with occasional failure. When fortune turned against him, "he turned out to be helpless, and several years of his life went by before he was able to temper his character in battle;' Korchnoi wrote two decades later. 32 This may have been another case of Korch­ noi's reinterpreting history to suit his narra­ tive. But Alexander Tolush made a prescient prediction. Spassky's prospects seemed lim­ itless, his trainer said. But Boris was bound to face serious problems. "You'll suffer from girls;' Tolush said. ''And;' Spassky later said, "he was righf' 33

6. Volshebnik Boris Spassky recalled how he and his col­ leagues shook their heads over the inexpli­ cable rise of Misha Tal. "Where did Tal come from?" Spassky asked Vasily Smyslov. "From the devil;' responded the deeply religious Smyslov. Tal's style of play seemed sacrilegious. He quickly played the kind of moves that believ­ ers in chess orthodoxy would not consider. Or if they did, they would take 20 minutes to recheck and recheck them. "It is possible Tal is right in his approach to chess practice;' David Bronstein wrote in Shakhmaty v SSSR. 1 ''Although I have different views:' he added, letting his readers figure out this was a put­ down. Nevertheless, fans quickly saw Tal as a volshebnik. He was a sorcerer, a conjurer, a magician. Tal was virtually unknown in the West when the World Student Team Champion­ ship began on April 5, 1956, in Uppsala, Swe­ den. The USSR team, led by Viktor Korch­ noi, was expected to contend again with Yugoslavia for gold medals. The outcome was foretold when the Soviets crushed the Yugoslavs 4-0 in the third round of the finals. "Borislav Ivkov lost to some unknown Tal;' a Yugoslav newspaper reported. Sahovski Glasnik, a leading theoretical journal, re­ ported the event under a headline: "Tall Re­ member That Name:' 2 Former world champion Max Euwe helped

people remember it after he watched Tal play blitz with a Polish player. He jotted down the moves of this game and they were printed around the world.

Janusz Szukszta-Tal

Uppsala, 1956 King's Indian D efense (E86) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 es 7. Nge2 c6 8. Qb3 exd4 9. Nxd4 dS!? 10. cxdS cxdS Now 11. Nxd5 Nxd5 12. Qxd5 Qb6 may give Black a pawn's worth of play.

11. exdS Nc6??! But 11. . . . Re8 12. Kf2 Qe7 was good enough (13. Nc2 BfS 14. Rel Nbd7 and . . . Nc5).

12. dxc6 Re8 Tal's basic rule was that time is typically more important than material. This was true in many Tal positions but not here after 13. 0-0-0 or 13. cxb7.

13. Kf2? Rxe3! (see diagram) Tal likely saw 14. Kxe3 Ng4+ 15. fxg4? Qxd4+ 16. Ke2 Bxg4+ 17. Kel Re8+ or even 16. . . . Bh6! would win. But he could have been tested by 15. Ke2!, instead of l5. fxg4. Then 15. . . . Qxd4 16. Ne4! would favor White (16. . . . Be6 17. Rdl).

1 09

1 10

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

After 13. ... Rxe3 A better try is 14 . . . . Bh6+! 15. Kd3 bxc6 with the idea of . . . cs. For example, 16. Qc4 BfS+ 17. Ne4 cS! 18. QxcS Rc8.

14. Rdl? Ng4+! 15. fxg4 Bxd416. Rxd4 Qxd4 White is lost: 17. Qa4 Re2+! 18. Kxe2 Bxg4+ 19. Kel Re8+ 20. Be2 Rxe2+ 21. Nxe2 Qxa4.

17. Qd5 Re2+! 18. Kxe2 Bxg4+ 19. Kel Re8+ 20. Be2 Rxe2+ White resigns

A typical at-the-board pose of Tai during his surge to the world championship. Chess Review, March 1961 (used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

Alexander Kotov chaperoned the Soviet team and realized Tal was not like any other player he had met. "Before we flew back to Moscow Misha asked me to take his passport because otherwise he would lose it. Then I took charge of his money as well;' he said. "One got the feeling that at home he was sur­ rounded by loving guardians who had not taught him how to cope with everyday life. Yet at that time he was already 20 and had finished his university course! " 3 Before the trip, Kotov said "Tal's uncle" called him to warn that Misha's health was fragile. "Every time he has a meal he feels unwell, and we give him injections every night and morn­ ing;' Kotov was told. But Kotov found Tal in fine health. 4 Tal and the team reserves, Yevgeny Vasiukov and Anatoly Lutikov, had the best scores on their boards. In the always-fraught USSR-U.S. match, Korchnoi was lucky to draw in a lost position. The Soviets won the match 3-1 and took first prize by five points. Political undertones were also evident in June in the first of what would become an­ nual USSR-Yugoslavia matches and match­ tournaments. Chess fans were as rabid in Yu­ goslavia as anywhere, and every Monday they devoured the full page of chess news in the nation's leading newspaper, Politika. English was not yet the lingu a franca of chess. For­ eigners learned Serbo-Croat instead, to read Yugoslav publications or just to talk with one another. "Smyslov, Tal and Taimanov com­ municated with Fischer in Serbian;' Adrian Mikhalchishin wrote. 5 When Korchnoi arrived in Belgrade, an interviewer asked him who was the best member of his team. He named himself, even though Paul Keres, Smyslov, Yefim Geller, and Tigran Petrosian were with him. "What else can a young man say?" Korchnoi wrote. 6 Smyslov's 5½-½ was the best Soviet score in the event while Petrosian's 4-4 was the worst, thanks to an accident.

111

6. Volshebnik

Petrosian-Svetozar Gligoric

USSR-Yugoslavia match, Belgrade, 1956 King's Indian Defense (E66) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 c5 7. 0-0 Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 e610. Qc2 exdS 11. cxd5 RbS 12. b3 b5 13. Bb2 Res

But it can turn out badly in either of two ways. After 22. . . . c4 Petrosian might have finished with a strong Exchange sacrifice, 23. Nxc4 Nc5 24. NxaS! Nxa4 25. Nc6. He chose a simpler route to victory.

23. Bxc4 Nc5 24. Rxa5 Nfxe4? 25. Bxg7 Nxd2 (see diagram)

Among Black's goals is creating a passed queenside pawn with a prepared . . . b4/ . . . c4. This is why some computers recommend 14. Ndl and Ne3/Racl.

14. Rfel Bf5 15. e4 Bd7 16. a4!? Black would have a fine game after 16. . . . bxa4 ! 17. Nxa4 Rb4 because 18 . . . . Nxb3 19. Nxb3 Bxa4 is threatened.

16. . . . b4? 17. Nb5!

After 25. ... Nxd2

Not 17. Ndl? NxdS. Black would pursue his strategic goal after 17. Ne2 Bc8 18. h3 Ba6 19. Nf4 Rc8, for example.

Now 26. Rxe8+ Qxe8 27. Bh6! wins in view of 27. . . . Nf3+ 28. Kg2 Qe5 29. Ra8 ! ! or 28 . . . . Ne5 29. f4.

17. . . . Bxb5 18. axb5 Rxb5 19. Bfl RbS 20. Ra4

26. Bh6?? Rxel+ White resigns

Petrosian was not risking anything after 17. NbS! because he could always win back his pawn, such as with 20. Qbl, 21. Ra2 and 22. Qal.

"I always liked to play in Yugoslavia but unfortunately I didn't play very successfully there;' Petrosian said late in life. He cited this game and his 1956 Candidates loss to David Bronstein as his most painful defeats.

20. . . . Nb7 21. Qbl! Not 21. Rxa7 NxdS. But now 22. Qal is coming. Note that 21. Qdl-which some databases claims was played-fails to 21. . . . Nxe4 22. Bxg7 Nxd2. After 21. Qbl White invites 21. . . . Nxd5 22. Bxg7 Nb6 because 23. Qal Nxa4 24. Bf6 favors him consider­ ably.

21. . . . as 22. Qal c4? Svetozar Gligoric rivaled Yefim Geller as the world's best King's Indian player, and he understood how badly Black would stand if he allowed 23. BbS and 24. Nc4. So he played the move he wanted to make since move 17.

Old Gu ard The Soviets continued to rely on their vet­ erans in the most prestigious events. Mikhail Botvinnik led their team at the FIDE Olym­ piad, held at the vast Central Army Theater in Moscow beginning August 31, 1956. The youngest team member was Taimanov. They took the gold medals by 4½ points. The Olympiad was followed almost immediately in Moscow by an Alekhine memorial tour­ nament, and it was the strongest individual event of the year. Botvinnik, Keres, Bron­ stein, Smyslov and Taimanov were the Soviet

1 12

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

invitees. When Geller asked Taimanov how he expected to finish, Taimanov said fifth or sixth would be satisfactory. "With such an attitude I wouldn't even play!" Geller replied. 7 Taimanov finished third, behind Botvin­ nik and Smyslov, and the Sports Committee decided to send him to the Netherlands for the annual Hoogovens tournament in early 1957. But after Soviet-led forces crushed the Hungarian revolt in October 1956, anti ­ Russian sentiment swept Western Europe. Taimanov's invitation was withdrawn. No Soviets played in the Hoogovens tourna­ ment, later held at Wijk aan Zee, until 1960. Left out of these events, the priority for the younger Soviet generation was the next USSR Championship, the 24th. Korchnoi blitzed through a quarterfinals in Frunze with another take-no-prisoners score of 17 wins and a single loss. In one of the semi­ finals tournaments, in Leningrad, Spassky tied for first. In another, at Tbilisi, Petrosian dominated with 14½-4½ and Korchnoi also advanced, although 2½ points behind him. And Mikhail Tal? After 15 of 19 rounds in a semifinals in Tbilisi he had an even score and only a long-shot chance of qualifying for the finals. "Perhaps chess history could have been changed then;' Petrosian recalled. ''.And that could easily have happened:' 8 Alexander Koblents, not Tal, was among the leaders. "Well, Maestro, apparently this time I'm training you for the USSR champi­ onship;' Tal j oked. 9 But in the final week, Koblents fell back while Tal put on a 3½-½ spurt. He squeezed into a tie for fifth place, just enough to qualify for the finals. For the first time, all four young rivals would compete in a non-team tournament and, argu­ ably, it was the strongest each of them had played in. Koblents was trying to get used to Tal's lack of self-discipline. Shortly before the fi­ nals the two men were walking late in the day through Riga's streets. "Well, it's time to go to sleep;' Koblents said.

"Of course! " Tal replied, "Not to dances:' Koblents went home. But an hour later he got a phone call from an alarmed Ida Tal. What happened to Misha? Koblents went out to search. At the chess club he found only checker players playing blitz. He was about to leave when he noticed several kibitzers surrounding one table. He approached it and discovered Tal was the center of their attention. When Koblents caught his eye, Tal just smiled sheepishly. 10

New Gu ard Before the 24th USSR Championship fi­ nals, Tal, Spassky, Korchnoi and Petrosian were four up-and-coming players who had met occasionally over the board. Tal had only played two games with Petrosian and two with Spassky up to then. But after this tour­ nament they were no longer j ust colleagues. They were rivals. Retrospective ratings say Petrosian ranked fifth of the 22 players in the tournament. Korchnoi was sixth, Spassky seventh and Tal ninth. The higher-rated favorites for first place were Smyslov, Keres, Bronstein and Taimanov. But when play began January 21, Tal won his first four games, including against Tai­ manov and Bronstein. When Bronstein saw Tal riskily grab one of his pawns, he j ust shook his head in wonder. 11 As Tal continued to take risks, Bronstein decided he must be punished. When Korchnoi asked him what opening to play against Tal, Bronstein said it did not matter-as long as he won: "You can play what you like, but for this game you will be responsible to all the players in the tournament. You have not the right to lose if'12

The players' tables were arranged in three rows on the stage of Moscow's House of Cul­ ture of Railroad Workers. Tal played the first four games in the third row but was moved

1 13

6. Volshebnik up to the front, showcase row, after that. Meanwhile, Korchnoi faded from view. He drew seven straight games after this lucky first-round encounter with a player who once denigrated his talent:

Vitaly Taras ov-Korchnoi 24th Soviet Championship finals, Moscow, 1957 Sicilian Defense (B29) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nc3 e6 5. Nxd5 exd5 6. d4 d6 7. Bg5 Qa5+ 8. c3 cxd4 9. Bd3 dxc3 IO. 0-0 Nc6 Korchnoi was resurrecting a line of play that had been discredited since a 1935 crush by Paul Keres 10. . . . cxb2 11. Rbl dxe5? 12. Nxe5 Bd6? 13. Nxf7!. This was another Korchnoi characteristic. He was skeptical of one-sided wins in openings that might be quite good.

variation runs 21. . . . Rg8 22. Ne5+ Bxe5 23. Qxe5 Rxg6 24. Qh8! and White holds the trumps. Another bizarre draw, after 20. . . . Rae8, would go 21. a3 Qxa3 22. Qb5 and 22. . . . Rb8 23. Qe2 Rbe8. But only computers play that kind of chess.

21. Rdl d4? 22. Bxe8+ This bishop is so strong that White could have maintained a bind with 22. Qc4! Rhf8 23. Bh5. 22. . . . Rxe8 23. Qd3! Qf5?? Understandably, Korchnoi did not trust 23. . . . e5! 24. Qh7+ Kxd6 25. Qxh6+ al­ though it would have favored him.

24. Qa6?? (see diagram)

11. Rel Be6 12. bxc3 h6 Black would be worse after 12. . . . Be7 13. Bxe7 but it is not dear why he rejected 12. . . . dxe5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. Rxe5 Bd6.

13. Bh4 g5? 14. Bg3 Bg7 Too risky was 14 . . . . 0-0-0 15. Rbl and 16. Qb3. To play 14 . . . . Bg7 he likely visualized the position after 18. . . . b5 in the game.

15. exd6! Bxc3! 16. Rxe6+! fxe6 But both players underestimated the dan­ gerous 17. Rbl!, e.g., 17. . . . 0-0-0 18. Qb3 Rd7 19. Bb5 or 17. . . . Rb8 18. Qe2.

17. Bg6+ Kd718. Rbl b5 The Black pawns shield his king but White can try to slip through them, e.g., 19. Bh5 Qxa2 20. Qd3! and Qg6.

19. Qe2 b4 20. Bf7! Rae8 After 20. . . . Nd8 a draw may arise after 21. Bg6 Nc6 (to stop Ne5+) 22. Bf7!. A key

After 24. Qa6 What both players missed was 24. Ne5+ ! Nxe5 25. Qb5+, winning (25 . . . . Nc6? 26. Qb7+).

24. . . . e5! 25. h3 Qc2 26. Rfl? d3 27. Kh2 Kxd6 28. Qc4 d2 29. Qe2 Kc7 30. Rdl a6 White resigns Spassky and Petrosian were upset in the first round but recovered and briefly shared the lead with Tai in mid-tournament. This was Petrosian's high-water mark. He was out­ played in an endgame by Tai and then tried too hard to get the point back. The lesson he learned-do not seek revenge quickly­ would help him six years later in his first world championship match:

1 14

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Anatoly Bannik-Petrosian 24th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1957 Sicilian Defense (B99) I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. 0-0-0 Nbd7 This was a standard opening position in 1957 but apparently a first for Petrosian, who usually played 6. . . . Nbd7. Bannik's logical 10. Qg3 was soon superseded by 10. g4 and 10. Bd3.

10. Qg3 h6 11. Bh4 g5!? 12. fxg5 Rg8 This high-risk idea works in similar posi­ tions when Black can control f4 and es after . . . hxgS. Later, 12. . . . NhS 13. Qe3 QcS came into fashion.

13. Be2 Ne5 14. g6 This stops . . . hxgS but somewhat more of a test, according to practice, is 14. Nf3 Nfd7 15. RhfL

14. . . . Rxg615. Qh3 b516. a3 Bb717. Rhfl? Nxe4! Black's move was considered a blunder after the game but it is much safer than 17. . . . 0-0-0 18. Bxf6 and 19. NdS!, for example.

18. Bh5! Nxc3! 19. Nxe6! This was the only reasonable idea after 18. BhS. Computers now like 19. . . . fxe6 20. Qxe6 Nxdl! with slightly better chances after 21. Bxg6+ Nxg6 22. Qxg6+ Kd7 23. Rf7 Re8. Petrosian finds a remarkable winning try.

19. . . . Qc4! 20. Bxg6! (see diagram) This position could reasonably end in per­ petual check. For example, 20. . . . Bxh4 21. b3! Qc8 22. Ng7+ Kf8 23. Qxh4 and now 23. . . . Ne2+ 24. Kbl Nc3+ 25. Kcl (else 25. . . . Nxg6 favors Black) Ne2+ 26. Kbl. Petrosian may have rejected 20. . . . Nxdl

After 20. Bxg6 because of 21. Rf4! Qe2 22. Bxf7+! Nxf7 23. Nc7+ and wins (23. . . . Kf8 24. QfS). But if his queen maintains watch on f7 he can hold: 21. . . . Qa2! 22. Bxf7+ Nxf7 23. Nc7+ Kd8, with another perpetual.

20. . . . Ne2+ 21. Kbl Bc8?? Black should have tried 21. . . . Nxg6 22. Ng7+ Kf8 23. Bxe7+ Kxg7! when all three outcomes are possible. Now he is lost.

22. Ng7+! Kf8 23. Bxe7+ Kxg7 24. Bf5! Nf4 25. Rxf4 Qxf4 26. Bxc8 Black resigns In a typical 1950s-60s Soviet Champion­ ship everyone-with the exception of Petro­ sian-lost at least one game. In the 1957 ver­ sion, every participant lost twice, including Petrosian. But Tal kept winning. A day after making a spectacular draw with Lev Aronin, he played another dazzling game:

Bukhuti Gurgenidze-Tai 24th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1957 Modern Benoni Defense (A78) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 0-0 9. 0-0 Re8 10. Nd2 Na6 11. Rel White can carry out his plan of Nc4 and Bf4, targeting Black's main weakness at d6, if he plays 11. f3 first. The main line later be­ came 11. f3 Nc7 12. a4 b6 13. Nc4. 11. . . . Nc7 12. a4 b6 13. Qc2 Ng4

6. Volshebnik White would have a modest advantage after 14. Bxg4 Bxg4 15. Nc4, according to computers and tournament experience (15. . . . Qf6 16. Be3). Tal later preferred 13. . . . Na6 and 14 . . . . Nb4.

14. h3? Nxf2! 15. Kxf2 Qh4+ 16. Kfl Bd4 17. Ndl Qxh3! (see diagram)

1 15

22. Bxe4 Bxc4+ 23. Nxc4 Rf8+ or 21. Nec4 Nxd5.

20. . . . fxe4 21. Bxe4 Ba6 22. Bf3 Re5! Winning the piece back with 22. . . . Qh4 and 23. . . . Bxe3 is not as thematic as adding both rooks to the mix, e.g., 23. Ke2 Rae8. Also winning was 22. . . . g5 and 23. . . . g4. 23. Ra3 Raes And here 23. . . . Rf8 24. Ke2 Rxf3! would also have done it.

24. Bd2 Nxd5! 25. Bxd5+ Rxd5 26. Ke2 Bxe3 27. Rxe3 Bxc4+ White resigns

After 17. ... Qxh3 If Tal did not believe in checking the entire "tree of variations" how far did he see? He suggested that sometimes he stopped when he visualized a pretty finish to a main line variation. Here he might have decided to play 14 . . . . Nxf2 after seeing as far as 18. gxh3? Bxh3 mate.

18. Bf3 Qh2 19. Ne3 More likely, Tal saw as far as 18 . . . . Qh2 and looked at both 19. Nf2 and 19. Ne3. After 19. Nf2 he could at least force a draw with 19. . . . Ba6+. Then not 20. Nc4? Nxd5! but 20. Be2 Bxf2 21. Kxf2 Qh4+ 22. Kfl Qhl+. When considering a move that could be calculated several moves into the future­ and certainty was an unlikely goal-Tal often tried to guess what the worst-case scenario was. If that was acceptable, he would play the move and hope to improve on the end posi­ tion if it appeared on the board. In this case, he would likely have found that 19. Nf2 fS! is stronger and, as in the game, is decisive.

19. . . . f5! 20. Ndc4 Black threatened 20. . . . Ba6+ 21. Ndc4 fxe4

Bronstein was clearly jealous. "Well, that Tal, he sacrifices, all the time he sacrifices;' he said. "He thinks he's the first person to play in that style. He should have looked at my games:' 13 But with four rounds to go, Bronstein botched an Exchange sacrifice and lost to Gurgenidze. He managed to join Tal and Alexander Tolush in the lead on the day of the final round. The pairings gave Tal White against Tolush, while Bronstein had the first move against Ratmir Kholmov. Retrospective ratings tell us Tolush was the underdog in his game. But fans felt he was the heavy favorite: He was the veteran and Tal had been too lucky for too long. The wild card in the mix was Kholmov, who would have earned the Soviet version of the grandmaster title if he had won that day. On the way to the game Tal seemed light­ hearted. He quoted passages from the satiric novel The Twelve Chairs, which had been the subject of his university dissertation. But he was nervous. When he arrived at the board, he realized he had absent-mindedly torn off nearly all the buttons off his coat. "This is luck;' he said with a smile. 14 Koblents advised caution. "If you see a draw, don't be upset­ you' ll still win a prize;' he told Tal. "No one aged 21 ever got into the top three . . . :• 1 5 On the other hand, Tolush was so confident that

1 16

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

he reserved a table at a choice Moscow res­ taurant to celebrate his victory. Both Tal and Bronstein quickly seized an advantage. "My attack played itself,' Tal later wrote. 16 The only way to defend that Tolush knew was counterattack. But that was not possible in the position Tal steered him into. Tal's attack was so strong that he overlooked two forced mates in time trouble and was still winning. Five minutes after Tolush stopped his clock to resign, Bronstein did the same to concede a draw in his game. The volsheb­ nik was national champion. He hurried to call home to Riga. But he was also struck by "a feeling of disappoint­ ment" because the tournament he had always dreamed of winning was over. "I won, yet on the way home I suddenly felt sad:' 17 Spassky tried to comfort his trainer. But Tolush shrugged off his loss. "You know, Borya;' he said. "Today I lost to a genius:' 18

Cry! The mystery surrounding Tal's father deep­ ens with this account by Viktor Vasiliev: Nekhemya Tal had been ill during 1957 and was lying in a hospital, the same one he had worked in, when his son won the 24th Cham­ pionship finals. He was released but his condition worsened and he had to be readmitted a short time later. By a twist of fate, Tal was suffering from an inflammation of the lungs and was lying in a hospital bed, one floor above Dr. Tal, when he learned he had died. Tal turned to stone. Ida, sitting next to his bed, wanted her son to release his bottled emotions. "Cry! " she said. 19 But Tal only looked silently at the wall. He was released from the hospital. For about two months he ate almost nothing. Rumors circulated that he had suffered a nervous breakdown or had gone mad. Doctors could not renew his interest in living. But his mother

did. "Only chess could get him out of his bed;' Vasiliev wrote. An annual May Day blitz tournament at a Riga chess club was coming up, Ida said. She got Misha's older brother Yasha to carry him to a taxi and take him to the club. 20 After he won the tournament 17-0, a young player from the Riga Pioneer Palace asked Tal to show him the games. Tal was able to remember all of them. "It was something ex­ traordinary;' said Alexander Bakh, another Riga Pioneer Palace graduate who would play a role in Tal's career. ''After this tourna­ ment Tal recovered;' he said. 21 Tal's only comment in his memoir was, "My father died, and for several months I was out of sorts:' 22 Koblents did not dispute Vasiliev's account in two books about Tal (al­ though he did deny another, less significant, Vasiliev story). Vasiliev wrote of Tal's devo­ tion to Nekhemya Tal. "In difficult moments of life Misha asked himself, 'How would Papa act in this situation?"' he wrote. 23

Grossmeister Tal's legions of fans seemed to grow expo­ nentially. Yuri Razuvaev, a future grandmas­ ter, was 11 when his parents brought him to the annual outdoor blitz championship in Moscow's Gorky Park. ''All the stars took part in this tournament. Bronstein, Petrosian, Spassky, Averbakh, Simagin . . . Everyone;' he recalled. "Misha got 17 of 19. How he played! It was a miracle, a genuine miracle. I could not fall asleep that night. For many years after that I did not go to sleep until I heard the latest news about how Tal played:' 24 His new status pushed Tal higher in the eyes of Soviet chess officials than his rivals. He was promoted to first board, with Spassky on second, at the World Student Team Cham­ pionship that July in Reykjavik. All but one member of the team won their board prize. A month later, at the first-ever European Team

6. Volshebnik Championship finals, Tal was fourth board, behind Smyslov, Keres and Bronstein but ahead of Spassky (fifth board), Petrosian (sixth) and Korchnoi (eighth). Tal's games in both events were not particularly memorable. Then at the FIDE Congress in August, the Soviet Chess Federation took the unusual step of asking FIDE to grant him the title of grandmaster-" Grossmeister" in German and Russian. Tal's victory in the Soviet cham­ pionship was arguably the best result anyone would have in an individual tournament in 1957, they said. 25 However, Tal was not an international master, and no one had been granted the GM title without first becoming an IM since FIDE began granting titles in 1950. In addition, "international grandmaster" was understood to require an impressive result in interna­ tional (individual) tournaments. Tal had never even played in one. Why not wait until he had? But there was some Soviet concern that Tal might never be as worthy of the title as he was in 1957. Taimanov said there was no chance Tal would ever repeat the success he had in the 24th Championship. He vowed to "eat his hat" if Tal managed to win again. 26 When Salo Flohr wrote in the popular mag­ azine Ogonyok that every Tal victory "brought strong disarray in the camp of his rivals;' Bronstein was outraged by the "hyp erbole:' He said, ''As if there was Tal on one side and on the other a camp of rivals:' 27 To ensure Tal's title, a generous package deal was negotiated with the United States at the FIDE congress. "I was 'exchanged"' for Larry Evans and Arthur Bisguier, Tal wrote. 28 The two Americans, then both IMs, had been champions of their country. As a result of the agreement, all three became grandmasters.

117

met his future wife. He did not mention her name, Bella, in the first version of Chess Is My Life. In his 2004 version he did and wrote, "I decided to settle down. I got mar­ ried . . . . An Armenian, born in Tbilisi, she lived in Moscow. After the marriage, I took her to Leningrad:' 29 Bella "and many others" tried to convince him to move to the capital. But he remained loyal to the city where he had endured the blockade. He arranged the wedding for after the 25th Championship fi­ nals. They soon had a son, Igor, and crowded into a small, two-room apartment, leaving a smaller flat in a communal floor. 30 Until then he apparently still lived with his stepmother. Reaching the finals of this national championship was crucial because it was another Zonal. It would determine who would ad­ vance to the Interzonal tournament in Yu­ goslavia eight months later. Petrosian won a semifinals at the end of the year in Kiev, while Korchnoi crushed the opposition at another semifinals in Sverdlovsk, and Spas­ sky tied for first in a third such, in Leningrad. Petrosian was playing Petrosian-style chess. Spassky was imitating Tolush. And Korchnoi seemed to be channeling Aron Nimzowitsch.

Jacob Yukhtman-Korchnoi 25th USSR Championship semifinals, Sverdlovsk, 1957 French D efense (Cll)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. exdS?! exdS 5. Bd3 Nc6 6. Nge2 Be7 7. Bf4 0-0 8. Qd2 Nb4! A small but lasting advantage will follow . . . Nxd3+. White hastens to trade one of Black's bishops.

9. 0-0-0 Ne8 10. Ng3 Nxd3+ 11. Qxd3 c6 A good middlegame plan for Black is based on . . . Nd6, . . . b5 and . . . Nc4.

Tai Style

12. NfS BgS 13. BxgS QxgS+ 14. Ne3 fS!

In October 1958 Viktor Korchnoi was granted a vacation at the Gagra resort and

Korchnoi temporarily makes his "bad" bishop worse in order to secure the c2-f5

1 18

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

diagonal and limit White's knight. Now on 15. g3 f4! 16. Ng2 Black can secure a small edge with 16. . . . Bf5 17. Qd2 Bg4 (18. gxf4 QhS or 18. Rdel Bf3). More ambitious is 17. . . . Nd6, with 18 . . . . Nc4 or 18 . . . . Ne4 in mind. The 18. Qxf4 Qxf4+ 19. Nxf4 g5! endgame is solidly better for Black.

15. h4 Qh616. f3 Nd6 17. Kbl? f4! (see dia­ gram)

After 17. ... f4 White's pawns and vulnerability on the e­ file would be fatal after 18. Ng4 Bxg4 19. fxg4 Rae8 and . . . Re3.

18. Nfl BfS 19. Qd2 Nc4 20. Qcl Qd6 21. Kai Rae8 22. Rgl Bg6! Black's positional superiority is so great that White is reduced to shifting pieces along his first two ranks. Computers say his best survival chance is, sadly, 23. hS BxhS 24. b3 Na3 25. Nbl.

23. Nh2 Ne3 24. Rd2 Qf6 25. Rhl QfS! 26. h5 Bxh5 27. b3 Bg6 28. Kb2 Qf6 29. Qgl Qd6 30. a3 b5! 31. Qal as 32. Rel b4 33. axb4 Qxb4 34. Rde2 a4 So that 35. Nxa4 Nc4+ and wins. 35. Rxe3 fxe3 36. Qxa4 Qd6 37. Ng4 Ra8!

White resigns

As defending champion, Tal did not need to qualify for the championship finals. He could relax. But he couldn't. Alexander Koblents knew "Mishenka's" physical limits

and convinced him to try a vacation at Latvia's Kemeri resort. On the third day he rushed back to Riga. "Tal hates any kind of 'quiet' rest;' Koblents concluded.31 He had a compulsion to keep busy. Years later, Tal's wife Gelya said: "The television in our home practically was never turned off. He simultaneously watched television and read-newspapers, books and thick maga­ zines:'32 The 25th USSR Championship finals had an average rating of about 2670, making it much stronger than the Interzonal later that year. It produced several remarkable games. Alexander Kotov, a veteran of more than 25 years of master tournaments, tried to meet Spassky's knight check by castling. Spassky also thought it was a legal move until arbiter Dmitry Rovner said to Kotov, "Alexander Alexandrovich, this can not be played. You know your king is in check:'33 Kotov was em­ barrassed, made a king move instead and still won. Yefim Geller was among those who saw how the Tal style was influencing his col­ leagues. "Even the outwardly calm Boris Spassky began to play riskily;' Koblents wrote.3 4 In Spassky's games with Alexey Suetin and Isaac Boleslavsky he "could not refrain from offering incorrect piece sacri­ fices. It was good that his opponents took his word, and he obtained 1½ points in the two games:'

Spassky-Isaac Boleslavsky 25th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1958 Sicilian Defense (B63)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 Be7 8. 0-0-0 0-0 9. Nb3 Qb610. f3 a6 ll. g4 Rd812. Be3 Qc7 13. gs Nd7 14. h4 b5 15. g6! fxg6 Also dangerous is 15. . . . hxg6 16. h5 gxh5 17. Rxh5, as Tal showed in a 1957 training game with Koblents. During this period Tal

6. Volshebnik

1 19

and Spassky were poaching each other's open­ ing ideas.

31. . . . Qf7?? 32. Bxg7! Bxg7 33. Rxg7+ Qxg7 34. Rxg7+ Rxg7 35. b3!

16. h5 gxh5 17. Rxh5 Nf6 18. Rg5 Ne5 19. Qg2 Bf8 20. f4

The bishop is trapped and 35. . . . Rgl+ 36. Kb2 Bbl offers no winning chances.

Tal became a move behind in this se­ quence when he varied with 20. Be2 Nc4 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Nd4 Rb8 at the 1962 Olympiad. He won after 23. Rhl Rb7 24. Rh6 Kf7 25. Rh4 Qb6 26. Ndl Qc7 27. f4 h6 28. Rg6! . But Black would have had the upper hand after 25. . . . eS! 26. NfS Ke8.

35. . . . Rf8 36. Qd5+ Kh8 37. Qd6 Rgf7 38. Qe5+ Kg8 39. Qg5+ Kh8 40. Qe5+ Kg8 41. Qg5+ Rg7 42. Qd5+ Kh8 draw

20. . . . Nc4 21. Bxc4 bxc4 22. Nd4 Rb8 23. Rgl Rb7 (see diagram)

After 23. ... Rb7 White can make kingside progress with 24. Qh3 (24. . . . Qf7? 25. es dxeS 26. Nc6). But:

24. Nxe6?? Bxe6 25. Bd4 d5! 26. Bes Did Spassky overlook 26. Bxf6 Qxf4+ and 27 . . . . Qxf6? Or was 26. fS Qf4+ 27. Kbl Nxe4! what he missed?

26. . . . Qe7 27. exd5 Nxd5 28. Ne4 c3! Good enough was 28 . . . . Nxf4 because after 29. Nf6+ Kh8 30. Qe4 gxf6 31. Qxf4 fxeS 32. QxeS+ Bg7 the liquidation 33. Rxg7 Qxg7 34. Rxg7 Rxg7 35. Qxe6 fails to 35. . . . Rgl+.

29. Nxc3 Nxc3 30. Bxc3 Bxa2 31. Qf3 Now 31. . . . Qd6, for example, leaves White without threats and just a piece down.

Mish a and th e Lieuten ant In the previous championiship Tal ad­ journed in an unfavorable endgame but skipped analysis with Koblents so he could go on a date. When he and his lady friend crossed the street the wrong way, they were stopped by police, who asked for Tal's inter­ nal Soviet passport. As usual, he did not have it. Taken to a police station, he found a bored desk lieutenant analyzing a chess position. It turned out to be the Boleslavsky-Tal game, which had been reported on the radio. Tal interrupted to suggest a move. The lieutenant seemed annoyed and pushed the board away and asked "Name?" When the answer was "Tal;' he said, "What, another one?" "You will laugh;' Tal said, "but I'm not 'another' one:' He and the lieutenant then analyzed the game for hour. Tal went home at 7 a.m. 35 Not surprisingly, he lost. He lost again in 1958. When he reviewed the game with Kob­ lents they concluded that he made second­ best moves.

Tai-Isaac Boleslavsky

25th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1958 King's Indian Defense (E87) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Be3 es 7. d5 c5? 8. g4! Ne8 9. h4 f5?! After Tal beat Tolush in a similar pawn structure in the previous USSR Champion­ ship, annotators concluded Black had to get

1 20

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

quick kingside counterplay or he will be over­ whelmed. But this move ruins his control of key light squares.

10. gxfS gxfS 11. exfS BxfS 12. Bd3! e4!? 13. fxe4 Qe7 14. exfS Qxe3+ 15. Qe2 Qg3+ 16. Kd2 Nc7 The game might have ended quickly after 17. Nh3! and 18. Ragl.

17. Qh2? Qxh2+ 18. Rxh2 Nd719. Ne4 KhS (see diagram)

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With 20. Rel b5 21. b3 and Rhe2 White could have retained his sizable superiority. But he played 20. Rg2? bS! and 21. b3 was not possible. To keep control of the position, Tal needed to calculate 21. Nxd6! bxc4 22. Nxc4 Nxd5 23. Ne2. But 21. Nf3? bxc4 22. Bxc4 RabS instead gave Black the upper hand. To try to seize the initiative back, Tal should have visualized lines such as 23. Ragl! Rxb2+ 24. Kel Rxg2 25. Rxg2 RxfS 26. NfgS. He settled for 23. Rbl RxfS 24. NfgS. Then 24. . . . Ne5? instead of 24 . . . . Bes gave him a chance to examine 25. Nxd6!, with all of its complications. But he went for 25. Bb3 c4! 26. Bc2 Nxd5. This gave him another chance to eliminate dangerous pieces with 27. Nc3! and then 27. . . . Nxc3 28. bxc3 Rxbl 29. Bxbl rook­ move 30. Bxh7. Or 27. . . . Nf4 28. BxfS Nxg2 29. Be4. But he opted for 27. Nxd6? Rf6 28. NfS RdS!.

His last chance was to work out 29. Nxg7! Nf4+ 30. Kc3 Nxg2 31. N7e6. But instead he was lost after 29. Kel? Nf4 30. Rg3 Ned3+ 31. Bxd3 Nxd3+ 32. Rxd3 Rxd3. Tal and Koblents concluded that he lost because he did not calculate far enough. "He could not force himself to go deeply into the concrete features of the position;' Koblents wrote.36 But how could that be? When Tal anno­ tated his victories he often gave might-have­ been variations that ran 10, 15, 20 moves or more. Yes, he could analyze like that-or claim that he did-when he had the initiative and the position lent itself to calculating. But against Boleslavsky he had to defend. His opponents eventually learned Tal's se­ cret when they postmortemed with him. He admitted that he often looked only a few moves into the future and guessed (correctly) how the complications would turn out. When Yuri Razuvaev got to play against his hero in 1972, "I suddenly and unexpectedly discovered that Tal almost never calculates variations [to the end] but with some kind of surprising feeling he senses the end posi­ tion:'37 This helps explain why Taimanov and Bronstein had such grave doubts about Tal. They were not alone. Korchnoi believed Tal was "superficial" and played "stereotyped" moves. Korchnoi felt he proved it in the ninth round.

Tal-Korchnoi 25th USSR Championship finals, Riga,

1958 French Defense (C18)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 NfS This was once the main line of the Win­ awer, soon to be replaced by 7. Nf3, 7. a4 and 7. Qg4 0-0 and 7. . . . Qc7.

8. Bd3 h5 9. Qh3 cxd4

6. Volshebnik

121

Now 10. Ne2 dxc3 ll. Bx5 or 10. Bx5 ex5 11. cxd4 offers a small plus.

26. Rg3 Qbl+ 27. Kg2 Qb7 28. h5 d4+ 29. Be4 Bc6

10. Nf3? Qc7!

This last move was considered a misstep because 29. . . . Qb5 30. Rh3 Qg5! seemed to win. But Garry Kasparov felt White would be better in the endgame after 31. Qxg5 and 32. Rhl. He concluded White had found enough attacking resources since move 19 and Black defended well. A draw was the de­ served result.

Korchnoi's study of Tal's games convinced him that Tal had such self-confidence that when he won he did not recheck his opening moves afterward. So Korchnoi rechecked Tal's games and found that he had beaten Petrosian in the previous championship after 10 . . . . Nc6 11. g4 Nfe7 12. gxh5 and then 12. . . . Qc7 13. Bf4 Ng6 14. Qg4!. Korchnoi found an improvement that threatens an im­ mediate 11. . . . Qxc3+ and gains time to win a pawn safely. 11. Rbl dxc3 12. g4 Ne7 13. gxh5 Nbc6 14. Bf4 Ng6! (see diagram)

After 14. ... Ng6 This was an improvement over a Paul Keres analysis that said White was better after 14 . . . . g6 15. h6 N5 16. 0-0!. 15. Bg3! Ngxe5! 16. Nxe5 Nxe5 17. Kfl Bd7 18. Qh4? f6? Better was 18. Rel f6 19. Bg6+. After 18. Qh4 Black could have gotten a nice edge with 18 . . . . Nf3 or 18 . . . . d4 19. Qxd4 Qc6. 19. Bxe5! Qxe5 20. Rxb7 Rb8 21. Rxb8+ Qxb8 22. Qg4 Kf8 23. Rgl g5! 24. hxg6 Kg7 25. h4! a5 Chances are even as time pressure ap­ proaches.

30. Bxc6 Qxc6+ 31. Kgl Qd5 32. Qf4 Qe5 Now 33. Qf3! Qd5! could have drawn by repetition (34. Qf4 Qe5 35. Qf3). Tal mistak­ enly saw a forced win. 33. h6+?? Rxh6 34. Qxh6+ Kxh6 35. g7 Qxg3+! White resigns This debacle came a day after another: Tal lost lifelessly, on the Black side of another Winawer Variation, to Anatoly Bannik, Petrosian's tormentor in the previous cham­ pionship. Koblents, arriving late for the round, sat down near one of the other sec­ onds, Yefim Stolyar. "Look, your man is rock­ ing, like a lunatic;' Stolyar said. 38 Tal resigned on move 52. Tal was not crazy. He was medicated. Be­ fore the game a nurse at a polyclinic had in­ tended to give Tal a shot of Vitamin C to combat the grippe but by mistake adminis­ tered a shot of a barbiturate. Tal was rocking to avoid falling asleep at the board. Since Tal had just been promoted to Gross­ meister at the urging of the USSR, his loss to Bannik was embarrassing to the govern­ ment. The next day Koblents got a phone call from a senior Sports Committee official: "How did you, being such an experienced trainer, allow Tal to play the French Defense? Comrade Koblents, we did not expect this of you!" They both knew Tal did not play the French well. Koblents had nothing to say. After all, he wrote, "The participant wins, the trainer loses:' 39

1 22

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

On Stage Petrosian's line in Soviet championship crosstables was usually a model of efficiency. He drew with the strongest players and crushed the weaker ones. In 1958 he beat the six players at the bottom of the crosstable and drew with everyone else. This was enough to easily secure one of the four qualifying spots for the Interzonal. Yet he could have done much more. Typical was his game with Spassky.

Spassky-Petrosian

25th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1958 Giuoco Piano (C53) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 Nf6 5. Qe2 0-0 6. d3 d5 7. Bb5 dxe4 8. dxe4 Qe7 9. Bg5 Nd8 10. Bel? Bg4! 11. h3 Bh5 12. g4?! Bg6 13. Bd3 (see diagram)

and hindered him, his colleagues said. "I know of no chessplayer with such a super­ developed sense of danger;' Bent Larsen con­ cluded. "He was occupied with prophylaxis when his opponent had not even thought of serious counterplaY:' 40 As Mark Taimanov said, "Unfortunately, this impoverished his play. He extinguished the flames too earlY:' 41 When Tal's score was 5½-4½, he was tied for tenth place. With eight rounds to go, his chances of making the Interzonal seemed minute. "Why is Misha trying so hard;' jour­ nalist David Ginzburg asked Koblents, "You know, he has no chances for fourth place:' 42 The other three Interzonal qualifying places seemed certain to be divided up among Spassky, Bronstein, Yuri Averbakh and Yefim Geller. Geller was rated 12th in the world and still improving. But as Tal noted, he made more "one-move" blunders than any other world­ class player. Spectators witnessed his dra­ matic downfall in the 14th round.

Tal-Yefim Geller

25th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1958

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It is hard to imagine Tal or Korchnoi pass­ ing up 13. . . . Ne6! with the idea of . . . Nf4!. To play it, Black has to calculate 14. Nxe5. But it would not be hard to see that 14 . . . . Bxf2+! is very good (15. Kxf2 Qc5+ or 15. Qxf2 Nc5!). Petrosian chose the timid 13. . . . Bd6?. Drawish bishops of opposite colors appeared after 14. Nh4 Ne615. Nf5 Bxf516. gxf5 Nf4 17. Bxf4 exf4 and a handshake came three moves later. Petrosian's sense of danger both helped

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After 24. ... Rd8 Four moves earlier Tal had left his rook hanging, based on tactics. The playing hall "began to buzz like a beehive;' Isaac Bole­ slavsky said. 43 The position quickly sharp­ ened. Boleslavsky's friend Boris Veinstein was sitting in the first row of the audience

6. Volshebnik and recalled what happened next: "Geller was cheerfully strolling about the stage, and Tal watched him with a fixed glaze, not pay­ ing the slightest attention to the position. After several minutes, continuing to look at Geller-and only at him!-he made the move 25 Bxf6:' Geller, standing near the arbiters' table on the playing stage, looked at the demonstra­ tion board and said aloud, "If I take on f6 with the queen it's a draw. But I have to win!" 44 Geller felt he had to win because Tal's 12th move seemed so unsound to him. Since Geller had played accurately after that, vic­ tory should be near. This was the kind of logic that guided his friend Petrosian. Dubi­ ous moves are inevitably penalized by solid ones. But the natural 25. . . . Qxf6 26. Qxf6 gxf6 would likely result in a draw after 27. d7!. He rejected that because "my opponent's play simply 'demanded' punishmenf' 45 That left 25. . . . gxf6. Geller quickly walked to the board "and without sitting, calmly took the bishop with his pawn:' Veinstein wrote. Just as calmly, Tal replied 26. Re7. "Only then did Geller sink into his chair and see what the entire hall saw: he could not take the rook:' That is, 26. . . . Qxe7 27. Qg4+ !. Through in­ ertia Geller played 26. . . . Qxd6 27. Qxd6 Rxd6 28. Rxel and soon resigned. This victory was part of Tal's stunning fin­ ish, seven points out of eight, which cli­ maxed in the defeat of Spassky described in the Introduction. He had repeated as national champion.

Bobby If Mikhail Tal was the strange new face of international chess, what were Soviet fans to make of Bobby Fischer? Fischer's mother had written Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in 1957 to get her son invited to a "youth and student festival'' in Moscow. That fell through

1 23

but he was invited to a 1958 version. The gan­ gly, 15-year-old Brooklynite arrived in Mos­ cow, escorted by his older sister, to prepare for the Portoroz Interzonal. He was not interested in a youth festival but in playing two training matches. Soviet officials chose the opponents they felt were most appropriate. One was Spassky, since he was the world junior champion and the world's youngest grandmaster. The other was Yevgeny Va­ siukov, champion of Moscow and two-time member of the world champion student team. "But after arriving in Moscow, Fischer said that he only wanted to play Botvinnik;' Vasiukov recalled. "This only drew smiles because Mikhail Moisseyevich stood on such a pedestal, and to play training games, with an American, no less . . . :' 46 So Fischer spent his two weeks playing blitz games at the newly established Central Chess Club "from morning to night and in­ variably beating everyone;' Vasiukov said. Embarrassed officials searched for someone to halt Fischer's streak. Lev Abramov, head of the Sports Committee's chess section, called on Bronstein, Petrosian, and Vasiukov to "show the American the true class of Soviet chess players:' Bronstein refused: "Sorry, but why should I play a kid?" he said, according to Vasiukov. Petrosian showed up and played Fischer in the club's "grandmaster room:' He surprised Fischer by winning the first two games. While this was happening, Vasiukov passed the time by playing Geller, who was not strong in fast chess. When Fischer rebounded to make his score 3-2 against Petrosian, Va­ siukov was 7-0 against Geller. Then Vasiu­ kov took on the American. "I literally crushed Fischer:' he said. 47 It is not clear why Spassky did not play Fischer. But when they met, "I liked him im­ mediately;' because of Bobby's un-Soviet candor. "He liked to say openly what he was thinking;' Spassky said. 48 Fischer's bluntness was unsettling to others. "What can I say

1 24

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

about a country where there are no normal toilets?" he said of the club's lavatories. 49 After a minor dispute, he left Moscow in a huff and never returned to the Soviet Union.

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Spreading Thin Tal prepared for the Interzonal by playing first board on the USSR team at the student Olympiad in Varna, Bulgaria in July. He won his board prize and the Soviets easily took the gold team medals. It was often hard to distinguish between his games and those of his second board teammate. A year before:

Julius Kozma-Spassky World Student Team Championship, Reykjavik, 1957 Modern Benoni Defense (A61) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. g3 Bg7 8. Bg2 0-0 9. Nd2 Ne8 Black defends d6 before it is attacked and will ease his game after Nc4 with . . . Ne5 and a trade of knights.

10. 0-0 Nd7 11. Nc4 Ne5 12. Qb3? Nxc4 13. Qxc4 a6 14. Bf4 b5 15. Qd3 f5 16. Qd2 Nf6 17. Rfel Ra7! This second-rank rook deployment was also a favorite idea of Tal's in the Modern Benoni. Also good is 17 . . . . b4 18. knight­ move Ne4.

18. a3 Ng4 19. h3 Ne5 20. Bxe5? A better way to stop . . . Nc4 was 20. b3. White may have expected to reach equality after 20. . . . Bxe5 21. f4 Bg7 22. e4 fxe4 23. Nxe4 and 24. Ng5.

20. . . . Bxe5 21. f4 Bg7 22. e4 Bd4+ 23. Kh2 g5! (see diagram) Another Tal-like move, in place of 23. . . . fxe4 or 23. . . . Re7. The rook would strongly come into play after 24. e5 gxf4 25. gxf4 Rg7.

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�'--·- ��"¼����", After 23. ... g5

24. fxg5 f4! 25. gxf4 Rxf4 26. Ne2? White loses faster if he allows 26. . . . QxgS or falls for 26. Qxf4 Bes. But 26. Rfl Rxfl 27. Rxfl Rg7 28. b3 puts up better resistance than the game (not 28. h4 h6!).

26. . . . Rf2 27. Rfl Raf7 28. Rxf2 Rxf2 29. Rfl Qf8 30. Qcl Rxfl 31. Qxfl Qxfl 32. Bxfl Bxb2 The endgame is lost but 31. Bxfl Qf2+ 32. Khl Bes was also hopeless.

33. a4 bxa4 34. Nf4 a3 35. Bc4 Bd7 36. Kg3 Bb5 37. Ba2 c4 38. Ng2 c3 White resigns Supremely calm at the board-or so it seemed-Spassky had developed a reputa­ tion as a hothead away from it. One morning at breakfast, Yuri Averbakh, the team chap­ erone, noticed that team reserve Aivars Gip­ slis had a black eye. "I fell out of bed;' he lamely explained. It turned out that at the previous dinner he and Spassky fought over a trifle-who should get a dinner roll. "The enraged Gipslis went for Spassky, but the others grabbed him and then Spassky thumped him!" Averbakh recalled.so Spassky acknowledged he acted irrespon­ sibly in those years. "The trainer Tolush did not know what to do with me in my youth. I behaved recklessly;' he said in a 2003 inter­ view.s 1 He added in 2016: "There were times when I was so drunk that I had to get to home on all fours. The

6. Volshebnik last time it happened in Bulgaria. The Soviet student team won the world championship. I drank some aniseed vodka and felt very sick. I managed to walk out of the bar, al­ though I was staggering. I got to the hotel, and there, I fell on all fours. Since then, I have never drunk aniseed vodka!" 52 Petrosian was leading quite a different life style. Before the Interzonal, he took time off for a surgical procedure. A Soviet doctor "performed on me a so-called resection of the nasal membranes:' 53 This is usually done to cure a deviated septum or nasal obstruc­ tions. Petrosian did not say what his problem was. But he felt it impaired his ability at the board. After the procedure "I became capa­ ble of withstanding the tension of chess bat­ tles;' he said. As time went by he came to terms with his faulty hearing. "He always had a big cream­ colored hearing aid behind his ear" but was "not shy" using it even when it annoyed ac­ quaintances, his later friend Andrei Gavrilov said. "He constantly tuned it, without taking it out from behind his ear. The apparatus made terrible sounds, squeaked and mewed, and the unflappable grandmaster continued to calmly talk:' 54 Tal, the least healthy of the rivals, was spreading himself thin. He was busy study­ ing for a university state exam in the Russian language. This was critical because he was still considering a day job as a teacher. Dur­ ing his studies he was swamped with aca­ demic literature, on Old Church Slavonic and other arcane subject matters. At the same time he tried to regain the Latvian Champi­ onship, even though he was Soviet cham­ pion. Tal's overbooked schedule cost him when he was preparing for a game as Black against Gipslis. Tal was not sure how to meet 1. e4 when, it seemed, fortune rang his doorbell. It was the postman delivering that month's copy of Shakhmatny Bu lletin. This was the technical magazine, launched in 1955, which

1 25

each month provided about 200 significant recent games, as well as high quality theo­ retical articles. Bobby Fischer, along with al­ most every other aspiring master, became a devoted reader. In the issue Tal received, Nikolai Krogius analyzed a topical line in the Richter-Rauzer Variation, 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6. It went 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Bd7 9. f4 h6 10. Bh4 Nxe4 ll. Qel! Nf6 12. Nf5 Qa5 13. Nxd6+ Bxd614. Rxd6 0-0-015. Rd2.Tal's interest was piqued because Gipslis regularly played 6. Bg5 and would likely follow these theoret­ ically recommended moves. He scanned to the bottom of the page, where Krogius said 15. . . . e5 was an interesting idea. Reading no further, he put the magazine away and concluded the new move might be sufficient for a draw. But when the game began and he played 15. . . . e5? he instantly began to wonder how he would defend the f7-pawn after 16. Bc4!. There was no good answer. Gipslis won in 53 moves. After the game Gipslis asked Tal if he had seen the lat­ est issue of the Bulletin. Gipslis pulled his copy out of his bag and showed Tal the top of the next page that Tal had not had time to read. Krogius wrote that 15. . . . e5 was, of course, bad because of 16. Bc4!. 55 Josif Zilber also beat Tal in the tourna­ ment, and Zilber and Gipslis finished a half point ahead of him. But fans devoured every Tal game, like this one.

Janis K\aviq.s-Tal Latvia Championship, Riga, 1958 Sicilian D efense (B90)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 9. f4 b5 10. a3?! Nbd7 11. Be3? Bb7 White's 6. Bc4, a Fischer favorite, was new and it took a while to appreciate the need to push the f-pawn quickly, such as with 8. f4 or 11. fS.

1 26

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Now it is too late (12. fS eS 13. Nde2 Nxe4 or 12. Qf3 NcS).

12. Bxe6!? fxe6 13. Nxe6 QeS 14. Qd4 RcS 15. Rael "As paradoxical as it seems;' Tal wrote of a famous knight sacrifice against Bent Lar­ sen, but it "carries a positional character:' Today this seems obvious. But in 1958 the notion that here, for example, White might have long-term positional compensation, as opposed to a quick mating attack, drew stares. In any case, Black deserves more than a 15. . . . Rf7 16. NgS Rf8 17. Ne6 draw by rep­ etition.

15. . . . Rc4! 16. Qa7 QcS!

After 18. ... d5 Black threatens 19. . . . Rxd4 20. Qxd4 Bes. There is also a threat to trap the queen with . . . Bd6-b8, e.g., 19. b4 Bd6! 20. Bxf6 Bc7! and . . . Bb6+.

Better than 16. . . . Qa8 17. Nxf8 Bxf8 18. Qxa8 Bxa8 because White's king is the vulnerable one if queens remain on the board.

19. Khl dxe4 20. Rdl Qc6

17. NxfS BxfS 18. Bd4 d5! (see diagram)

21. b3 Rxc3! 22. Bxc3 e3 23. Rf3 e2 White

One cute finish is 21. Bgl e3 22. Rf3 Qxf3! 23. gxf3 Bxf3 mate. A routine loss follows 21. Be3 Bxa3.

resigns

"Tal was my idol! " re­ called Larsen. "He simply smashed his opponents:' But even Tal's multitasking was not enough to juggle two careers. He wrote how he "worked as a teacher of Russian language and liter­ ature for half a year. I taught with great fondness:' But chess interfered and "I was forced to quit school:' 56

Portoroz

Bobby Fischer (left), Tai and Petrosian relax during a rest day of the 1958 Interzonal in Portoroi, Yugoslavia. The tournament was the first meeting of all three future world champions. Tal-Botvin­ nik 1960 (courtesy Russell Enterprises).

Tal and Koblents were educated but seemed un­ schooled in social skills when they arrived at the resort town of Portoroz for the Interzonal in August.

6. Volshebnik Svetozar Gligoric greeted them and said they had half an hour to change out of their travel clothes before they were expected at a dance hall. "And what shall we do there?" Koblents asked. Gligoric, a veteran of Interzonals, showed them a poster that read "Today, in the central hall of Adriatica Hotel, there' ll be a dance party for the world's outstanding chess players." Tal turned to Koblents and said, "We have nowhere to retreat:' If they did not attend, "we can not be considered outstanding players." They showed up and found that Yuri Averbakh and Petrosian were already in the swing of the party and dancing to rock tunes. 57 Tal, Petrosian and David Bronstein were the pre-tournament favorites, followed by Gligoric, Bent Larsen and Averbakh. Of the 21 players, Bobby Fischer was rated 14th. "No one took him seriously;' Tal recalled. 58 Tal joked about how the American made nai've predictions about qualifying for the 1959 Candidates and then began poorly at Por­ toroz. But Tal's start was also suspicious. Fis­ cher had an even score after five rounds. For Tal, it could have been minus-two in view of his first round:

Tai-Boris De Greiff

Interzonal, Portoroz, 1958 English Opening (A17)

127

After 19. ... gs is 20. Ne6, which wins material after the rare fork 20. . . . Rt7 21. Ncd8. Tal must have seen 20. . . . Ng4! (21. fxg4? Qxe6) and concluded he would have better winning chances in other lines than after 21. Nxf8 Nxe3 22. Qe2 Nxfl.

20. Nxd5 Nxd5 21. fxe4 fxe4 Alexander Khalifman, in his four-volume anthology of Tal games, dismissed 21. . . . Nxe3 with 22. Bc4+ Kg7 23. dS+ Kt7 24. Qd3 Nxfl 25. Rxfl. But White's attack dies after 25. . . . bS! and 26. RxfS+ Ke8 or 26. es Bes+ 27. Kg2 g4.

22. Bxe4?? Nxe3?? Black's advantage would have been indis­ putable after 22. . . . Rxfl+! 23. Rxfl Nxe3 24. queen-move Nxfl. White had to play 22. Rxf8+! Rxf8 23. Bxe4.

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. e3 Be7 5. b3 0-0 6. Bb2 b6 7. d4 Bb7 8. Bd3 Nbd7 9. 0-0 Ne4 10. cxd5 exd5 11. Qe2 a6 12. Qc2

23. Rxf8+ Rxf8 24. Qe2 Bxc6?

Tal makes no effort to theoretically chal­ lenge his opponent, a Colombian master who finished 20th in the field of 21.

25. Bxc6 g4 26. a3 Qg5 27. Rel NfS 28. Qe6+ Rf7?

White's edge is slim after 24 . . . . g4.

The outcome is not certain after 28 . . . . Kh8.

12. . . . f5 13. Ne2 Bd6 14. Ne5 Qe7 15. Rael Rac816. Nc6 Qh417. Nf4 Ndf618. g3 Qh6 19. f3! g5! (see diagram)

29. Bd5 Black resigns

Now 20. fxe4 fxe4 would give Black a strong game following 21. Be2 gxf4 22. gxf4 Qh3. But 21. NxdS! NxdS would transpose into the game. Another crucial continuation

Like Fischer, Tal was thinking from the tournament's start about how much of a plus score he needed to clinch a Candidates spot. But for the Soviet entrants this was compli-

1 28

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

cated by a new FIDE rule. It limited the num­ ber of Candidates from one country to four. Since Vasily Smyslov and Paul Keres were already seeded into the Candidates tourna­ ment, there were only two other spots avail­ able to Tal and his countrymen. This is the kind of numbers game Tal hated. When asked, in a 1969 interview, "What don't you like in chess?" he said, "Qualifying events for an­ other competition:' 59 He joined his comrades in writing a protest letter to FIDE. The tournament calculus indicated Tal would need a plus-five score in the remain­ ing 17 rounds, much more than the plus-two required of Spassky three years before. Tal went for blood in the fifth round against Miroslav Filip, the Czech grandmaster who was nearly a foot taller than him and was one of the top two dozen players in the world.

Tal-Miroslav Filip Interzonal, Portoroz, 1958

Ruy Lopez (C98)

I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 ll. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc6 The same pawn structure arose in a 1969 Soviet Championship game between Tal and Geller. "The advance d4-d5 gives White an advantage;' Tal said in the postmortem. "Yes, but I knew that you wouldn't play it;' Geller replied. 60 Tal replied with a smile. They both knew his opening quirks.

13. dxc5 dxc5 14. Nfl Bd6 15. Nh4 Ne7 16. Qf3 Rd8 17. Ne3 This variation was well known in 1958 be­ cause it appeared in the Smyslov-Botvinnik world championship match the previous year. Averbakh, who rarely played 1. e4, won a nice game at Portoroz that went 17. . . . Qc6 18. c4 Ne8 19. Bb3.

17. . . . Qb7 18. g4? This was "stereotyped;' as Korchnoi would

say. Fischer showed a better policy against Filip a year later, 18. Ng4! Nxg4 19. hxg4 fol­ lowed by NfS.

18. . . . c4 19. Nef5 Nxf5 20. Nxf5 Bxf5 21. gxf5 Kh8 22. Kh2 h6 23. Rgl Qe7 24. Bd2 Bc5 25. Radl Rd7 26. Qg3 Qf8 (see diagram)

�E ■ E ■ tr-�ff,,�w-�, �J �W},

�%% �,,

t ��-1�ff -��_;� fiJ � t ��i� '-- ---/ ft � %� �� �� �lf "'1 97/2� - -

��t)f�-�f(,)��

� % , i.tf1,w ��m- -�rfjr.:4� ft im..QJQl im

w

��l!D' ' ' '��,- After 26. ... Qf8

Tal played 27. Khl!?. It makes little sense except to prepare a sacrifice on h6. The im­ mediate 27. Bxh6 gxh6 28. Qxe5?? would lose to 28 . . . . Bd6. Filip must have looked at the Bxh6 idea before he attacked the bishop with 27. . . . Rad8!. While Tal thought, Geller approached Koblents in the audience. Petrosian had brought Geller to Portoroz as his second and personal cheering section. "It seems this time Misha didn't achieve anything!" Geller gloated to Koblents. Koblents recognized how solid Filip's position was. But he wanted to deflate Geller. "If Misha has an open file, it' ll be mate;' he replied. 61 This quote became part of the Tal legend and would be invoked by journalists when­ ever he smashed away pawns to get to an enemy king. But Tigran Petrosian cited it as an example of how Koblents lacked objectiv­ ity when he came to Tal. Koblents is "exces­ sively admiring of all that his protege does;' Petrosian said. 62 Borislav lvkov agreed. "I know how Kob­ lents trains Tal;' he said. "One hundred times a day he tells him that he plays like a genius:' 63

1 29

6. Volshebnik 28. Bxh6 The tournament book said "all those pres­ ent, including Dr. Filip" expected this since Tal advertised it with 27. Khl. Besides, White would be clearly worse after 28. Be3 Nxe4 or 28 . . . . Rxdl 29. Rxdl Rxdl+ 30. Bxdl Nxe4. But the sacrifice is stunning because Filip had offered a draw when he played 27. . . . Rad8. 64 (Tal misremembered in his memoir, saying Filip made the offer after 28. Bxh6.) Why did Filip make the offer and why did Tal refuse? Neither of them could be sure that the sacrifice was sound. The best expla­ nation may be that Filip was worried about defending against a Tal attack-and that Tal sensed that. As in the denouement of Tal's game with Spassky in February, Tal smelled fear. 28. . . . gxh6 This was forced in view of 28 . . . . NhS? 29. Bxg7+ Nxg7 30. Rxd7 Rxd7 31. f6. Or 29. . . . Qxg7 30. Qh4 Rxdl 31. Bxdl and 30 . . . . Qh6 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. RgS.

29. Qxe5 How much did Tal calculate of 29. . . . Qe7 30. Qf4? Most likely he saw that the natural 30. . . . Ng8? loses quickly to 31. Rxg8+! Kxg8 32. Rgl+ Kh7 33. f6! or 32. . . . Kf8 33. Qxh6+. He must have looked at 30. . . . Kh7 and realized that 31. eS Rxdl 32. Bxdl NdS is un­ clear. He probably also noticed that 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. eS would favor him because of 33. f6+ if the knight moves. Yes, but 31. . . . Qxd7! 32. eS Qd2! or 32. . . . QdS+ would win for Black.

29. . . . Be7! 30. Rd4! Rxd4 31. cxd4 Black can coordinate his pieces with 31. . . . Rd7 and 32. . . . Bd8. He would be better even if he gave back a knight, e.g., 32. . . . Bd8 and 33. . . . Qd6 (34. Qxd6 Rxd6 35. es Rxd4 36. exf6 Bxf6).

31. . . . Kh7 32. Rdl (see diagram)

After 32. Rdl Had Petrosian been Black he would likely have neutralized White's center pawns, such with 32. . . . Nd7 and 33. . . . f6. Had Korchnoi been Black, he would have looked at the counterattacking 32. . . . Qg7. He would have found that 33. Qxe7 Rg8! or 33. Rgl Bd6! 34. Rxg7+ Kxg7 wins. After 32. . . . Qg7 Tal would likely reply 33. Qf4, threatening 34. es knight-move 35. f6+. But he would be defending a bad ending after 33. . . . QgS 34. QxgS hxgS 35. es Kh6 36. exf6 Bxf6. What happens next can be explained by what Korchnoi called "the 'young' Tal ef­ fect" -"Playing a game with all your energy, emanating a kind of hyp notic influence and an air of absolute confidence, a player can sometimes convince his opponent that his tricks are watertight and absolutely irrefut­ able! " 65 32. • . . Ne8? 33. f6! Nxf6? Black is still very much alive after 33. . . . Bxf6 because of 34. QfS+ Kg8 35. eS Qe7! . 34. Qf5+ Kh8 35. e5 Qg7 36. exf6 Bxf6 37. Rgl Bg5 38. f4 Black resigns After the game, critics pointed out the many flaws. Black could have gotten the upper hand with 29. . . . Qe7 30. Qf4 Nh7 31. Qxh6 Qf6 or 31. Rxd7 Rxd7 32. eS f6!. Admirers shrugged. "Bravery must be honored;' wrote Matanovic. Koblents remembered how in 1936, Shakhmaty v SSSR said of the sainted Botvinnik: "It is difficult to name any master

1 30

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

who saved so many not so much lost posi­ tions as hopeless positions:' 66

Three Qu arters of a Point Late in the tournament-Tai said it was after round 12-a FIDE Congress in Dubrov­ nik responded to the protest letter of the So­ viet players. It enlarged the 1959 Candidates tournament and created the possibility of a third Soviet player advancing from Portoroz. They would likely need a plus-four score. Petrosian was already plus-five. One of his dominating wins:

Petrosian-Aleksandar Matanovic Interzonal, Portoroz, 1958 Queen's Gambit Declined (D38)

I. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 h6 7. Bh4 c5 8. e3 0-0 Opening theory later turned to a quick . . . g5/ . . . Ne4.

9. dxc5 Nbd7 IO. Be2 Qa5?! After this Black can not afford . . . Nxc5 be­ cause Bxf6 ruins his castled position. Better was 10 . . . . Nxc5 or 10 . . . . Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Nxc5.

11. 0-0 Bxc3 12. bxc3 Qxc5 White's c5-pawn is an asset after 12. . . . Qxc3? 13. Rel Qa5 14. Rc2. But his superi­ ority would be slim after 12. . . . Ne4! 13. c4 dxc4 14. Bxc4 Ndxc5.

13. Rel b6 No better is 12. . . . Qe7 13. Qd4 Nb6 be­ cause of 14. Qb4 (14 . . . . Re8 15. Bb5 Bd7 16. Bxd7 Qxb4 17. cxb4 and Rc7).

14. c4 Bb7 15. Nd4 RacS? A last bid for a playable game was 15. . . . dxc4 and 16. . . . Qe5.

16. Bf3 Qb4 17. a3! (see diagram)

After 17. a3 Now on 17. . . . Qa5 18. Nf5! the threat of Nd6 can win neatly, e.g., 18 . . . . Res 19. Qd4 (threat of 20. Nxh6+) Kh7 20. Nxg7! Kxg7 21. Bg4! and Bxd7. If the queen retreats, 17. . . . Qd6, it is embarrassed by 18. Nb5 Qb8 19. Bg3. Better survival chances lie in 17. . . . Qc5 18. cxd5 Qxcl 19. Qxcl Rxcl 20. Rxcl Bxds 21. Rc7 Bxf3.

17. . . . Qxa3? 18. Ral Qc5 19. Rxa7 BaS 20. Qal! Kh7 21. Rdl The threat is 22. cxds Bxds 23. Rxd7! Nxd7 24. Nf5!.

21. . . . Qxc4 22. Be2! Qc3 23. RxaS! Black

resigns

Also lost was 22. . . . Qc5 or 22. . . . Qb4 be­ cause of 23. Bd3+ Kg8 24. Bf5! and 23. . . . g6 24. Bxf6 Nxf6 25. Ne6. With four rounds to go, Tal was plus-four. To be sure of qualifying for the Candidates he wanted another win. In the next game he adjourned a favorable position with Oscar Panno. Koblents' first question after Tal sealed his adjournment move was what he thought of the outcome. "It seems like a draw;' he said. "Then why are you waiting. Offer! " Koblents said. 67 Tal shook his head and smiled. He and Koblents analyzed late into the night. The next day Tal would be Black against Fridrik Olafsson. He did not think their game would be a problem. He had a plan: When he sat down at the board with the Ice-

6. Volshebnik lander he would draw a line on his scoresheet next to the space for the 15th move. That is when he would offer a draw and save his en­ ergy for more Panno analysis. The next round came and pieces were quickly traded. "Are you playing for a win?" Tal asked at move 15. Olafsson said "Yes! " 68 It had not occurred to Tal that his opponent would try to beat him. If he had studied the scoretable he would have known that Olafs­ son also had good chances of reaching the Candidates and also needed a win to feel cer­ tain. Olafsson pressed well and sealed his 42nd move in a very promising endgame. That meant Tal and Koblents had two difficult ad­ journments to study. They concluded that Tal deserved only three quarters of a point from them. But he needed a full point to be sure of qualifying. Since the Olafsson position looked closer to a loss than the Panno game did to a win, Koblents and Tal decided to focus on it. With "every minute" they became "more and more convinced that things were very, very bad;' Tal wrote. 69 After play resumed:

Fridrik Olafsson-Tal

Interzonal, Portoroz, 1958

After 44. d6 Tal and Koblents analyzed this far and de­ cided to go with the "completely absurd" idea of moving the king away from the dangerous d-pawn, 44. . . . Kg7!.

131

Olafsson had used up 45 minutes on his sealed move but found the best reply, 45. Ke8!, since 45. . . . Re3+ 46. Re7! Rxe7+ 47. Kxe7 a3 48. d7 a2 49. d8(Q) al(Q) 50. Qf8+ wins. Tal relied on his student acting experience. He made his moves quickly, getting up from the table and putting on an appearance that everything had been foreseen: 45. . . . Rxf3 46. Rxa4 Re3+ 47. Kd8 f5!. His last move was the surprise he and Koblents had planned. His king blockaded White's second passed pawn, 48. gxf5? Kf6 ( 49. Ras g4!). After the game, Olafsson learned that he could have won after 48. Ra5! . And much later Vasily Smyslov found an earlier win, beginning with 46. d7! Re3+ 47. Kd8 a3 48. Ra8!. Koblents was late for the adjournments and when he arrived, he asked ifTal had got­ ten the point he needed from the two games. "More:' Tal replied. He had drawn with Olafs­ son and beaten Panno. That allowed him to play a quick draw with Petrosian in the next-to-last round and guarantee first prize, the equivalent of $1,000. Petrosian tied for third place. The biggest surprise of the final round was Bronstein's upset at the hands of Rodolfo Cardoso of the Philippines. It was an anti-climactic end of the third world championship bid by Bron­ stein, who had starred in the previous Can­ didates tournaments. Nevertheless, Bronstein was still valued more highly than the young rivals when the lineup of the Soviet team for the 1958 Olym­ piad at Munich was announced. He was fourth board, behind Botvinnik, Smyslov and Keres, but ahead of the reserves, Tal and Petrosian. However, there was a significant change. In previous Olympiads, the Soviet reserves usually played when a top board was tired or out of form. At Munich, Tal and Petrosian played 15 and 13 games respec­ tively, while each of the other team members were limited to 12. The reserves had the best results of the gold-medal team: Tal scored 12

1 32

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

ily fled to relatively safe Vil­ nius during the Doctors' Plot campaign. Like Tal, she was naturally attracted to the stage. She joined a drama troupe, then moved to a Riga youth theater, where she was well received, and also won plaudits as a stage singer. Despite her lack of en thusiasm, Sally was con­ vinced by friends to visit Tal's Riga home at Gorky Street, number 34. It charmed her. It was not the Petrosian (left), Roman Toran Alberto of the Spanish team (above) elegant antique furniture or and world champion Mikhail Botvinnik watch Tai (right) analyze chandelier. It was "the non­ during the 1958 Olympiad in Munich. Shakhmaty v SSSR, January Soviet spirit of their home:' 1959. She felt that "those who wins and three draws; Petrosian had eight lived here will understand me:' And she was wins and five draws. There was no longer any struck by Tal's face, especially his "huge eyes question of whether Tal was a real Grossmeis­ which reflected, as it were, mischievous ter. thoughts and deeds:' She noticed how much he looked like the "elegant" relative identified as Uncle Robert, and how little Tal resembled a portrait on the wall. "This is my father, Dr. S ally Tal;' Misha said. 72 Tal's life took yet another major turn on After small talk, she was asked about her the evening of December 31 when he wel­ musical background and was convinced to comed 1959 at a popular Riga restaurant. A play the piano. She began Rakhmaninoff's former college classmate of his had a date Elegy. It was Tal's favorite composition. "He that night with a local celebrity, a red-headed looked at me as if he had made an incredible singer-actress named Sally Landau. He took discovery;' she recalled in her memoir, which her to the restaurant and introduced her to she titled Lyubov i Shakhmaty, Elegiya Mik­ "our famous Mikhail Tal:' 70 haila Talya (Love and Chess, the Elegy of She was unimpressed. "Chess absolutely Mikhail Tal). did not interest me;' she recalled. But Tal Tal told her he was leaving for Tbilisi, for later insisted they-or rather, he-had fallen the January 9 start of the next national cham­ in love "at first sight:' He was stunned by her pionship. He asked for her telephone number appearance and joked that her fiery hair and whether he could call her during the could only be found on a space alien. 71 nearly five-week tournament. She consented, They were born five days apart and were not realizing it would "turn into a daily tele­ both children of cultured Jewish profession­ phone bombardment:' 73 It was the beginning als. As a child during World War II she was of a remarkable relationship. evacuated to Siberia. After the war, her fam-

7. Three Directions descending, Petrosian seemed to be going nowhere. As he turned 30, he realized he might never get any better. Moreover, he was out of fashion in the Tal era. In an otherwise praising 1959 article in the widely read magazine Ogonyok, Mikhail Botvinnik took a shot at Petrosian's policy of playing "according to position:' If the posi­ tion seemed balanced, playing that way was an excuse to make a quick draw. This is "not a popular approach;' Botvinnik wrote. "It seems too circumspect, cautious, even cow­ ardlY:'3 It could also seem almost unpatriotic. "It was a time when in all forms of sports, 'our fighting, attacking style' was strongly in­ stilled;' recalled journalist Valery Asrian. ''.And those who liked to defend, be they tennis players, boxers or chessplayers, were mer­ cilessly criticized:' 4 Andrei Potanin, the first great Soviet tennis player, was intensely at­ tacked by state media for his baseline strat­ egy. It got so bad that Potanin abandoned competition in 1965. Petrosian came to the same conclusion: "I wanted to give up chess:' He "decided to ob­ tain a 'normal profession:" But he was talked out of this by a journalist, Ashot Arzuman­ ian, who was writing a book on Russian­ Armenian culture. When Arzumanian came to interview him, Petrosian revealed his intention. "No, that would be cowardice:•

During Mikhail Tal's magical ascent, one of his rivals considered giving up chess. It was not Boris Spassky, whose career was en­ tering a nightmare downward spiral. It was Tigran Petrosian. For years Petrosian had been quite happy with the quality of his play and with his tour­ nament results. He almost always finished with a plus score and often took home a prize. True, he had never won a major event. But that did not matter. "For many years I was almost indifferent to the place I occupied in tournaments;' he wrote, because of his "complete lack of ambition:' 1 This changed after he tied for third through seventh place in the 1956 Candidates tour­ nament. He called it an "honorable and cus­ tomary" result-it was where he was ex­ pected to finish. But Petrosian was stunned and hurt by the tournament report in Shakh­ maty v SSSR. "I eagerly scanned it to see what it had written about me:• he wrote. "Not only was there not a single word of support or criticism, but even my name did not appear in this article:' 2 This led Petrosian to realize his "customary" results meant he was flatlining. In his early 20s his rating had steadily risen. He was the sixth best player in the world as 1954 began according to Chessmetrics. But five years later he was seventh best. While Tal was still headed upward, and Spassky was

1 33

1 34

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Arzumanian replied. "Giving up chess you will prove nothing. You should play and win. Only then you will prove your case;' he said. 5 At this crossroads moment, Rona Petro­ sian rallied his spirits. "She was for Tigran Petrosian a faithful wife, a trainer, a mother, a lover, a chief adviser, psychologically and organizationally leading his play;' said a fam­ ily friend, Iser Kuperman. 6 Rona wanted to be married to a world champion. His Armenian supporters wanted to root for one. Petrosian had been receiving pleading fan mail and even phone calls for some time. His friend Yuri Averbakh recalled the basic message: "Dear Tigran, when will you finally become world champion? We're tired of waiting. Please hurry up:' 7 After his crisis of confidence, Petrosian's outlook turned 180 degrees. Instead of giving up chess, he decided to take the world cham­ pionship seriously. No more "It's better to be fifth:' A first step in that direction was real­ izing he had outgrown his trainer, Andre Lilienthal. "In 1959 I hesitantly approached Isaac Boleslavsky with a view to chess col­ laboration;' he wrote. "Frankly speaking, I was not only gladdened but rather surprised that he agreed:' 8 Boleslavsky had been meeting Petrosian over the board since 1949. He recognized Petrosian's strengths. He also saw his flaws. ''Tolstoy believed in people;' Boleslavsky said. "Petrosian believed in the strength of any op­ ponent:' 9 Together they made a formidable team. Soon Petrosian's career was again go­ ing in the same direction as Tal, upward.

I Just Pushed Him No one could detect flatlining in Viktor Korchnoi's career. He had up-and-down ex­ periences in the previous USSR Champi­ onships. He looked like he was due for an up in the 26th after he scored 11-4 in a semi­ finals and won games like:

Korchnoi-Georgy Bastrikov 26th USSR Championship semifinals, Tashkent, 1958 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E44) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 b6 5. Ne2 Bb7 6. a3 Be7 7. d5! 0-0 8. Ng3 d6 9. Be2 c6 10. Bf3 cxd5 11. cxd5 e5? White has taken so much time to establish his superior center that 11. . . . NxdS 12. NxdS BxdS 13. BxdS exdS 14. QxdS Nd7 should equalize.

12. h4!? Bc8 13. e4 Na6 14. Be3 Bd7 15. Rel Re8 16. Be2 Nc7 17. Nfl Qb8 18. g4! Rc8 19. Ng3 Bf8 20. g5 Nfe8 21. Bg4! Bxg4 22. Qxg4 b5 23. b4 a5 24. h5 axb4 25. axb4 Na6 26. g6! Qb7 27. Nf5 Kh8 (see diagram)

After 27. ... Kh8 28. h6! fxg6 29. Qxg6! So that 29. . . . hxg6 30. hxg7+ Kg8 31. Rh8+ and mates.

29. . . . gxh6 30. Bxh6! Bxh6 And here 30 . . . . hxg6 31. Bg7+ Kg8 32. Rh8+ Kf7 33. Rxf8 mate.

31. Qxh6 Qf7 32. Ke2 Nxb4 33. Rcgl! Rxc3 34. Rg7 Ra2+ 35. Kfl Ral+ 36. Kg2 Qxg7+ 37. Nxg7 Rxhl 38. Kxhl Nxg7 39. Qxd6 Kg8 40. Qxb4 Rc4 41. Qe7 Black resigns Yet when the championship finals began on January 9 in Tbilisi, all eyes were on Mik­ hail Tal. Could he do what no one but Bot­ vinnik had done-win the tournament for

7. Three Directions the third straight time? Many of his colleagues felt he had enjoyed two years of uninter­ rupted, incredible luck. Mark Taimanov raised the ante from his "eat my hat" vow of a year before. If Tal won again, Taimanov would give up chess, he vowed. 10 The player who seemed most motivated as the 26th Championship finals began was the one who ended the 25th painfully. Spas­ sky led by a full point after nine rounds.

Korchnoi-Spassky

26th USSR Championship finals, Tbilisi, 1959 Caro-Kann Defense (Bll) I. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6 6. d4 e6 7. Bd3!? dxe4 8. Nxe4 Qxd4! 9. c3 Boleslavsky had shown the value of 9. Be3! Bb4+ 10. Ke2 and 9. . . . Qd8 10. 0-0-0.

9. . . . Qd810. 0-0 Be711. Rdl Nbd712. Qg3 Nxe4 13. Bxe4 g6 White would have compensation for his pawn by making it hard for Black to castle with 14. Bh6! Bf6 15. a4. Play might go 15. . . . Qe7 16. as a6 17. Qc7 or 15. . . . Qa5 16. Qf3 with good chances.

14. Bf4 Qb6 (see diagram)

After 14. ... Qb6 Black would be on more solid ground after 14 . . . . 0-0. By threatening the b2-pawn he hoped to win time for 15. . . . 0-0-0.

15. Bc7! Qxb2

1 35

Korchnoi probably rejected 16. Rahl Qxa2 17. Rxb7 Qa6 as insufficient. What he did not appreciate was 17. Qf3! , e.g., 17. . . . Qa6 18. Rxd7! Kxd7 19. Be5 f6 20. Bd3. Or 17. . . . f5 18. Bxc6 bxc6 19. Qxc6. 16. Qf3 Rc8! Korchnoi had threatened to gain the upper hand with 17. Rahl or, in some cases, Bxc6. He would not be worse after 16. . . . Qa3 17. Bxc6 bxc6 18. Qxc6 0-0 19. Rxd7. But after 16. . . . Rc8 he must accept a queen sac­ rifice since 17. Bf4 Nc5 is bad.

17. Rabi Qxbl! 18. Bxbl Rxc719. Qg3 Rc8 20. Qe3 Nc5 The position is roughly equal. But Black's knight cannot be dislodged and his bishop, unlike White's, has targets to attack. That makes it harder to be White. Korchnoi could hint at a draw with 21. Qh6 (21. . . . Bf8 22. Qf4 Be7 23. Qh6) but Spassky would be justified in playing for more with 21. . . . Rd8.

21. h4? 0-0 22. h5 Reds 23. Rd4 Rd5 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Bc2 Rfd8 26. Rg4 Bf6 27. Kfl Bg7 28. Rg5 Rxg5 29. Qxg5 Rd5 The outcome is fairly certain and Spassky forced a resignation at move 98. But he suf­ fered two bad losses as Black and fell out of contention. Petrosian burst into first place. His confidence was bolstered by a wall board demonstrator, a local engineer who also trained Armenian juniors. "You are playing in your hometown;' he told Petrosian before one round. "You should be first in the tour­ nament. You can be first:' 11 In this tournament he won eight games, some destined for Petrosian game antholo­ gies. But Tal won nine games and Spassky won eight. And while Petrosian did not suffer a loss, he had also gone undefeated in three of the previous four Soviet champi­ onships he entered. The reason he won it this time was that he

1 36

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

was ready to regularly play for five hours. Aside from the usual non-game with Yefim Geller, he pressed each time he had White and worked harder than in the past when he had Black. "I said it often-play, play to the end;' his wife Rona recalled. "That's how I put pressure on him in Tbilisi in 1959 when he won the championship of the country for the first time. I just pushed him in those days:' 12 The tournament was held in the Rustaveli Theater, not far from the officers' club where Petrosian once swept floors. That must have brought back bittersweet memories. But he benefited by the devoted support of Tbilisi's Armenian fans. They even arranged a torch­ light parade in his honor during the tourna­ ment. In the penultimate round, when Tai trailed Petrosian by a half point, a delegation of Armenians visited Tal's next opponent, Korchnoi. They demanded that he stop the Latvian. They did not know that Korchnoi had been waiting for this opportunity.

was 13. . . . Nh5 because Black would get the upper hand if he could play 14 . . . . Nxg3. The most dangerous line is 14. Ba4+ bS 15. Bxe5. But Black is equal with 15. . . . dxe5 16. Nc6 Qc7 17. Nxe7 Kxe7. His king is quite safe and his minor pieces are superior to White's. Bronstein asked the obvious question about 14. Ba4+ and 15. Bxe5: "And what if he plays differently?" 13 Korchnoi just shrugged. Bron­ stein laughed. He decided to defend a Ruy Lopez instead and lost. Korchnoi had not forgotten their conversation.

13. . . . Nh5! 14. Ba4+ b5 15. Bxe5 dxe5 16. Nc6 Qc7 17. Nxe7 Kxe7 18. Bb3 Nf6 19. Qe3 Bb7 (see diagram)

Tal-Korchnoi

26th USSR Championship finals, Tbilisi, 1959 Sicilian Defense (B94) l. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. Qd2 e6

After 19. ... Bb7 A draw might be expected after, say, 20. a3 Rad8 21. f3 Rxdl 22. Rxdl Rd8. But Tai was looking ahead. He would have Black against the hard-to-beat Ratmir Khol­ mov in the last round. His best chance for another championship title lay in winning this game, not the last one.

Six rounds earlier, Bronstein asked Korch­ noi which opening he should play against Tai. Korchnoi suggested this line, even though Bent Larsen lost with it against Tai at Por­ toroz.

20. a4? b4 21. Na2 a5!

9. 0-0 h610. Bh4 Be7 ll. Radl Ne512. Bb3 g5 l3. Bg3

Tai correctly evaluated 21. . . . Nxe4 22. Nxb4 as favorable but misjudged how bad 21. . . . as is.

Larsen played 13. . . . Bd7 and stood well after 14. f4 gxf4 15. Bxf4 NhS 16. Bxe5 Qxe5 17. Khl Nf6 18. Nf3. But he lost after 18 . . . . QhS? (18 . . . . QcS!) 19. e5! dxe5 20. Ne4! 0-0-0 21. Ng3. Korchnoi told Bronstein that a better idea

22. c3 Ba6 23. Rfel bxc3 24. Rel Rab8 25. Rxc3 Qb6 26. Qxb6 Rxb6 27. Rc7+ Kd6 28. Ra7 Bb7 29. Bc4 Ra8 Now clearly better, Black trades off White's only active piece and wins a pawn.

7. Three Directions 30. Rdl+ Ke7 31. Rxa8 Bxa8 32. Bb5 Bxe4 33. b4 axb4 34. Nxb4 Bb7 35. Nd3 e4 36. Ne5 Bd5 37. Rbl Rb8 The passed a-pawn does not go further after 38. a5 Ne8! and . . . Nc7 (39. Nd7 Rxb5).

38. Rel Rb7 39. Kfl Ne8 40. Rdl Nc7 41. Be2 f6 42. Ng4 f5 43. Ne5 Rb2 44. Rel? Petrosian was gradually becoming close to Tal. But when this position was adjourned Petrosian offered to help Korchnoi analyze. Korchnoi had only an even score, so winning would not mean much to him. But it would to Petrosian by knocking off the only player who could catch him. This ethical issue would be revisited at Cu­ ra�ao 1962, when Korchnoi was incensed at the notion of Petrosian offering someone else help to ensure he would win a tournament. But in 1959, Korchnoi felt differently. ''.At that moment it was the game that interested me and I, of course, accepted:' he wrote. Unlike the 1962 case, Petrosian's help made a differ­ ence this time. "Together we found a win:' Korchnoi wrote. 14 Victory would have been tougher after 44. Ral Bb7 45. a5 or 45. Nc4.

44. . . . Ra2 45. Ng6+ Kd6 46. Nh8 e5 47. Rdl Ke6 48. Bh5 Kf6 49. Bf7 Bxf7 50. Nxf7 Kxf7 51. Rd7+ Ke6 52. Rxc7 f4! 53. Rc6+ Kd5 54. Rxh6 f3! 55. gxf3 exf3 56. Kel Rxa4 57. Rb6 Ral+ 58. Kd2 Rfl 59. Ke3 g4 60. Rb5+ Kc4! White resigned Rather than adjourn again, Tal conceded that 61. Rxe5 Rel+ 62. Kf4 Rxe5 63. Kxe5 Kd3 or 61. Rb8 Rel+ was lost. While Tbilisi's Armenians rooted for Petrosian, the city's Georgians included many who preferred Tal-or any non-Armenian. In the final week Tal received a telegram that read "Catch up with Petrosian. All of Rus­ taveli Prospekt and Plekhanov Prospekt is with you:' 15 As the study composer Gia Nada­ reishvili put it, ''.An Armenian should not be­ come national champion in the capital of Georgia! " 16

137

Korchnoi was due for White against Petro­ sian in the last round. A group of Georgians approached him beforehand and implored him to win. If he did, Tal still had a chance to tie Petrosian. Korchnoi sought complica­ tions, giving up two pieces for a rook and two pawns. But a draw was agreed in an even position at move 20. Petrosian's decision not to give up chess had been justified. Tal shared second place with Spassky and returned home to Riga. Sally Landau was be­ coming a bigger factor in his life. After each of her theater performances, Uncle Robert, who was relatively well-to-do, chauffeured Misha in his Pobeda car, a prestigious vehicle in Soviet times, to the stage door. There they waited until Sally emerged. It struck her, as it had Alexander Kotov, that all of the Tals were doing the utmost to make life easy for Misha. Sally said she felt her relationship with Tal would not be more than platonic. And when it did, she never thought it would lead to marriage. After all, he had other girlfriends. She did not realize yet how many. "Misha did not seem shy but he did not seem like a lady killer:' she recalled. 17

Sp assky's Favorite G ame Boris Spassky tried to forget 1958 by keep­ ing busy in 1959. He acknowledged that his main flaw was lethargy. "It's in my nature to be like a Russian bear:' he said years later. "Someone who is very calm and lazy and finds it an effort to spend the time to stand up:' 18 But he tied for first in a solid interna­ tional tournament at the Central Chess Club in Moscow, won another international at year's end in Tal's Riga and also captured the Leningrad Championship by two and a half points. Although nominally a professional jour­ nalist, he annotated games somewhat rarely. "It turns out I'm untalented:' he later ex-

1 38

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

plained. 19 But occasionally he could be pro­ voked to write. His notes to this game are odd because he did not award punctuation to any move, even those in might-have-been variations.

Spassky-Aron Reshko Leningrad Championship 1959 Caro-Kann Defense (Bll)

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. Qxf3 Nf6 6. e5 Nfd7 7. Qg3 e6 8. Be2 Qc7? In the Soviet chess yearbook, Spassky said he planned to meet 8 . . . . cS! with 9. f4 Nc6 10. b3 Nd4 11. Bd3. But this is dubious in view of ll. . . . c4! 12. bxc4 dxc4 13. Be4 Nc5 when Black is comfortably superior.

9. f4 a610. b4!? Spassky did not play this variation to get passive positions such as 10. d3 cS and . . . Nc6d4. More ambitious is 10. d4 cS 11. Be3 but that grants Black a nice version of the French Defense (11. . . . Nc6 12. 0-0-0 cxd4 13. Bxd4 bS). Spassky's idea is to use the b-pawn to discourage queenside castling. He thought 10 . . . . Bxb4 11. Qxg7 Rf8 12. Qxh7 cs fol­ lowed by . . . Nc6/ . . . 0-0-0 might be best. Computers prefer White.

10. . . . c5 11. b5! c4! 12. Rbl d413. Ne4 axb5 14. 0-0 Not 14. Rxb5 Qc6. Spassky will sacrifice all three queenside pawns.

14. . . . Rxa2 15. d3! Rxc2 16. Bdl Ra2 (see diagram) Spassky's comment: "It's strange that Reshko still does not feel the danger, otherwise he would activate his pieces with an Exchange sacrifice, 16. . . . cxd3. For example, 17. Bxc2 dxc2 18. RxbS Qc6 19. Qd3 Nc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5, and Black, despite the loss of the pawn at c2, will preserve two pawns for the Exchange and can complete development:' 20

After 16. ... Ra2 For example, 21. Rf2 0-0 22. Rxc2 b6 and Black is not worse. Spassky did not mention the alternative Exchange sacrifice 16. . . . Rxcl 17. Rxcl c3 and . . . b4, which more clearly fa­ vors Black. "With the next move White demonstrates that the deflecting operations on the queen­ side are over but the center struggle is trans­ ferred to the kingside;' Spassky wrote. 21

17. f5! Nxe5 On 17. . . . QxeS 18. Bf4 Qx£5 19. Bxb8 Qg6 Black temporarily has five pawns for a piece but the initiative favors White. Spassky might have preferred 18. fxe6 Qxe6 19. Rel or 18 . . . . Qxg3 19. exd7+ Nxd7 20. Nxg3.

18. fxe6 f6 Another likely line was 18 . . . . fxe6 19. Bf4 Nbd7 20. Rxb5 Ras. Then 21. dxc4 Rxb5 22. cxbS favors White. But again Spassky might have gone for adventure with 21. BhS+ g6 22. Nf6+! Nxf6 23. Bxe5, e.g., 23. . . . Nxh5 24. Qel! Rxb5 25. Bxc7 Kd7 26. Be5 Bb4 27. Qe4 and wins.

19. Rxf6!? Some computers prefer 19. RxbS and 19. . . . Ras 20. dxc4-until they take a closer look at White's coming 23d move.

19 . . . . gxf6 20. Nxf6+ Kd8 21. Nd5 Qd6 22. Bg5+ Kc8 23. Bg4!! "This is the point of the sacrifice;' Spassky

7. Three Directions

1 39

wrote. Among the variations he gave was 23. . . . Bg7 24. Ne7+ Kc7 25. NfS Qxe6? 26. Nxg7 Qd5 27. Bf6 and White wins with 28. Ne6+ or 28. Bxe5+. However, 25. . . . Qc5! keeps White's edge to a minimum (26. Nxg7 Kb6 27. e7 Nxg4).

23. . . . Nxg4? 24. e7 Bxe7 25. Qxg4+! The win takes longer after 25. Nxe7+? Qxe7 26. Bxe7 Ne3.

25. . . . Nd7 26. N xe7+ Kc7? White has to work a bit harder to win after 26. . . . Kb8 27. Bf4 Ne5 28. QfS Re2.

Tal (right) demonstrates one of his games to two veteran Soviet players, Salo Flohr (left) and Andrei Lilienthal, in 1959. Shakh­ maty v SSSR, September 1959.

27. Bf4 Ne5 28. Qg7! Kb6 29. Bxe5 Qe6 30. Bxd4+ Black resigns A decade later, participants in the USSR­ versus-Rest-of-the-World match were asked to name their best game. Spassky said a Reshko game was "the dearest" to him. 22 On the eve of the Fischer-Spassky match, Shakh­ maty v SSSR recalled this comment but mis­ takenly presented a routine positional 1960 win from Reshko instead. In 1997, 64 re­ peated the mistake, reprinting the wrong Reshko game as Spassky's "best:'

Soap Op era with S ally As Tal's fame grew, his relationship with Sally Landau-or Saska, as he called her­ became volatile. They began to quarrel. As "100 percent Scorpios" they were fated to have fights and reconciliations, she said. 'Tm not a little doll;' she protested during one spat. "I know you're not a little doll. You're simply my Sally;' he answered. 23 Mark Taimanov, who was becoming Tal's

confidante, recalled a pattern. Tal and Sally "constantly fought, broke up, reunited and separated;' he said. 24 She moved into the Tal home and then moved out. She admitted she was an "impulsive person, who does some­ thing and only then thinks about it:' 25 Tal, equally impulsive away from a chess board, was used to winning prizes that he could own. "He, apparently, regarded me as his vic­ tory;' she wrote. "The victory he achieved in a fair, correct fight, the victory he dreamed about and which gave him great human j oy:,26 One night Sally said she wanted to sleep in her own apartment rather than at the Tal home. "His face suddenly became distorted . . . as if a demon had entered Misha. He hit me and left:' When they inevitably made up, he said he could not explain how he lost con­ trol. 27 It got worse: One morning in May 1959 after spending the night together, Tal locked the door with a key "and said he would not let me go to the rehearsal, that he did not want me to work in the theater anymore:' She responded with an ultimatum. Release

140

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

me or their affair was over, she said. Tai went to the medicine cabinet, took out a handful of pills and said, "If you leave, I will take all these pills. And if they don't work, I'll throw myself out the window:' 28 He backed down but Sally felt she would never see him again. However, a few days later her theater boss got a visit from Uncle Robert. He said Misha was due to leave for a tournament in Switzerland but was suffer­ ing from "nervous shock . . . a kind of stupor:' He was not eating, drinking or even getting out of bed.29 It was much like what happened after Dr. Tai died. Robert wanted Sally to make up with Misha so he could go to the Zurich international. She refused and he went anyway.

8. . . . Bb7 9. Bd3 Be7 10. 0-0-0 Qb6 ll. Rhel?! Nbd7 12. Nce2 This makes a bad impression but 12. Nd5 exd5 13. NfS Bf8 is not sound.

12. . . . Nc5 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. g4 Na4! The threat is 15. . . . Nxb2 16. Kxb2 Bxd4+. There is no defense in 15. b3 Bxd4 16. Nxd4 Nc3.

15. c3 b4!? More traditional attackers would wait until they had castled and could use their KR. For instance, 15. . . . 0-0 16. Bc2 g6 and . . . Rfc8.

16. Bc2 (see diagram)

Who Won? It is impossible to be certain how much this influenced Tal's play. But he appeared to play more recklessly in Zurich than in any other major tournament of his career. He im­ mediately paid a price when his unsound bishop sacrifice in the first round was refuted by Edwin Bhend. "It's good that you weren't there:' Tai told Alexander Koblents when he returned. 30 "Truly Tal's play in Zurich was more than risky;' the Maestro wrote. 31 But after the Bhend loss Tai won nine of his next ten games, almost all with sacrifices. It began with a game that forced many mas­ ters to question what they had learned about chess.

Josef Kupper-Tai

Zurich, 1959 Sicilian Defense (B96)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 b5 8. Qf3 Lev Polugaevsky's pet 7. . . . b5 was very new and few people understood that 8. e5! was the only way to test it.

After 16. Bc2 16. . . . Nxb2! "I did not calculate variations:' Tai claimed after the game. "It must be correct:' 32 That is an exaggeration, of course. But sacrifices like this raised a problem for Soviet annota­ tors. For decades, the proper basis for choosing moves was supposed to be "scientific" analy­ sis based on calculation. This was the method of Jose Capablanca and Mikhail Botvinnik: A sacrifice should be only made as part of a combination in which material was quickly regained or it provided tangible compensa­ tion. "To sacrifice a piece one should be ab­ solutely sure that one will quickly gain com­ pensation;' Capablanca had said. 33

7. Three Directions

141

Later in 1959 Botvinnik endorsed this view when the Cuban embassy in Moscow cele­ brated Fidel Castro's overthrow of the Batista regime. Botvinnik was among the Soviet celebrities who attended. "I especially value Capablanca for his dislike of adventurous plaY:' he said at the embassy party. 34 But moves like 16. . . . Nxb2 could only be termed adventurous. When Tal said he relied on his intuition it ran afoul of Marxist­ Leninism. "Intuition is the beloved concept of the foreign idealist philosophy;' as Vasily Panov put it. It was based on the false idea that truth was "a revelation from above:• he wrote. 35

Or 23. NfS Rxc2! 24. Kxc2 Qxa2+ 25. Rb2 Bxe4+. Tal's intuition-and Spassky's and Petro­ sian's-eventually forced Soviet annotators to find a new way to explain their success. Their solution was linguistic: It was not in­ tuition at all. It was "chess instinct;' some­ thing that could be developed like any useful trait. 39

17. Kxb2 bxc3+ 18. Kxc3 0-0!

23. . . . exd4 24. Nxd4 Bxd4 White resigns

Tal needed little more than to see the White king exposed on c3 to decide on 16. . . . Nxb2. Now 19. gS Bxd4+ is strong, e.g., 20. Rxd4 QaS+ 21. Rb4 Rfc8+ 22. Kb3 Rxc2. Or 20. Nxd4 Rac8+ 21. Kd3 es 22. Nb3 Qb4. Also, 22. Ne2 dS 23. exdS e4+! 24. Qxe4 Rfe8-although 25. Qxe8+ Rxe8 26. Nd4 is not an easy win. Pyotr Romanovsky knew what original chess looked like. He had played Capablanca but also Alexander Alekhine. Tal's games were "a new word in chess art:' Romanovsky said. His sacrifices, "for the most part do not have a forcing nature" -as in a combina­ tion-but simply "create the conditions for attack:' 36 As Svetozar Gligoric put it, "Tal 'legalized' the idea of sacrifice:' 37

During his postmortems in the tournament Tal quickly reeled off variations to prove his sacrifices were sound. Other players offered suggestions for the defense. Only Paul Keres was able to refute Tal's assertions. "But my dear friend;' Keres asked in German after sug­ gesting a move, "what is your reply to this?" Tal answered, in German, "Who won?" 40 The Dutch grandmaster J. H. Donner was shaken by Tal's attack on orthodoxy. "Chess has always been thought of as a game of logic;' he wrote. lf a player followed tradi­ tional principles and played "correctly" he should win. When he lost a superior posi­ tion, it was "a swindle. It was an unfair result, a blot on the game's reputation:' 41 But here was Tal getting applause, not con­ demnation. Something must be wrong, Don­ ner suggested. In his game with Tal he took nearly all of his allotted two and a half hours. Tal took about 15 minutes.

19. Rbl! Qa5+ 20. Kd3 Rac8 Now 21. Reel could lead to 21. . . . Bxd4 22. Rxb7 Bb6 23. Rbl Rc6 24. Rlxb6 Rxb6 25. Rxb6 Qxb6 26. Qe3 and White is not worse.

21. Qf2? Ba8 22. Rb3? Tal felt that after 22. gS Bd8 23. Reel "the fall of the White king would be inevitable" in view of . . . ds or . . . eS. 38 This is hardly con-

vincing, e.g., 23. . . . dS 24. eS! {24 . . . . Rc4 25. Bb3). Or 23. . . . eS 24. Nb3. If White were playing for a draw, 23. Bb3 eS 24. Reel Rxel 25. Rxel exd4 26. Qxd4 might do the job.

22. . . . es! 23. gs

J. H. Donner-Tat Ziirich, 1959 Modern Benoni Defense (A70) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nf3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Bd3 0-0 9. 0-0 a6 10. a4 Bg4 11. h3 Bxf3 12. Qxf3 Nbd7

142

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Before the 1960s this kind of position was routinely described as better for White be­ cause of his two bishops and what was con­ sidered a prohibitively superior pawn struc­ ture. White just had to target d6 or prepare e4-e5 to win, it seemed.

13. Bf4 Qc7 14. Qe2 Rfe8 15. Bh2 Rac8 16. Bc4? Black intended . . . c4 and . . . Nc5. That can not be stopped (16. b3? Nxe4! 17. Nxe4 Bxal 18. Rxal f5). But rough equality is appropri­ ate after 16. Bc2 c4 17. a5.

16. . . . Ne517. f4 Nxc418. Qxc4 Nd7 Black must beware e4-e5. The outcome would be unclear after 19. as Rb8 20. e5! dxe5 because of 21. d6 Qxd6 22. Qxf7+ Kxf7 23. fxe5+ and 24. exd6.

19. Rfel Qb6 20. Rabi Qb4! 21. Qfl c4 (see diagram)

After 21. ... c4 The h2-bishop would get into play after 22. f5! prepares Bxd6. But White would still be worse after 22. . . . Bd4+ 23. Khl Ne5.

22. Re2 b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. Khl? Again 24. fS! was best. If Black creates a passed c-pawn, 24 . . . . Qc5+ 25. Khl b4 26. Ndl c3, White may be able to blockade it, 27. bxc3 bxc3 28. Rel Qa3 29. Rcc2.

24. . . . Bxc3 25. bxc3 Qxc3 26. Rxb5 Qd3 27. Qel? c3 28. Rbl Nc5 White resigns

Back in Riga, Sally followed the tourna­ ment news. After play ended on June 8, an­ other actress, Roma Veksler, told her that Tal's victory proved that he did not need her. ''.And happiness was so possible, so close;' Veksler said. "No;' Sally replied, "He thinks that now that he's a hero, I'll understand how wrong I was." 42 Nevertheless, when he re­ turned from Switzerland they reconciled once more.

Botvinnik Variation Declin ed Tal's play made an impression on Mikhail Botvinnik. But he was not ready to admit it. "What do you think Mikhail Moisseyevich, does Tal have a chance to win the Candidates tournament?" the world champion was asked by Yevgeny Vasiukov. "Botvinnik looked slyly and said with a smile, 'Only if he plays the entire tournament as a genius. But up till now he couldn't do that:" 43 Botvinnik had played no chess in eight months when he decided to take first board in a USSR Spartakiad team championship. His Moscow team agreed that no reserves, such as Vasiukov, would play in the match against Latvia. Fans eagerly anticipated the first Tal-Botvinnik game. But on the day of the match Botvinnik's longtime confidant and second Grigory Goldberg found Vasiukov and said the world champion wanted to talk to him. Goldberg dialed Botvinnik's phone number and handed the receiver to Vasiukov, who heard a "thun­ derous baritone" voice: "Yevgeny Andreye­ vich, you know that I should play Tal today. But I think it would be better if you played Tal today. But please don't tell anybody about that:' ''.As you wish;' Vasiukov replied. The match was held at the Central Chess Club. Outside, Gogolevsky Boulevard was packed with fans. ''.And I must say Misha was horribly disap­ pointed when he came to the second floor

7. Three Directions and saw the game Tal-Vasiukov would take place;' Vasiukov recalled. They drew in 18 moves. 44 Botvinnik may have dodged a bullet. Tal had planned to meet the champion's Caro­ Kann Defense with the then-rare 1. e4 c6 2. d3. Because of the change in opponents, he kept his preparation a secret until the sec­ ond cycle of the Candidates tournament when he used it to win a spectacular game from Vasily Smyslov.

Cogn ac and Misdiagnosis After finishing seventh in the 26th USSR Championship finals, Yuri Averbakh flew home to Moscow. Also aboard his TU-104 airliner was Alexander Koblents, a longtime friend. He asked Averbakh to serve as Tal's official second at the Candidates tournament. Averbakh eventually agreed and went to Riga in June to analyze with Tal and Koblents. He knew Botvinnik well because they had played training games in 1955 and 1957. In Riga he quickly realized that Tal thought dif­ ferently. Botvinnik always began his analysis of a position by trying "to find the most expedient plan, the most rational arrangement of his forces:' 45 But Tal looked instead for the most aggressive plan, the one leading to sharp tactics. "Whereas Botvinnik sought the rule, Tal sought the exception;' Averbakh concluded. 46 What Averbakh did not know when he left Riga after a month was the precarious nature of Tal's health. Tal said he had his "first attack of kidney trouble" before the Spartakiad. Sally indicated he was soon in almost con­ stant agony. It stumped his doctors. "I still cannot understand how he pre­ pared-almost daily attacks of monstrous pains;' she recalled. "Misha refused to eat" and when he was persuaded to eat, he also needed alcohol. "Cognac at least somehow reduced pain;' she said. 47

143

There were already indications that Tal was locking himself into a foolhardy lifestyle. He did not care. In general Tal didn't follow the advice of doctors, Svetozar Gligoric re­ membered. "He never thought about him­ self' 48 But he had to think about the Candidates. "Part of the training took place in the uro­ logical hospital, where we put Misha, despite his desperate resistance;' Sally wrote. "The specific smells and sanitary condition of this and all subsequent urological hospitals and departments still cause me to shiver:' 49 At a polyclinic, where he was under ob­ servation, a doctor told Sally, "He has some­ thing wrong with his lungs:' Then it turned out that there was a different problem. His kidneys were "not right;' she was told. But no one could say exactly how or why. 50 Mean­ while, surges of pain exhausted him. During the next attack doctors diagnosed "acute ap­ pendicitis;' put him on an operating table­ and removed a perfectly healthy appendix. Tal managed to find humor in this. "The most amusing thing is that for several years after this, my attacks of kidney trouble ceased (! )" he wrote. 5 1 He did not learn of the misdiagnosis until years later when he was operated on for the real cause of his pain, a diseased kidney. Averbakh found out about the appendec­ tomy just before the Candidates began in Bled, Yugoslavia. When Tal arrived in Mos­ cow for their flight south, "I was horrified;' Averbakh said. "He was pale, and noticeably haggard. Only his eyes were the same­ piercing and burning like fire:' It was only nine days since the operation. Tal was "too weak to even carry his luggage;' Averbakh said. 52

Council of War Averbakh, Koblents and Tal held a council of war to work out a strategy to deal with his

1 44

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

fragile condition. They decided Tai should avoid adjournments in the tournament's first cycle, the first seven games. Then he should be content with a 50 percent score after an­ other seven games. Only at the tournament's midway point, when play shifted from Bled to Zagreb, he could begin playing harder to win. Before the first round, each of the players and their seconds were asked by the news­ paper Borba to predict the finish of all of the participants. No one but Averbakh said Tai would win. When play began, the war council strategy proved impossible to execute. Tai had bad­ but not resignable-endgames at adjourn­ ment time against Vasily Smyslov and Paul Keres in the first week. He played them out and lost both. But the climate around Lake Bled "proved excellent medicine;' Averbakh said. "Tai was both feeling and looking much better than at the start:' 53

Pal Benko-Tai Candidates Tournament, Bled-ZagrebBelgrade, 1959 Dutch Defense (A89) I. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. c4 Bg7 5. Nc3 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. d4 Nc6 8. d5 Na5 9. Qd3 c5 On the previous move 9. b3? would have allowed 9. . . . Ne4!. Here 10. b3 leads to a promising position after 10 . . . . a6 ll. Bb2.

10. Ng5 a6 11. Rbl Rb8 12. Bd2 Qe8 13. b3 b5 Based on 14. NxbS?! axbS 15. BxaS b4 and the aS-bishop must be rescued.

14. a3 Ng4 15. Nf3 bxc4 16. bxc4 Rb3 17. Rxb3 Nxb318. Rbl Nd419. e3? White did not like 19. Nxd4 cxd4! 20. Ndl NeS. But 19. Rb8 was promising (19. . . . Nxf3+ 20. exf3! NeS 21. Qe2.

19. . . . Nxf3+ 20. Bxf3 Ne5 21. Qe2 Nxf3+ 22. Qxf3 e5!

After the game, 23. dxe6 Bxe6 24. Rb6 was recommended. But 24 . . . . Bxc4! would win a pawn, since the rook becomes clumsy after 25. Rxd6? Bes 26. Rb6 Qd8 27. Rb2 Qd3 or 26. Rc6 Qd7. 23. Qdl e4 24. Qa4! Qe7 Now 25. Ne2 and Nf4 or Bc3 is reasonable.

25. Qc6? f4! (see diagram)

After 25. .. . f4 Tai magic: The White queen is slow get­ ting back to the kingside after 26. gxf4 Qh4. For example, 27. Nxe4 Qg4+ 28. Ng3 Qf3 with . . . Bh3 threatened. Or 27. Qxd6 Bh3 28. fS! RxfS! 29. Rb8+ Bf8. And 26. exf4? e3 27. fxe3 Bxc3! loses quicker. Or 27. Rel exd2! 28. Rxe7 Bxc3 29. Qa4 Bg4 and queens.

26. Rb8? Bh3 27. Rxf8+ Qxf8 28. exf4 Qb8! 29. Ne2 Qbl+ White resigns After Tai crushed Smyslov using the anti­ Caro-Kann analysis he had prepared for Botvinnik, critics said his attack was un­ sound. The veteran Yugoslav master Vladi­ mir Vukovic, "Skeptic of the Century;' found a defense for Smyslov. Tai responded with a way to continue the attack. It became a daily exercise: Vukovic defends, Tai attacks. "To allow me to play chess without further worry, grandmaster Vyacheslav Ragozin, the head of the Soviet delegation, deflected the attack onto himself. With the same patience, he'd prove to Vukovic that the sacrifice was sound. I think they'd finally agreed that White 'did

7. Three Directions have something' for a sacrificed piece. And I didn't argue:' 54 To Tal, it was another case of "Who won?"

Ass ault R atio Well before the computer age it was evi­ dent that many Tai victories were swindles. He scored 1½ points from two lost positions against Smyslov later in the tournament and was equally lost in an ending he won from Svetozar Gligoric. Some of his success in du­ bious positions can be explained by novel thinking about how to attack.

145

15. . . . Bd7?! 16. e5 b4! 17. Ne4 Nxe418. Rxe4 Bxa4! 19. Bh6 The next test for the assault ratio would be 19. . . . Bxc2 20. Rh4 when the White pieces outnumber the defenders (20. . . . Bxdl 21. Bxg7 Bxf3 22. Rxh7!).

19. . . . Bh8 20. Rdel f6? Better is 20 . . . . Bb5 since 21. Rh4 Bxfl 22. Kxfl dxe5 puts the dS-pawn under attack before there are more kingside threats.

21. e6 fS 22. Rh4! (see diagram)

Tai-Pal Benko

Candidates Tournament, Bled-ZagrebBelgrade, 1959 Benoni Defense (A43) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. d4 Bg7 4. d5 d6 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. Bb5+ Nbd7 7. a4 0-0 8. 0-0 a6 9. Be2 Rb8 10. Rel Ne8 11. Bf4 Nc7 12. Bfl b5 13. Qd2 Classical chess thinking regarded White's position as clearly preferable because of his center pawns and ability to centralize pieces. However, Black can undermine the center with 13. . . . b4! 14. Ndl fS. After 15. es dxe5 16. Nxe5 NxeS 17. BxeS Bxe5 18. Rxe5 he plays 18 . . . . f4! and the dS-pawn is threatened by 19. . . . Qd6.

13. . . . Re8 14. h3 Nf6 15. Radl Tal had formulated a theory that if you could create a numerical superiority of pieces in the vicinity of the enemy king-a favor­ able "assault ratio;' lost pawns would not matter. Here he has the ratio. But where is the compensation after 15. . . . b4 16. Nbl Nh5! and 17. . . . Bxb2 or 17. . . . Nxf4? According to one Tai game collection, 17. Bh2 Bxb2 18. e5 is strong because of threat of Qh6 and Ng5. But 18 . . . . f6 (19. e6 Bb7) is not clear.

After 22. Rh4 Now the attack ratio is decisive because there is no Black counterplay. There are four attacking pieces and only a bishop to protect the king. The best try is 22. . . . Bf6 but after 23. Ng5 White has a strong g2-g4 coming up.

22. . . . Bxb2 23. Bf8! Rxf8 24. Qh6 Rf7 25. exf7 Kxf7 26. Qxh7+ Bg7 27. Rh6 Qg8 28. Qxg6+ Kf8 29. Ng5 QxdS 30. Rh8+! Black resigns By the mid-tournament break, Keres led with 10-4. But Tai had done much better than the 50 percent goal set in the council of war. He was in second place with 9½ points followed by Petrosian at 8½. Keres remained in contention until the end because he won three times from Tal. He was still the player who had out-analyzed Tai at Ziirich. During one of their Candidates games Tai offered a piece sacrifice. Keres got up from

1 46

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

the board, took off his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair. Then he sat down, thought about the position and accepted the sacrifice. After he won, Tai told him, "I cal­ culated all the variations but one:' "Which?" asked Keres. "That you would take off the jacket;' was the answer. 55 Petrosian lost four games, more than he would in any tournament for the rest of his life. His losses were uncharacteristic: a blun­ der in a relatively simple rook endgame against Fridrik Olafsson was followed two rounds later by this:

Petrosian-Vasily Smyslov Candidates Tournament, Bled-ZagrebBelgrade, 1959 Queen's Gambit Accepted (D29) I. Nf3 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bxc4 e6 5. 0-0 cs 6. d4 a6 7. Qe2 b5 8. Bb3 Bb7 9. Nc3 Nbd7 10. Rdl Bd6!? This was a new Smyslov idea, in place of 10. . . . Be7 11. e4, which was known to favor White slightly.

11. e4 cxd412. Nxd4 Qb8! (see diagram)

Mario Bertok at the 1962 Interzonal and won after 12 . . . . BcS 13. Rd3 Ng4 14. BgS Qb6 15. NdS! (since 15. . . . exdS 16. exdS+ Kf8 17. d6 is too strong).

13. Nf3? Petrosian also underestimated the pawn sacrifice 13. g3! b4 14. Na4. Then 14 . . . . Nxe4 15. Bc2 offers better chances than the game (15. . . . Ndf6 16. f3 NcS 17. NfS or 15. . . . Nef6 16. NfS).

13. . . . b4! 14. Nd5? Better is 14. Na4 although Black need not grab the e-pawn to gain the upper hand (14 . . . . 0-0 15. Bc2 Bc6).

14. . . . exd5 15. e5 Nxe5 16. Nxe5 0-0 17. Nf3 ReS 18. Qd3 a5 19. Bg5 Ng4 20. g3 Bc5! 21. Rd2 Qa7 and Black wins Tai had a very high regard for Smyslov. When asked at Portoroz to rank the world's top players, he diplomatically came up with two lists, so that he would not have to com­ pare Soviets and non-Soviets. The best play­ ers in his country, he said, were Botvinnik, Smyslov, Keres and David Bronstein in that order. He said he was the fifth best, followed by Petrosian, Spassky, Geller, Averbakh and Taimanov. Note that he left out Korchnoi.

The Art of Making Draws

After 12. ... Qb8 Black threatens the h2-pawn, controls eS and looks for a safe way to grab the e4-pawn. After the game 12. Rxd4! was found to be much stronger because 12. . . . Qb8 would allow 13. Rxd6! Qxd6 14. eS (14 . . . . Bxf3 15. Qxf3 QxeS 16. Bf4!). Petrosian got to play 12. Rxd4! against

In the Zagreb cycle, the third series of seven games, Tai followed the script and piled up points. He won five games and led Keres by a point. Averbakh said, "Tai stood out with unmatched self-confidence, and even if his combinations were not always correct, this faith in himself helped him de­ stroy the resistance of the opponent:' 56 But not always. When Tai was paired for the last time with Keres, Koblents and Aver­ bakh told him to play for a draw. "For a draw, with White?" he replied. "It's simply embar-

7. Three Directions rassing:' 57 He played the first 20 moves half­ heartedly and when he realized he had to seek a draw, it was too late. Keres won. Petrosian's bid to catch up with them was limited by two factors. One was his person­ ality. "As usual he underestimated his chances, and was clearly happy to fight for a place not higher than an honorable third;' Tai wrote. 58 The second factor was a secret pact. In the first three cycles Petrosian and Tai drew in 12, 23 and 15 moves, barely out of "book" in each case. This was not normal for Tai. He drew only two other games out of 15 in that period of the tournament. One of the Petro­ sian-Tal games went I. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. d4 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. g3 cxd4 7. Nxd5 Qxd5 8. Qxd4 Qb5 9. e3 Qb4+ 10. Bd2 Nc6 11. Qxb4 Bxb4 12. Bg2 Bd7 draw. ''As White against me, Petrosian did not force matters;' Tale wrote disingenu­ ously. 59 A Yugoslav chess writer hinted at the ob­ vious when he said Petrosian and Tai were such good friends that fighting chess should not be expected. That angered them. "We de­ cided 'Right, we' ll show them how to really draw without a fight! "' Tai said. 60 Their fourth game lasted only five minutes.

Tai-Petrosian

Candidates Tournament, Bled-ZagrebBelgrade, 1959 Sicilian Defense (B94)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nbd7 6. Bc4 a6 7. Bg5 Qa5 8. Qd2 e6 9. 0-0 h6 10. Bh4 gs 11. Bg3 Nh5 12. Bxe6! fxe6 13. Nxe6 Nxg3! 14. fxg3! Ne5 15. Rxf8+! Rxf8 16. Qxd6 Rf6 (see di­ agram) 17. Nc7+ Kf7 18. Rfl Rxfl+ 19. Kxfl Nc4 20. Qxh6 Qc5 21. Nxa8 Nd2+ 22. Ke2 Bg4+ 23. Kd3 Qc4+ 24. Ke3 Qc5+ draw Petrosian had analyzed 12. Bxe6 after his game with Eduard Gufeld from the Spar-

147

After 16. ... Rf6 takiad two months earlier. It went 12. Radl Ne5 13. Be2 Nxg3 with an eventual draw. Amateurs who repeated the Tal-Petrosian moves, thinking it was a legitimate draw, dis­ covered that Black is lost after 17. Qc7! in­ stead of 17. Nc7+, e.g., 17. . . . b6 18. Ng7+ Kf8 19. Nh5! . In fact, White had a second win later in the game: 21. Qh7+ Kf8 22. Qh8+ Kt7 23. N3d5. More than 800 miles away, Sally followed Tal's progress. "I really missed Misha;' she wrote. 61 There was little reason to remain at Gorky Street, number 34. "I began to spend less time in his house. After the plays or night rehearsals I returned to my eight-meter room in the hostel:' More than once, someone told her that her boyfriend had real chances to become a contender for the title of world champion. She found the right answer: "It's more important to me that he is a contender for the title of my husband:'

The Huss ar and the Sheriff During his rise, newspapers dubbed Tai the "Hussar of Riga" and the "Demon of the 64 Squares:' As the Candidates tournament moved to Belgrade for the final cycle, jour­ nalists elaborated on the theme, calling him the "Baltic Pirate" who stole points and half points from his opponents. His fans loved that.

148

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

"Tal! Sacrifice! Tal! Sacrifice!" they cheered as he entered the playing hall, according to Koblents. After a game they would gather to accompany him back to his hotel. ''.Always among them was a boy with big, dark eyes that spoke of his joy;' according to historians Isaac and Vladimir Linder. He was eight­ year-old Ljubomir Lj ubojevic, the future world-class player. 62 After the composed draw with Petrosian, Tal's lead over Keres had shrunk to one point, with two rounds left. He was scheduled to play Fischer, nicknamed the "Sheriff from Brooklyn" by the Yugoslav journalists. "You play the Sheriff today? Be very careful;' Petro­ sian warned Tal that morning. 63 They were more of a team than the j our­ nalists suspected. Petrosian j oined another council of war that day and he advised Tal to answer Fischer's automatic first move, 1. e4, with a solid Caro-Kann Defense. "No, I will play Bobika's favorite Sicilian system;' Tal replied. He meant the Naj dorf Variation, 1. . . . c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6. In the second cycle Fischer answered 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 and Tal got the upper hand with a quiet policy, 7. . . . Be7 8. f4 0-0 9. Qf3 Qc7 (10. 0-0?! bS 11. f5? b4! 12. Na4 es 13. Ne2 Bb7). Now with Koblents and Averbakh lis­ tening, Tal wondered if he could challenge Bobby with 7. • . . b5! and if 8. f4 then 8. . . . b4 9. Na4 Nxe4 when they met that after­ noon. "Such a nice little central pawn;' Petro­ sian told him. "Hmmm, hmmm . . . . I think I would take it:' 64 Averbakh and Koblents felt the Naj dorf Variation itself was a risky choice. "But I be­ lieved in Tal's lucky star, and that in the end, it would turn out right;' Averbakh said. 65 Tal, too, had his doubts about 9. . . . Nxe4. But after more discussion he exclaimed, ''.Ah, what the devil. I' ll take it! " 66 When the play began, Tal captured the pawn and Fischer quickly amassed what vir­ tually all spectators saw as an overwhelming

position. Keres was winning his game, so if Tal lost they would be tied going into the final round.

Bobby Fischer-Tai Candidates tournament, Bled-Zagreb­ Belgrade, 1959

After 21. ... Qxb8 Fischer wrote 22. Rael on his scoresheet. He used algebraic notation instead of his usual English descriptive. Then he moved the scoresheet "so that I could see it" and kept thinking, Tal wrote. "He was testing me: wouldn't I frown or show any nervousness?" This was psychological payback. Fischer had become annoyed in previous games when Tal wrote down a move before playing it. In a section of his manuscript of My 60 Memo­ rab le Games that was later omitted, Fischer wrote, "He usually writes lemons down on the first draft, reserving the move he actually selects until somewhere around the fourth chicken scratch:' 67 Tal recognized that 22. Rael was the strong­ est move and wondered how he could change Fischer's mind. "I could make myself smile, but Bobby wasn't a child, so heel understand;' Tal wrote. 68 He came up with a strategy: "I calmly stood up-my years in the student theater surely counted for something!-and started to pace along the boards. I joked with somebody, looked at the demonstration boards and then got back with a satisfied look. I'm totally sure that Fischer looked at

7. Three Directions me all the time, rather than calculating vari­ ants. He stared at me again (I didn't budge) and then . . . crossed out the move! :' 69 Fischer blundered with his substitute move, 22. Qc6+?. Vladas Mikenas, Keres' second, watched helplessly as Fischer's position dis­ integrated and, with it, Keres' world cham­ pionship hopes once again. "I only came into the playing hall after three hours of play," Averbakh said. "Misha had a completely winning position, and Koblents and Mikenas . . . were sitting down, holding their hearts, with sedative tablets in the mouths:' 10 After the game, a consensus formed that 22. Rael would have won. Garry Kasparov, in My Great Predecessors, Part II, said that after 22. . . . Kd8 23. Rxe7 Bxe7 24. Qd5+ "White can only dream of a draw." Actually, it is a forced draw: 24 . . . . Kc7 25. Qe5+ Kd7 26. Qf5+ or 24 . . . . Bd6 25. Rf6 Rg6 26. Rxf7 Qb5 27. Qa8+ Bb8 28. Rf8+ Kc7 29. Rt7+ etc. After the game, Tal was asked what he would have felt if he were White in the posi­ tion before move 22. "I would have been sur­ prised that my opponent hadn't resigned," he said with a smile. 71

Muzio Gambit In the final round Tal only needed a draw with White against Pal Benko to win the tournament. "Play quietly;' Averbakh ad­ vised.72 Tal agreed to offer an early draw. But when they went to Koblents' hotel room, Tal showed him the moves of the wild Muzio Gambit. Tal said it might be a good way to play against Benko because it would give him something to ponder and "he loves to think:' 73 There are three versions of what happened next: Tal said Koblents took on a look of "ter­ ror" but then he realized it was a joke. Koblents, however, said he knew all along that Tal was just being Tal. And Averbakh said both he and Koblents took Tal seriously. "I said, 'Misha we already agreed about every-

149

thing. Why did you think this up?' Tal couldn't contain himself any longer and burst out laughing;' he said.74 His seconds got Tal to promise to offer Benko a draw after 12 moves whatever the position. "Otherwise I' ll start throwing rot­ ten tomatoes at you," Koblents said. 75 But when Tal made the offer, Benko refused. (Tal felt Benko pretended not to hear the offer.) Within a few moves Tal obtained a winning position. Benko could have resigned but Tal forced perpetual check and secured first place. Next stop: a world championship match. "My head is filled with sunshine," Tal said. 76 In a post-tournament interview, he said Keres had played the best chess. This was Tal modesty: After winning the 24th USSR Cham­ pionship, he said David Bronstein had played the best. Readers understood what he was saying about the element of luck in chess. On the flight home there were only three passengers, Tal, Koblents and Uncle Robert, according to Koblents. A huge crowd of fans assembled at the airport for their arrival but bad weather prevented the plane from land­ ing. There was a real danger of it crashing. Only Robert panicked. "Don't worry, Uncle, if we crash, it will only be once! " Tal said. 77 The plane landed safely. Sally said she heard that Tal shrugged off the danger with "a fit of nervous laughter:' Before meeting Sally nine months earlier, Tal had kept in touch with other girlfriends and had been getting serious with one in Moscow. But "Saska" replaced her. Tal was ready to go further once the Candidates tournament was finished. "Literally two days" after arriving back in Riga "he said to me as though by the way: 'Saska, let's submit doc­ uments to the [marriage] registry office;" Sally wrote. 78 She said she was "frightened of losing my independence. I was afraid that, having be­ come Tal's official wife, I would have to leave the theater, lose my freedom and become a 'normal chess wife:" She replied, "Where are

150

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

we hurrying to? Let the match with Botvin­ nik end and then we'll submit the documents:' To this Misha joked: "I understand: you want to marry a world champion, and not a chal­ lenger."79 She heard him phoning a friend, a well­ known photographer, to arrange for him to

take pictures of them registering the mar­ riage, for the widely read Soviet Union mag­ azine. "Do you want the entire Soviet Union to learn about the historical moment?" she asked. "Not the whole of the Soviet Union;' Tal replied. "Only his readers:•so

8. A Takeoff, an Apo gee and a Crash her glance. I still remember her eyes. And I regret the lost encounter:' 1 Spassky made up for it with many other encounters. Nevertheless, in 1959 he married a fellow Leningrader, a philology student named Nadezhda Konstantinovna Latynt­ seva. In 1960 they had a daughter, Tatiana. But Nadezhda was "very aggressive:' Spassky claimed. 'J\.lmost immediately I realized that my wife and I were opposite-colored bishops. We never intersected, we constantly dis­ agreed:' He said their fights became violent. 2 To end matters, "I offered a draw to my wife, a divorce," he said. "She objected and a war started. I was stalemated:' 3 The romance of Mikhail Tal and Sally Landau was much more public. They soon became the Soviet equivalent of a celebrity couple. "They were glamorous:' Mark Tai­ manov said, using a term that could not be applied to many USSR marriages. Tal was the famous chessplayer with the haunting dark eyes. She was the stage starlet with fiery red hair. "No chessplayer in all history had such popularitY:' Taimanov said. Borislav Ivkov amended that: "The most popular chessplay­ ers in all history were Fischer and Tal. One because he was a genius, the other-crazy." 4 Tal's fans seemed crazier. In Yugoslavia Tal was chatting with Yuri Averbakh when a

After the advent of Elo ratings, a joke cir­ culated among grandmasters: Marriage will cost you 50 points in playing strength. The evidence of this was mixed during 1958-1960 when, first Viktor Korchnoi, then Boris Spas­ sky and finally Mikhail Tal got married after short courtships. Korchnoi's career took off, Tal's achieved his greatest height and Spas­ sky's nightmare deepened. Even as a teenager, Spassky enjoyed a rep­ utation as a ladies man. With gray-green eyes, wavy hair and infectious joie de vivre, he found himself very attractive to women. And vice versa. He told an interviewer in 2007 that love was the most important thing in life, more than chess. Did love ever inter­ fere with chess? Yes, he said, and recalled an incident in 1958 in Rostov-on-Don. A Spar­ tak sports society women's basketball team, visiting from distant Vladivostok, was stay­ ing at the same hotel as him. He arranged a hasty rendezvous with a member of the team, hasty because "within two hours her train was leaving:' But Igor Bondarevsky, serving as his sec­ ond, "showed me an interesting position:' he said. "I was so fascinated I forgot everything else. When I came to my senses I ran to the train station in horror to say goodbye. In answer to my apology the girl slashed me with

151

152

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

pretty young woman took Tai aside to speak privately. "When he came back, he was grin­ ning;' Averbakh said. "What's up?" Averbakh asked. "She said she wants to have my baby!" Tai replied. 5 Both Tai and Sally recognized how attrac­ tive the other was to the opposite sex. If Sally was in a group of l3 men, he told her, "twelve would fall in love with you immediately, and the 13th would when you begin to sing:' 6 Even Bobby Fischer was smitten when he met her at Cura<;:ao 1962. "I want to have 150 suits, three houses and a wife like Tal's;' he said. 7 Tal's charm overcame his refusal to take steps to become attractive. "In life, I did not meet another person, who would be so in­ different to his own appearance;' Sally wrote. He "forgot" to cut his fingernails and seemed helpless when it came to washing his hair, she said.8 Yet they were deeply in love as he entered the most testing years of his life.

been expected to contend for first place were unrecognizable.

David Bronstein-Petrosian 27th USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1960 Caro-Kann Defense (BIO)

I. e4 c6 2. Ne2 d5 3. es cs 4. d4 Nc6 5. c3 e6 6. Nd2 Nge7 7. Nf3 cxd4 Black seeks a comfortable form of the French Defense (8. cxd4 NfS).

8. Nexd4! Ng6 9. Nxc6 bxc6 10. Bd3 Qc7 11. Qe2 f6 12. exf6 gxf6 13. Nd4 Kt7 14. f4 Instead of going for complications (14 . . . . Nxf4 15. Bxf4 Qxf4 16. Nxc6), White would get reasonable play from 14. 0-0. Then 14 . . . . es 15. Qh5 is stronger (15. . . . Bg7 16. NfS) than in the game.

14. . . . c5 15. Qh5? cxd4! 16. Bxg6+ hxg6! 17. Qxh8 dxc3 (see diagram)

Now Korchnoi Viktor Korchnoi's marriage was a strategic move, like his later decision to join the Com­ munist Party. "Subconsciously I hoped that my new, solid family situation would help me also to achieve solid successes at the chess board;' he wrote. ''And as we will see, my cal­ culations were justified:' 9 The evidence was the finals of the 27th USSR Championship. It was held in his hometown in the grandly titled Palace of Culture of the First Five-Year Plan. Korchnoi battled defending champion Tigran Petro­ sian for the lead for almost the entire tour­ nament. Their 12-move draw was one of the few "grandmaster draws" in an exceptionally hard-fought round-robin. They had drawn their previous eight games, some of them without a fight. It was not until a Soviet team tournament at the end of l961 that they began beating one another. Other players who had

After 17. ... dxc3 It is hard to imagine why Bronstein pro­ voked such an evidently sound sacrifice. He would be worse even after 18. b3 Bg7 19. Qh4 Ba6 20. Be3 fS.

18. Qh7+? Bg719. Be3? cxb2 20. Rdl Ba6 White can resign in view of the 21. . . . Qc4 and 21. . . . Rh8 threats.

21. f5 exf5 22. Qh3 Qc2 23. Qf3 Bc4 White resigns

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Spassky treated his hometown fans to one of his greatest games. He left a rook en prise against Bronstein in a King's Gambit and won in 23 moves. In the Soviet chess year­ book he gave three reasons: His attacking pieces were at their peak efficiency, Bronstein was weaker at defense than attack and Bron­ stein was short of time. But the fourth and, he implied, most important reason was, "in­ dependent of whether the move is good or bad, I liked the idea:' This was the kind of answer Tai would give. Years later he ac­ knowledged his influence. "If you asked me how I would like to play I would answer like Capablanca or the Mikhail Tai of 1960:' 10 But he lost other games without a fight. His home life turmoil was exacerbated by an­ other break. Alexander Tolush, his trainer of eight years, was tiring of dealing with Spas­ sky's peccadilloes. On top of that, "Boris be­ came an object of interest of the KGB;' Alex­ ander Nikitin said. 11 Everything was going wrong, Spassky said. "This was the critical year of my life:' 12 It showed in some of his games.

Korchnoi-Spassky

27th Soviet Championship finals, Leningrad, 1960 Queen's Gambit Accepted (D25) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 Bg4 5. Bxc4 e6 6. 0-0 a6 7. Qe2?! Nc6 8. Rdl Bd6 Black should have a comfortable middle­ game based on . . . es.

9. h3 Bh5 10. e4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 e5 Pyotr Romanovsky, in the May issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR, said "many spectators" believed Black was already better, in view of 12. d5 Nd4 13. Qd3 bS 14. Bb3 Nd7! and . . . Nc5.

12. Qg3! Qe7 This, with the idea of . . . 0-0-0, is more in Spassky's style than 12. . . . 0-0 13. Bh6 NhS.

1 53

But the latter is quite good, e.g., 14. Qg4 Nxd4 15. QxhS gxh6 16. Qxh6 Kh8.

13. d5 Nd4 14. Nc3 (see diagram)

After 14. Nc3 Best, according to Romanovsky, was 14 . . . . Rg8. But there was nothing wrong with the tacit draw offer of 14 . . . . NhS 15. Qg4 Nf6. Then 16. Qxg7? Rg8 17. Qh6 Rg6 18. Qe3 Nc2 costs material.

14. . . . g6? 15. Bg5! Spassky had counted on 15. . . . h6 but overlooked 16. Qh4! . In view of 15. . . . 0-0 16. Qh4 Kg7 17. Bh6+, he played:

15. . . . Qd8 16. Qh4 Korchnoi might have been tempted by 16. Rxd4 exd4 17. es (17 . . . . Nh5 18. Bxd8 Nxg3 19. Bf6 dxc3 20. exd6! with a big edge). But simpler is 16. f4! because 16. . . . exf4 loses to 17. Qf2! . And 16. . . . NhS 17. Bxd8 Nxg3 18. Bf6 is an obvious advantage.

16. . . . Be717. f4 Nc2? Suicidal. After 17. . . . Ng8 18. Bxe7 Qxe7 19. Qxe7+ Nxe7 he can resist, at least for a while (20. fxeS Nc2 21. Rael Ne3).

18. fxe5 Nd7 19. Bxe7 Qxe7 20. Qxe7+ Kxe7 21. d6+ Kf8 22. dxc7! Nxe5 23. Rael Spassky played 23. . . . Nb4 and resigned at move 40. He might have conceded ear­ lier if Korchnoi had found 23. Rd8+ Kg7 24. Radl!.

154

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

This game left Korchnoi tied with Petro­ sian with four games to go. In the next round, an ill Petrosian was badly outplayed by Yuri Averbakh. Korchnoi's fans expected him to take the lead by converting a big positional advantage against Vladimir Bagirov, a new­ comer to the championship. But while con­ sidering a routine recapture, Korchnoi touched the wrong bishop. If he moved it he would remain fatally behind in material. He stood up and left the tournament hall with­ out a word. Chess Is My Life said he was tense that day because his son Igor, born the year before, was sick and he had to help care for him. In addition, he said he was put off by seeing what he believed was Eduard Gufeld blatantly throwing a game to Gufeld's friend, Yefim Geller. Korchnoi was increasingly de­ tecting deceit, real or imagined, in the games of others. Petrosian recovered quickly and gave Spas­ sky a tutorial on the subject of Exchange sac­ rifices.

Petro sian-Spassky 27th USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1960 King's Indian Defense (E95) I. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. 0-0 Spassky was expecting 7. d5 and 8. Bg5, soon to be the "Petrosian Variation:'

7• • • • Nbd7 8. Rel c6 9. d5 Nc5 10. Bfl a5 11. Bg5 This was a trademark Petrosian move, in similar positions. It discourages a change in the center (11. . . . exd5 12. NxdS).

11. . . . h6 12. Bh4 g5 13. Bg3 The standard counter in similar positions is 13. . . . Nh5! followed by . . . Nf4 or . . . Nxg3. Black stands well after 14. Nd2 Nxg3 15. hxg3 cxd5 16. cxd5 fS.

13. . . . Bg4!? 14. Re3 b5!

Black acts before White can untangle with a queen move and Nd2/f2-f3. Now 15. cxb5 cxd5! 16. exd5? e4 or 16. Nxd5 Nfxe4 is fine for Black.

After 18. Bd3 Petrosian saw . . . f5-f4 coming and pre­ pared 18 . . . . fS 19. Bxe4! fxe4 20. Rxe4 Nxe4 21. Qd5+ and 22. Qxe4, with excellent com­ pensation. White also has 20. h3 (20. . . . Bh5 21. Nxd6!) and 20. Nxd6 exf3 21. Qd5+.

18. . . . Nxg3 19. hxg3 f5 After the game, Petrosian pointed out how 19. . . . Rac8 and 20 . . . . Rxc7! would have given Black good practical chances. 13 20. Bc2! f4 White's last move allowed him to answer 20 . . . . e4 with a favorable 21. QdS+ Qf7 22. Nfd4. On 20. . . . Ra6 Petrosian had planned 21. QdS+ Kh8 22. Nh2 and another Exchange sacrifice, 22. . . . f4 23. Nxg4 fxe3 24. Nxe3, to dominate the light squares.

21. gxf4 gxf4 22. Rel Ra6 23. Be4 h5? Spassky felt 23. . . . Bd7 followed by 24 . . . . BxbS and . . . Rb6 was his last chance. 14 But 23. . . . Bxe4 24. Rxe4 Qe6 was better and nearly equal. His position worsens quickly now.

24. Qc2 Qf6 25. Nd2 h4 26. f3! Bc8 27. Bd5+ Kh8 28. Ne4 Qh6? 29. Re2 h3 30. gxh3!

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Opening the file loses quickly, 30. . . . Bxh3? 31. Rh2. 30 • . . • RfS 31. Rh2 a4 32. h4 b3 33. axb3 axb3 34. Qdl Rxal 35. Qxal Black resigns Petrosian and Spassky played ten games with one another before their 1966 world championship match. All the others were drawn.

Declaration of War After he defected, Korchnoi told two sto­ ries of what happened on the final day. He led Petrosian and Geller by a half point and was paired with Alexey Suetin. In one of the stories, he said that after he offered a draw, Suetin went to his friends Geller and Petro­ sian for advice. A draw would give Petrosian a chance to tie with Korchnoi for first place. He advised Suetin to accept. But as Geller saw it, if Suetin won, Geller might take first prize alone or with Petrosian. "Play on. You' ll beat him;' Geller told Suetin. 15 How did Korchnoi learn of this alleged conversation? It is highly un­ likely Suetin, Geller or Petrosian told him. In any case, Suetin certainly had good reason to refuse the draw offer by the third hour.

Korchnoi-Alexey Suetin

27th USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1960 Ruy Lopez (C83) 1. e4 eS 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. BbS a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Nxe4 6. d4 bS 7. Bb3 dS 8. dxeS Be6 9. Qe2 Be710. c3 0-011. Nd4 Based on 11. . . . NxeS 12. f3, winning ma­ terial.

II. . . . Qd7 12. f3?! Black is soon better. Chances are roughly balanced after 12. Bc2 f6 13. Nxe6 Qxe6 14. exf6.

1 55

12. . . . NcS 13. Bc2 f6!14. exf6 Bxf615. Nxe6 Qxe616. Qxe6+ Nxe617. Bb3 Rad818. Rdl Ne7 19. Nd2 Kf7 20. Rfl?! White's pieces are misplaced but 20. Bc2 g6 21. Rel was better than this bid for coun­ terplay from f3-f4.

20. . . . cS! 21. f4 c4 22. Bdl Nc6 23. Nf3 d4 24. NgS+! BxgS 25. fxgS+ Ke7 26. Rel Kd6 27. cxd4 Nexd4 28. Bd2 Rde8 29. Rel Kd5 (see diagram)

After 29. ... Kd5 Black would be closing in on a win after, for example, 30. Rxe8 Rxe8 and . . . b4 be­ cause of the powerful coordination of his knights and king. But, as Tai put it, "There are very few chess players who only begin to play when they obtain a poor position! Korchnoi is among them:' 16

30. b3!? Rxel+! 31. Bxel NeS 32. bxc4+ bxc4 33. Rbl Black would be making progress with 33. . . . Nd3 34. Bc3 Nf2, perhaps with the idea of . . . Ke4-d3. He decides to push his c-pawn instead. Meanwhile, Petrosian had a small but solid edge against Nikolai Krogius, while Bronstein had sacrificed unsoundly in an even endgame against Geller. Geller's chances of sharing first place, with or without Korch­ noi, appeared very good.

33. . . . Rc8 34. Bc3 NbS 35. Bal c3 36. a4 Nd6??

156

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

In mutual time pressure, Black would have had excellent winning chances with 36. . . . Na3!. For example, 37. Rel c2 38. Be2? Rb8! and 38. Bb2! Nd3 39. Bf3+ Kc4. But after 36. . . . Nd6?? Black's centralized king turns from an asset into a liability.

37. Bb3+ Ke4 38. Rel+ Kf5 39. Bc2+ Ke6 40. Bb3+ Kf5 41. Bc2+ Ke6 42. Re3! White's bishops have come alive and he might also have begun harvesting pawns with 42. Bxh7.

42. . . . Nc4 43. Rxc3 Rd8 44. h3 g6 45. Bb3 Kf5 46. Kh2 Rc8 47. Rc2! Rc6 48. Re2! Afterward Korchnoi told journalist Viktor Vasiliev that he had ten lost positions in the tournament and won nearly all of them. In the March 1961 issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR Vasiliev painted a picture of him for a wider audience by comparing him to Tai: Tal loved to attack. Korchnoi loved to counterattack-and no one does it as well as him. Tal preferred White. Korchnoi pre­ ferred Black. Korchnoi almost never refuses a sacrifice. "In any tournament he could fin­ ish first or last;' Vasiliev wrote. Both men tried to live up to their reputations but even­ tually realized the images were costing them points.

48. . . . Rb6 49. Bc2+ Ke6 50. Bd4 Rd6 51. Bc3 Rb6 52. Kg3 Kd5 53. Kf4 Nc6 54. Rel Rb7 55. Be4+ Kc5 56. Rel Rb3 57. Bg7 Nb4 58. Bf8+ Kd4 59. Rdl+ Nd3+ 60. Rxd3+! Rxd3 61. Bg7+ Black resigns This victory made Korchnoi the sole win­ ner of the tournament. In his memoirs he told a second story about this round, based on what Bronstein told him in 1974: Bron­ stein said he threw his game to Geller so that Geller would finish first. Bronstein did this because he saw "how unscrupulously and crudely Krogius was losing to Petrosian" and he did not want to see Petrosian become champion this way, he said. "But what about

me?" Korchnoi demanded. Bronstein's excuse was "You were in a bad way. I thought you were losing:' 17 Korchnoi concluded that the last round in 1960 "was Petrosian's first conspiracy against me. I had to be stopped." He later added that Geller also became his enemy and it influ­ enced events like the 1962 Candidates tour­ nament. They "forged a pact against me in 1960;' he said. 18 But there is ample evidence that Korchnoi and Petrosian remained on good terms for several years. In one of his last interviews Korchnoi said they "were friends" during the 1960s. 19 And how was it a hostile act for Petrosian to tell Suetin not to try to beat Korchnoi? Also, Korchnoi must have known of Bron­ stein's dubious credibility. Gennady Sosonko indicated that Bronstein concocted his last­ round tale. 20 Looking at the games today, it appears Bronstein made his dubious sacrifice against Geller when the Petrosian-Krogius game was still fairly close, not when Petro­ sian was winning. In short, the story Korch­ noi told for the last 30 years of his life about the start of his "war" with Petrosian may be based on a myth he wanted to believe.

Evil Victor Yevgeny Vasiukov first played Korchnoi in 1953 and later served as his trainer. He said he could not think of a single player Korch­ noi respected. "It's no accident that when he was still a young man people began to whis­ per. They called him 'Evil Viktor;" said Va­ siukov. "I think something like that has to be earned . . . . You don't simply acquire such things:' 2 1 Mark Taimanov considered Korch­ noi a friend but recognized that over a chess­ board Korchnoi was no one's friend. "He thought he had to hate any opponent during the game;' Taimanov said. 22 Korchnoi was surprised when his oppo­ nents took offense. He told the story of how

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Vladimir Simagin, during a game with Korch­ noi, approached Taimanov and asked him, "Why does he look at me with such malice­ as if l had slaughtered all of his family down to the sixth generation?" 23 Korchnoi seemed to cultivate his "sporting malice," as the Rus­ sians called it. "More than once I heard from him, 'Don't calm me, or my malice will pass!'" his sports psychologist, Rudolf Zagainov, said. 24 Controlled animosity was Korchnoi's most noticeable personal quality, according to many of his opponents. Viktor Kupreychik, who played Korchnoi over a 2O-year period, said, "In what way did Korchnoi distinguish himself from the others? By his sporting malice. In the best sense. Everyone knew that if Korchnoi sat at the board, he was your enemy." 25 Petrosian and Spassky, among others, said Korchnoi did not have the talent to become world champion but made up for it with mo­ tivation, by conjuring up contempt for his opponents. 26 Vyacheslav Osnos, another of his later trainers, said his own playing career was held back because he could not develop the sporting malice he saw in Korchnoi. "One needs to look at the opponent as if he stole 100 rubles from you. And I can't do this;' Osnos said. 27 At various times Korchnoi acknowledged and denied his practice. "To be honest, com­ petitive malice is not something I practice," he said. 28 But he ridiculed Svetozar Gligoric for saying he played "against the pieces;' not against an opponent. "This sounds like stu­ pidity. You play against a person who has a mood, who has or lacks a will:' He admitted, 'Tm no angel:' In an 80th birthday interview he recalled a game with Taimanov in a Leningrad team championship: "Our teams met on the day on which my family observed an anniversary party. Mark and his wife were invited. He counted on a quick draw but I was inclined to play. As a result the game dragged on. I won but the party was called off. My wife was

157

in tears, the event was spoiled and I was em­ barrassed:' 29

Smoking and the Ma estro Mikhail Botvinnik was notorious for ar­ guing over trivial matters before his world championship matches. He could not do that in 1960. "Even if Mikhail Moisseyevich offers the most extravagant option, I will agree," Tal told his wife. Why? "First, because it is Bot­ vinnik, and secondly, because I will still crush him . . . . "30 Most of what we know about Tal's prepa­ rations comes from Alexander Koblents. The Maestro had idolized Botvinnik when he covered the champion's matches with Bron­ stein and Vasily Smyslov as a journalist. Koblents concluded that Botvinnik had "pro­ grammed himself, not only in chess but in the course of life" and stuck to the rigid reg­ imen he believed was best for him. "It seemed to me that Mikhail Moisseyevich very early understood that what he wanted to do was not always beneficial:' Perhaps with a hint to Tal he added, ''.And what was beneficial was not always what he wanted to do."3 1 After a decade together, Tal depended on Koblents. His mother told him, "You know, Misha, you should never be separated from the Maestro. He brings you luck:'32 Koblents was also an enabler, who accepted the ex­ cesses that other seconds would not. When Koblents asked Isaac Boleslavsky if he would help the challenger, he refused. "Tal doesn't need a trainer;' Boleslavsky said. "He needs a nannY:'33 What Sally remembered of the match preparation was the image of two silhouettes traced in tobacco smoke, "continuously mov­ ing pieces on a chessboard and occasionally making notes in a notebook. I would go to bed, and Misha and Koblents continued to move the wooden figures. I got up, and they sat in the same poses and moved the wooden

158

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

figures . . . . Misha-unshaven, unwashed, un­ combed, already then with the unchanged Kent [cigarette] in his teeth, and Koblents­ trimmed, neatly dressed, completely Euro­ pean-looking:'3 4 Smoking was Tal's newest bad habit. There are two versions of how he went from non­ smoker to a two-pack-a-day addict in a mat­ ter of months. That they gave such different accounts illustrates how Tai and Sally seemed to live in separate worlds. Tal's version: Early in the 1959 Candidates tournament he was depressed about his poor start and suffering from the tug of his post­ appendectomy stitches. A Yugoslav journalist offered him a cigarette. "I tried one, it worked and I even liked it;' he wrote. Since he won the tournament, he did not consider smoking harmful. Back home in Riga he began to "bor­ row" occasional cigarettes from his uncle. By the time of the Botvinnik match he was smok­ ing openly, even unfiltered Camels.35 Sally's version: "I confess, I 'taught' Misha to smoke;' she wrote. "Previously, he could not bear tobacco smoke and drove Robert out of the room if he lit a cigarette-and Robert smoked very much:' Sally started to smoke because her character in a play did. Once, when rehearsing, she got dizzy from the smoke and "almost fell into an orchestra pit. But gradually I got used to it, I smoked a lot and . . . Misha did not want to leave me behind, and also became addicted:'36 Koblents convinced Tai to enter a round­ robin international in December 1959. He said he wanted Tai to play "somewhat pas­ sively in the opening, so as to become accus­ tomed to defending:'37 But a look at his Black games shows Tai defended aggressively in all of them. This should have cost him in the first round:

5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Nde2 Nf6 8. 0-0 Be7 9. Ng3 Tolush had won impressive games in the Sicilian Defense by mating a castled king with a Ng3-h5xg7 sacrifice.

9. . . . b5 10. Be3 Bb7 11. f4 d6 12. Qe2 0-0 13. Radl Rac8 14. a4? b4 15. Nbl dS! 16. eS Nd717. Nd2 Black stands well (17. Bxa6? Bxa6 18. Qxa6 Ncb8 19. queen-move Qxc2). His advantage, after 17. Nd2, would be enlarged by 17. . . . Nc5! (18. b3 Nxd3 19. cxd3 Na5 or 18. Bxc5 Bxc5+ 19. Khl Nd4).

17. . . . Bc518. Nb3! Bxe3+ 19. Qxe3 Nb6?? Tai was reluctant to weaken his kingside (19. . . . g6!) or enter a poor endgame (19. . . . Qb6 20. Qxb6 Nxb6 21. NcS). But he mis­ judged White's attacking potential and prob­ ably counted on 20. Nc5? NxeS! or 20. a5? Nc4).

20. Nh5! (see diagram)

After 20. Nh5

Sicilian Defense (B43)

Tai allowed Tolush to do what he did best. White threatens 21. Bxh7+! Kxh7 22. Nf6+! gxf6 23. Qh3+ and mate after 24. Qg4+ and 25. Rf3. Black's best defense is 20. . . . Ne7 but it would not be hard to see that 21. Nf6+! gxf6 22. exf6 Ng6 23. fS! would threaten 24. Qh6 and mate. Then White is close to winning (23. . . . Nd7 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Qxe6+).

1. e4 cs 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6

20. . . . g6? 21. Nf6+?

Alexander Tolush-Tai Riga, 1959

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash

1 59

It is remarkable that perhaps the two fiercest attackers of this age both underesti­ mated 21. fS!. Black would lose after 21. . . . QxeS 22. Qxb6 or 21. . . . gxhS 22. f6. Perhaps what they missed was 21. . . . exfS 22. RxfS! (22. . . . gxfS? 23. Qg3+). White wins in lines like 22. . . . f6 23. Nxf6+ Kh8 24. RgS. The greatest resistance is offered by 21. . . . NxeS 22. Qh6 f6. But it is not enough after 23. fxg6 Ng4 24. Qxh7+ Qxh7+ 25. gxh7+ Kh8 26. Nf4.

"Chess can't be played this way;' Tigran Petrosian wrote when Tal made this move in the championship match. But Koblents was happy when he read Botvinnik's post-match comment about Tal's play: "I was struck by how, instead of playing 'according to the po­ sition' (as I was taught in youth), the oppo­ nent made an illogical move-to force his opponent to solve problems . . . when the op­ ponent erred, Tal would find an elegant and unexpected solution:' 38

21. . . . Kg7 22. Rf3 Nxa4!

5. . . . e5 6. f4 dxe4

Both 23. . . . Nxb2 and a queen trade with 23. . . . Qb6 are in the air.

Tal was ready to gambit a pawn, 6. . . . exf4 7. exdS cxdS 8. d4. For example, 8 . . . . Qe7+ 9. Qe2 f3 10. Qxe7+ Nxe7 and now 11. NbS Kd7 12. Bf4 followed by 0-0-0 and h3-h4/ Bh3+.

23. Rh3 Rh8 24. Rel Qb6? Black could have safely taken a second pawn (24 . . . . Nxb2!). Computers claim that Qcl at move 23 or 24 would have kept chances in balance. Humans do not attack like that.

25. Qxb6 Nxb6 26. Nc5? But he had to play 26. Rall first, since 26. . . . Ra8 27. NcS or 26. . . . aS 27. BbS would give him some compensation for a pawn. Now Tal ends the pressure.

7. fxe5 Qd4 8. Qe2 Qxe5 9. d4!? Qxd4 10. Nxe4 Foiling discovered checks with 10. . . . QeS 11. f4 Qe6 allows White a big lead in devel­ opment (12. Bd2 Nh6 13. 0-0-0 and Bc3/ Rgl).

10. . . . Be7 11. Bf4!

Spassky won the tournament impressively. Tal chalked up his fourth-place finish to a learning experience, like the secret training games that Botvinnik engaged in before his world championship matches. Tal did play at least one training game with the Maestro.

Gennady Sosonko recalled how he spent a month in Riga as Tal's trainer in spring 1968. "We worked, of course, only on the opening but basically his successes didn't lie in theoretical knowledge;' he wrote. "The most important thing for him was to create a situation on the board so that the pieces came alive. . . . " 39 This is such a position. White has enough for a pawn if Black stops Nd6+ with 11. . . . Kf8 in view of 12. c3 QdS 13. Bg2. And he would win after 11. . . . Nf6? 12. Nd6+ Kf8 13. Qxe7+! Kxe7 14. NfS+.

Tai-Alexander Koblents

11. . . . Qxb212. Rdl

26. . . . Nxe5! 27. Nh5+ gxh5 28. Nxb7 Nxd3 29. cxd3 Rc7! 30. Na5 Rhc8 31. Nb3 Rc2 32. f5 Rxb2 33. Nd4 e5 34. f6+ Kxf6 35. Rf3+ Kg7 36. Nf5+ Kf8 37. Rxe5 Rel+ 38. Rfl Rbbl White resigns

Training game, Riga, 1960 Caro-Kann Defense (Bll) 1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Bg4 4. h3 Bxf3 5. gxf3?!

Some computers say 12. Nd6+ Kf8 13. Bes was stronger. For example, 13. . . . Qb4+ 14. c3 QcS 15. Nxb7.

12. . . . Nf6 (see diagram)

1 60

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

After 12. ... Nf6 There are traps galore, e.g., 12. . . . Qxa2 13. Rgl g6? 14. Bes and 13. . . . Kf8? 14. Qg4!. But White's compensation would have been doubtful after 13. . . . Nd7.

13. Nd6+ Kf8 14. Qxe7+! Kxe7 15. Nf5+ Ke8! White mates after 15. . . . Kf8? 16. Rd8+ Ne8 17. Bd6+ and wins after 15. . . . Ke6? 16. Nxg7+ Ke? 17. Bd6+ Kd8 18. Ba3+.

16. Nxg7+ Kf8 17. Bd6+! Kxg7 18. Rgl+ Ng4! Mikhail Tai Games: Volume I points out 18 . . . . Kh6 19. Bf4+ KhS 20. Be2+ Kh4 21. Bg3+ Kxh3 22. Bfl+ Kg4 23. Bes+ KfS 24. Bxb2 "with attack:' But in this line: (a) Black is better after 24 . . . . Re8+, (b) White had two forced mates at move 22, with 22. Rhl+ and 22. Kfl, and (c) There was another forced mate a move earlier, 21. BgS+! .The faulty 21. Bg3+? would have allowed Black to play an endgame after 21. . . . KgS!.

19. Rxg4+ Kf6 20. Rf4+ Kg7 draw Black can not afford 20. . . . Ke6? 21. Bc4+ Kd7 22. Rxf7+ Ke8 23. Re?+. Nor is 20. . . . KgS 21. Rg4+ KhS 22. Be2 a winning attempt.

Hard Currency Dreams The reward for winning the national cham­ pionship could be an American dishwasher

or TV set. Not directly, of course. But being allowed to play in an international tourna­ ment in a capitalist country guaranteed ac­ cess to convertible "hard" currency. Return­ ing home, a player could cash in his unspent dollars, pounds, guilders and so on for "cer­ tificate rubles;' which could be spent in limited-access shops where scarce goods were available and prices were lower than in shops open to everyday citizens. This was new in the mid-1950s. When So­ viet players first got a chance to play abroad they could not officially accept hard currency fees. That changed after a free day in the 1955 U.S.-USSR match in Moscow, according to Mark Taimanov. The Soviet players and the highest-ranking vlasti were invited to cele­ brate July 4 at the American ambassador's residence. During a social moment, Nikita Khrushchev chatted with Taimanov. "When Soviet players compete abroad, do they re­ ceive honoraria?" the Kremlin leader asked. "What, Nikita Sergeyevich? How can we accept money from the bourgeois?" was Tai­ manov's ideologically proper reply. ''And do they receive them when they compete at home?'' Khrushchev continued. "Of course;' Taimanov answered. "How else can we live?" Khrushchev thought for a moment and decided that taking money away from capi­ talists made sense. ''And within a few days the Sports Committee issued a new special order that allowed chess players to accept hard currency when abroad;' Taimanov said. 40 Petrosian had played in the West in team tournaments and matches and world cham­ pionship qualification events but not foreign invitationals. That changed in January 1960 when he was sent with Salo Flohr to Bever­ wijk, the Netherlands, as the first Soviet play­ ers to a Hoogovens international. Later in the year, he went to Copenhagen with Yefim Geller for a Nimzowitsch Memorial tourna­ ment. He tied with Bent Larsen in the first tournament and won the second.

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Korchnoi scored travel assignments in 1960 that sent him to three Argentine inter­ nationals. In Buenos Aires he trailed Samuel Reshevsky by a point with five games to go. At a banquet at the Soviet embassy he met the poet Maria Rosa Oliver, a Lenin Prize winner, who convinced him that "I was obliged to win this tournament so as not to allow an American to be the winner:' 41 Korchnoi was impressed by the impact "So­ viet propaganda" had on South Americans. He caught up with Reshevsky and they tied for first prize. South America was also Spassky's desti­ nation when he and Bronstein played in the resort city of Mar
161

Black prepared . . . Bes. The immediate 11. . . . Bes would have walked into 12. Be3 Qd6 13. Bxf7+ Kxf7 14. Qc4+ with advantage.

12. Bb3 Bc5? 13. Be3 Qd6 14. Radl Qe7 15. Bxc5 Slightly more accurate is the immediate 15. NfhS because if play follows the game, 15. . . . NxhS 16. NxhS 0-0 17. Qg4 g6, White still has his bishop and wins faster with 18. Bxh6. It does not help Black to insert 16. . . . Bxe3 in view of 17. Nxg7+! Kf8 18. fxe3 and then 18 . . . . Kxg7 18. Qg4+ Bg6 19. Rxf7+.

15. . . . Qxc5 16. Nfh5 Nxh5 17. Nxh5 0-0 18. Qg4 g619. Rd3 (see diagram) White plans 20. Rfdl and 21. Rd8 or 21. Rd6. Also winning is 19. Rfel and Qg3/Rxe5.

Spassky-Alberto Foguelman

Mar del Plata, 1960 Caro-Kann Defense (B18)

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nle2 Spassky had never played the 4. Nxe4 BfS main line of the Caro-Kann before, accord­ ing to databases. He was adopting another Tai idea: A week before this game, Tai played 6. Nle2 Nf6 7. h4 in the Botvinnik match.

7. . . . Nf6 8. Nf4 Bh7 9. Bc4 The Tai game went 9. . . . e6 10. 0-0 Bd6. Annotators suggested that 9. . . . eS 10. dxeS QaS+ might equalize. But 10. Qe2!? had been analyzed in Shakhmaty v SSSR in 1952 and found to be strong after 10. . . . Qxd4 11. 0-0 Be7 12. Rdl QcS 13. Be3 QaS 14. NfhS 0-0 15. Nxf6+ Bxf6 16. NhS! .

9. . . . e5 10. Qe2!? Qxd4 11. 0-0 b5? Spassky felt 11. . . . Nbd7 12. Rdl QcS would give him enough compensation for a pawn after 13. Be3 Qe7 14. NfhS NxhS 15. QxhS. Computers tend to prefer Black. Instead,

After 19. Rd3 19. . . . a5 Black could not play 19. . . . Na6 because of 20. Nf6+ and 21. Nd7. Spassky noticed that 20 . . . . a4 was not a threat, e.g., 20. a3 a4 21. Ba2 Qxc2? 22. Bxf7+! and wins. His next move prepares 21. Bxf7+ Rxf7 22. Rd8+ Rf8 23. Qe6+ and wins.

20. Rfdl! Ra7 Among the pretty lines is 20 . . . . Qe7 21. Rd7! Nxd7 22. Rxd7 Qb4 23. Qf3! gxhS 24. Rxf7 and wins.

21. Rd6 Kh8 22. Nf6 a4 23. Nxh7 axb3 Black can resign after 23. . . . Kxh7 24. Bxf7!.

1 62

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

24. Nxf8 bxa2 25. Nxg6+! fxg6 26. Rd8+ Kg7 27. Rg8+! Kxg8 28. Qxg6+ Rg7 29. Rd8+ Qf8 30. Rxf8+ Kxf8 31. Qd6+ Kf7 32. Qa3 Black resigns

Fighting for Squ are Meters No less important than foreign trips in the life of a Soviet grandmaster was housing. Top players regularly told horror stories of their frantic hunt for a better place to call home. When Spassky cited the many personal prob­ lems he faced in 1960, high on the list was "apartment trouble:' Spassky, his mother and two siblings had shared a single room of 14 square meters until 1956. Thanks to his international suc­ cesses he was allowed to move his family into a two-room, 28-square-meter flat-"from a slum to a palace:' he said. 42 Adult children often remained with their parents in the Soviet era. By 1960 the addi­ tion of Spassky's wife and daughter meant that five people and an infant were sharing the "palace:' He discovered how scarce decent apartments were. Soviet housing construc­ tion, halted during World War II, was re­ vived in the 1950s largely in the form of mas­ sive, low-cost and often ugly apartment buildings. Each was derided as a khru sh­ chob a-a portmanteau that blended the name of the Soviet leader and the Russian word for slum. Spassky said he was still living in a khru shchob a when he won the world championship in 1969. After Korchnoi's triumph in the 27th USSR championship, he was allowed to leave his kommunal k a, where he, his wife and newborn son shared 20 square meters, in­ cluding a single kitchen, toilet and bath­ room, with several other families. "On the initiative of the Sports Committee:' his family moved into their own two-room apartment comprising 27 square meters, he said. 43

Trading up to a better home was a com­ mon grandmaster goal, even if it meant mov­ ing hundreds of miles way. Isaac Boleslavsky moved to Minsk because he got a four-room apartment. "Such a flat was worth its weight in gold:' his daughter Tatiana recalled. 44 Leonid Stein was the pride of Lvov, Ukraine but moved to Kiev in the late 1960s because he could get a better apartment there. Yefim Geller wanted to move from Odessa to Kiev because he knew of a three-room apartment in a desirable location. But the secretary of the Kiev city council did not see a reason to give up such a choice property. "Why do we need this? We have enough Gellers in Kiev:' he said. ''.As a result a candidate for the world championship left for Moscow:' said Yefim Lazarev, then the trainer of the Ukrainian team. 45 Getting approval for a move was often an agonizing process. Yuri Averbakh said that when he tried to trade up from a kommu­ nal k a in which he, his wife and daughter shared less than 12 square meters, he was re­ jected by the Moscow city council, by his sports society and by the Sports Committee. He eventually won approval after a second meeting with a wary "workers commission'' and moved into new quarters, with 19 square meters. 46 There were also big winners in the housing game. In 1962 Petrosian managed to move from a small apartment on the outskirts of Moscow to a somewhat lux­ urious, five-room apartment on Piatnat­ skaya Street closer to the center. It was "an unrealizable dream in Soviet condi­ tions:' according to family friend Iser Kuper­ man. It was "only thanks to the power and influence of Rona Petrosian . . . . For Rona, it seemed, nothing was difficulf' 47 Alexan­ der Kotov expressed a widespread view among grandmasters: "Tigran only knows how to exchange a bishop for a knight. Rona knows how to exchange everything else:' 48

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash

1 63

Mikhail Botvinnik, right foreground, ponders his 29th move in a lost position of the first game of the 1960 World Championship match with Tai (left). Match arbiters sit to the right of the stage at Moscow's Pushkin Theater (Tal-Botvinnik 1960, courtesy Russell Enterprises).

The Biggest Stage Mikhail Tai already had a nice home. But the whole Tai family temporarily moved in March 1960 to the Moskva hotel in the center of the capital, not far from Kremlin. This was his headquarters during the title match. He knew the city. Moscow was the backdrop of his first national championship victory in 1957 and he had competed there as recently as August 1959 in the Spartakiad team cham­ pionship. But the Botvinnik match was by far the biggest stage he had appeared on. Sally was thrilled by Moscow but horrified by the virulent anti-Semitism she found. Botvinnik had been the target of it during his 1954 match with the Russian Orthodox

Vasily Smyslov. But this time both the chal­ lenger and champion were Jewish. Someone "slipped us under the [hotel room] door a nasty rhyme, where it was said that here two Jews are playing for the glory of the Russian people;' Sally recalled. It depressed her. But Tai laughed it off. The national question, as Soviets put it, did not interest him. "Most likely, Tai really believed himself to be a man without a certain nationality, a chess player belonging to the whole world;' she said. 49 On the eve of the match, grandmaster pre­ dictions were divided. Petrosian said his friend Tai could win "because he's brave. He can work miracles:' Bobby Fischer did not believe in miracles: "Botvinnik will crush him:'50 While the match was going on, Fischer

1 64

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

was playing in Mar del Plata. Fischer would analyze the match's adjourned games on a pocket set while lying on a beach, Spassky recalled. If Botvinnik had the better position, "Robert tried to find a win:' But if Tal had the edge, Fischer refused to look further, he said. 51 The Tal fans who managed to snare tickets to the Pushkin Theater in Moscow, or fol­ lowed the moves in newspapers, were not disappointed. Tal tipped them-and Botvin­ nik-off by announcing at the end of the Candidates tournament that he would play 1. e4 in his first White game. But the way he played it was a last-minute decision, accord­ ing to Koblents. A half hour before the first game, he and Tal were undecided how to meet Botvinnik's French Defense. Koblents was sitting on the carpet floor of their hotel room, amid chess magazines, when he noticed a loose-leaf page from Max Euwe's journal Chess Ar­ chives. It cited a game with a strange move, 11. Kdl!?, that had been played in the 1959 Candidates tournament. "Misha, do you know this variation?" he asked and set the position up on a board near him. Tal called it "a crazy variation:' 52 Koblents told him to play it as a "bluff" because "it's necessary to answer Botvinnik's moves instantaneously. Let him think that this variation has been the center of your at­ tention:' Tal later wrote that he analyzed the line with Koblents out of curiosity. "If not analytically, then psychologically, we were prepared for it:' he said. 53 Even if 11. Kdl had only been played once before, Botvinnik was probably aware of it. Andrzej Filipowicz, a Polish IM and arbiter who knew both men, said they had remarkable memories. He said he "personally tested Tal. I would describe a position and he answered, for example, 'That's Barcza-Keres, Zurich 1959' and recalled it from the first to last move. And Botvinnik could, too:' Filipowicz said both men remembered "about 5,000 games:' 54

Tal won that first game and took a three­ point lead after seven games. But he and Koblents recognized the score did not reflect the quality of the moves. Botvinnik was los­ ing due to time pressure oversights.

The VIP Card As the match progressed, Tal began to ap­ preciate his superstar status. Sally usually prepared his meals on a hotplate in their hotel. But one day they decided to have lunch at perhaps the most famous restaurant in the Soviet Union, the Aragvi. It served Georgian cuisine and other Black Sea specialties like pickled garlic and had been a favorite of the vlasti since Lavrenti Beria, head of the secret police, was a regular patron in the 1930s. When Tal and Sally arrived, there was a line of about 50 to 60 people waiting to get in. 55 "We stood at the very end:' she recalled. "Tasty smells came from the restaurant, and Misha said: 'Saska, you will play the next game with Mikhail Moisseyevich by proxy because I will starve to death:" She had an idea: "Misha, let's go to the en­ trance and say that you are Mikhail Tat:' But he did not like to play the VIP card. ''I'm un­ comfortable:' he said. "Be uncomfortable and starve to death:' she replied. ''And suddenly the man standing before us looked at us and shouted with a Georgian accent: 'Look, this is our Miho! Miho Tall ' Instantly the line parted, and we literally were carried into the restaurant. Misha was clearly embarrassed, blushed, but I saw that he was pleased:' 56 Tal lost the eighth and ninth games: he led by only one point and was no longer invin­ cible. Bent Larsen, then 25, felt Botvinnik was the better player. "There were so many holes in the Tal of 1960! And they are very easy to see:' he said years later. "But Botvin­ nik played the match without having studied well how Tal played:' 57

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Slowly Tai built his lead back up to three points. Botvinnik missed good winning chances late in the match, in games 16 and 18. Tai felt the 17th was decisive.

Tai-Mikhail Botvinnik

World Championship Match, 17th game, Moscow, 1960 Caro-Kann Defense (B18) I. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Nle2 Nf6 8. Nf4 Bd6 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Bg5 Nbd7 11. 0-0 Qa512. f4!? This move was controversial since it made White's bad bishop worse. But 12. Be3 Nb6 13. Bd3 0-0-0 seemed to favor Black. On 12. h4 Black could try 12. . . . Bxg3 13. fxg3 Ne4 or 12. . . . Qc7 13. Qf3 Nh7. That left the dubious 12. Qcl?! Ne4 and the endgame of 12. Qd2 Qxd2. Tai said he rejected 12. Qd2 because it would lead to a quick draw and he would have to solve a new problem, "Will my wife and I manage to get to the cinema or theater?"58 It was the first mention in his memoir of being married.

1 65

17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. c4 Nf6 19. Rabi Qd7 20. Rbdl KbS 21. Qb3 Qc7 22. a4 Rh4 23. a5 NcS 24. Qe3 Ne7 25. Qe5 RhhS 26. b5!? If Tal's attack fails, both his aS-pawn and d4-pawn will be weak.

26. . . . cxb5 27. Qxb5 a6 28. Qb2 Rd7 29. c5 KaS 30. Bf3 Nc6 31. Bxc6 Qxc6 32. Rf3 Qa4 33. Rfd3 RcS 34. Rbl Qxa5!? "The audience constantly applauded, as though encouraging the tired players;' Tai wrote. 59

35. Rb3 Qc7 36. Qa3 Ka7 37. Rb6 Qxf4! This courageous move should have won and cut Tal's lead to one game.

38. Ne2 Qe4 39. Qb3 (see diagram)

12. . . . 0-0-0 13. a3 Tai was looking for a chance to make his pieces "come alive:' For example, 13. . . . cS 14. b4! cxb4 15. axb4 Qxb4 16. Be2 Kb8 17. Rf3 and Rb3.

13. . . . Qc7 14. b4 Nb6 15. Be2? Ben The final weeks of the match might have been quite different if 15. . . . eS! 16. fxeS BxeS had been played. Computers say this favors Black after 17. Bg4+ Kb8 18. c3 Rxh2 19. Kxh2 Bxg3+ or 18 . . . . Bxg3 19. hxg3 Nbd5.

16. Qd3 Nfd5 Botvinnik passes up a second chance to alter the pawn structure, with 16. . . . cS and then 17. c3 cxd4 18. cxd4 Qd7. The more ex­ citing line was 17. bxcS Rxd4! 18. cxb6 Rxd3 19. bxc7 BcS+ 20. Khl Rxg3 21. Bf3 Ng4 with a more definite superiority.

After 39. Qb3 White threatens 40. Nc3! because after 40. . . . Qxd4+ 41. Khl there is no defense to Rxb7+ or Rxa6+. He has a secondary threat of 40. c6! bxc6 41. Rxa6+! or 40 . . . . Rxc6 41. Rxb7+. But captures on b7 would not come with check after 39. . . . Ka8! . Tai felt he would still have had chances after 40. h3 or 40. Rb4. For example, 40. Rb4 Qxe2? 41. Rxb7 wins. However, as Garry Kasparov observed, 40. Rb4 Ng4! makes 41. . . . Qxe2! 42. Rxb7 Qf2+ 43. Khl Qf4! a winning threat. 6 0 Black would also be winning after 40. h3 NdS because the rooks beat the queen after 41. Rxb7 Qxbl+ 42. Qxbl Rxb7. Also lost was 40. c6 Nxb6.

1 66

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi vinnik;' explained Sally's father, who had come for the end of the match. "And they did not have time to try it on Tal:' 64

Sp assky Sinks Spassky and Tai had been missing from the USSR team in the 1959 World Student Team Championship even though they were still under the age limit of 26. Without them, the Sovi­ Petrosian analyzes a world championship match game in the press ets led by Bukhuti Gur­ room. He was happy with Tal's success but regretted what Tai was genidze finished second, doing to chess orthodoxy. Shakhmaty v SSSR, June 1960. a point and a half behind Bulgaria. This was a se­ 39. . . . Qd5?? 40. Rxa6+! Kb8 41. Qa4 Black vere setback after four easy victories in 1955resigns 58. "The Chess Federation of the USSR must That night Grigory Goldberg, Botvinnik's draw the most serious conclusion from the second, all but conceded the match. "We will concluded championship;' Mikhail Yudovich meet you in the return match! " he told Kob­ wrote sternly in Shakhmaty v SSSR. 65 lents. 6 1 Tai had become close to the pianist Spassky was pressed into service for the 1960 tournament, held where his career Bella Davidovich and before the match asked her to play Rakhmaninoff's Elegy at the con­ started, the Leningrad Pioneer Palace. The cluding concert if he won. The night of the other contenders were supposed to be the 17th game he phoned her to ask her to "get Bulgarians, Czechs and Yugoslavs. "Nobody ready to perform Elegy:' thought before the championship that the Petrosian was happy for his friend. But he USA students were serious contenders;' was upset with what Tai was doing to chess. Spassky and Bondarevsky wrote.66 They were Viktor Vasiliev asked him if positional prin­ caught off guard when the Americans began ciples would have to be rewritten in the Tai with 18½-l½. About a thousand fans tried era. "No, because sooner or later a chess to pack into the palace for the U.S.-USSR player of the style of Capablanca will become match, forcing organizers to add more dem­ world champion;' he said. That will "bring onstration boards. order to chess:' 62 Spassky-William Lombardy After 18 moves of the 21st game, Botvinnik World Student Team Championship, said, "Let's call it a draw, Misha:• Tai accepted Leningrad, 1960 and became the eighth official world cham­ Sicilian D efense (B94) pion. 63 When Tai was crowned with the cer­ emonial wreath, it looked too big for him. I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 "Of course, the wreath was ordered for Bot5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. Qd2 e6

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash

1 67

On the previous day Spassky and Lom­ bardy played several off-hand games in the same opening with Spassky's favorite move, 9. 0-0-0!. When they met in the game that counted they were daring one another to re­ peat the opening. Spassky blinked. 67

9. 0-0 Be7 10. a3 A safety move, in place of the popular ideas like 10. Radl.

10. . . . h6! 11. Be3 Not 11. Bh4 because of ll. . . . Nxe4! (a trick not possible after 10. Radl).

11. . . . Ne5 12. Ba2 Qc7! This prepares . . . 0-0 or . . . bs and equalizes. The immediate 12. . . . 0-0? allows 13. NdS! Qxd2? 14. Nxe7+ and 12. . . . bS walks into 13. f4 Nc4 14. Bxc4 bxc4 15. Nc6.

13. Qe2 bS 14. f4? Neg415. h3 Nxe316. Qxe3 0-0 17. Rael es So that 18. Nf3 dS! threatens 19. . . . Bes.

18. Nf5 Bxf5 19. exf5 d5 The October 1960 Shakhmaty v SSSR ex­ planation of what happened was that Spassky had a good game "but then an unexpected paradoxical move put difficult problems to White:' Which move could that be?

20. Qxe5? White is a bit worse after 20. Qd2 exf4! 21. NxdS NxdS 22. BxdS Rad8. But 20. Kh2! is fine for White: 20. . . . d4 21. QxeS QxeS 22. RxeS! dxc3 23. Rxe7 cxb2 24. Rbl.

After 21. ... Bxa3 medals. On second board, Alexander Nikitin was losing and on fourth board Janis KlaviQs, an old sparring partner of Tal's, was a bit worse. Spassky said he felt compelled to complicate:

22. Ndl? Raes Even faster is 22. . . . Bes+ 23. Khl QaS, e.g. , 24. Nc3 b4 or 24. Bb3 Rae8!.

23. Qf3? Bc5+ 24. Khl Rxel 25. Rxel Qa5 26. Nc3 b4 27. Nxd5 Qxa2 28. Nxf6+ gxf6 29. Qc6 Qc4 White resigns The Americans won the match 2½-1½ and coasted to gold medals. Spassky finished 10-2 but the Lombardy loss, in front of his hometown fans, was a severe blow to a player trying to rebuild his career and nervous sys­ tem. Worse, Spassky was declared nyevyezdny by Soviet officials. This meant he was tem­ porarily barred from travel abroad. For a grandmaster, this was disastrous. This was one of three times that Spassky was declared nyevyezdny before he became world cham­ pion. 68

20. . . . Bd6 21. Qe2 Bxa3! (see diagram) The best move here is 22. NxdS. The situ­ ation is unclear after 22. . . . Qa7+ 23. Khl Bxb2 24. c4. The problem is that Spassky would have zero chances of winning after 22. . . . QcS+ 23. Qf2 Qxf2+ 24. Kxf2 Bxb2 or 22. . . . NxdS 23. BxdS QcS+ and 24 . . . . QxdS. A draw could cost the match and the gold

Perip atetic Tai Everyone wanted to know more about the new world champion and Tal could not re­ fuse them. He constantly traveled, talked on the radio and did interview after interview. Koblents tried to get him to make room in

1 68

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi Plachetka. He won 11 games and drew nine.72 Tal seemed to start thinking about his next move only when he had the radio microphone in his hand.

Tal-Stanislav Wintr Radio Simultaneous Exhibition, 1960 King's Gambit Accepted (C36)

One world champion-women's champion Elizaveta Bykova-con­ gratulates another, Tai, on his victory over Mikhail Botvinnik. Shakhmaty v SSSR, January 1961.

his schedule to prepare for a Botvinnik re­ match. "But to Tai it was like water rolling off a duck's back;' said Mikhail Beilin, a lawyer who served in various high-ranking Soviet chess positions. 69 Tal became editor of a new Riga-based mag­ azine. It appeared twice a month, in Latvian as Sahs and in Russian as Shakhmaty. Sahs had a circulation of about 2,000 to 3,000 but the Russian version had a circulation of 60,000, with remarkable 4,000 copies sold overseas. 70 Tai also wrote an acclaimed book on the Botvinnik match, which was published in Riga in 1961. He did not dispute reports that he dic­ tated his commentary from memory, without notes or even a chessboard. He indicated he left most of the words to his trainer. "Mr. Koblents completed the lion's share of the work, while my role most often entailed play­ ing devil's advocate:' he said of his first books. 71 And Tai agreed to give a "radio simul" against 20 strong Czech juniors. Every day, besides Sunday, he would exchange a pair of moves with each of his opponents on a Prague radio program. His opponents included the future international grandmasters Vlastimil Hort, Vlastimil Jansa, Jan Smejkal and Jan

I. e4 es 2. f4! exf4 3. Nf3 d5 4. exd5 Nf6 5. Bb5+ c6 6. dxc6 bxc6

Botvinnik had popular­ ized 6. . . . bxc6 and 7 . . . . NdS, and 1960 theory en­ dorsed that as the best defense. Spassky vir­ tually retired it when he showed the value of White's next moves. Then Spassky made 6. . . . Nxc6! the main line when he played Black. 7. Bc4 Nd5 8. 0-0 Bd6 9. Nc3 Be610. Ne4! Be7 ll. Bb3!

In the national championship in February, Spassky beat Yuri Sakharov after 11. . . . 0-0 12. d4 Nd7 13. Qe2 gs 14. c4 N5b6 15. h4! h6 16. hxg5 hxg5 17. NfxgS! BxgS 18. Bxf4.

11. . . . Nd7 12. d4 N7f6? 13. Negs Bg4 14. Qd3 Nd715. Bxd5 cxdS 16. Bxf4 h6 (see diagram)

After 16. ... h6

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Korchnoi had a point. Tal did make some stereotypical sacrifices when stronger moves were available. Here 17. Rael! and the Bd6 threat was strong, e.g., 17. . . . Qb6 18. Qe3 or 18. h3! hxg5 19. Nxg5 Bh5 20. Qa3. 17. Nxf7?! Kxf7 18. Ne5+ Nxe5 19. Bxe5+ Bf6 20. Rf4? h5 21. h3 Be6 22. g4? White still has some compensation after 22. Raft.

22. . . . hxg4 23. hxg4 Rh4! 24. Raft Rxg4+?? With 24. . . . Qh8 or 24. . . . Kg8 Black should not lose.

25. Rxg4 Bxg4 26. Qh7! Ke6 27. Qg6! Bh3 28. Rf3 Qe7 29. Bxf6 Qxf6 30. Rxf6+ gxf6 31. Qg7 Bf5 32. Qb7 Black resigns

Psychologist Tai How did Tal keep winning? David Bron­ stein offered a flip explanation: "Very simple. He places his pieces in the center and then sacrifices them somewhere:' 73 In 1969 Bronstein was more serious. Tal put opponents under unusual psychological press because he understood "the inevita­ bility of chess chaos;' Bronstein wrote. Tal could quickly realize whether or not the best move in a complex position could be calcu­ lated. If it could not, he relied on intuition. "But his partner, who was insidiously dragged into the maelstrom of complications, is try­ ing to calculate everything to the end. Nat­ urally, nothing comes out of this;' Bronstein said. "Then the enemy begins to get nervous and, because of the panic that has arisen in his mind, chooses an outwardly easier ver­ sion and, as a result, without noticing it, brings his position to the abyss:' Vladimir Simagin was among those who felt there was something more sinister hap­ pening: Tal must be a hypnotist. Simagin showed one of his games with Tal to Dr. Vik­ tor Malkin, a respected psychologist. Malkin

1 69

had treated cosmonauts and later consulted in an investigation of Yuri Gagarin's fatal crash. "To maintain the attack Tal sacrificed a pawn;' Simagin told him. "l took it because there was nothing wrong. Tal sacrificed a second pawn and I took it, too . . . . Tal was in a lost position, just as I evaluated it. But what do you think? Within three moves I made a gross error and lost;' Simagin said. 74 Many Soviet grandmasters believed in the kind of mental intervention, from parapsy­ chologists and hypnotists, that Western play­ ers would laugh at. Simagin said he did not really believe in hypnosis but there was no other explanation of what happened. No, it was not hypnosis, Malkin, a candidate mas­ ter, told him. At the critical moment "you weakened because you thought you were winning but the struggle wasn't over:' 75 While his opponents were mystified about Tal's mental powers, he was often in physical agony. 'J\lmost immediately after the Botvin­ nik match, Misha began to have wild pains, terrible attacks that did not give him rest day or night;' his wife wrote. He took handfuls of painkillers, but they, and injections, brought only temporary relief. 76 Doctors told Tal it was "something wrong with the kidneys:' Complicating their relationship was Tal's insistence that she become Sally Tal the housewife, instead of Sally Landau the per­ former. Uncle Robert had good ties to the Central Committee of the Latvian Commu­ nist Party and "tried to press the vlasti to get me fired;' she said. "But I was still a good ac­ tress. I was not so easy. . . . " In addition, she wanted to move out of Gorky Street, number 34. Now that he was Tal, with capital letters, he should certainly warrant a Tal-worthy apartment elsewhere. But his family would not hear of it. "Mishenka;' I told him, "Let's move on and we will live separately:' She said famous players like Botvinnik, Smyslov and Averbakh had their own apartments. "We'll buy beautiful furniture, we'll hang cozy lamps;'

1 70

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Bobby Fischer (standing, third from left) shows his interest as Tai (sitting, left) outplays Burkhard Malich of East Germany late in the 1960 Olympiad in Leipzig ( Chess Review, February 1961, used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

she said. 77 But even when the vlasti said they would find a new home, he refused.

L eipzig On top of that, Sally was not feeling well herself. There was a reason: She was preg­ nant. Her due date was uncomfortably close to the opening of the next FIDE Olympiad on October 17 in Leipzig. It was politically unthinkable that a new Soviet world cham­ pion would fail to appear in the first major chess event hosted by a Communist-bloc ally, East Germany. Tal was allowed to miss the first three

Olympiad games. While the other Soviet team members gathered in Moscow on Oc­ tober 12 for the flight West, Sally was giving birth to a son, Georgy, in Riga. He was nick­ named Gera but Tal playfully called him Goose, Goosevich, Goosenish and so on. When Tal was ready to leave, a flight to Leipzig was arranged for one passenger. "To Leipzig Misha flew alone (!). Alone. It's hard to imagine such a fact in those days;' Sally recalled. "But Misha was loved not only by admirers of chess. Misha was also loved by the vlasti. At least for the time being:' 78 Tal landed in Berlin and was driven by a Soviet Embassy car to Leipzig, where he ar­ rived around midnight at the Astoria Hotel,

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash a stately 45-year-old building that housed most of the Olympiad players. He found sev­ eral of them still hanging out in the lobby and was soon playing blitz games there with Bobby Fischer. After he won 4-1, he took on Miguel Najdorf and also ran up a big plus score into the early hours of the morning. Under the Olympiad system then in use, teams were seeded into preliminary sections and advanced to different finals sections. Tal drew with Najdorf in 12 moves in the pre­ liminaries. Before they met in the finals, Naj­ dorf spotted Tal and Koblents having lunch at the hotel. Najdorf walked by and told Tal, "I will accept all of your sacrifices. Rememher, I successfully fought with world cham­ pions Capablanca and Alekhine!" Tal replied that he was honor-bound to make sacrifices, adding "I hope you keep your promise:' 79 In the game, Tal offered the Exchange. But after he added a bishop, Najdorf said, 'Tm sorry, but I can't keep my promise. If I take this piece, I' ll get checkmated:' He resigned five moves later, at move 26. Tal had a team-high 2700 performance in the finals despite a last-round loss to Jona­ than Penrose of England. It was the only de­ feat suffered by the Soviets and it came well after they had secured gold medals. The tournament was Korchnoi's Olympic debut and was a huge payday. Team mem­ bers received 1,500 rubles, which he said was roughly 11 times the average monthly salary of a Soviet worker. Korchnoi played well but demonstrated how tone deaf he could be in social settings. At the closing banquet, Bot­ vinnik told him, "Let's drink a glass of co­ gnac:' He added, "This is good cognac, Ar­ menian. Like your wife!;' alluding to Bella (nee Markarian) Korchnoi. Korchnoi replied, "But allow me. This is good, an old Armenian cognac, like your wife! " Botvinnik was offended at the slight to his wife and Korchnoi eventually apolo­ gized. But when Korchnoi retold the inci­ dent he felt it showed that Botvinnik was

171

the one with "a poorly developed sense of humor:•so Petrosian was bumped down to second re­ serve on the Olympic team, despite being na­ tional champion just a year before. He had the best point score of anyone in Leipzig, eleven wins and two draws. In annotating his grinding win from Werner Golz of East Ger­ many he explained that he passed up an op­ portunity to play for mate because of the ef­ fect it might have on his teammates: "In extremely important events, such as the chess olympiads, I was always required to play calmly, to win without any great risk, and to avoid positions which would cause agitation among other team members:' 8 1 His readers might have recalled how Spassky's team­ mates influenced his game with Lombardy two months earlier. Nevertheless, when the situation called for it Petrosian looked like a risk-taker.

Petrosian-Gerhard Pfeiffer Olympiad, Leipzig, 1960 Semi-Slav Defense (D45)

1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. d4 e6 6. Qc2 a6 7. b3 b6 8. Bd3 Bb7 9. 0-0 Be710. Bb2 dxc411. bxc4 c512. Ne5 More thematic is 12. d5 exd5 13. Nxd5 and 13. . . . Nxd5 14. cxd5 with a slight superiority (14 . . . . Bxd5 15. e4 and Bxg7).

12. . . . cxd413. exd4 Nxe5!? Fairly balanced is 13. . . . Rc8 or 13. . . . 0-0. Petrosian felt he was in trouble now because he gets an isolated c-pawn. Once again he was seeing more for his opponent than for himself.

14. dxe5 Nd7 "Black's position is much to be preferred;' Petrosian wrote. He probably based that on 15. Ne4 Qc7 16. f4 Nc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc5+. But White is at least equal after 16. Nd6+! Bxd6 17. exd6.

1 72

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

15. f4 Nc5 16. Be2 g6?! Unnecessary. Black would have the better minor pieces and the upper hand after 16. . . . 0-0 17. Radl Qc7. He must have been afraid of 18. fS and 18 . . . . Qxe5? 19. Nd5 or 18 . . . . exf5 19. Nd5! . But White's pawns have just become weaker after 18 . . . . Rad8 and 19. Bg4 Rxdl 20. Rxdl Rd8 or 19. f6 gxf6 20. exf6 Rxdl and 21. . . . Bd6.

17. Radl Qc7? (see diagram)

After 17. ... Qc7

18. Nd5! exd519. cxd5 If the queen had gone to c8 at move 17 the sacrifice would have been unsound and "in­ credible efforts would have been required of White in order to maintain the balance;' Petrosian wrote. 82 For example, 17. . . . Qc8 18. Nd5 exd5 19. cxd5 0-0 (20. d6 Bd8 21. f5 Be4). But with the queen on c7, Black faces a fork with 20. d6 and the sacrifice is sound (19. . . . Qd7? 20. e6 and 19. . . . Qd8 20. d6 Bf8 21. e6 f6 22. d7+ Ke7? 23. Bxf6+!).

19. . . . Qc8 20. e6 Also 20. d6 Bh4 21. e6 0-0 22. e7 Re8 23. f5! with a winning attack.

20. . . . 0-0 21. Qc3 f6 22. d6 Na4 Petrosian said he had seen this far when he sacrificed the knight and counted on hav­ ing two favorable options. One was 23. Qb4, probably with 23. . . . Nxb2 24. dxe7 in mind.

23. Qxc8! Rfxc8 24. Bal! Rc2

White also regains his piece and wins after 24 . . . . Bd8 25. e7 or 24 . . . . Bf8 25. e7 (25. . . . Bg7? 26. d7).

25. dxe7 Rxe2 26. Rd8+ Kg7 27. Rel! This tames 27. . . . Rxg2+ and wins.

27. . . . Rxe6 28. Rc7 Kh6 29. Bxf6! Be4 30. Bg5+ Black resigns A neat finish would be 30. . . . Kh5 31. e8(Q) Rxe8 32. h3!! and mate next. Tai continued his brisk pace with first prize at a New Year's tournament in Stock­ holm. But he continued to rebuff Koblents' efforts to get him to prepare for the rematch with Botvinnik. Koblents tried adding some­ one to their inner circle-Korchnoi. The Leningrader would have been an ideal ad­ viser because he knew Tai's weaknesses as well as some of Botvinnik's. At the end of 1960, Korchnoi had scored a win and a draw against Botvinnik in the annual Moscow ­ Leningrad match. That prompted Botvinnik to invite Korchnoi to be his second in the re­ match. Korchnois felt he could have learned a lot from Botvinnik or from Tal/Koblents. "But I had not been invited to learn but to work! " He declined the offers because he had his own dreams of becoming world champion. Serving as a second "would be akin to spy activity;' he wrote in his later memoirs. "At the end of the 20th century many young grandmasters were not inclined to share my point of view:' 83 This seemed like a veiled slap at Vladimir Kramnik, who served as Garry Kasparov's trainer before dethroning him as world champion in 2000.

Hitting Bottom At 23 Boris Spassky should have been en­ tering his prime playing years. From a cre­ ative point of you, he was. "I liked Spassky's play most of all from about 1958 to 1963;'

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash Korchnoi said later. 84 He did not mention that this included the low point of Spassky's sporting career. Spassky seemed to be recovering in Sep­ tember 1960 when he won a semifinals for the next Soviet Championship. He annotated one of his losses for Shakhmaty v SSSR.

Igor Zaitsev-Spassky 28th Soviet Championship semifinals, Rostov-on-Don, 1960 Queen's Gambit Accepted (D25) l. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 dxc4 4. e3 Bg4 5. Bxc4 e6 6. Qb3 Bxf3 7. gxf3 b6?! This anti-positional move was a Spassky favorite at the time. The sound gambit 7. . . . Nbd7! soon replaced it in opening books.

1 73

Now White should continue 19. hS. Even a draw by repetition is possible, e.g., 19. . . . Rd8 20. hxg6 hxg6 21. Ke2! Qd3+ (else 22. Rhl wins) 22. Kel Qe4! 23. Ke2! . Black should have avoided this with 18 . . . . Qxh4! when White lacks compensation for the pawn.

19. 0-0-0 c5 It is too late for 19 . . . . Qxh4 because with his rooks connected White has 20. Rhl Qe4 21. Rxh7! Kxh7 22. Qb4! with a finish similar to the game (22 . . . . Qxb4 23. Rhl+ and mates). But 19. . . . Nd7 so that 20. hS fails to 20. . . . NcS would keep Black on top.

20. h5 b4? (see diagram)

8. Nc3 Be7 9. d5 exd510. Nxd5 0-0 In the student Olympiad earlier in the year, Kolarov-Spassky, went 11. Bd2 Nbd7 12. 0-0-0 NxdS 13. Bxds NcS 14. Qc4 c6 with good play for Black.

ll. Nxe7+ Qxe7 12. Bd2 a6 13. Rgl b5 14. Bd5 Ra7 Spassky regarded 14 . . . . Nxds 15. Qxds Nd7 16. Bc3 g6 17. 0-0-0 as too dangerous. 15. Bc3 g6 "With this move Black significantly weak­ ens the kingside and loses time-15. . . . c6 should have been played, although in that case, Black is worse;' he wrote. For example, 16. Be4 Rd7 17. Qb4! and White gets a supe­ rior endgame (17. . . . cS? 18. Bxh7+! wins). But 15. . . . cS! followed by . . . Nbd7 and . . . b4 or . . . c4 should equalize.

16. h4? c6! Resourceful defense. Now 17. Bb4 cS 18. Bc3 c4 19. Bxf6 Qxf6 20. Qc3 Qxh4 favors Black.

17. Be4 Nxe418. fxe4 Qxe4

After 20. ... b4 "Black should play 20. . . . c4;' he wrote, adding 21. Qb4 Nc6 22. Qd6 b4 23. Bxb4 Nxb4 24. Qxb4 QfS 25. hxg6 fxg6! "with sufficient resources for defense:' More am­ bitious is 21. . . . QfS and 22. . . . aS.

21. hxg6 hxg6 22. Rd6! Kh7 23. Qc4! Black resigns Spassky had seen 23 . . . . f5 24. Qxe4 fxe4 25. Rhl+. Also winning are 24. QxcS and 24. Qfl!. He dryly added that the game pro­ vides "some theoretical interest:' This tournament advanced him to the fi­ nals, held in Moscow in January and Febru­ ary 1961. It was another Zonal tournament, Spassky's first chance to get back on the world championship track since the last-round

1 74

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

disaster in Riga three years before. He led by a full point after seven rounds. But below the surface he was suffering from the slow divorce proceeding and kid­ ney stones. In addition, every Soviet Cham­ pionship finals seemed to fall at the worst time of year for him, in the dead of winter when he had to study for university tests and was usually sick. He claimed he came down with tonsillitis and temperatures over 100 de­ grees during four successive championships. On top of that he was hospitalized "for nerves" around this time. "My nervous en­ ergy was destroyed for three years:'85 "In that tournament I proposed a draw twelve times;' he said. "Twelve times!" Nerves betrayed him in a crucial tenth round game that could have been his greatest win.

Garry Kasparov said this is where Black began to go wrong. With 19. . . . RfS or 19. . . . Rc8 20. Rhgl Bf6 Polugaevsky could have de­ fended more easily. Instead, he hoped for counterplay with 19 . . . . bS 20. cxbS Rb8 21. a4 a6. 19. . . . b5? 20. c5 dxc5? 21. h6 Rf5 Kasparov pointed out that 21. . . . g6 would allow 22. Rxg6+ hxg6 23. Qxg6+ Kh8 24. NeS QdS 25. Rgl and wins. Prettier is 21. . . . c4 22. Qxh7+! Kxh7 23. hxg7+ Kg8 24. Rh8+ Kf7 25. NeS+ Kf6 26. Rxf8+ and mates.

22. Be5! c4 23. Qe4 Qd5 24. Qg4 c3 25. b3 b4 26. e4 Qb5+ 27. Ke3 Rti 28. hxg7 Nf6 29. Bxf6 Rxf6 (see diagram)

Spassky-Lev Polugaevsky 28th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1961 Queen's Indian Defense (E12)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. Nc3 Bb7 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 Annotating the game in the May 1961 issue of Shakhmaty v SSSR, Lev Aronin under­ lined how Spassky was avoiding the book­ endorsed 4. g3. His moves were considered somewhat dubious in 1961.

6. . . . Ne4 7. Nxe4 Bxe4 8. Bf4! 0-0 9. Bd3 Bb4+ The bishop is misplaced here because after a king move White threatens c4-c5 and a2a3.

10. Kfl Bxd3+ 11. Qxd3 Be7 12. h4! f5 13. Ke2 d6 14. g4 Spassky said he was playing in Tolush style. Aronin pointed out that 14 . . . . fxg4 fails to 15. NgS BxgS 16. hxgS g6 17. Qe4!.

14. . . . Nd7 15. Ragl fxg4 16. Rxg4 Nf6 17. Rg5 Qd718. h5 Ne819. Rg2

After 29. ... Rxf6 Black's flag was already on the tilt with 11 moves to go before the time control. Spassky had 15 minutes. The appearance of the play­ ers was revealing. "Lvova" was "dying;' Spas­ sky recalled. Polugaevsky's position was so hopeless that he paced up and down the stage, at the Railway Workers' Central House of Culture, waiting for a coup de grace, such as 30. eS Rg6 31. QhS. But Spassky felt a Tolush-like attack deserved a Tolush finish. "I wanted to give mate in the style of Alexander Kazimirovich;' he said in a 1997 lecture. At the board, he seemed calm. But this was his poker face, or what he called his "clown's face:' Spassky was a grandmaster at concealing emotions. Bobby Fischer remem-

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash bered this from their game at Mar del Plata. "He sits at the board with the same dead ex­ pression whether he's mating or being mated:' Fischer said when he included Spassky among "The Ten Greatest Masters in HistorY:' 86 Spassky later explained his inner turmoil in tense games. ''.Actually I feel very nervous during a game, as if there was an explosion in progress:' he said. "When I appear partic­ ularly calm I am really feeling specially nerv­ ous:' 87

30. Rxh7!? Rxf3+ 31. Kxf3 Qd3+ 32. Kf4 Bd6+ 33. Kg5 Kxh7 It is mate in seven after 34. Kf6! Qxd4+ 35. Kf7!. The prettiest finish is 35. . . . Rf8+ 36. gxf8 (N)+! Bxf8 37. Rh2+ Bh6 38. Qg8 mate. The game would have been "immor­ tal:' Alexander Nikitin wrote. But Spassky began to feel "paralyzed:' His calculations slowed down as he noticed another apparent win. It seemed to avoid the messy Black checks of the 34. Kf6 line.

34. Kh5?? Qb5+! "I just forgot about the bS square:• Spassky recalled more than 30 years later. "Just for­ got:'

35. Kh4? Even here 35. eS! would likely have won because of Polugaevsky's time trouble. With only seconds left, there was little chance of him finding the saving 35. . . . Qe8+! 36. Kh4 Be7+ 37. Kh3 Qf7 38. Kh2 Kg8 and then 39. Qh3 Qf4+ 40. Kgl Qcl+.

35. . . . Be7+! 36. Kh3 Qg5! 37. Qxg5 Bxg5 38. Rxg5 Rd8 39. f4? Vladimir Akopian demonstrated, in 64 in 2005, that White can draw with 39. Kg3! . Spassky believed he had drawing chances even after the adjournment but was too de­ pressed to find them.

39 . . . . Kg8 40. Rc5 Rxd4 41. Rxc7 Rxe4 (sealed) 42. Kg4 e5 43. a3 Rxf4+ 44. Kg5 a5

1 75

45. axb4 axb4 46. Kg6 Rg4+ 47. Kf6 Kh7 48. g8=Q+ Kxg8 49. Kxe5 Rgl 50. Kf6 Rfl+ 51. Ke5 Rbl White resigns Spassky called this the most painful game of his life, worse than losing to Tal in the final round of the 25th USSR Championship fi­ nals. His memory would not wipe out the position of the forced win he rejected, 34. Kf6 Qxd4+ 35. Kf7. "I was haunted by that posi­ tion for years:• he said. The surprise of the tournament's endgame was Petrosian. In the past when he suffered an emotional defeat, he turned off his ambi­ tion and settled for quick draws. But after being crushed in 26 moves by a champion­ ship newcomer, Leonid Stein, Petrosian won one of his finest games in the next round against Smyslov. With two rounds to go he was in first place and had clinched an invi­ tation to the next Interzonal. There were three other tickets to the Interzonal. Korchnoi and Spassky were tied for second place, with Geller and Stein a half point behind. One of them would be left out and have to wait three years for another shot at the world championship. Spassky said of this era, "I possessed poor fighting spirit;' he said. "If I lost a game, I could not sleep:' He lost badly to Korchnoi in the next-to-last round and faced Stein in the final round. Stein eventually became one of Korchnoi's good friends. But before the game, Korchnoi offered to prepare Spassky because he did not want to make it easy for Stein to become a grandmaster. "I do not think he was sympathetic towards me:' Spas­ sky said later. "He just did not want the grandmaster title to be within easy reach:' 88 Stein outplayed Spassky and adjourned a favorable but difficult bishop endgame. After lengthy analysis with Igor Bondarevsky, Spas­ sky went to Stein's hotel room and resigned. To make matters worse, Stein told him he was analyzing another winning attempt, "something terrible:• Spassky said. "I under-

1 76

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

stood that I resigned too early. It is necessary to fight to the last drop of blood in chess:' Nikitin summed up Spassky's tournament. "It wasn't a brilliant grandmaster who fin­ ished the championship but a man who had lost interest in playing;' he said.89

R ematch As 1961 began, Shakhmaty v SSSR asked grandmasters to evaluate the previous world championship match. "Botvinnik couldn't solve 'the problem of the fifth hour;" Yuri Averbakh said. "In this 'fatal' hour he made the majority of his mistakes:' Tal, on the hand, had shown a quality of play that seemed so unreal that it might not last. "In chess you cannot be a genius forever;' Averbakh said later. "Only for a short burst:' 90 His burst might have lasted longer. But Koblents could not coax him back to the level of intensity he had earlier. The influence Koblents had when Tal was a Candidates contender and championship challenger was gone when he was world champion. At one point, a discouraged Koblents proposed to withdraw in favor of another trainer. "Either you, Maestro, or no one! " Tal replied. 9 1 Nor could Koblents convince Tal to seek a delay in the match start because of a relapse of his illnesses. "You are giving Botvinnik signifi­ cant odds;' he said. 92 Why did Tal not request a delay? Soviet officialdom had made considerable efforts to please him in the previous year. His son later concluded that Tal felt he had to live up to the image as the swash-buckling daredevil. "He went to the revenge-match seriously ill;' Georgy Tal said. "But he was all of 25! And he had to be seen, it seems to me, like a Hus­ sar:' 93 Koblents had a different explanation: Tal believed that he could be disqualified and deprived of the title by Soviet officials. "If the match is delayed, then it won't happen;' Tal

told him. 94 Koblents felt Tal had lost his ability to figure out what was best for him. "Tal was deprived of the 'instinct of self­ preservation;" he said. The match opened on schedule on March 15. Tal looked uncomfortable at the board after queens were traded at move 12 in the first game. His position demanded active play but he played listlessly in the third and fourth hour and did not resume play after Botvinnik sealed his 41st move. Tal showed signs of his former strength when he won the second game. His moves continued to pro­ voke controversy.

Tai-Mikhail Botvinnik World Championship Match, Fourth Game, Moscow, 1961 Caro-Kann Defense (B12)

I. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 Surprised by Tal's third move, Botvinnik did not want to find out what he intended against the usual 3. . . . BfS! . He used it to greater effect as the match unfolded. 4. dxc5 e6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bf4 Nge7 7. Nf3 Ng6 8. Be3!? White leaves himself without a pawn cen­ ter. "For such anti-positional play Misha should be punished;' Spassky said in the press room. Lev Aronin disagreed: "I like Tal's brave, original idea:' 95 8. . . . Ncxe5 9. Nxe5 Nxe5 10. Qh5 Nc6 11. 0-0-0 Be7 12. f4 g6! 13. Qh6 Bf8 14. Qg5 Botvinnik might have gone for a draw (14 . . . . Be7) but he is a bit better in the end­ game. 14. . . . Qxg5 15. fxg5 a6 16. Na4 Bd7 17. Bf4 h6! Black sacrifices the Exchange when 17. . . . Rd8 would have likely led to a draw (18. Bc7 Rc8 19. Bg3 Rd8! 20. Bc7). 18. Nb6 Rd8 19. Bc7 hxg5 20. c4 d4 21. b4!

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash It is all about Black's center pawns now. If White liquidates before attacking, 21. Bxd8 Kxd8 22. b4, then 23. . . . e5! makes those pawns more dangerous than the Exchange. However, after 21. b4 it would be a mistake to play 21. . . . e5? 22. b5! since the center pawns are doomed and White is much bet­ ter. 21. . . . Bg7 22. Bxd8? Tal missed his chance with 22. b5! Nb8 23. a4 or 22. . . . Na7 23. c6 bxc6 24. Bxd8 Kxd8 25. Nxd7 Kxd7 26. b6! .

22. . . . Kxd8 23. b5 Nb8 24. Be2 f5 25. Bf3 axb5 26. cxb5 Bxb5 27. Bxb7 Kc7 Black appears to be winning (28. Ba8 Na6 or 28. Bf3 g4).

28. a4! Bxa4 29. Nxa4 Kxb7 Spectators-and press room experts-felt Tal was doomed, according to David Bron­ stein. "Two connected, protected pawns with a bishop's support in the hands of Botvinnik. It's the end:' 9 6

30. Kd2 Nd7 31. Rbl+ Kc6 32. Rhcl (see di­

agram)

After 32. Rhcl Petrosian's newspaper report said White had no real threat because of 32. . . . Rxh2 33. Rb6+ Nxb6 34. cxb6+ Kb5 and 35. b7 Rxg2+ 36. Kd3 Rg3+ 37. Kd2 Bes. Computers say 32. . . . g4 (threat of . . . Bh6+) also wins. But in the press room Spassky had new re-

1 77

spect for Tal. "I was greatly impressed;' he said. "He realized psychologically exactly what he had to do:' 9 7

32. . . . Be5 33. Kd3 Ra8? Black could do away with tricks with 33. . . . Bc7. 34. Rb6+! Nxb6?! Annotators said 34 . . . . Kc7 would have been refuted by 35. Rb7+ Kxb7 36. c6+ Kc7 37. cxd7+ Kxd7 38. Nb6+. They overlooked 37. . . . Kd8!, when Black wins.

35. cxb6+ Kd7 36. Nc5+ Ke7 37. Rel! Ra3+ Thanks to Black's 33rd, White can meet 37. . . . Kd6 with 38. b7 Rb8 39. Rxe5! (39. . . . Kxe5? 40. Nd7+).

38. Kc4 Rc3+ 39. Kb5 Re3 40. Ral Bxh2 41. Ra7+ draw After the game Spassky believed Tal would win the match. But something was wrong. In the next game, Botvinnik's choice of a quiet opening system gave him "not a chess advantage, but a psychological" edge, Bron­ stein wrote. "The proof? Tal thought 52 min­ utes on the 13th move! " 98 Tal managed to draw the game and won the eighth, cutting Botvinnik's lead to one point. But this was his high point. Koblents said Tal came down with a fever and seemed indifferent to his condition. "The absence of appetite, a categorical refusal to stroll in the fresh air and intensive smoking-SO to 60 cigarettes a day-didn't help improve his health;' he said. Tal desperately needed a short rest and that meant making draws. But Tal had not learned how to rest or make draws. Tal said he caught "a bad cold" and was hospitalized after winning the eighth game. There was a one-week break before the ninth. But Tal tried to resume play too quickly. Lit­ erally "straight from the hospital" he went to the ninth game and chose a too-risky defense

1 78

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

to 1. c4. 99 This was the first of three losses. In the 11th round he invited an Exchange Vari­ ation of the Slav Defense, unaware he was walking into analysis that Botvinnik had pre­ pared in 1944. One of his few bright spots in the match was:

Tai-Mikhail Botvinnik World Championship Match, 12th game, Moscow, 1961

French Defense (C18)

I. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. es cs 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qc7 7. Qg4 f5 8. Qg3 Ne7 9. Qxg7 Rg8 IO. Qxh7 cxd4 11. Kdl Bd7 12. Qh5+ Kd8 Botvinnik had not played the French De­ fense since losing the first 1960 match game, which went 12. . . . Ng6 13. Ne2 d3 14. cxd3 Ba4+ 15. Kel Qxe5? 16. Bg5! with advantage to White. Afterwards 12. . . . Kd8 was sug­ gested. Tal said he would have played for at­ tack with 13. Bg5. But when he got the op­ portunity he chose:

13. Nf3!? Qxc3 14. Ra2! Bronstein pointed out the remarkable 14. Rbl Ba4 15. Nel Nbc6 when 16. f4 allows 16. . . . Rxg2! 17. Bxg2 d3 18. Rb2 Nd4.

14. . . . Nbc6 15. Rb2 Kc7 The strange 15. . . . Qxa3 16. Rxb7 Qal makes sense because of the looming advance of the a-pawn but 17. h4 favors White. Botvinnik wanted to prepare 16. . . . Rh8 17. Qg5 Rag8 18. Qd2 Qxd2+ 19. Bxd2 Ng6, with a playable game.

16. Rb5! (see diagram) "For such play, all chessplayers love Tal;' Bronstein wrote. 100 He invited a queen sac­ rifice, 16. . . . a6 17. Bb2 axb5 18. Bxc3 dxc3, after which White can neutralize the pres­ sure with 19. Bxb5 Rxa2 20. Ke2 Ra2 21. Rel. More of a problem is 16. . . . Qal! when White is faced with a counterattack from . . . Ng6 or . . . Rac8.

After 16. Rb5

16. . . . Rh8 17. Qxh8! Rxh8 18. Bb2 Qxf3+ 19. gxf3 Ng6? 20. h4! Shaken by the queen trap, Botvinnik hur­ ried his moves and overlooked 20. h4! . Had he found 19. . . . Rh4! the position would be close to equal. But now he had had to allow a fatal trade of rooks (20. . . . Rxh4 21. Rxh4 Nxh4 22. f4) or permit the h-pawn to grow in strength. Petrosian and Sal Flohr thought 20. . . . Ncxe5 was the best defense but 21. Rb3 looks convincing.

20. . . . Ngxe5 21. h5 Nt7 22. f4! Nd6 23. Rb3 Ne4 24. Kel Rh6 25. Be2 Be8 26. Rd3 Nf6 27. Bxd4 Nxd4 28. Rxd4 Bxh5 29. Rd3 Rh7 30. Rdh3 Bg6 31. Rxh7+ Nxh7 32. Rh6 Nf8 33. Rh8 Nd7 34. Rg8 Bt7 35. Rg7 Be8 36. Re7 Kd8 37. Rxe6 Bt7 38. Rh6 Ke7 39. Bd3 Be6 40. Rh5 Nf6 41. Rg5 (sealed) Black resigns Tal's health was precarious through much of the match, according to those close to him. One night he and Sally were invited to a performance of the Moscow Circus. Before the show, he was asked by the circus admin­ istrator if he would perform in the second act with the legendary clown Oleg Popov and his trained walruses. "Misha was as happy as a child;' Sally said. But before the intermis­ sion he began experiencing sharp pains. An ambulance had to be called. He was given an injection and taken to the hospital-yet played the next day on schedule. 101

8. A Takeoff, an Apogee and a Crash With Botvinnik's victory in the 21st game, the match ended 8-13. Tal endeared his fans when he said, "Never before have I played 21 so tough opponents:' 102 Botvinnik did some­ thing so unlike him that many readers doubted Koblents' account. He said Botvin­ nik invited Tal to his home for dinner and, raising his glass in a toast, he compared his opponent to another national icon. "Yuri Gagarin rose into the cosmos only after long preparation;' he said. "If Mikhail Tal follows this example, I am convinced that he will achieve cosmic heights! " 103 Tal knew he was expected to play the role of good loser. ''At that time he had an excel­ lent quality which I envied;' his son said. "He took his loss publicly in the context of chess

1 79

interest and not in wounded pride. That is, not as a personal loss but an important event in the chess world. But, I think, internally he was hurt:' 104 Tal held the title for one year and five days, the briefest reign of any world champion. He was also burdened with another record. When he returned home to Riga, he told his mother, "You know, Mama, I'm the youngest ex-champion of the world in the history of chess! " 105 For the rest of his life he used variations on this quip so often that it seemed a way of shielding his pain. When a great future was predicted for a promising youngster, Tal would shrug. "When I was his age;' he would say, "I was already ex-champion:' 106

9. Why Not Me? The events of l959-61 pushed the aspira­ tions of the young Soviet grandmasters sharply upward. As long as Mikhail Botvin­ nik was on the throne, the world champi­ onship was a distant goal. But seeing Mikhail Tal-who was rated only number 41 in the world in 1956-replace Botvinnik was a shock for many of his colleagues. "Why Tal?" they asked. For Tigran Petrosian, Viktor Korchnoi, and Boris Spassky there was a more personal question: "Why not me?" "Does he really understand chess better than I do?" Korchnoi demanded of his for­ mer trainer Vladimir Zak. 1 Yevgeny Vasiukov said that was the question that "all the lead­ ing players" were asking. 2 Tal-mania made Spassky envious, according to Tigran Petro­ sian. The "universal admiration of Tal . . . had its effect on Spassky;' he said. 3 Petro­ sian did not say what it meant to himself. But after Tal emerged, Rona Petrosian seemed to redouble her efforts. "Basically, she 'forced' this modest, lacking-ambition Tigran to become world champion;' said Yuri Aver­ bakh. 4 The rival of Tal's who appeared to have the brightest future was the one who was still improving. Korchnoi allowed only one draw in nine games when the Soviets successfully defended the European Team Championship in Oberhausen, West Germany.

Korchnoi-Josef Marsalek

European Team Championship, Oberhausen, 1961 English Opening (AW) 1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 f5 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. g3 c6 6. Bg2 0-0 7. d5 cxd5 8. cxd5 b6 9. 0-0 Bb710. e4! fxe411. Ng5 Na612. Ngxe4 Rc8? Black does not have the development to justify 12. . . . Nxe4 13. Nxe4 Nc7, which would be met by 14. d6! exd6 15. Bg5 Qb8 16. Qxd6. But trying to trade further, 13. . . . Nc5, would approach equality.

13. Nxf6+! exf6 Black would also suffer following 13. . . . Bxf6 14. Bh6 Rf7 15. Rel.

14. Be3 Nc5? 15. b4 Na6 Not much better is 15. . . . fS 16. bxc5 Bxc3 17. Rel (17. . . . Bas 18. Qb3 or 17 . . . . Bg7 18. Qa4).

16. Nb5! f517. Rbl (see diagram) If this were not a team event, Korchnoi might have gone for 17. Nd6! Bxal 18. Qxal. Instead, he prepares to win without risk, with 18. Nxa7 or 18. Nd6. For example, 17 . . . . Bes 18. Nxa7 Ra8 19. d6. Or 17. . . . Ra8 18. Nd6 Bc8 19. Qb3.

17. . . . d618. Nxa7 Rc419. Nc6! Qf6 20. Qe2 b5 21. Na5 Black resigns 180

9. Why Not Me?

181

creates a target on fS and is the greater evil compared with 12. . . . BxfS, e.g., 13. Qe2 Qd7 14. NgS.

13. Nh4 Bd7 14. Bh3 Qc8 At some point-and this is a good one­ Black should play . . . f4.

15. Bd2 Rb816. b4 b617. b5!? After 17. Rbl His result made Korchnoi the world's sec­ ond highest rated player, after Petrosian and just ahead of Tal and Botvinnik. When Korchnoi returned home, a KGB officer, who was deputy head of the Soviet delegation at Oberhausen, reported that he had behaved badly: Korchnoi invited a German woman to go to the movies with him, the officer said. ''A black mark" appeared on Korchnoi's per­ sonal file. 5 He did not get an invitation to the most prestigious tournament of the year, an Alek­ hine memorial at Bled, Yugoslavia. Tal, Pet­ rosian, Paul Keres and Yefim Geller went in­ stead. Korchnoi consoled himself by easily winning a fall international in Budapest. With his cash prize he bought a heavy coat. "For the first time, at the age of 30, I put on a gen­ uine winter coat! " he wrote. 6 Big winning margins had become a Korch­ noi trademark. He often won by developing an advantage with Petrosian-like strategy, then finished off in his own way.

Korchnoi-Gyula Kluger

Most grandmasters would retain the op­ tion of bxcS. But b4-b5 is the way Petrosian liked to prevent counterplay, which could arise from 17. . . . cxb4 18. axb4 bS and 19. cS dxcS 20. bxcS b4. After 17. bS White clears the deck for a3-a4-a5 or Rael/f2-f4.

17. . . . f4! 18. Bxd7 Qxd7 19. Ne4 Nf6 20. Rael Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Qh3 22. Qg2 This is why the immediate 20. . . . Qh3 was preferable. Black would be worse after 22. . . . Qxg2+ 23. Kxg2 but at least he could use the a-file, 23. . . . a6! .

22. . . . Qg4 23. Re4 Ne8 24. f3 Qh5 25. Bel! (see diagram)

After 25. Bel

Budapest, 1961 King's Indian Defense (E64)

Now 26. g4 queen-move 27. N5 would in­ crease White's superiority.

l. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 0-0 5. d4 d6 6. Nf3 cs 7. d5 es 8. e4 Ne8 9. Qc2 Na6 10. a3 Nac7 ll. 0-0 f5 12. exf5 gxf5

25. . . . fxg3 26. hxg3 Nf6 27. Re2 Rbd8 28. g4 Qf7 29. Nf5 Ne8 30. f4! Kh8 31. Bc3

Soviet players were trained to retake with a pawn in these kinds of positions to exert greater control of e4. However, 12. . . . gxfS

Black can try to erect a fortress, 31. . . . exf4 32. Bxg7+ Nxg7 33. Re7 NxfS! 34. Rxf7 Rxf7. But it would not hold for long after 35. Rxf4.

1 82

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

31. . • . Qg6 32. fxeS dxeS 33. RxeS! Of course, 33. . . . Bxe5 24. Bxg7+ is lost. 33. . . . RxfS 34. gxfS!? Qxg2+ 35. Kxg2 BxeS 36. BxeS+ Kg8 37. Kf3 Nd6 38. Rgl+ Kf8 39. Bxd6+ Rxd6 40. Rhl Kg7 41. Kf4 Rd8 and Black resigned (in view of 42. Kg5 and f5-f6+).

Tai Vindicated Mikhail Tai ended up in a hospital soon after the rematch, his wife wrote, without elaboration. His memoirs mention a recur­ rence of "kidney colic:' 7 But he was healthy enough to re-establish his prestige in Octo­ ber 1961 in a race for first prize at Bled with Bobby Fischer. Soviet players were beginning to get an­ noyed with Fischer being hailed as "a genius:' Tai joked in 1960 that if the American did not improve "he will, with time, stop being a prodigy-and just become an ordinary ge­ nius:•s Bled showed Fischer was not ordinary when he also scored his first victories over Tai, Petrosian and Yefim Geller. Tai overtook Fischer in the final week. One of his late wins showed that his rematch preparation was not as bad as it seemed five months earlier.

Tal-Ludek Pachmann

Bled, 1961 Caro-Kann Defense (B12) I. e4 c6 2. d4 dS 3. es When Tai played this move against Bot­ vinnik, David Bronstein recalled how Alex­ ander Alekhine said it "obligates White too much." Bronstein imagined a dialogue in which Tai responded, "White is obligated? To do what?" "To attack;' answered Alek­ hine. 'Tm ready to attack according to obli­ gation or from free will;' Tai replied. "It's all the same to me:' 9

3. . . . BfS 4. h4 h6 5. g4!? Bd7 6. hS cS 7. c3 e6 8. f4! After Tai played (7. . . . Nc6) 8. Bh3? e6 9. Be3 Qb6! and lost the tenth rematch game, he was ridiculed. "Tai evidently forgot that pieces move in chess;' Alexander Tolush said in the match press room. 10 Like almost every­ one else Tolush underestimated the value of White's spatial edge and exaggerated his weaknesses.

8. . . . Qb6 9. Nf3 Nc6 10. Na3 When White's system was revived more than 50 years later, masters took even more liberties, with 10. Kf2!? and 10. Rh2!?.

10. . . . cxd4 11. cxd4 0-0-0 12. Nc2 Kb8 13. Bd3 Nge714. Rbl NaS 15. Bd2 Rc816. b4 Nc417. bS! (see diagram)

After 17. b5 Based on 17. . . . Bxb5? 18. a4. White pre­ pares 18. a4 followed by Bxc4 and a4-a5. But Black can fight back with 17. . . . f5!. For ex­ ample, 18. exf6 gxf6 19. a4 Rg8. Or 18. gxf5 NxfS 19. Bxf5 exf5 20. a4 g6.

17. . . . Nxd218. Nxd2? g6! This (19. hxg6 Nxg6) is why 18. Qxd2! was better. Then 18 . . . . g6 19. hxg6 fxg6 20. a4 Qd8 21. a5 Bg7 22. b6! shows how quickly White could make queenside prog­ ress. Then 22. . . . a6 23. Nb4 and the threat of 24. Bxa6 bxa6 25. Nxa6+ Kb7 26. Nc5 is powerful.

9. Why Not Me? 19. Nb3 Bxb5 20. Nc5 Rxc5? The right move order, leading to equality, was 20. . . . Qa5+ so that 21. Kf2 Rxc5 22. dxc5 Bxd3 23. Qxd3 Qxc5+. Or 21. Qd2 Qxd2+ 22. Kxf2 Bxd3 23. Rxb7+ Ka8 24. Kxd3 Rxc5! .

21. dxc5 Qa5+ 22. Qd2! Qxd2+ 23. Kxd2 Bxd3 24. Kxd3 Nc6 Better was 24 . . . . gxh5 to secure a kingside square for the knight (25. gxh5 Nf5 or 25. Rxh5 Ng6). Now White is manifestly bet­ ter.

25. hxg6 fxg6 26. Nd4! Nxd4 27. Kxd4 Kc7 28. f5! gxf5 29. gxf5 Kc6! 30. fxe6 The win is more secure after 30. Rbcl! so that 30. . . . exfS 31. Rhgl.

30. . . . Bxc5+ 31. Kd3 b6 32. Rbfl h5 33. Rf7 a5 34. Rh4! Rh6 Since Black is almost in Zugzwang, 35. a4! should finish matters. Then 35. . . . b5 loses to 36. Rf6 (36. . . . Rh7 37. e7+ Kd7 38. axb5! Bxe7 39. Ra6 Bxh4 40. Ra7+ Ke6 41. Rxh7). Or 35. . . . Rxe6 36. Rxh5 b5 37. Rf6! Rxf6 38. axb5+.

35. Rf6 Rh8 36. Rf5? Rg8! 37. Rhxh5 Rg3+ 38. Ke2 d4! 39. Rf3 Rg2+ 40. Kd3 Rxa2?? A draw was likely after 40. . . . Kd5!. Black did not resume play after Tal sealed 41. Rf7. For example, 41. . . . Ra3+ 42. Ke4 Re3+ 43. Kf4 Rel 44. e7 Kd7 45. e8(Q)+! Kxe8 46. Rb7. Tal clinched victory by a full point by beat­ ing Miguel Najdorf in the final round while Fischer drew with Borislav Ivkov. Whether it was faulty memory or his penchant for em­ bellishment, Tal wrote that Fischer played "literally until there were only kings left:' 11 The tournament book and other sources show that it was K+P-vs.-K+N+P when the game ended. Meanwhile, all was not well at Gorky Street, number 34. Sally did not like being

1 83

Tal's "second love;' as journalist Evgeny Gik put it. "The chess king and his queen were jealous of one another but were not going to change their habits:' 12 "We fought often, over everything imagi­ nable;' Sally remembered. "One time it got so bad that I threw his engagement ring in the toilet, he got it back, and put it back on my finger. Ah, we would fight, swear, break up, and get back together again . . . . Well, in fact, we were children. It was childhood-a sweet, romantic childhood! " 13 In a later interview she added, "When we got married, I was only 19 years old . . . I un­ derstood that he was a genius; but to accept that I would have to live with just him and chess. That I could not do. I was unable even to imagine myself a normal 'chess-player's wife' -someone like Rona Yakovlevna, Mrs. Petrosian, for example. Without her, Tigran Vartanovich would hardly have become cham­ pion:' The difference is that Rona "would only talk about Tigran and chess. I loved the­ ater and music:' 14 Sally had other reasons to be upset. Tal's mother told her "Misha has a new fan . . . a movie actress, a woman of extraordinary beauty, that she is fanatically in love with chess" -and with Tal. Ida Tal added that this was "quite normal" because "Tal should have fans:' 15 But the actress was more than a fan. "It was not difficult for me to quickly find con­ firmation'' that Tal had a new romance, Sally wrote. "I cried, got angry, was ready to take revenge;' she said. She was not ready to cheat on Tal-yet. "Now I understand that Misha didn't try to hide anything from me, didn't try to deceive me:' 16 She eventually confronted Tal and asked whether he was "exchanging" her for a girl friend. As usual, he made a joke: 'J\sk [Ed­ uard] Gufeld. He said exchanging Sally would be like trading the black-squared bishop in the King's Indian Defense!" 17 Sally knew vir­ tually nothing about chess when she met Tal.

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Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

But by then she had learned that Gufeld cherished that bishop.

Pater As Spassky's marriage collapsed, his chess family changed. "I became unhappy with my trainer, Alexander Tolush;' he said. 1 8 One night after Spassky adjourned a game, they returned to the Tolush home in Leningrad. "Go to sleep, I'll look at the position;' Tolush said. The next day he gave Spassky the fruits of his overnight analysis. But when the game was resumed Spassky did not play as Tolush advised. In Soviet chess culture, this was a breach of faith. "Boris, you no longer need me;' Tolush told him when they got home. "Let them train you:• Spassky later painted different pictures, dark and rosy, of his eight-year relationship with "Kazimirich:' In one, he said Tolush was a "brusque" man who "liked to lecture me on my mistakes:• including his marriage. 1 9 "He even found a bride for me in Riga! " 20 Spassky would entertain friends with his im­ pression of an overbearing Tolush: "I've al­ ways tried to teach you. You are a very stupid boY:' he mimicked. 2 1 But later Spassky conceded that he had ex­ hausted Tolush's tolerance. His trainer was worn out trying to defend him before the KGB, his university, the Leningrad and Soviet chess federations and even Spassky's divorce court. "He was a powerful shield but his patience was limited;' Spassky said. "He slowly left me, complaining that I had become an unguided missile:•22 In yet another version, Spassky said he abruptly dumped Tolush while under a lot of stress. "It was terrible! Eight years is a very long time, you know. I had nobody to turn to at that time except my mother:' He said he was "in a very nervous state" because of his divorce. But still he should have explained

his feelings to Tolush, he said. "Instead I re­ fused to talk to him:• 23 Tolush's wife Valentina was preparing a meal when she heard her husband say, "Let them train you:' Who was them? "Through an open door I only heard the surname Bon­ darevskY:' she said. 24 Twenty three years older than Spassky, his new father figure had been a world-class player until World War II robbed him of his best years. Bondarevsky became Paul Keres' trainer in 1948, when many Russian players shunned Keres because of his suspected dis­ loyalty during the war. Bondarevsky earned a reputation for training the very best players: After Keres it was Yefim Geller during 19525, then Vasily Smyslov during 1956-9. Spassky considered Bondarevsky a "living computer" because of his accuracy in ana­ lyzing adjourned games, which was then a very high priority, more so than opening ex­ pertise. 25 They had become acquainted dur­ ing 1954-55 at the Leningrad Pioneer Palace. Bondarevskyjoined Spassky at various points in the next six years, including analyzing the lost adjournment with Leonid Stein in the 28th Soviet Championship finals. But if Spassky could not take Tolush's ef­ forts to get him to work harder, he was bound to have problems with the gruff and de­ manding Bondarevsky. They agreed to ignore the potential conflict. In the short run, their relationship was built on respect rather than friendship. Spassky said he began to enjoy "a wonderful feeling of solidarity and mutual trust:' 26 There were other benefits of switching trainers. After the breakup with his wife, Spassky needed a home. Bondarevsky invited him to live with him at his Leningrad apart­ ment. Critics said it may also have helped that Bondarevsky had good ties with the KGB. Spassky took to calling him Pater, the German word for father. Spassky explained that this is what "the insurgents called [Nestor] Makhno:• the leader of an anarchist army

9. Why Not Me? during the Russian civil war. At various times Spassky considered himself a secret anarchist or a monarchist. Yet he continued to benefit from Commu­ nist Party protectors. A heavy-handed cam­ paign was launched in late 1961 to justify an Interzonal coup. The semi-official newspaper Sovietsk aya Rossiya ran an article under the headline "Spassky Should Play in the Inter­ zonal! " -that is, in place of Stein. 27 Another powerful newspaper, Literaturnaya Gazeta, said Spassky deserved to go to the Stockholm tournament instead of "young Stein'' (who was two years older than Spassky but rela­ tively unknown). Korchnoi felt the campaign was anti-Semitic because Stein was Jewish. It was the kind of propaganda effort that was used to prepare the Soviet public for a con­ troversial decision, in this case negating Stein's finish ahead of Spassky in the 1961 Zonal. Direct pressure was applied to Stein. Some­ one with connections to the vlasti pitched a deal: If Stein declined his Interzonal spot he would be rewarded with a good foreign in­ vitation. There was an implied threat that he would be punished if he refused, according to Stein's close friend Eduard Gufeld. But supporters of Stein counter-attacked with a publicly-circulated joint letter, a familiar Soviet-era weapon. 28 Mikhail Tal and Korch­ noi were among those who signed the letter, saying Stein had won the right to go to Stock­ holm fair and square. This is the kind of issue that was often de­ cided in the Party hierarchy, rather than in the government bodies such as the Soviet Chess Federation or, directly above it, the Sports Committee. This time the federation made the final decision-to send Stein-but "only after several hours of heated discus­ sion;' according to Alexander Kotov. 29 Gu­ feld said he included the story of the joint letter in the manuscript of a 1980 Stein game collection that was published by the main government chess publisher, Fizku ltura i Sport. But it was edited out.

185

New Sp assky Spassky's more balanced style was on dis­ play in the 29th USSR Championship finals in November. He came to the Baku tourna­ ment site armed with new opening weapons. He scored 3½-½ with Black in delayed ver­ sions of the Steinitz Defense of the Ruy Lopez. He beat three of the other contenders for first prize and virtually clinched the title with two rounds to go. His most important game came in round five.

Vasily Smyslov-Spassky

29th Soviet Championship finals, Baku, 1961 Reti Op ening (A06) 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. b4 Bg7 5. Bb2 0-0 6. 0-0 Bg4 7. c4 c6 8. Na3 Nbd7 Black is prepared to build a center with ei­ ther . . . Bxf3 and . . . e6 or . . . Re8 and . . . es.

9. Rel a5 10. b5 a4 Soviet tournament bulletins contained more than bare game scores. They often had photos, interviews, annotations, even poetry. In his Bulletin of the Central Chess Club notes, Petrosian wrote, "The goal of this move is defensive. It is important to deprive White of the possibility of placing a knight on bS after the liquidation of the pawn tensions created by . . . c6 and . . . ds:• That is, 11. bxc6 bxc6 12. cxdS cxdS 13. NbS QaS.

11. d3 e5! 12. bxc6 At least equal for Black is 12. NxeS NxeS 13. BxeS Qe7 and then 14. Bb2 Qxe2 15. Qxe2 Bxe2.

12. . . . bxc6 13. cxd5 cxd5 14. Nc2 e4?! Black can also exploit his space edge with 14 . . . . Bh6. Then 15. Rbl Qc7 and . . . Rfc8 is comfortable. So is 15. Ne3 Bxf3 16. Bxf3 d4!? 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 18. Nc4 Bxcl 19. Qxcl Rc8.

15. dxe4 dxe4 16. Nd2!

1 86

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

"Now it was fully appropriate to occupy d4 with the knight but White pursues an­ other goal;' Petrosian wrote. 30 Black would have an easier time after 16. Nfd4 Qb6 and . . . Rfc8.

16. . . . Rb8 17. Ba3

and perhaps lure Black into the losable 30. . . . Qxd6 31. Qxc8+ Rxc8 32. Rxc8+ Kg7 33. exf7 Kxf7 34. Bxe4.

30. . . . Qxe6 31. Bxb8 Rxc2 32. Rxc2 g5! (see diagram)

White's Hypermodern strategy would pay off better after 17. Bd4! Re8 18. Ne3 and 18 . . . . Be6 19. Nxe4 or 18 . . . . BhS 19. h3 (threat of 20. g4).

17. . . . Re818. Ne3 Ne5! 19. Nxg4 Not 19. Nxe4? in view of 19. . . . Nxe4 20. Bxe4 Qxdl 21. Rfxdl Bxe2 with advan­ tage (22. Rd2 Nf3+ or 22. Rd4 Bf3).

19. . . . Nexg4 20. Nc4 e3! The best defense to various threats (Nd6, Qxa4). Now 21. f4 Qxdl 22. Rfxdl Nf2 is fine for Black because he can play 23. . . . N6e4 in answer to 23. Rd6 or 23. Rd4.

21. f3! Nf2 22. Qxa4 Black has no problems after 22. Qxd8 Rbxd8 23. Bes NdS because 24. Nxe3? Nxe3 25. Bxe3 Rxe3 26. Kxf2 Ra3 favors him.

22. . . . Nd5 23. f4 Nc3! 24. Qc2 The liquidation of 24. Rxc3 Bxc3 25. Bd6 Rc8 26. Bb7 is harmless after 26. . . . Re4! 27. Bxe4 Nxe4 28. Rdl Nd2.

24. . . . Qd4!? 25. Ne5! Bxe5 26. fxe5 Rec8! 27. Bf3 Smyslov plays for more than 27. Bb2 Rxb2 28. Qxb2 Qd2! and 29. Rxc3 Qxb2 30. Rxc8+ Kg7.

27. . . . Qd2 28. Kg2! Qd7 29. Bd6 Nce4 30. e6? This deserves a better fate. Black would have perpetual check after 30. Bxb8 Rxc2 31. Rxc2 Qh3+ 32. Kgl Nxg3!. Or he might try for more with 31. . . . NgS. The point of White's move is to control g3 with his bishop

After 32. ... gs Spassky threatens 33. . . . g4 34. Bxe4? Qxe4+ and mates. For example, 33. g4 hS 34. h3 Nxh3 35. Kxh3 hxg4+ 36. Bxg4 Nf2+. Now 33. Ba7! g4 34. Bxe3 gxf3+ 35. exf3 would have been a tougher defense to break than: 33. Kgl? Nd2 34. Rfcl Nxf3+ 35. exf3 Nd3 36. Rc6 Qxa2 37. R6c2 Qa4 38. Rc8+ Kg7 White resigns This was Tal's first Soviet championship in nearly three years. He was headed for a minus score when he lost to Rashid Nezh­ metdinov in the 15th of 20 rounds. Going back to their hotel Tal told Lev Polugaevsky that he would not draw again in the tourna­ ment. "So you're intending to lose them all?" Polugaevsky asked. 31 "No! " Tal replied and was proven right when he won five games, lost one and fin ished 12-8. The Soviet chess yearbook, the semi-official voice of the USSR chess estab­ lishment, was unimpressed: "Even in the pe­ riod of the stormy ascent of M. Tal there were grandmasters who did not take the Rigan 'at his word' but accepted his sacrifices and re­ pulsed attacks:' The first-rank players who used to do this included Petrosian and Korch-

9. Why Not Me?

187

noi but now other masters have joined them and this "can explain the relatively low result of M. Tal:' 32 Translation: his colleagues had solved Tai.

Stockholm to CurafaO The next indication that a Westerner could challenge Soviet supremacy came at the In­ terzonal beginning January 27, 1962, in Stock­ holm. Bobby Fischer started with two draws, then won five straight games. The Soviets lagged behind: Geller and Korchnoi were upset by Miguel Cuellar of Colombia in early rounds. Petrosian offered draws to oppo­ nents he considered dangerous and then spent hours trying to figure out how he could have played to win. "Perhaps I played rather timidly when I offered those draws;' he said after the tournament. "But no one can blame me: at least I qualified" for the Candidates tournament.33 He finished in a tie with "Fimka" Geller for second, behind Fischer. Their comrades faced the problem of FIDE's limit on Candidates from one country. Be­ cause Keres and Tai had been seeded into the upcoming Candidates tournament on the is­ land of Cura4rao, only three Soviet players from Stockholm could advance to it. Stein and Korchnoi began the final day tied for fourth place and vying for the final ticket to the Caribbean. Korchnoi claimed Fischer was so afraid of facing him in Cura4rao that he helped his opponent, Abe Yanofsky, pre­ pare his opening. 34 Yanofsky soon had the edge.

Abe Yanofsky-Korchnoi

Interzonal, Stockholm, 1962

Here 33. . . . Qa5 and then 34. c6 g6 might have held. But after 33. . . . Qa8? 34. Qal! and 34. . . . b4 35. a7 Korchnoi was lost. A crucial variation was 35. . . . Bd5 36. Qxe5 b3! 37. Qb8+ Kh7 38. Qxa8 Bxa8 and now 39. Bg2! b2 40. Bxa8 bl(Q)+ 41. Kg2 will

After 33. a6 leave White with an extra bishop (41. . . . Qa2 42. Be4+ and queens). But in time pressure, play went 35. . . . Bd5 36. Bd7? b3! 37. c6?. Korchnoi found an in­ spired defense, 37. . . . b2! 38. Qxb2 Qxa7 39. Qxe5 Qc5 40. Qe3 Qc2 41. f3 h5. White accepted a draw because of perpetual check in lines like 42. Kfl Kh7 43. c7 Bb7 44. Qb6 Qdl+. The half point made Korchnoi a world championship candidate for the first time. Fischer won the tournament by two and half points. Igor Bondarevsky warned his colleagues that the American could be a fu­ ture world champion. But Yuri Averbakh ob­ jected. "Igor, we have a whole school, tradi­ tions, and many strong players in their prime;' he said. Bondarevsky replied, "And on the side of Fischer is youth, enormous talent, unique capacity to work and fanatic devotion to chess:' 35 But in 1962 few Soviet players placed much stock in that. The Candidates tournament started eight weeks after Stockholm with a modest prize fund of $3,400, including $750 for first place. Once again, the main prize was the right to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the world title in 1963. The two youngest players were the favorites. A poll of readers of the news­ paper Komsomolsk ay a Pravda found 2,557 thought Tai would win and 1,252 believed Fischer would. Then came Petrosian, 906 and, at a distance, Keres, 456; Geller, 156 and Korchnoi, 145.

1 88

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

The tournament has become legendary but not because of the somewhat indifferent qual­ ity of the games. Rather it is because Korchnoi and Fischer alleged that the outcome was or­ chestrated. Petrosian, driven by "devilish de­ termination:' conspired with Geller and Keres, Korchnoi wrote. 36 'J\s we all know, everything was arranged by Petrosian:' 37 What is undeniable is that Geller, Keres and Petrosian drew their mutual games in an av­ erage of 19.1 moves. This seems quick. But it was not out of character: At Bled 1961, Keres, Petrosian, Geller and Tal also drew their mu­ tual games in an average of l9.l moves. Korchnoi said a conspiracy was hatched by Petrosian but also said it began with Petrosian and Geller. They persuaded Keres to join them. Korchnoi felt this was ethically outrageous for Petrosian and Geller. But he indicated it was merely bad strategy for Keres. 'J\ more crafty person, on learning about the pact between Geller and Petrosian, would have sought a separate alliance;' he wrote. 38 (That could only mean Keres mak­ ing a non-aggression pact with Korchnoi.) Tal was not worthy of an alliance because of his health. After a USSR team champion­ ship at the end of 1961 he "was not feeling too well and it was decided to send me to Marianske Lazne;' he wrote. 39 This was a renowned Carlsbad area spa, known to chess players as the site of a famous tournament, Marienbad 1925. Just before Tal was about to leave for the Czech resort, his condition de­ teriorated. Within 24 hours he was on an op­ erating table. His surgeon, Dr. Anatoly Frum­ kin, said a human body needed plenty of time to recover after an operation like that. "I don't understand how Tal can play chess" so quickly afterward, he told Koblents. 40

Pantopon Ch ess Tal had less than two months to recover. That was much more than for the previous

Candidates but his latest operation was a greater challenge to his body than an appendectomy. He prepared by playing training games against Aivars Gipslis. At the insis­ tence of doctors, they used a fast time limit, 40 moves in 90 minutes. Tal said he did well. But he did not appreciate that this meant he only had the stamina to play three hours a day. At Curac;:ao he repeatedly collapsed in the fifth hour of a game, "the same hour that had always brought me so many dividends in the past:' 4 1 The other players quickly learned of Tal's condition. When he went to a swimming pool at Curac;:ao he had a visible scar from one side of his stomach to the other. What was not known was that searing pain quickly returned after the operation and he had to receive regular injections of Pantopon. 42 This is a powerful opium-based narcotic often taken by people who can not be treated with morphine. When the tournament began, Tal lost his first three games. "Never in my life had I been in such poor form:' he wrote. He claimed he was "swindled" by Benko in the time trou­ ble of his third-round game. But the moves show that he was steadily outplayed He began the second cycle of seven games with "what was probably the worst game of my life:' 43

Tal-Petrosian Candidates tournament, Cura�ao,

1962 French Defense ( ClO)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Nf3 c5 People who knew nothing of chess could notice a difference between Tal and Spassky in their scoresheets. Spassky took time to write down his moves slowly and in full no­ tation (Ngl-f3, not just Nf3, for example). His scoresheets reflected the calmness he al­ ways tried to exude. Tal's written-and often crossed out-

9. Why Not Me?

1 89

,

u.s.s . . Petrosian's (left) first round defeat of Tai at the 1962 Candidates tournament in Cura�ao set the tone for his greatest tournament victory-and one of Tal's worst results ( Chess Life, July 1962, used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

moves were often the chicken scratches that Fischer described. Tal said he wrote down one move here (probably 8. Bb5+), crossed it out and replaced it with 8. Bc4. He could not decide between the two and after more than an hour "I suddenly made a third, ridiculous move:'

14. 0-0 Bc6 (see diagram)

8. Qd3?! Be7 9. B xf6 B xf6 10. QbS+ Bd7 ll. Qxb7 Rb8 12. Qxa7 Rxb2 Humans lack a computer's faith in lines like 13. Qxc5 Be? 14. Qe5. But Tal could have played for a drawish bishops of opposite color ending with 13. Ne5 cxd4 14. Nxd7. 13. Bd3? cxd4 White would be losing after 14. Nxd4? Qc8 (threat: 15. . . . Rb7) 15. Nb3 Qc3+.

After 14. ... Bc6 Even here 15. Qc5 Qd5 (15 . . . . Bxf3? 16. Bb5+) 16. Qxd5 Bxd5 17. a4 offered draw­ ing chances. 15. Qa3 Qb6 16. Bc4? Rb4 17. Qd3 0-0 18. a3

190

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Ra4 19. Rfdl Qa7 20. Ra2?? Rxc4! White resigns

Ethical Enigma Opinions about the ethics of the Petrosian, Keres and Geller draws tend to depend on what motives are attributed to them. There are four basic theories: 1. They wanted to keep Soviet control of the world championship. This was Fischer's claim in a Sports Illustrated article published after the tournament. 44 He suggested Korchnoi furthered this by throwing games to his com­ patriots. "Nonsense;' Korchnoi responded after he defected. "It is well known in the chess world that it is very difficult even to prearrange a draw with me:' 45 2. They wanted to mak e sure Petrosian won. This was one of Korchnoi's claims: "The head of our team, Yuri Averbakh, was his personal friend, and our coach Boleslavsky had already cooperated with him for years. Petrosian won the tournament as was re­ quired;' he said. 46 But even if Keres were willing to destroy his last good chance at the world title, there were holes in this theory. For example, Petro­ sian offered a draw to Keres in round 25 when his position was nearly won after 14 moves. This makes little sense if they were conspiring to make Petrosian finish first. If he had won that game he would have led by a point with three rounds to go, a huge lead so late in the tournament. 3. They wanted to stop one or more of their rivals. Fischer said the conspiracy was di­ rected solely at him. Korchnoi said it was di­ rected at him. He claimed that after Geller drew with Petrosian in ten moves, "I asked Geller whom he was intending to beat. 'You! ' was his direct reply. I merely shrugged my shoulders:' 47 He later revised this: "I am al­ most certain that this plot was also directed against me, just as it was against Fischer:' 48

In his 2004 memoir he added a third victim: "The agreement was devised against Korch­ noi, Fischer and Tal! " 49 But the quick draws continued to the very end of the tournament, after Tal had with­ drawn from it and when Fischer and Korch­ noi were out of contention. There was no need to stop anyone by then. 4. Each wanted to save energy for his own b enefit. This was the explanation of Keres and Averbakh. Endurance had to be con­ served in a 28-round tournament on a trop­ ical island. so Why else would Geller and Petrosian also make quick draws with Miro­ slav Filip and Pal Benko, the least dangerous players in the tournament? Occasional quick draws had been Petro­ sian's style since he was a teen. At Stockholm he drew 14 games out of 22 and only in his draws with Fischer and Korchnoi did he seem to exert himself. At Curac;:ao he chose his days to play.

Petrosian-Miroslav Filip Candidates tournament, Cura�ao, 1962 Queen's Gambit Declined (D37) 1. c4 e6 2. Nc3 d5 3. d4 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 0-0 6. e3 c5 7. dxc5 Bxc5 8. a3 Nc6 9. Qc2 White prepares 10. Rdl. He would stand slightly better in symmetrical pawn middle­ games, such as after 9. . . . dxc4 10. Bxc4 a6 11. Rdl.

9. . . . Be710. Rdl Qa5 ll. Nd2 e512. Bg5 d4 13. Nb3 Qd8 14. Be2 These moves were very new in 1962. Later 14 . . . . aS came into fashion {15. exd4 a4).

14. . . . Ng4? 15. Bxe7 Qxe716. exd4 Qh4 Afterwards, 16. . . . exd4 17. Nxd4 QcS was recommended but Black has nothing for his missing pawn after 18. Qd2 Rd8 19. NdS.

17. g3 Qh3

9. Why Not Me? Black may have some compensation if White's king remains in the center, e.g., 18. Bfl Qh5 19. d5 Nd4! ? 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Rxd4 Re8+ 22. Be2 Bf5 23. Qdl Qh3.

18. d5! Nd4 Annotators liked 18 . . . . Qg2 19. Qe4 Qxf2+ 20. Kd2 Qb6. White can improve with 19. Rfl! so that 19. . . . Nd4 20. Nxd4 exd4 21. Qe4! favors him.

19. Nxd4 exd4 20. Rxd4 Qg2? (see diagram)

After 20. ... Qg2 Black seems to be doing well (21. Rfl Re8). Spassky later tried the immediate 20. . . . Re8 and earned a draw this way with Lajos Por­ tisch at the 1966 Olympiad (21. Re4 Bd7 22. Bfl Qh5 23. Be2 Qh3 24. Bfl Qh5). But 23. h3! favors White (23. . . . BfS 24. hxg4!). So 21. . . . Qh6! became Black's best chance for equality.

21. Qe4! Qxf2+ 22. Kd2 Nf6 23. Qe3 Qg2 24. Qgl Petrosian was fond of queen moves to and along the first rank. But 24. Rgl Qxh2 25. Rh4 Bh3 26. g4! would have won more quickly.

24. . . . Qh3? 25. Rh4 Qd7 26. Qd4 Re8 27. Bd3 b6 28. Rfl Black resigns The threat was 29. Rxf6 gxf6 30. Ne4, and Filip apparently had no taste for 28 . . . . Qd8 29. Bd3. Of course, more than one of the four motives could be at work. By agreeing to

191

draws, players could save energy as well as target another player. This was the case in 1976 when Tal, Petrosian and Lajos Portisch tied in an Interzonal for two Candidates spots. The trio played a match-tournament in Varese, Italy. Tal and Petrosian made blood­ less draws of 18, 18, 20 and 17 moves. Were they saving energy? Yes. Were they targeting Portisch? Also, yes. Poetisch foiled the plan by beating Tal, who was eliminated.

Caribb ean Middlegame Tal remained optimistic well into the mid­ dle of the Cura<;:ao schedule, when his score was 5-10. In the third cycle he thought up a stunning queen sacrifice against Keres. After making a preliminary move, he got up from the board and told Petrosian, 'Tm going for the brilliancy prize:' 51 When he returned to his table he wrote down the move he ex­ pected would lead to the sacrifice. But once again he changed his mind, played another move and lost miserably. When he wrote his memoirs years later he did not realize the queen sacrifice would have been woefully unsound. The Soviet Sports Committee had made the unusual decision of allowing wives of the players to join them, during the mid­ tournament break. This was almost never done because of the risk of defection. Loved ones had to stay home as virtual hostages. "In those years, to go abroad, and to a capi­ talist country, was an impossible dream for the overwhelming majority of Soviet citi­ zens;' Sally Landau said.52 The wives had to pay their own way to Cu­ ra<;:ao. Sally said Uncle Robert came up with her airfare by selling, for 1,000 rubles, a por­ trait by a famous Latvian painter that had hung in their home. Despite his great successes, Tal had no sav­ ings. "Misha hadn't the faintest idea about money;' Sally said. "When he travelled to

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

192

Soviet tournaments, he wouldn't even fill out the expense form for the chess federation, so he went at his own expense:' Or at the ex­ pense of "a doting relative;' she said. 53 But Robert's money was never enough because Tai was a spendthrift. "In Cura<;:ao, he man­ aged to spend $500 in one month, just on haircuts-and this was in 1962! " Sally said. Korchnoi held the tournament lead briefly but then went 11 games with only one win. One of the conspiracy theories-denied by Korchnoi-is that Rona Petrosian convinced her good friend Bella Korchnoi to pressure Viktor to throw this game:

Petrosian-Korchnoi Candidates tournament, Cura�ao, 1962 English Opening (A31)

I. c4 c5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 d5 6. Bg5 dxc4 7. e3 Korchnoi became the acknowledged ex­ pert on the Black side of this variation after he beat Vasily Smyslov in 1952 with 7. . . . Bg7 8. Bxc4 0-0 9. 0-0 a6.

7• • . . Qa5? 8. Bxf6 exf6 9. Bxc4 Bb4 IO. Rel a6 ll. 0-0 Nd7? (see diagram)

were fixed, someone failed to tell Petrosian. His move allowed Korchnoi to play a merely bad middlegame with 12. . . . Bxc3 13. Rxc3 Ne5 and . . . 0-0. However, Black might not have gotten out of the opening if White had played the obvious 12. NdS!, threatening 13. Nc7+ Qxc7 14. Bxf7+. After 12. . . . Bd6 White has various plans that give him a substantial edge, including 13. f4 and 14. Qf3. (Alexey Suetin, in the So­ viet chess yearbook, said Petrosian passed up 12. Nd5 because he was influenced by "his positional habits:') Also good is 12. Nb3 Qd8 13. Qd4, threatening 14. Bxf7+ and Qxb4. But what is astonishing is that White could have won immediately with the kind of tactic you find in many basic primers, 12. Bxf7+! Kxf7 13. Qb3+. For example, e.g., 13. . . . Ke8 14. Qe6+ and 15. Nd5. Or 13. . . . Kg7 14. Ne6+ Kh6 15. NdS because 15. . . . Bd6 16. e4 threat­ ens 17. Qh3 mate. The wins are not hard for a grandmaster to calculate, e.g., 15. . . . Nc5 16. Nxc5 BxcS 17. Qc4! and 15. . . . Ne5 16. Rxc8! Raxc8 17. e4!. Petrosian was no stranger to this kind of sacrifice. In fact, nine rounds before, his game with Benko went 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bf4 0-0 6. Rel cs 7. dxc5 dxc4 8. e4 Qa5 9. es Rd8 10. Bd2 Ng4 11. Bxc4 QxcS 12. Ne4 Qb6 13. Bxf7+! Kxf7 14. Rxc8! Rxc8 15. NfgS+ Kg8 16. Qxg4. He only drew after 16. . . . Qc6 17. Nd6? Qd7.

12. . . . Be7? 13. b4! Qe5 Now Petrosian probably saw that 13. . . . Qd8? loses to 14. Bxf7+! Kxf7 15. Qb3+. Or 13. . . . Qxa3? 14. Nd5 Bd8 15. Ral Qb2 16. Ra2, winning the queen.

After 11. ... Nd7 12. a3? "A Russian former world champion once told me that Korchnoi had been told to lose his game as Black against Petrosian in round 23;' Jan Timman wrote. 54 But if this game

14. f4 Qb8 Another queen trap is 14. . . . Qxe3+ 15. Khl and 16. Rf3.

15. Bxti+! Kxti 16. Qb3+ Ke817. Nd5 White has a greater advantage now than

9. Why Not Me?

1 93

in the 12. Bxf7+ version but he would have won in either case. This version is arguably harder to calculate to a finish than the earlier one.

18. h3 Qh4 19. Rdfl and eventually lost. Had Geller won (thanks to Boleslavsky), he would have held at least a temporary lead of a half point with five rounds to go.

17. . . . Bd6 18. Ne6 b5 19. Ndc7+ Ke7 20. Nd4!

9. Be3 NaS 10. f4 b6 11. eS Ne8 12. fS dxeS 13. fxe6! Nxb3! 14. Nc6 Qd6

This was the nicest move of the game, al­ though 20. Nxa8 Qxa8 21. Nd4 Nb6 22. Nc6+ Ke8 23. Qd3 also wins. Among the key points is 20. Nd4 Qxc7 21. Rxc7 Bxc7 22. Qe6+ Kf8 23. Qc6! wins

These moves were played instantly because the players were following Bilek-Petrosian, Oberhausen 1961. Until that game, White was thought to be winning with 15. Nd5. But Petrosian's 15. . . . Bh4! allowed him to keep his extra piece and win.

20 . . . . Kf8 21. Nxa8 Black resigns Petrosian felt Korchnoi had been his chief rival for first place until he destroyed his stamina by trying too hard before the final weeks. "Korchnoi's nerves gave out;' he said. "He overlooked a piece in the better position against Fischer. Then a defeat against Tai, the first one in his life. Korchnoi had dropped out. This was my chance:•ss Late in the third cycle Korchnoi broke his winless streak but only with luck.

Bobby Fischer-Korchnoi

Candidates tournament, Cura�ao, 1962 Sicilian Defense (B89)

1. e4 cs 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. 0-0 0-0 Isaac Boleslavsky did not assist Petrosian alone, as Korchnoi suggested. He helped all of the Soviets prepare their games with non­ Soviets, and this could easily have made Geller the challenger: In round 23, Bole­ slavsky prepared him for a game with Fischer that went 8 . . . . Nxd4! ? 9. Qxd4 0-0 10. f4 b6! 11. Khl Ba6. Then came 12. Rf3 d5! 13. exd5 Bc5 14. Qa4 Bb7 15. Be3 exd5 16. Bd4. Geller would have had a powerful, if not winning advantage, with 16. . . . a6! because of the threat of 17. . . . b5. For example, 17. Bxc5 bxc5 and 18 . . . . c4 or 18 . . . . d4. Also 17. Bxf6 gxf6 18. f5 d4 and . . . b5. But he played 16. . . . Re8? 17. Rdl Ng4?

15. Qxd6! Bxd6 16. axb3 Bxe6 Later annotators claimed White would have been slightly better after 17. Nb5 Bd7 18. Ncxa7 Bc5 19. Bxc5 bxc5 20. Ra4. But he is, if anything, worse after 20. . . . Nd6. 56 A better test of Black's opening is 17. Bxb6! .

17. Nxa7 Rb8! 18. Ra6 Nf6 In a previous game, Black gave up the b­ pawn with 17. . . . Nf6. Korchnoi's moves are better but could have been tested by 19. Rdl or 19. h3.

19. Rxb6? Rxb6 20. Bxb6 Rb8 21. Bf2 Ng4! Chances are even and an immediate draw (22. Nc6 Rc8 23. Na7 Rb8) was reasonable.

22. Nabs Bb4 23. Ba7! Rb7 24. h3 Bxc3 25. bxc3 RxbS 26. hxg4 Bxg4 27. c4 Rb7 28. Ral BfS! 29. cS! Bxc2 30. c6 Rxb3 (see diagram)

After 30• ... Rxb3

194

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

A hard-fought game deserved a drawn endgame. It would likely have arisen after 31. c7! BfS (31. . . . Rc3? 32. BcS!) 32. Rel hS 33. c8(Q)+ Bxc8 34. Rxc8+ Kh7. That is what Fischer's second, Arthur Bisguier, was look­ ing at in the press room. "But why shouldn't Fischer play 31. g4, denying the bishop the f5 square?" asked Nathan Divinsky, editor of C anadian Chess Chat. The answer came from Boleslavsky. "Your move loses:' he said quietly. "Black has the reply 31. . . . Rg3+ and then 32. . . . Rxg4:' "Yes, it doesn't work;' Di­ vinsky conceded. 57 But:

31. g4?? Rg3+ 32. Kf2 Rxg4 33. c7 Bf5 34. Be3 h5 35. Ra8+ Kh7 36. c8(Q) Bxc8 37. Rxc8 h4 38. Kf3 f5 White's extra piece is no match for four passed pawns. Among the winning ideas is . . . e4+ followed by . . . h3-h2.

39. Rf8 Kg6 40. Rh8 Rg3+ 41. Kf2 f4 42. Ba7 h3 43. Bb8 Kf5 44. Rf8+ Ke4 45. Re8 Rg5 In view of 46. . . . f3 followed by . . . h2, White resigns. When Petrosian and Tal played prear­ ranged draws late in the previous Candidates, it helped Keres stay close to Tal. This time a nonaggression pact hurt Keres: He could not play to beat Geller, against whom he had a big plus score, or Petrosian. Averbakh hinted at this when he told Shakhmaty v SSSR read­ ers that Keres had chosen the "wrong tour­ nament tactic:' Before play began Keres be­ lieved that his chief rivals would be Tal and Fischer. When it turned out that they were Petrosian and Geller, it was too late, Aver­ bakh wrote. 58 During the third cycle, Tal was in such pain that he was hospitalized. The only player to visit him was Fischer. Tal signed himself out but was still ailing. On the night before the fourth cycle was to begin, a pale Sally knocked repeatedly on Averbakh's hotel door. "Come quickly, Misha's in a bad way;' she said. Averbakh said he rushed to Tal's room

and found him bathed in sweat and writhing in pain. "To moisten a towel I went into the bathroom and saw there was an empty bot­ tle;' he said. 59 Clearly, Tal's drinking had brought on a relapse. Tal was taken to a hos­ pital, where doctors were unanimous in rec­ ommending that he quit the tournament. It would have been "simply criminal" to risk Tal's health, Averbakh said. "But Tal wanted to keep playing from a bed;' he recalled. "I can play in any condition! " Tal told him. 60 "But I called [Folke] Rogard, president of FIDE, and I called Moscow, our federation, and all recommended that Tal leave the tour­ nament. Even from a bed, Tal could beat al­ most anybody, but it was best for him to withdraw:' Averbakh said. The tournament standings were so tight-Keres was a half point ahead of Petrosian and Geller-that the games of an ill Tal could unfairly deter­ mine the winner. Averbakh announced Tal's withdrawal at a press conference before tell­ ing Tal. Tal was upset to learn the news from a doctor at his hospital but finally conceded the decision was necessary. He was well enough to return to the tournament hall to kibitz games in the final week.

The Accidental Challenger It seemed clear by then that a single vic­ tory by one of the leaders could decide who would challenge Botvinnik. Keres told a friend that the tournament winner would be the one "who has the best nerves and who can concentrate the besf' 61 But once again it was not wins that determined first place in a Candidates tournament. "Seeing the faces, tired from nervous tension, of the players, I understood that the winner would be the one who lost the least;' Averbakh said. 62 The situation was ideal for the player who routinely went through tournaments unde­ feated-Petrosian. But back in Moscow, the chess authorities wrote him off. Alexander

9. Why Not Me? Kotov accused him of cowardice. "What does T. Petrosian lack in order to play a match with M. Botvinnik?" he wrote. "Courage, above all courage!" 63 Petrosian's strange behavior in the tour­ nament finale has remained a mystery for more than 60 years. One explanation comes from his son Mikhail: After the mid­ tournament break, the players' wives re­ turned to the USSR. Petrosian called Rona before the final round and said he just wanted to go home. "Father didn't want to play the last game;' Mikhail Petrosian said in a 2008 interview. He quoted his father as saying, "What if l win the tournament-then I have to play a match with Mikhail Botvinnik:' And if he won that, "what troubles would be in store:' he told Rona. 64 But "Mama literally insisted" that he should play his normal game of chess. Mikhail Petrosian said he re­ membered that Rona Petrosian reluctantly allowed Tigran to offer a draw. "But just don't lose-and see what happens:' she said. 65 This may be a convenient family myth, the way the Petrosians wanted to remember things based on what happened later: Petro­ sian eventually regretted taking on the re­ sponsibilities of being champion. There were witnesses to his relief when he lost the title. He also appreciated Rona's role in pushing him towards a Botvinnik match. But Petro­ sian may have genuinely wanted to end the tournament with second prize. That also helps explain the next-to-last round. When it began, he and Keres were tied. After four hours, Keres stood worse against Benko. Petrosian had a considerable endgame ad­ vantage against Fischer.

Bobby Fischer-Petrosian

Candidates Tournament, Cura�ao, 1962

Petrosian has a Petrosian position: He could play riskless moves, such as . . . es, . . . h5 and . . . Kg6-g5, and adjourn. The game

1 95

might have gone 35. . . . e5 36. h3 h5 37. Kf2 Kg6 38. Ke2 KgS. Black would be threatening 39. . . . h4 (40. g4? Kf4). After 39. h4+ Kg6 40. Kf2 Ng4+ followed by . . . fS, he would be closing in on a win. If 41. Bxg4 hxg4 42. Rc2 Black wins a pawn with 42 . . . . Rf3+ 43. Kg2 Re3. Yet Petrosian played 35. . . . h5? and offered a draw. He later explained that he had low­ ered his hands below the table and felt his pulse. It was racing. He felt he had to end the game. His move made the position a legiti­ mate draw because of 36. eS ! . That would lead to 36. . . . Ng4 37. Bxg4 hxg4 38. Rd4!. The draw becomes apparent after 38 . . . . Rxa2+ 39. Ke3 Kg6 40. Rxg4+ KfS 41. Rf4+ KxeS 42. Rxf7 Rxh2 43. Ra7. After shaking hands with Fischer, Petro­ sian watched Keres adjourn against Benko. Benko was still better. But Keres held a hex over him that was worse than Korchnoi's over Tai. Keres had won all seven of his pre­ vious games with Benko. Korchnoi later charged that Rona Petro­ sian got her husband and Geller to go to Benko's hotel room, where they found a win for him. Korchnoi called this "monstrous" from "whatever point of view-ethical or po­ litical:' 66 He added, without apparent irony, that he was "outraged" because Petrosian and Geller had helped a defector who had fled Communist Hungary. The next day Keres lost the adjournment due to the "painstaking

196

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

night of analysis" by Benko, Geller and Pet­ rosian, Korchnoi wrote. 67 But Korchnoi was not in that hotel room. Benko was and he denied Korchnoi's ac­ count. "Petrosian and Geller came to me in secret and offered to help me beat their own countryman! " he wrote in his memoirs, "I was disgusted:' Benko said he told them that with best play the game would be a draw. "I demanded they leave:' 68 He gave a slightly different version in 2001, saying he showed Petrosian and Geller his written analysis and they could not add to it. 69 In any case, com­ puter analysis shows Benko was right when he said their visit had no effect on the game's outcome: Keres lost because he played badly immediately after play resumed. Petrosian went into the final round with a half point lead. He had the White pieces against Filip. A win would have guaranteed him a world championship match. Another elite player would have played calmly and reached a middlegame with winning chances while keeping an eye on Keres's game with Fischer. But not Petrosian.

Petrosian-Miroslav Filip Candidates Tournament, Cura�ao, 1962

After 14. ... b5 He thought about 40 minutes. "Sensing he could not play" he offered Filip a draw, Bole-

slavsky said. 70 Surprised, Filip just looked at Petrosian, then accepted. Spectators were also stunned. 71 The draw meant Petrosian had to wait to see if Keres could convert his promising position against Fischer and tie for first place. Petrosian's behavior has puzzled fans for more than half a century. But he knew how rarely he won in last rounds, particularly when it mattered. He did not have the nerves for it. "They called me Iron Tigran but no one except me knows what it cost me to preserve self-control;' he recalled later. "I remember that in 1961 after a decisive victory in time control I couldn't reproduce the game score. My hands were shaking. Since then I've always taken Validol with me to games;' he said re­ ferring to the anti-anxiety tranquilizer. 72 After he signed his scoresheet, Petrosian left the playing hall for a walk, "trying to stay calm;' his biographer said. "From time to time he came back and glanced into the halt:' It was like the final round of the 25th Soviet Championship when he could not bear to watch the Spassky-Tal endgame. Unlike Petrosian, Keres thrived on last­ round pressure. A win would force a Keres­ Petrosian playoff match in which anything could happen. Their previous record was three wins apiece. Keres' position against Fischer kept improving. At one point it was "overwhelming;' according to Boleslavsky. But Keres let the air go out of the position. A handshake after 30 moves gave Petrosian the right to challenge Botvinnik in 1963. Korchnoi said Rona Petrosian later "explained in Moscow how she made her hus­ band world champion:' 73 He was right but perhaps not in the way he meant. If Rona re­ ally did advise him not to lose "and see what happens;' it was the strategy that won the tournament, by accident. "Papa never wanted to be world champion;' Mikhail Petrosian recalled. "Mama forced him:' 74

10. Private Lives, Public Games During the inaugural Capablanca Memo­ rial tournament in 1962, Miguel Najdorf found Boris Spassky lying on a sun-drenched Cuban beach, enjoying a book. "Spassky will never become world champion:' Don Miguel said. "He loves life too much! " 1 This was Spassky's first foreign tourna­ ment since being declared nyevyezdny and barred from travel abroad after the 1960 stu­ dent Olympiad. (He was supposed to play at Hastings 1961-62 but was replaced at the last minute.) Spassky needed new challenges. At 25 he was still growing as a player:

Wolfgang Pietzsch-Spassky Havana, 1962 Ruy Lop ez (C79)

of a test and the "Spassky Variation'' burned out.

6. c3 Bg4?! 7. d4 b5 8. Bb3 Be7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 exd4 11. Qg3! Qd7? This was a Spassky/Bondarevsky attempt to improve over 11. . . . 0-0, which was re­ garded as suspicious after 12. Bh6 Ne8 13. Bd5! Qd7 14. Qd4.

12. Qxg7 0-0-0 13. Qxf7 Kb714. Be6 Qe8 But now 15. Bh6! would leave White a safe pawn ahead.

15. cxd4? Nxd416. Nc3 Rf817. Qxe8 Rdxe8 18. Bg4 Nxg419. hxg4 b4 20. Nd5? Bh4! Tactics rescue Spassky (21. g3 Rxe4! 22. gxh4? Rxg4+ with advantage to Black). Or 21. f3 h5! 22. gxh5 Ne2+ 23. Kh2 Bg3+ 24. Kh3 Rxe4!. But White could have kept the lead with his own tactic, 20. Rbl! so that 20. . . . bxc3 21. bxc3+ Nb5 22. a4 regains a piece.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 d6 Spassky was experimenting with this move and the related 5. . . . Be7 6. Rel d6. With the latter he won a game against Yuri Kots in the 29th USSR Championship finals that went 7. c3 Bg4 8. h3 Bh5 9. d3?! Qd7 10. Nbd2 g5! 11. g4? Bg6 12. Nfl h5 13. N3h2 hxg4 14. hxg4 0-0-0. After that, Max Euwe gave 7. . . . Bg4 an exclamation point in an extensive analysis of the line in Chess Review, August 1962. But 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. d4 proved to be more

21. Bh6 Ne2+ 22. Kh2 Rxf2 23. Kh3! Rxfl 24. Rxfl Bd8 Black's queenside pawns are potentially more dangerous than White's g-pawns, so 25. Nxb4 Rxe4 26. Nd5 makes sense (26. . . . Kc6 27. Rf8).

25. Rf7 Rxe4 26. Rf8? 197

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

198

White may have envisioned 26. Rf8 Be7 27. Rf7 Bd8 28. Rf8 with a draw, or 27. Re8 Kc6 28. Rxe7 Kxd5 29. Rxc7 with counter­ play. 26. • . . Kc6! 27. Ne3 Be7? The Black pawns are faster after 27. . . . Re6! 28. Nf5 Bf6 29. b3 d5! and 30. . . . d4.

28. Rf7 d5 29. Nf5 Bc5 30. Rxh7 d4! 31. Bd2 Ngl+? After 31. . . . Nf4+! 32. Kg3 Nd3! 33. g5 Ne5 the g-pawn is stopped and Black has good winning chances (34. Rh6+ Kd5 35. Rxa6 d3 and . . . Re2). 32. Kg3 Re2 33. g5!? This comes close to winning. Computers see a roughly equal position after the re­ markable 33. Bxb4! d3 34. Rh6+ Kbs 35. Bxc5 d2 36. Bxgl dl(Q) 37. Nd4+and 38. Nxe2. 33. . . . Rxd2 34. g6 Ne2+ 35. Kg4 Nc3! (see diagram)

After 35. ... Nc3 Spassky wins if a new pair of queens ar­ rives, e.g., 36. bxc3? dxc3 37. g7 c2. But 36. Kh3 would have kept the outcome in doubt.

36. g7? Rxg2+ 37. Kf3 Not 37. Ng3 Ne4! .

37. . . . Rg5 38. Kf4 Some sources mistakenly say White played 38. Rh5. Then Black would have to try to use

three pieces to beat the queen, after 38 . . . . Rxh5 39. Nxd4+! Bxd4 40. g8(Q). In that version, 38. Rh5 Rgl? would have allowed White to escape with 39. Ng3! (or 39. bxc3 dxc3 40. Ng3!).

38 . . . . Rgl! 39. bxc3 dxc3 40. Rhl c2 41. Rxgl Bxgl 42. g8(Q) cl(Q)+ 43. Kg4 Qdl+ 44. Kg5 Qd2+ 45. Kf6 Qb2+ 46. Ke7 Qe5+ 47. Kd8 Qxf5 48. Qxgl Qd7 mate Spassky did not lose a game in Havana. But he took weaker players too lightly. He made four draws with players who finished in the lower half of the crosstable and fin­ ished a half point behind tournament winner Najdorf. But Spassky added to his reputation as a playboy. At the Capablanca Memorial a year later, Viktor Korchnoi was in the lobby of the Havana Libre (formerly the Hilton) when an attractive young woman asked his help in ar­ ranging a rendezvous with Mikhail Tal, who was also playing. She added that she and her girlfriend were Communists. "We support you! " she said. Sorry, but Soviet citizens had special rules of conduct abroad, Korchnoi said. They could not separate their private lives from their public lives. "But Spassky was here last year and went with young girls!" she said. "That's why he's not here this year;' Korchnoi re­ sponded. "What's this? Loving is forbidden?" "Yes, prohibido amar;' Korchnoi said. Much was prohibido in the Soviet Union, he wrote later. 2

B ecoming Univers al To become the "universal" player he was in the late 1960s, Spassky needed to eliminate weaknesses. Under Bondarevsky's guidance, he improved his winning technique and abil­ ity to defend bad endgames. Spassky also en­ hanced his ability to detect enemy tactics. It is one thing to calculate ten moves ahead when

10. Private Lives, Public Games

1 99

you have the attack, as he demon strated in his 1959 game with Aron Reshko. It is quite another to navigate the only safe path through a trap­ packed thicket as a defender:

Spassky-Dragoljub Ciric

World Student Team Championship, Marianske Lazne, 1962 Sicilian Defense (B29)

1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. eS NdS 4. Nc3 Spassky was trying to atone for his failure in the 1960 World Student Team Championship. He got up after making this move and was surprised to see the same position in the third­ board game, Vladimir Bagirov ­ Drazen Marovic. Clearly the Yu­ goslavs had cooked up something for this match.

4. . . . e6 5. Nxds exds 6. d4 Nc6!? 7. dxcS BxcS 8. QxdS Qb6 9. Bc4! Bxf2+ 10. Ke2 0-0

Korchnoi got greater international recognition when Spassky's annotations were fea­ America's Chess Review magazine featured his victory tured in Soviet Life, an English lan­ at Havana 1963 (Chess Review, November 1963, used by guage "soft propaganda" publication permission of the United States Chess Federation). for Western consumption. He wrote The "book" move was 12. . . . Nd4+. After that his opponent was normally a solid, Ciric played 12. . . . NxeS, Spassky felt he had "cool-headed" player so his choice of this fallen into a deeply prepared trap-and that opening "caught me flat-footed:' 3 this game might determine which team won 11. Rfl BcS 12. NgS NxeS!? (see diagram) gold medals. "Needless to say, I was far from a state of tranquility at that moment;' he wrote. Even if there were a flaw in the enemy team's analysis, it might be impossible to find it over the board. For example, 13. Be3 looks strong in view of 13. . . . Bxe3? 14. Nxf7 ! or 13. . . . Nxc4 14. Rxf7!. But as Spassky studied the position he saw 13. . . . d6!. Then 14. BxcS? Bg4+! fa­ vors Black. He also realized he could bail out of the complications with 13. Nxf7 and hold a slim endgame edge after 13. . . . Nxf7 14. Rxf7 Qe6+. After 12. ... Nxe5

200

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Should he try for more? In his previous student Olympiad he did against Lombardy and paid a heavy price. His intuition told him 12. . . . Nxe5 was likely to have a major flaw.

13. Qxe5! d5! Black's main threat is 14 . . . . Bg4+ and 15. . . . Rae8. That suggests 14. Bxd5 Bg4+ 15. Kel so that 15. . . . Rae8 16. Bxt7+ Kh8 17. Bxe8. But this is one of the traps Black set: 17. . . . Qa5+! wins (18. c3 Bf2+ and mates). When Spassky saw that, he consid­ ered 17. Qxe8 Rxe8+ 18. Bxe8, thinking he would not have winning chances after 18 . . . . Qc7. Spassky felt the ideal for a player was to develop "the harmony of intuition and cal­ culation:' That meant letting your intuition tell you which moves to calculate and when to stop calculating a variation. By stopping his calculation after 18 . . . . Qc7 he did not ap­ preciate how strong 19. Rf4! was. But his in­ stinct to reject 17. Qxe8 was still right-be­ cause in that line 18 . . . . h6! would have made the outcome unclear (19. Nf3? Qe6+). Unsatisfied with 15. Kel, Spassky looked for alternatives. First he examined 15. Rf3. But he spotted the remarkable 15. . . . Qb5+ 16. c4 Rae8! when he would be in trouble. He looked again, this time at 15. Kd3. Then 15. . . . Rae8 16. Bxt7+ Kh8 17. Bxe8 appeared good for him. But 15. . . . Rfe8! is more dangerous because 16. Bxt7+ Kh8 17. Bxe8?? walks into mate after 17. . . . Rd8+!.

14. Qxd5! Re8+ A second crisis arises. Black would win after 15. Kdl?? Bg4+ 16. Rf3 Rad8. If Spassky had tried 15. Ne4 he would invite a slightly favorable endgame (15. . . . Be6 16. Qxc5 Qxc5 17. Nxc5 Bxc4+). But he could not be sure-with his clock ticking-about 15. . . . Bg4+ 16. Rf3 Rad8 17. Qxt7+ Kh8. For ex­ ample, 18. Bd3 Rxe4+! 19. Bxe4 Bgl! .

15. Kf3! Qf6+ 16. Kg3 Bd6+ 17. Rf4!

"Evidently this reply was overlooked by my rival in the analysis he made at home:' he wrote. Black would have won after 17. Bf4? Re3+.

17. . . . Be618. Nxe6 Rxe619. Qxd6! Yes, the immediate 18. Qxd6! would also have won. Now he gets a rook and two bish­ ops for the queen.

19. . . . Qg6+ 20. Rg4 Re3+ 21. Bxe3 Qxd6+ 22. Kf2 Re8 23. Rf4 Re7 24. Bb3 Qe5 25. Rel g5 26. Rf3 Kg7 27. Rdl f6 28. Kgl g4 29. Bd4 Black resigns After the game, the Soviets discovered that 12. . . . Nxe5 had been played before-in the previous student Olympiad. Had Spassky been sent to that tournament he would have spared himself a lot of agony. Nevertheless, the Soviets won the match with Yugoslavia, Spassky earned a gold-medal as best first board and his team won the tournament by 4½ points. Thanks to the success of his more universal style, Spassky was back in the good graces of the vlasti. Two months later he was selected for the first time for a Soviet team in an Olympiad, at a favorite vacation spot for Eastern Bloc elite.

R ed Riviera The playing site was the Golden Sands re­ sort in the Black Sea city of Varna, Bulgaria, known as the "Red Riviera:' Spassky played third board, behind Mikhail Botvinnik and Tigran Petrosian, but ahead of Paul Keres, Yefim Geller and Mikhail Tal. Noticeably absent was Korchnoi, the fourth board of the 1960 Olympiad team. He blamed an incident at Curac;:ao, like the one at Ober­ hausen: This time the number two ranking member of the Soviet delegation, a KGB offi­ cer named Sergey Gorshkov, discovered him in a casino. "I lost a game, I was upset and I wanted to distract my mind;' Korchnoi ex-

10. Private Lives, Public Games plained. 4 Gorshkov advised Yuri Averbakh, "Tell Korchnoi to hang around less in the casino and fraternize less with foreigners:• Averbakh said he did not warn Korchnoi be­ cause he "would have defied me:• Instead, Averbakh told Korchnoi's wife Bella (to no avail). 5 This came back to haunt Korchnoi when Gorshkov returned to Moscow and delivered his report on the players' behavior. Korchnoi was visiting the Petrosian home when he dis­ covered he had been dropped from the Olympic team. Rona Petrosian took com­ mand. According to Averbakh, she called him: "Come at once! There is trouble! " 6 But Korchnoi could not be helped. He was told by Soviet officials that he would have been vulnerable to blackmail if he ran up gam­ bling debts. "It cost me a few tournaments abroad;' he said. Tal had a very different obstacle to mak­ ing the Olympic team: his health. He was al­ lowed to go to Varna "after lengthy debates" and a "medical inspection that was 'not in­ ferior' in severity to that which cosmonauts undergo;' he wrote. 7 Tal passed the tests and at the Olympiad he, Petrosian, Geller and Spassky each won their board prize. Tal's play, as usual, drew the most admirers, even among grandmasters. When he got up from the board after making a stunning queen sacrifice against Hans-Joachim Hecht, the ebullient Najdorf walked up to Tal and kissed him. Spassky loved to perform in front of an audience as much as Tal. But he knew Tal stirred greater emotions. "Whenever he was playing in a tournament, the atmosphere among the chess public was immediately charged with electricity;' Spassky wrote. ''All the spectators in the room were as if on a high. It was like this from the first to the last round:'s The Soviet team virtually clinched gold medals with a 2½-1½ defeat of the United States in the next-to-last round. The hero

20 1

that day was Spassky, who was about to mate Larry Evans when Evans resigned after 26 moves. But the match is best-known for Bobby Fischer's favorable rook endgame against Mikhail Botvinnik. The accounts by Tal and Spassky of their role are strikingly different: Tal said he, Spassky and the team second, Isaac Boleslavsky, examined the Botvinnik position "for almost all the night:' Every so often, Tal or Spassky would go upstairs to another hotel room where Botvinnik, Geller, Keres and Semyon Furman were exchanging their own ideas about it. Geller found a mag­ ical drawing plan for Botvinnik around 5 a.m. and he drew, Tal said.9 But at a Tal Memorial tournament in 2016, Spassky recalled: "Our commissars couldn't allow Botvinnik to lose that game, and they shut Misha Tal and me in a room and said look, analyze the adjourned position and find a way out for Botvinnik. Misha and I . . . immediately came to a death sentence for Botvinnik. Things were bad for Botvinnik. Botvinnik should lose. After that Misha and I were asked to leave and told, 'That's not how things will go: And then, ceremo­ niously, titans entered the room-Paul Petrovich Keres, then Yefim Petrovich Geller and, who else? Isaac Yefremovich Bole­ slavsky, it seems. During that time Misha and I had already made our exit and given them the slip:' "We found Fischer and fed him black caviar-we had no vodka. Bobby was very happy. Bobby spent his time listening to some Soviet broadcasts, in English, and was hungry. Bobby was always hungry, and Misha was having fun. Misha was always having fun . . . . At 7 in the morning, Geller found an escape for Botvinnik:' 10 In the final match with Hungary, the So­ viets drew quickly on three boards and as­ sured the gold team medals. Tal might have drawn, too, but his opening position dis­ couraged a quick handshake.

202

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Tai-Gedeon Barcza Olympiad, Varna, 1962 French Defense (Cll)

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Nf3 Be7 8. Bd3 c5 9. Qe2 cxd4 10. 0-0-0 a6 Annotators often attributed sacrifices to Tal that he would have quickly rejected. For instance, the tournament book said 10 . . . . 0-0 was risky because of ll. h4, which threat­ ens 12. Bxf6 Bxf6 13. Bxh7+ Kxh7 14. NgS+. But after 14. . . . Kh6! Black would safely be a piece ahead (15. Qd2 BxgS 16. hxgS+ Kg6 17. f4 fS).

11. Rhel Bd7

is 18. Nxe6+! fxe6 19. Qf3 eS 20. RdS and RdxeS (or 20. . . . Qc6 21. Rexes).

16. . . . Qg5+ 17. Kbl More punishing is 17. f4! Qxf4+ 18. Kbl Kxg7 19. Rxd7 or 17. . . . Qxg7 18. Rxd7.

17. . . . Bb518. Bxb5 Qxg7! 19. Ba4 b5 The immediate 19. . . . Bxb2 allows 20. Qe4 followed by 21. Qb4+ or 21. Qxb7. But 19. . . . Qxg2 puts up more resistance (20. Rd7 Rd8 or 20. Rgl Qxh2 21. Qe4 QeS).

20. Bb3 Bxb2? 21. Qe4 Also winning is 21. Qf3 Re8 22. Rxe6.

21. . . . ReS 22. Qb4+ KgS 23. Re3 Kh7 24. Rg3 Qe5 (see diagram)

Annotators also claimed 11. . . . 0-0 12. Nxd4 QaS-not 12 . . . . Qxd4? 13. Bxh7+-would be strongly met by 13. NfS exfS 14. Qxe7. But Black is much better after 13. . . . Bd8!.

12. Nxd4 Qa5 But now 12. . . . 0-0 13. NfS! would have worked. For example, 13. . . . Bb4 14. Nxg7! Kxg7 15. QeS (15. . . . Be7 16. Qg3! and 15. . . . Bxel 16. Rxel and 17. Re3).

13. Nf5! h6 Relatively best was 13. . . . Bf8 and 14 . . . . 0-0-0.

14. Nxg7+! KfS It is easy after 14 . . . . Kd8 15. Bh4 Qxa2? 16. QeS.

15. Bxf6 Bxf6 Here 16. NhS was appealing since White holds the high cards after 16. . . . Qxa2! 17. Nxf6 Qal+ 18. Kd2 QaS+ 19. c3 QgS+ 20. Qe3 Qxf6 21. Kcl.

16. Bc4! Tal would have a choice of sacrifices after 16. . . . Qb6 17. c3 Ba4. The doubtful one is 18. NhS Bxdl 19. Rxdl Be7. The sound one

After 24. ... Qe5 Now 25. c3 would trap the bishop and win. Some sources say the game ended with 25. Rd7 Black resigns. The tournament book gives:

25. f4 Qe2 26. Kxb2 a5 27. Rd7! Black re­ signs Spassky and Tal hung out together through­ out the tournament. Spassky said he saved Tal's life the night of the final round: "Near midnight, I decided to go to Misha's room. His door was half-open, and I saw a lot of smoke. He slept on a smoldering pillow! Threw a cigarette butt, missed the ashtray, did not notice that and went to sleep. He could have suffocated. I quickly picked up a flagon, got some water from the bathroom and put out the fire:' 11

10. Private Lives, Public Games

The Petrosian Model Spassky's best result in 1962 occurred in an event that drew little attention outside the Soviet Union. In the USSR teams champi­ onship he led Leningrad to victory and scored 6-2, with a performance rating of 2740, on first board. This result and Varna made him the second-highest rated player in the world, behind Petrosian. He had leap­ frogged Korchnoi and Tal in a matter of months. But there was never any permanence in the pecking order of the four rivals, not with their ambitions and personal problems. Spas­ sky improved during 1962-3 by filling in his skill gaps. Tal, on the other hand, focused on his strengths rather than weaknesses. Col­ leagues said trying to be the daring Hussar helped him before 1961 but hurt him after. "It has to be said that Tal was a slave to his image;' said Lev Polugaevsky. 12 Korchnoi followed Spassky's example. He reviewed his play at Cura\'.ao and realized he had failed to convert advantages against Gel­ ler, Petrosian, Keres and twice against Benko. So he studied the games of the great techni­ cians-Akiba Rubinstein, Vasily Smyslov, Botvinnik and Petrosian. "He decided to reach the technical perfection of Petrosian;' Viktor Vasiliev wrote. And unlike Tal, Korchnoi was beginning to regret the image he created for himself­ someone who loved to give away the initia­ tive and take the blows, while looking for a counterpunch. ''I'm not like that. I freely ex­ press my opinion, take the initiative. In short, I needed to rebuild myself;' he recalled. 13 Korchnoi demonstrated what he had learned at the 30th USSR Championship fi­ nals beginning November 21 in Erevan. He won excellent technical games against Leonid Stein, Igor Zaitsev, Nikolai Krogius and Alexey Suetin in the first two weeks. It was easy for spectators to detect the difference between Korchnoi and his colleagues. Most

203

of the players got up after making a move and walked about the playing stage to relax. Korchnoi remained at the board, "working;' Mikhail Beilin said. The fight for first prize was decided in the 13th and 14th rounds when Korchnoi played two of his finest games, grinding down Spassky with Black and then elegantly crushing Tal's Modern Benoni De­ fense as White. Here is the first game.

Spassky-Korchnoi

30th USSR Championship finals, Yerevan, 1962 Queen's Gambit Declined (D41) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Rel a6 11. Bd3?! The bishop is better placed on the b3-d5 diagonal. Spassky eyes a familiar attacking idea of Bbl/Qd3.

11. . . . Nf6 12. Bg5 b5 13. Rel Bb7 14. Bbl Rc8 15. a3 Na5 16. Qd3 g6 17. Bh6 Re8 18. Ne5 Nc4 One of the thematic ideas in such posi­ tions is Qh3 and Nxf7. But here 19. Qh3 Qxd4! 20. Nxf7 (20. . . . Kxt7?? 21. Qxe6 mate) is lost after 20. . . . BcS!.

19. Nxc4 bxc4!? 20. Qd2 Qb6 Black debated with himself over whether to retake with the pawn or rook on move 19. He chose the pawn so he could exert pressure on the b-file. White needed to go on the de­ fensive with 21. f3 and 22. Be3/23. Qf2.

21. Bf4 Red8 22. Bes Ng4! 23. Qe2 Nxe5 24. dxe5 Rd4 25. Be4! Rcd8 26. Bxb7 Qxb7 Korchnoi had the greater strategic sense. Spassky often joked about his own occa­ sional strategic lapses. He recalled a familiar Russian joke: A man named "Chuchka'' ap­ plies for membership in the Soviet writers union and is asked if he had read Dostoev­ sky. "Chuchka not reader, Chuchka writer! "

204

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

he answers. As Spassky told the anecdote he would add, "And so I am a Chuchka­ strategist:' 1 4

27. Ne4 Qb5 28. Nc3 Qb8 29. Rc2 Now 29. . . . BgS would threaten 30. . . . Rd2 but also 30. . . . Bd2 31. Rfl Qb3! and the rook is trapped. But 30. Ne4 QxeS 31. Rxc4 is not an easy win.

29. . . . Rd3! 30. g3 This prepares Ne4 which would have failed immediately, 30. Ne4? QxeS 31. Rxc4 fS! 32. Ng3 Qxe2 33. Rxe2? Rdl+ or 33. Nxe2 Rd2.

30. . . . R8d4 31. Ndl? His last chance was 31. Ne4 so that 31. . . . QxeS 32. Rxc4. Black could do better with 31. . . . Qb5 (or 31. . . . Qd8) and . . . Qd5.

31. . . . Qb3! 32. Ne3 Bg5! Black wants to induce the weakening f2f4, e.g., 33. f4 Bd8! followed by . . . Re4, . . . Bas or . . . Bb6. 33. Nfl a5 34. f4 Be7 35. Reel Bc5 36. Khl Qb7+ 37. Qg2 Qd5 38. a4 Rf3! (see diagram)

White is out of "pass" moves since 39. Rel loses to 39. . . . Rdl! (40. Rel Rxcl 41. Rxcl Qd3 and . . . Rf2).

39. Nd2 Rf2 40. Qxd5 exd5 41. Nfl Rd3 42. Rc3 Rxc3 43. bxc3 d4 44. cxd4 Bxd4 White resigns. (In view of . . . c3-c2.)

After the Tal game, Korchnoi's score was 12-2. He could have gone to sleep and still won the tournament. Instead, he lost one game and drew four others and still finished first, a half point ahead of Tal. Nikolai Krogius added a footnote. Late in the tournament, he was scheduled to play one of Spassky's rivals for a top prize (appar­ ently Leonid Stein). "On the evening before the game I went to Spassky's room, intending to discuss the choice of opening variation. Boris shook his head. 'Excuse-I can't. You know I am competing with him:" 1 5 This was a rare instance of ethical purity in this era. And there was yet another thing that made Spassky stand out. He was beginning to say things publicly that he had said before in pri­ vate. When it was his turn to speak at the championship's final banquet, he said: "And I want to raise a toast not only for great chess players but also for the management, and for my modest neighbor-my friend and his notebook! " He was referring to a KGB officer who, like Gorshkov at Cura<;ao, was assigned to spy on the players. Spassky's comment sounds innocent and oblique today. But "at that time it was a bombshell! " Yuri Averbakh said. 16 Spassky had begun to become politically aware when he researched his college diploma thesis at a library. His subject was the first Russian chess magazine, Shakhmatny Listok (1859-1863). After reading Russian periodi­ cals of that era he discovered the cultural heritage that Communism had cost his home­ town. "What a beautiful city St. Petersburg was! I was completely shocked;' he wrote. "When I left the national library I found my­ self in the sleepy, dreadful provincial town of Leningrad:' 17

Botvinnik's L ast Stand While the chess world debated the out­ come of the impending Botvinnik-Petrosian

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games match, the challenger wondered if it would happen. Mikhail Botvinnik hinted that he might decline to defend his title. If that hap­ pened, Petrosian's match opponent would be Paul Keres, the second-place finisher at Curac;:ao. But Petrosian received a letter from his federation in October 1962: Botvinnik would play. To prepare for the biggest match of his life, Petrosian underwent an operation to elimi­ nate what he called regular bouts of "severe tonsillitis:' 18 He began his preparation at the Litvinovo sanatorium near Moscow, with Boleslavsky, Suetin and Vladimir Simagin. Petrosian did not want a "warm and friendly atmosphere" during training camp. It would make his team too comfortable to prepare him properly.19 But Litvinovo turned out to be too much the opposite. It was depressing. Petrosian and his seconds found themselves surrounded by the old and ill. Nine sanatorium patients died during their 36-day stay. 'J\rnong the patients were numerous victims of Stalin's repression, who had escaped death but had lost many years of their normal life and usually also their health;' Suetin remembered. 20 It was also brutally cold outside, almost minus-22 degrees Fahrenheit for two weeks. Although he had been living in Moscow since 1949, Petrosian had never spent much time outdoors in winter before. Now he had to acquire "a really warm overcoat:' He and his team later moved to the Sukhanovo ar­ chitects' sanatorium, outside Moscow, which was relatively luxurious and familiar to Pet­ rosian from previous visits. Petrosian believed that he needed to de­ velop "chess hunger" to play well. "Roughly three weeks before the match I stopped study­ ing chess;' Petrosian wrote. "Skiing, billiards, books, evening walks and conversations round a blazing fire-that is how I tuned myself up for the match:' 21 Photographs of Petrosian on skis later ap­ peared in Soviet media to depict rigorous

205

physical training. Skis "became inseparable from me'' that winter, he wrote. Readers were led to believe he had achieved skill on the slopes since he and Geller failed at it in the 1954 training camp. But after the match, U.S. chess federation official Ed Edmondson asked about his skiing regimen. Petrosian burst out laughing. "He began by skiing on level ter­ rain, eventually worked up to small promi­ nences, and managed to fall on every one. He came to know their features well-the hard waY:' Edmondson wrote. 22 Despite his hearing difficulty, Petrosian re­ laxed by listening to classical music. ''I'll re­ veal one secret;' he told his old Tbilisi friend Tengis Giorgadze. "Before a game with Bot­ vinnik I always received a musical charge. I listened to the final movement of Tchai­ kovsky's Fifth Symphony. A powerful thing! " But when he lost the first match game, he switched "to my 'proven' repertoire, Tchai­ kovsky's First Piano Concerto:' 23

A Friendship Ends Conspicuously absent from the Petrosian camp was his closest grandmaster friend. "Fimka'' became his bitterest foe. Yefim Gel­ ler and Petrosian stopped talking to one another shortly after Curac;:ao "and became en­ emies for 14 years:• according to journalist Valery Asrian. 24 There are differing explanations of the break, including possible bitterness between Rona Petrosian and Geller's wife Oksana. But Asrian said the falling out was due to "purely chess" reasons. Geller may have been struck by the "Why not me?" syndrome: If Petro­ sian beat Botvinnik, someone four years younger than Geller would be champion­ probably for several years. Geller's best chance for the title would have died at Curac;:ao. So while Petrosian prepared, Geller tried to be­ come one of Botvinnik's helpers. Unlike Tal in 1960, Petrosian was not ready

206

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

to accede to Botvinnik's demands concern­ ing match conditions. They argued for an hour about where the players' toilet should be located in the playing hall. 25 But Petrosian was still slightly awed by his famous oppo­ nent. Mikhail Petrosian remembered how Botvinnik arrived for each game with a Ther­ mos of black coffee: "Father brought one too, but a smaller amount. He explained, 'I am the challenger, but he is the champion:" 26 Petrosian's awe was evident in the first game when he was badly outplayed as White. The next day, with no game scheduled, he got his seconds together. "I only ask you for one thing, that you don't suggest that I must win the point back;' he told them. "In the next 11 games I am giving myself the goal of not losing and not trying to win. I still have time:' 27 Trying to get a point back quickly had cost him when he lost to Bannik in the 24th USSR Championship. This time he got the point back four games later.

Petrosian-Mikhail Botvinnik World Championship Match, Fifth game, Moscow, 1963

After 40. ... Rhl When the chief judge, Harry Golombek, opened the sealed move envelope, Botvinnik said Petrosian had written an illegal move, 41. Kf8, and should be forfeited. Petrosian insisted his move was 41. Kf7. He had a habit of writing a "7" with a curl. 28 Golombek shrugged his shoulders and accepted 41. Kf7.

The game resumed with 41. Kf7 Ral 42. Re6!

BdS 43. Rd6+ KcS 44. KeS! Bc7 45. Rc6 Rdl 46. Ng5 RdS+ 47. Kf7 Rd7+ 48. KgS White resigns (48 . . . . hS 49. Ne6).

Botvinnik angrily demanded a photocopy of the sealed move. It apparently took a week for Soviet officials to find a copying machine. The delay unnerved the champion. ''.All week I was nervous and managed to lose yet an­ other game;' Botvinnik wrote. When he fi­ nally saw the photocopy he agreed that Pet­ rosian intended Kf7. While it may have been somewhat ambiguous, Botvinnik blamed the arbiters for creating a needless conflict. 29

Today We're All Armenians The match in Moscow was treated as a na­ tional event in Armenia, more than a thou­ sand miles away. Huge crowds gathered on the streets of Yerevan each evening to follow the moves on a large demonstration board. When Petrosian won a game, fireworks dis­ plays went off. But when he lost the first game the hundreds gathered there walked away in silence. At the playing site, on the second floor of the Estrada Theater, his VIP supporters in­ cluded prominent Armenians, such as com­ poser Aram Khachaturian and army Marshal Ivan Bagramian. His supporters flew shash­ lik, lavash and dolma from Yerevan to Mos­ cow so Petrosian could dine on Armenian dishes. One day when Botvinnik was climb­ ing a staircase at the theater, he was upset to find that Armenians had strewn "holy earth" from Etchmiadzin Cathedral, the mother church of the Armenian Apostolic Church, in front of Petrosian, to honor him. Tal and Petrosian had switched roles. In 1960 Petrosian, as a part-time journalist cov­ ering the world championship, regretted what Tal was doing to chess thinking. Now in 1963, part-time journalist Tal found the games he covered to be boring. "This is not the chess

10. Private Lives, Public Games

207

I understand;' he told Golombek about one game. 30 Petrosian said that was understand­ able. After the match, he was asked the main reason he won. "Botvinnik had remarkable combinative vision;' he said. Trying to beat him with tactics was unlikely to succeed. "On the other hand, everyone was used to the idea of the faultless Botvinnik in the end­ game. The match showed that it was possible to outplay him in the endgame:' 31 A turning point, ironically, came when Petrosian was beaten in an endgame.

Mikhail Botvinnik-Petrosian

World Championship Match, 14th game, Moscow, 1963

After 54. Kd7 When the game was adjourned Tal pre­ dicted to his readers that it would be drawn. Petrosian did not rely on his second. He an­ alyzed that position until 3 a.m., got some sleep, and then analyzed it again until just before play resumed. This allowed him to improve his drawing chances during moves 43 to 50. But here play went 54. . . . h4 55. f4! Rf2 56. Kc8 Rxf4 57. Ra7+! and Petrosian re­ signed before 58. d7. Petrosian went immediately to the match press room to see what the armchair anno­ tators had to say. They told him 54 . . . . gS would have drawn. (More than 50 years later, computer analysis blamed passing up 55. . . . Kf6. Then 56. Kd8 KfS 57. d7 Rd2 58. Ra8 h3 might draw.)

World champions were traditionally given a laurel wreath immediately after the final match game. Here Petrosian poses for photographers after Mikhail Botvinnik conceded his title (Chess Life, June 1963, used by permission of the United States Chess Federation).

Realizing he had thrown the game away at the very end convinced Petrosian that hav­ ing a clear head was more valuable than last­ minute analysis. Rona guessed his mood, took his arm and "almost dragged him" from the room, his biographer wrote. "Hurry;' she said, "There's just enough time to catch the football:' She realized that he needed to be more relaxed. "After this I drastically changed my regime;' Petrosian said. "I spent only 1015 minutes preparing for a new game, and went for long walks" at his dacha outside Moscow. 32 The two-month match exhausted both players. Petrosian later told his friend Andrei Gavrilov, a celebrated pianist, how Rona "dragged" him to one of the last games over

208

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

his protests. Despite her size she "had the en­ ergy of a rocket-launcher:' Gavrilov said. "I don't want to go! I won't go. I'm tired;' Petrosian told her. "Rona shoved her hands into his back and hissed, 'You're going, you lazy bum, you're going, you donkey"' accord­ ing to Gavrilov. "I threw him into the car and took him to the game:' she said. Petrosian was slightly embarrassed by this admission but did not deny it. "Ronotska, Ronotska. Stop giving away the company se­ crets:' he said.33 The great matches of the 1960s were often very close until one of the players col­ lapsed, emotionally or physically. That hap­ pened to Botvinnik. He tied the match in round 14. But after the next five games he trailed by three points. He conceded a draw in ten moves in the 21st game. Petrosian needed one more draw to become cham­ pion. When the next round began, master Yanik Zakarian called the press room from Arme­ nia. Zakarian, later the head of the Armen­ ian chess federation, was covering the game for Armenian television and needed updates. Salo Flohr, a former second of Botvinnik, picked up the phone. Zakarian asked him to transfer it to someone who spoke Armen­ ian. "Today we're all Armenians! " Flohr re­ plied.3 4 Botvinnik agreed to a draw after ten moves. Immediately, rhythmic chants of "Tigran! Tigran!" rang through the hall. Hundreds of Petrosian fans stormed the stage. Petrosian's personal bodyguard could not stop the surging crowd from carrying the new champion off. They took Petrosian to his apartment, where he was greeted with the triumphant sound of Wagner's prelude to The Ring of the Nib elung, another of his fa­ vorites. Petrosian often said that without Rona he would not have become champion. It was a family joke. Rona always answered, "Without me he might have become cham­ pion earlier:'35

I Pledge to Win As they approached and passed the age of 30, the rivals experienced major health set­ backs. Korchnoi was "seriously ill, for the first time in my life, with a stomach ulcer" in 1963 and took tranquilizers during a key tournament.36 Petrosian still had recurring ear and throat problems, despite his previous medical procedures. Tal was hospitalized on the first day of 1963, for a kidney operation that was "completed successfullY:'37 But he did not play again until he won an interna­ tional tournament in Miskolc, Hungary in July. Tal hid the extent of his illnesses, accord­ ing to Josef Vatnikov, who coached the Mos­ cow State University team for 25 years. If Tal was playing on a stage and the pain grew too great "he would duck backstage where a doc­ tor or his wife would be waiting to inject an anesthetic. Tal would return, relieved of pain and invigorated, all smiles as if he had made a routine trip to the men's room;' Vatnikov said.38 In August 1963 Tal went to the second Ca­ pablanca Memorial where "my kidneys be­ haved themselves:' Going abroad carried with it major political responsibilities. Before a foreign trip, Soviet grandmasters were sum­ moned to the Sports Committee headquar­ ters in Moscow and handed a sheet of paper. Tal remembered the drill: ''At first, you couldn't understand what that was, but then you read: 'I, name, pledge to win the first place/win the match; and you had to sign that. I've signed those sheets a couple of times with something like 'Read [it] , M. Tal; so they eventually stopped giving me those 'pledge letters:"39 Korchnoi took first places more seriously. After Tal drew with him in the middle of the Havana tournament, Korchnoi "suddenly stopped speaking to me:' More than a week later Tal was upset by the local player Ivan Calero and "the first person to console me

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games

209

was Korchnoi:' 4° Korchnoi explained that he could not be friendly with a fellow contender for first prize. Tal's loss to Calero changed that. Korchnoi won the tournament a half point ahead of Tal, Geller and Ludek Pachmann. The Tal-Korchnoi rela­ tionship was tested further when they played a match of "living chess" at the end of August 1964. In "living" games, humans portray pieces on a giant board, executing moves announced World champion Petrosian strikes a characteristic pose as he stud­ by two masters. The match ies the position on a nearby board. Shakhmaty v SSSR, July 1971. was held at a vast stadium rebels, adored by women, admired by men. in Leningrad and drew a greater attendance Tal said he and Vysotsky played two games than recent football matches, according to but did not give details except to say, "I re­ the newspaper Smy ena. To start the match, member that in the second game I kept two "master of sport parachutists;' represent­ trying to offer a draw:' 44 ing Tal and Korchnoi, jumped from an air­ Vysotsky later wrote a poem about how he plane. The player whose parachutist landed played ten games with Tal-not of chess, but closest to the center of the chessboard/play­ blackjack, billiards and the card game prefer­ ing field had White in the first game. The ance. Tal said this was poetic license. They role of the pieces was performed by promi­ never played these games. He confessed that nent Soviet stage actors, opera singers and at the pool table, 'Tve managed to pocket a others. 41 grand total of one ball in 30 years of my bil­ "Living" games are usually pre-arranged. liards playing:' 45 But Korchnoi won the match, 2-1, thanks to a theoretical innovation. It was reported that Korchnoi told Tal before the match, "We will fight until the last pawn!" 42 Asked about this King Petrosian many years later, Korchnoi said, "Such words After the Botvinnik match, Petrosian re­ I did not say. It's not my style. But something turned to Armenia for his first extended stay like that happened:' 43 in years. He was treated like royalty. Mark In 1963 Tal got to meet a kindred spirit, Taimanov and his wife had made a previous Vladimir Vysotsky. Little known in the West, visit to Yerevan as guests of the Petrosians the singer-songwriter-poet was a Soviet cul­ and were stunned by the reverence that tural superstar like Tal. They were intro­ Petrosian inspired: "I well remember the first duced at the end of a Vysotsky concert. "And night at the opera. The hall was full, we were after two minutes I got the feeling that we in honored seats, the lights dimmed and the had known each other for a thousand years;' performance began. The musicians started Tal said. They were both self-destructive

210

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

to play, the curtain rose and suddenly the sounds of the orchestra fell silent and all the lights in the hall lit up. It turned out that Tigran and his wife Rona were a bit late. The audience, as a group, jumped up and burst into a greeting ovation, and only after the Petrosians solemnly went to their opera box, everything began again. The audience qui­ eted, the lights dimmed, the director gave the sign to the audience and the opera was heard from the very beginning:' 46 Korchnoi claimed Petrosian "gave up chess" after he became world champion and was oc­ cupied until the end of 1965 in catching up on the education he had missed during the war years. 47 But Petrosian played more than 100 tournament games in that period. First up was the Piatigorsky Cup in Los Angeles, sponsored by the eminent cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and his wife Jacqueline, a serious player herself. "For the highest artistic suc­ cess, it was essential that the world champion participate;' the tournament organizer, Isaac Kashdan, said. Mrs. Piatigorsky wrote Mos­ cow well before the world championship match to make sure that the winner would play in her tournament. "Finally the reply came during the early stages of the Botvinnik­ Petrosian match;' Kashdan wrote in the tour­ nament book. 48 Petrosian and Paul Keres would be going to Los Angeles. Korchnoi disputed this account. "The Americans invited Keres and Korchnoi to the tournament and sent two tickets;' he wrote. ''.At a session of the [Soviet] Chess Federa­ tion, Petrosian declared that he was world champion and that as world champion, he wanted to play in the tournament:' Korchnoi said Jaqueline Piatigorsky later told him that when tournament officials learned of Petro­ sian's insistence, they sent a third airplane ticket for Korchnoi. But Rona Petrosian used it to accompany her husband to California, he said. 49 The first half of the tournament was a dis­ appointment for Petrosian: an even score

and his first loss as champion, to his Yugoslav nemesis, Svetozar Gligoric. He looked like quite a different Petrosian when he began the second half.

Petrosian-Svetozar Gligoric Piatigorsky Cup, Los Angeles, 1963 King's Indian Defense (E81) 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 0-0 6. Nge2 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Be3 exd5 10. cxd5 b6 11. g4 h5 Petrosian felt Gligoric deserved a patent for the . . . h5 idea, which he used to defuse kingside attacks in similar positions. (Glig­ oric said he came up with the idea in five minutes while preparing for a game in his hotel room at the Portoroz Interzonal.) Here Black would stand well after 12. gxh5 Nxh5 13. Qd2 Qh4+ 14. Bf2 Qf6, for exam­ ple.

12. g5 Nfd7 13. f4 Ba6 14. a4 Bc4! Black can make queenside progress with . . . Na6-b4 and . . . a6/ . . . b5. White's main choice concerns his fl-bishop. On g2 it would protect his e4-pawn but on h3 it has more scope. One scenario is 15. Bg2 Na6 16. 0-0 Nb4 17. Qd2 Re8 and now 18. f5 Ne5! 19. f6 Bf8 would be unclear. 15. Bh3 ReS 16. 0-0! (see diagram)

After 16. 0-0 Petrosian dares Black to accept an Exchange

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games sacrifice: 16. . . . Bxc3 17. Nxc3! (much better than 17. bxc3 Rxe4) Bxfl 18. Qxfl. 5 0 Black would have a solid position but little control of light squares and counterplay and no good squares for his knights. After a long think, Gligoric declined.

16. . . . Na6 A natural continuation would be 17. Rf3 Nb4 18. Bfl Qe7 when White has to calculate 19. . . . Bxe2 20. Qxe2 Bxc3 21. bxc3 NxdS. Petrosian opts for a thematic sacrifice. But unlike the Exchange sacrifice he offered a move ago, this one is un-Petrosianlike.

17. e5!? This is similar to the sacrifice that beat Tal in the last round of the Leipzig Olympiad. The key continuation is 17. . . . dxe5 18. fS, when Black is denied . . . Ne5. White threat­ ens 19. fxg6 fxg6 20. Be6+ Kh7 21. Bt7 (21. . . . Re7 22. Bxg6+! Kxg6? 23. Qbl+). But after 18 . . . . Nb4! and 19. fxg6 fxg6 20. Be6+ Rxe6 21. dxe6 Bxe6 Black has two pawns and good piece play for the Exchange. Gligoric, who understood the King's In­ dian Defense as well as anyone, knew that Black often has to make some kind of sacri­ fice before being overwhelmed. Here he makes the wrong one.

17. . . . Nxe5? 18. fxe5 Bxe519. Rf3! Petrosian could have made another good Exchange offer with 19. Qd2 Bxc3 20. Nxc3 Bxfl 21. Rxfl. Now 19. . . . Nb4 20. Qd2 a6 followed by . . . Ra7-e7 would keep the out­ come in greater doubt.

19. . . . Nc7 20. Qd2 Qe7 21. Bg2 Petrosian was famous for anticipating threats well before they became threats. In this case Black was preparing 21. . . . Bg7 fol­ lowed by 22. . . . Bxe2. Then 23. Qxe2 Bxc3 or 23. Nxe2 Qe4 gets Black into the game. But after 21. Bg2 the dS-pawn is secure.

21 1

21. . . . a6 22. Rbl b5 23. axb5 axb5 24. b3! Bxe2 25. Nxe2 b4 26. Rbfl Ral 27. Ncl! White avoids a rook trade to prepare Rxt7. If Black averts it with 27. . . . Rf8 White can make slow progress with 28. Qd3 followed by Khl, Bh3 and Nd3.

27. . . . Nb5 28. Rxt'7! Qxt'7 29. Rxt'7 Kxt'7 30. Bfl Nd4 31. Kg2 A major justification for 28. Rxt7 was that the g6-pawn will be vulnerable after Bd3 and a knight maneuver to f4.

31. . . . Nf5 32. Bd3 Kg7? 33. Bxf5! gxf5 34. Qd3 Rf8 35. Bd2 f4 36. Kf3 Ra7 37. Qe4 Ra3 38. Qc4 Ra7 39. Qc2 Re7 40. Nd3 Bd4 41. Qc4 Be3 42. Bxe3 Rxe3+ 43. Kf2 Rh3 44. Kgl Rf5 45. Qe4 Rxg5+ 46. Kfl Rg6 47. Nxf4 Rf6 48. Kg2! Black resigns In the end, Petrosian did what Botvinnik, Tal and Smyslov could not: He won a major international tournament (in a tie) as world champion. Suetin later said the Botvinnik match was Petrosian's greatest achievement. But Spassky said it was the first Piatigorsky Cup. Petrosian shared the $5,000-plus in first and second prizes with Keres. This was an enormous payday for a Soviet sportsman. However, Petrosian had a psychological flaw that became increasingly evident: He could not play against a hostile opponent. This was obvious in his matches with Korch­ noi from 1974 to 1980-but also in the 1963 version of the quadrennial all-sports team competition called the Spartakiad.

Yefim Geller-Petrosian

Spartakiad Team Tournament, Moscow, 1963 French Defense (C16) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 b6 5. Nf3 Qd7 6. Bd2 Bf8!? 7. a4 Black's last move was designed to avoid a trade of his good bishop (6. . . . Ne7 7. NbS or 7. Ne2).

212

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Geller said his reply was "dictated by a knowledge of the opponent:' He knew that Petrosian liked to castle queenside in this opening. Geller had watched as Petrosian won a positional masterpiece at Bled 1961 against Fridrik Olafsson that began 4 . . . . Qd7 5. Qg4 f5 6. Qg3 b6 7. h4 Bb7 8 . Bd3 Nc6 9. Nge2 0-0-0. Geller said he intended to "frighten" Petrosian away from . . . 0-0-0 with a quick a4-a5xb6.

7. . . . Nc6 8. Be2 Nge7 9. 0-0 f6? 10. Rel fxe5?? (see diagram)

After 10 . ... fxe5 Petrosian would be only slightly worse after 11. dxe5? Ng6. But his move is the kind of blunder he would never make against, say, Tal because he would avoid allowing the cen­ ter to be blown open. "He couldn't play against a person with whom he had poor relations;' Averbakh said. 51

11. Bb5! Ng6 The threat was 12. Nxe5 Qd6 13. Qf3 and Qf7+. Black is losing after 11. . . . exd4 12. Nxd4 Bb7 13. Nxe6 (13. . . . Kf7 14. Bg5).

12. Nxe5 NgxeS 13. Rxe5 Visibly nervous during the opening, Pet­ rosian could have resigned soon after 13. . . . Bb7 14. Qh5+ g6 15. Qh3 0-0-0 16. Rxe6. Or after 13. . . . Be7 14. Nxd5 exd5 15. Bg5. He played 13. . . . a6 14. Bxc6 Qxc6 15. Nxd5 Bd7 and played out 16. Bg5 Bd6 17. Qh5+ Kf8 18. Qf3+ Kg8 19. Rxe6 Rf8

20. Ne7+ Bxe7 21. Qxc6 Bxc6 22. Rxe7 for another 20 moves. Petrosian's discomfort when playing Geller became evident in later years. He often sat slightly sideways at the board, so he would not directly face him. 52 Korchnoi led the Leningraders with a 3-2 score in the finals, with a win over Petrosian. Spassky was demoted to third board on the Leningrad team and barely managed a plus score. His personal affairs remained complex. His former wife "began to write denuncia­ tions" of him to government officials, he re­ called. "In 1963 my situation was quite shakY:' 53 Igor Bondarevsky urged him to leave Leningrad and start over. "You know the KGB is interested in you too much;' his trainer said-that is, Spassky was under regular sur­ veillance. "Leave;' Bondarevsky told him. 54 "Easy to saY:' Spassky recalled, "But leave to where? I had only one route-to Moscow:' He said he was rescued by the Lokomotiv sports society, which was based on railroad workers and had a long affiliation with chess players. Spassky was loyal to it and had even joined a Lokomotiv boxing circle in 1958 to improve his physical conditioning. "My spar­ ring partner used to beat me regularly. I was stronger physically, but his technique was better. In sport, particularly in chess, you often need technique more than strength;' he said. 55 Lokomotiv arranged for another new home, a one-room apartment. It was in the town of Ramenskoye, some 30 miles from Moscow, in a five-story khrushchoba. Ugly or not, it allowed Spassky to rebuild his personal life. Spassky was living alone, at age 27. "I was happy. I had my personal corner:' And he soon had an attractive new wife.

Tourn ament of Eight (Minus On e) Every three years since FIDE set up its world championship qualification system, the

10. Private Lives, Public Games USSR championship was designated a Zonal. The next Zonal in the series was supposed to be the 31st Championship finals, begin­ ning October 24, 1963. But Soviet officials announced that it would only be a prelimi­ nary event. The top six finishers would join two seeded grandmasters in a separate Zonal, dubbed the Tournament of Eight. The cham­ pionship finals and the Zonal were Spassky's opportunity to resume the upward climb of his teenage years. "It was evident that sooner or later I would become world champion;' he said of l955-56. 56 But it had not happened sooner or later. Petrosian attributed Spassky's failures in 1958 and 1961 to his "psychological instabil­ itY:' Tal blamed his well-concealed nervous­ ness. 57 Whatever the cause, Spassky felt he was a new person in 1963 because he finally took his future seriously. It began with a joke. "Pater, perhaps I should become world cham­ pion?" he asked Bondarevsky. "OK, let's do it! " his trainer replied. "That was how our work began;' Spassky recalled. 5 8 The fruits of their labor included new analysis of the Marshall Gambit in the Ruy Lopez. Spassky scored such a crushing win with it early in the 31st Championship finals that opponents began to evade the Marshall. He found other ways to sacrifice a pawn:

Janis Klovans-Spassky

31st USSR Championship finals, Leningrad, 1963 Ruy Lopez (C84) 1. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. a4!? Bb7 9. d3 d6 10. Nc3 Na5 11. Ba2 b4 12. Ne2 c5 13. Ng3 b3!? Black would have ample compensation after 14. Bxb3 Nxb3 15. cxb3 Bc8. That is why 16. b4! cxb4 17. d4 is considered White's way to get a small advantage.

14. cxb3? Nc615. Nf5 Nb416. Bbl a517. Bg5 Bc818. Nxe7+ Qxe719. Nd2! h6 20. Be3 g5!?

213

The natural 20. . . . Ng4 followed by . . . f5 and . . . Nxe3 favors Black. Spassky had a dif­ ferent plan for the kingside. It requires stop­ ping f2-f4 while preparing . . . h5/ . . . g4.

21. Nfl Ne8 22. Ng3 Ng7 23. Qd2 f6 24. Bc2 Qf7! 25. Bdl Qg6 26. Be2 h5 27. Qdl g4 Black eyes a larger edge with 28 . . . . h4 29. Nfl f5.

28. f4! gxf3 29. Bxf3 h4 30. Nh5? White's last try to stop Spassky from com­ pleting a positional gem was 30. NfS! Nxf5! 31. exf5 BxfS 32. Bxa8 Rxa8. Black would be better after . . . Bxd3-e4 and perhaps . . . Nc2d4. 30. . . . Ra7! 31. Rfl f5 32. Nxg7 Rxg7 33. exf5 Bxf5 34. Qd2 Bxd3 35. Bh6 Bxfl 36. Rxfl e4 37. Bxg7 Kxg7 38. Be2 Rxfl+ 39. Bxfl Qf6 40. Qe2 Qf4 41. Qb5 Kh6! (see diagram)

After 41. ... Kh6 Black secures his king against harmful checks. He would win after a trade of queens or minor pieces (42. Qd7 Nd3 43. Bxd3 Qe3+! 44. Kfl Qxd3+ 45. Kel Qbl+)

42. Qe8 Qe3+ 43. Khl Qf2! 44. Qh8+ Kg5 45. Qg7+ Kf4 And now 46. Qh6+ Ke5 47. Qh8+ Qf6! 48. Qxf6+ Kxf6 and . . . d5-d4.

46. g3+ hxg3 47. hxg3+ Qxg3 48. Qh6+ Kf3 49. Qd2 Kg4 50. Bb5 Nd3 51. Bxd3 exd3 52. Qxa5 Qh3+ 53. Kgl Qe3+ 54. Khl d2 White resigns

214

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

With two rounds left in the 31st Champi­ onship, ten players had realistic chances of advancing to the Zonal. "For the only time in my life I collapsed at the finish, and lost both games;' Korchnoi wrote. 59 But as the winner of the previous national champion­ ship he was an obvious choice to be awarded one of the two special seeds in the Zonal. The other was expected to go to Vasily Smyslov, since he was a former world champion and because he was believed to be the instigator of the Tournament of Eight. But a few days before the Zonal began, it was announced that Smyslov would be seeded directly into the 1964 Interzonal. Instead of a Tournament of Eight, with four Interzonal spots as the prizes, there would be a Tournament of Seven with three spots available. The abrupt change was made thanks to Smyslov's powerful friends in the Commu­ nist Party hierarchy. On rare occasions the Party's Central Committee overruled chess decisions by the government agencies, the Soviet Chess Federation and the Sports Com­ mittee. But Smyslov's appeal went higher up the Party food chain, to the Politburo, which was just below first secretary Nikita Khrush­ chev. Smyslov wrote to a senior Politburo member, Mikhail Suslov, according to Yuri Averbakh, then vice chairman of the Feder­ ation. 60 Suslov, the Kremlin's chief ideologist, was a friend of Smyslov's family. He passed the order down to the Sports Committee. It, in turn, forced the Federation to reverse itself and exempt Smyslov from the Zonal. Korch­ noi said the other Zonal players were out­ raged by this. "It was decided to call a strike and refuse to play:' All but one of the players agreed. But Spassky, "strongly influenced by Bondarevsky;' refused, he said. 6 1 Without unanimous support, the strike effort col­ lapsed. The Zonal was still a super-strong event, with an average rating of roughly 2700. When play began in February 1964, Spassky was suffering from his usual winter cold. He

scored one draw in his first three games. At the midway point, Korchnoi and Spassky were in last place. Korchnoi blamed a lack of fortune. "Here I had no luck;' he wrote. 62 But you could also fault his over-optimism. Korch­ noi had previously beaten Leonid Stein twice and drawn five times, never losing, before they met in the tenth round.

Leonid Stein-Korchnoi Zonal tournament, Moscow, 1964 Sicilian Defense (B84)

l. e4 cS 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 e6 7. 0-0 Be7 8. f4 0-0 9. Qel Qc7 l0. Qg3 Qb6 Korchnoi felt 10. Qg3, rather than 10. Be3, was Stein's way of daring him to try to win a pawn.

11. Be3! Qxb2 (see diagram) Alexander Kotov had written, "Grand­ masters say 'Only Korchnoi would take such a pawn' when speaking about accept­ ing a sacrifice that is the equivalent of sui­ cide:' 63

After 11. ... Qxb2 Korchnoi wondered if Stein had mistak­ enly counted on 12. Na4 Qb4 13. Nb6 (13. . . . Qxb6? 14. NfS). That would allow 13. Nxe4!.

12. Bf2 Qb4! White threatened 13. Rabl Qa3 14. Nd5 (14 . . . . Qxg3 15. Nxe7+). ''.And if 12. . . . dS,

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games then 13. a3! and White wins:• Korchnoi wrote, because of 14. Rfbl, trapping the queen. 64

13. e5! dxe514. fxe5 Ne8 Korchnoi knew that a knight usually stands badly on e8 after e4-e5 in a Scheveningen Sicilian. But 14 . . . . Nfd7 "required very exact play" because g7 would be more vulnerable, he said. For instance, 15. NdS! exdS 16. NfS g6 17. a3! looks strong. It would win after 17. . . . Qe4 18. Nxe7+ Kg7 19. Bd3!. But Black can defend if he finds the amazing 17. . . . Bh4!. White would keep an edge after 18. axb4 Bxg3 19. Ne7+ and 20. Bxg3.

15. Bd3 Qa5! Black's queen can defend now. The supe­ rior 15. Nb3! would have threatened 16. a3 and favored White after 15. . . . Qa3 16. Ne4 Nd7 17. Bd4, with the idea of Nf6+.

16. Ne4 Nd717. Nf3! g6 Korchnoi called his last move the decisive weakening and felt 17. . . . f5 had to be played. White would have enough compensation for a pawn with 18. exf6 Ndxf6 19. Rael NhS 20. QeS.

18. Bd4! Ng7 19. Nf6+ Bxf6 20. exf6 Nh5 21. Qh4 Qd8? Korchnoi had planned to play 21. . . . eS but now rejected it because of 22. QgS! (22 . . . . h6 23. Qxh6 exd4 24. Nh4 or 24. Bc4). How­ ever, the "computer move" 22. . . . Qa4! saves Black in long variations beginning with 23. BxeS NxeS 24. NxeS Qd4+ 25. Khl BfS!, according to Garry Kasparov. 65

22. Rael! Ndxf6 23. Ng5 e5 And here 23. . . . Ng4 works after 24. Qxg4 eS! but not after 24. BcS!.

24. Bxe5 h6 25. Bxf6 White won in 22 more moves (25. . . . hxgS 26. QxgS Nxf6 27. Rxf6). But 25. Rxf6! would have done it faster. This was clearly one of

215

Stein's greatest games. But when a Soviet col­ lection of Stein's games was published in 1980 there was no mention of it. By then Korchnoi had defected and his name was all but barred from Soviet publications. The statistically best performances of Spassky's career would come in Candidates matches in 1965 and 1968. But his 4½-1½ in the second half of the Zonal was more im­ pressive. He had changed from the player who usually started well and finished badly to a slow starter who gained strength by the final rounds.

Spassky-Korchnoi

Zonal tournament, Moscow, 1964 Queen's Indian Defense (BIB) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. 0-0 0-0 7. Nc3 d5 This last move, in place of the simplifying 7. . . . Ne4, is a sign that Korchnoi had not given up on the tournament.

8. cxd5 exd5 9. Ne5 Qc8 The queen will stand well on e6. Black can not push 9. . . . cS? because of 10. dxcS bxcS 11. Qb3!.

10. Bg5 Qe6 11. Rel c5? 12. Nd3! This retreat is easily overlooked or under­ estimated. White threatens to win a pawn with 12. Nf4. Black needed to prepare . . . cs with 11. . . . Na6.

12. . . . cxd4 13. Bxf6 Not nearly as strong is 13. Nf4 Qd7 14. Bxf6 Bxf6 15. NcxdS Bes. But a good alternative is 13. NbS, since the text allows Black to cut his deficit a bit with 13. . . . dxc3! .

13. . . . Bxf614. Nxd5! (see diagram) Now 14. . . . BeS 15. Nc7! wins the Exchange.

14. . . . Bxd515. Nf4 Qd616. Nxd5! Better than relinquishing the initiative (16. BxdS Nd7 17. Bxa8 Rxa8). Now White

216

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

After 14. Nxd5 would win a full rook win after 16. . . . Nd7 17. Rc6! Qb8 18. Nc7. Also lost is 17. . . . Qe5 18. f4 Qe8 19. e4! dxe3 20. Rel and 19. . . . Bd8 20. es.

16. . . . Bg517. f4 Bd8 18. Nc3! This was a second powerful knight retreat (after 12. Nd3!). There could have been a third with 18 . . . . Qb4 19. Nbl! . Here Black could have resigned in view of 18 . . . . Nc6 19. NbS.

18. . . . Na6 19. Bxa8 Qb8 20. Nd5 Qxa8 21. Qxd4 Nc5 22. b4 Ne6 23. Qd3 Re8 24. e4 Black resigns Once again, the careers of Spassky and Korchnoi were moving in opposite direc­ tions. Spassky won the Zonal. Korchnoi fin­ ished next to last.

Ida's Combin ation Mikhail Tal did not have to worry about Zonals. He was guaranteed an invitation to the upcoming Interzonal in Amsterdam. But to get there he needed to thwart the vlasti. He did it thanks to his mother. His wife Sally did not mind his devotion to chess. "I guess she thinks that if it weren't for chess I might be off doing worse things;' he told an inter­ viewer in 1960. 66 By 1964 his "worse things" included cheating on her with the actress Ida had told Sally about.

The scandal was no secret. "In the 1960s chess fans talked to the utmost about the love story of Mikhail Tal and the movie actress Larisa Sobolevskaya;' journalist Yefim Laza­ rev recalled. Eight years older than Tal, Sobo­ levskaya seemed like a character out of one of her films. She was a first-category chess player as well as a KGB agent. In her spy work, code named "Lora;' she had seduced a French ambassador. 67 None too discreetly, Tal was spending more and more time with Sobolevskaya in Moscow while his wife re­ mained in Riga. Sally learned that he had used his prize money from Havana 1963 to buy a fur coat for Sobolevskaya. This was particularly painful because Uncle Robert was caught in a corruption scandal and the Tal family had to sell items from their home to make ends meet. "We got really poor. It got to the point where there wasn't even money for milk­ and we had a three-year-old son!" Sally wrote. 68 "That was when I had to leave the theatre, and join a singing group because it paid almost three times as much:' The last straw came when Sobolevskaya said in a tel­ evision interview that she considered herself to be Tal's true wife and she intended to le­ galize the arrangement. Sally heard about this in a phone call from Rona Petrosian. 69 Sally had rationalized earlier rumors about his dalliances. "Better to have fifty percent of a good thing than eighty percent of a doubtful one;' she would say, according to Mark Taimanov. But this scandal had be­ come public. It embarrassed the Soviet Communist Party, which took a strict view of "socialist marital fidelity:' Tal was summoned before the Party's Central Committee. "Mikhail Nekhemyevich, you are a world-famous per­ son, but you live in the Soviet Union, so you are a Soviet man;' he was told. "You have a wife, a child, and there is gossip, including in the West, gossip about the fact that you have a mistress:' Tal was ordered to "sort it

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games out:' The best option was to stay with his wife and break off with his mistress, he was told. Less desirable, but acceptable, was divorcing Sally and marrying his girlfriend.70 Tal replied that it was none of the vlasti's business. He would continue to live as he wanted. Very well, he was told, you will be declared nyevyezdny, not allowed to leave the Soviet Union. The timing could not have been worse: The next foreign trip on his cal­ endar was to the Amsterdam Interzonal, beginning May 20. Tal's private life was threatening his effort to regain his world championship title. In this time of crisis, Tal's mother took over. She urged Sally to write the Central Committee a demeaning letter that said the love triangle was all her fault because she was a "bad wife:' When that appeal failed, Ida came up with what Sally called not just a bril­ liant move but "a whole combination:' First, Sally would file divorce papers. That would end the scandal, at least publicly, and free Tal from being nyevyezdny. Once the Interzonal was over, Sally would withdraw her divorce papers and remain married.7 1 It worked. She and Tal went to court and handed in the pa­ pers. "Misha embraced me and said: 'Thank you, Saska . . . . Believe me, everything will be fine . . . . But no matter what happens, I will never in my life forget this:" 72 After the di­ vorce was reported in the Latvian press, Tal was allowed to go to Amsterdam. He began with five draws. One was simply astonishing.

Lajos Portisch-Tal

Interzonal, Amsterdam, 1964 Reti Opening (A04) 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d6 3. d4 g6 4. Bg2 Bg7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. c4 Bg4 7. Nc3 Qc8 8. Rel White avoids a trade of bishops (8 . . . . Bh3 9. Bhl). Black often replies 8 . . . . cS but Tal had a different center plan.

8. . . . Re8 9. Qb3 Nc6! 10. d5 Na5 11. Qa4 b6 12. Nd2 Bd7 13. Qc2 c6 14. b4

217

Now 14 . . . . Nb7 15. Bb2 leads to a moder­ ate White advantage after 15. . . . cxdS 16. NxdS NxdS 17. BxdS or 15. . . . cS 16. bS.

14. . . . Nxc4? 15. Nxc4 cxd5 Black would be better after 16. Ne3 d4! 17. Bxa8 Qxa8 and 18. Ncdl dxe3 19. Nxe3 Ng4! or 19. Bxe3 NdS.

16. Na3! d4 Since Tal would not have enough compen­ sation after 16. . . . BfS 17. Qd2 Ne4 18. Nxe4, he gets desperate. Portisch understood he would have to endure considerable pressure now. But a rook is a rook.

17. Bxa8! Qxa8 18. Ncb5 Rc8 19. Qdl Ne4 Computers have the courage to play 20. Nxd4! Nc3 21. Qd3 and 21. . . . es 22. Nb3 BfS 23. Qd2 Ne4 24. Qb2.

20. f3 a6! (see diagram)

After 20 . ... a6 Objectively, Tal's last move may be the fourth best in the position-and his next two moves are no better than third best. But he was finding the only way to keep threats coming, compared with 20. . . . d3 21. Rbl or just 21. exd3.

21. Nxd4 Qd5 22. Be3 Rc3 Portisch's problem is that he has too many winning alternatives. For example, 23. fxe4 Qxe4 24. Bf2 and 24 . . . . Bh3 25. Nf3 Rxa3 26. Qd2 Bxal 27. Rxal. But it seemed that all

218

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

he needed to do was to find another few ac­ curate moves and Tal would resign.

23. Ndc2! Qf5 24. g4 That moment would have been closer after 24. Bd4 because there is only one good reply to the swindling 24 . . . . Qg5 25. Bxg7 Nxg3 and it is more than enough, 26. Bh6! . But Portisch's move should still end the game soon.

24. . . . Qe6 25. Bd4 h5! 26. Bxg7 hxg4 In time pressure, Portisch shot glances at the clock. Tal calmly smoked a cigarette. Dr. Victor Malkin believed Tal had an innate sense of clock time. It was another form of intuition. Malkin tested his theory by having Tal play fast games with grandmasters at the Central Chess Club. The clock was placed so that Tal could not see it. Periodically during the games, Malkin asked Tal how much time he and his opponent had used. Tal's answers were always accurate within 10-15 seconds. 73 Here Portisch must have seen how 27. Bxc3 g3 28. hxg3? Qh3! saves Black. But he was beginning to overlook simple wins such as 28. Qd4 Nxc3 29. hxg3!.

27. Nd4 Qd5 He had to reject attractive ideas such as 28. Nbl? gxf3 29. Nxf3 Qf5 30. Rfl Qg4+ 31. Khl Bc6! .

28. fxe4 Qxe4 Anyone else would have resigned, why didn't Tal? Upset, Portisch missed more wins such as 29. Bh6! and 29. e3!.

29. Nf3 Qe3+ 30. Khl Bc6! 31. Rfl?? (see di­ agram) Suddenly Portisch saw nightmare ways to lose, such as 31. Bxc3?? gxf3. But he could have ended the game with 31. Qd4 exf3 32. Qxc3!. Or with 31. Nc2 Qf2 32. Bd4 gxf3 33. Bxf2 fxe2+ 34. Kgl.

31. . . . Rxa3?

Black could even play for a win with 31. . . . gxf3! 32. exf3 Kxg7 because of his passed pawns (33. Nc2 Bxf3+ 34. Rxf3 Qxf3+ 35. Qxf3 Rxf3). His move would favor White after 31. . . . Rxa3? 32. Rel gxf3 33. exf3 Bxf3+ 34. Rxf3 Qxf3+ 35. Qxf3 Rxf3 36. Bd4.

32. Qcl gxf3 33. Qxc6 Qxe2! Losing was 33. . . . fxe2 34. Bb2 exfl(Q)+ 35. Rxfl. Portisch now saw a way to repeat the position and was in no mood to try 34. Qc8+ Kxg7 35. Qh3.

34. Rgl Kxg7 35. Rael Qd2 36. Rdl Qe2 37. Rdel Qd2 38. Rdl Qe2 39. Rdel Draw Tal fans spread the story of how he told Portisch after the game that he would have resigned if he had enough time to realize how lost he was. In his memoirs Tal said only, "When the draw was agreed, Portisch somewhat perplexedly asked me whether he could have played better. I just waved my hands:' 74 During their free time in Amsterdam, Spassky, Tal and Stein relaxed together, play­ ing blitz games, even though they were com­ peting with one another for the four places in the 1965 Candidates matches. Spassky's qualification appeared certain until the next to last day. He lost to Bent Larsen's 1. f4. It brought flashbacks. He thought he was headed for another late-round disaster, a repeat of the 1958 and 1961 Zonals. "I decided it was the finish for me;' Spassky recalled. 75

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games

219

But he was still tied for third place, with Tai and Stein, when the final round began. One of them would miss out. Within the first two hours it was clear that Tai was winning one of his trademark brilliancies, against Georgi Tringov of Bulgaria, and would qual­ ify for the Candidates. Spassky quickly got the kind of favorable position he could nurse for hours.

Spassky-Oscar Quinones

Interzonal, Amsterdam, 1964 Ruy Lopez (C64) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. 0-0 Bc5 5. c3 0-0 6. d4 Bb6 The opening was a double-edged choice by Quinones: Spassky was one of the world's experts on how to play the Black side. But Spassky had lost with it, to Stein, in the fate­ ful last round of the 28th USSR Champion­ ship finals.

7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 d6 9. a4 a5 The threat was 10. Bxc6 and 11. as. On 9. . . . a6 10. Bxc6 dxc6 11. as Ba7 12. dxeS dxeS 13. Qxd8 Rxd8 14. NxeS White wins a pawn.

10. Rel Qe7 11. Na3 Bg4 The threat of Nc4 followed by Bxc6/dxeS forces concessions. White is also better after 11. . . . exd4 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. Nxd4!.

12. Nc4 g513. Bg3 Nd7 14. Ne3! Bh5 15. Nd5 Qd8 16. Nxb6 cxb6 Black loses a pawn after 16. . . . Nxb6 17. Bxc6 and 18. dxeS.

17. Qd3 Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Qe7 19. Radl Rad8 20. Qf5 Kg7 21. f3! Rfe8 22. Bf2 (see dia­ gram) Stein had gotten nothing out of the White side of a Ruy Lopez in his game and was headed to a drawn endgame. That put Spas­ sky in the comfortable position of knowing

After 22. Bf2 the worst case: if he only drew, he would play a match with Stein for the final Candidates spot. It allowed him to become Spassky the technician. He can afford to take his time, by stopping regrouping ideas such as 22. . . . Nf8 in view of 23. dS and Bxb6. If allowed, he could win by doubling rooks on the d-file and playing dxeS.

22. . . . Qf6 23. Qxf6+ Kxf6 24. Rd2 Ke7 25. Redl Rg8 26. Kfl f6 27. Ke2 Rgf8 28. dxe5! dxe5 29. b4! This prepares 30. Rd6/ 31. Bxc6 and is more accurate than 29. Rd6 NcS.

29 . . . . Rh8 30. Rd6 axb4 31. cxb4 Nd4+ 32. Bxd4 Kxd6 33. Bxb6+ Ke7 34. Bxd8+ Rxd8 35. Rxd7+ Rxd7 36. Bxd7 Kxd7 37. Kd3 Black resigns

And If You Los e? As his wife pointed out, Tigran Petrosian had no reason to play chess except when re­ quired. He expressed interest in entering the Moscow Championship as he used to. Rona vetoed the idea. "You're the world champion. Who will praise you if you win?" she said. ''.And if you lose?"76 Petrosian's only obligations in 1964 were to Soviet team events and to the national team in the FIDE Olympiad. He was free to accept one of the plum invitations of the year,

220

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

to an international tournament in Buenos Aires, where he and Keres shared first prize. Petrosian demonstrated his ability to find "little;' disorienting moves like 19. Na6.

22. Qb3 Rd7 23. Nc3 Ne7 24. Nxb5 Qf6 25. Ral Ra5 26. Nd3 RdS 27. Rael h5

Petrosian-Rene Letelier Martner Buenos Aires, 1964 Queen's Gambit Declined (D35)

28. Ne5 Qe6 29. Rc7 f6? 30. Rxe7! Qxe7 31. Nc6 Qd7 32. Nxa5 bxa5 33. Nc3 Qf7 34. Ral Black resigns

I. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 0-0 7. Bd3 c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7 9. Nge2 ReS 10. 0-0 NfS 11. Rael Nh5 12. Bxe7 Rxe7

Black is lost because the a- and d-pawn are falling, e.g., 34 . . . . Ne6 35. Rxa5 Nc7 36. Ra7. Bobby Fischer had become the highest rated player in the world in February but then went into hibernation. The highest rated active players were Petrosian, Spassky and Tal. But Tal was left off the Soviet Olympic team that went to Tel Aviv in November 1964. The obvious reason was his marital problems. Tal said he was angry with the "whole world" when he learned of the snub. Petrosian felt lonely at the Olympiad. "To tell the truth I'm bored here without Tal and Fischer. First of all there is no one I can play blitz games with, and secondly the atmosphere is different when they are playing;' he said. 77 In the finals he scored only two wins out of nine games and drew the rest. Spassky's 81 per­ cent score as a reserve helped the Soviets win by 4½ points. His easiest game was:

The usual move, 12. . . . Qxe7, slows White's minority attack. This game is a fine example of why the attack is successful. Black has to make a choice between weak pawns at c6 and dS or weaker pawns at b6 and dS.

13. b4! a614. Na4 g6 15. Nc5 Ng716. a4 Bf5 17. b5 axb518. axb5 b6 (see diagram)

After 18 • ... b6 Both sides have carried out their strategic plans: Black is trading off his bad bishop. White is executing the minority attack. Black's coordinated rooks may offer some compen­ sation after 19. BxfS NxfS 20. Nd3 cxbS 21. Nc3 Rea7! 22. Nb4 Ne7 23. NxbS RaS. But a tougher nut to crack is 19. . . . bxc5 20. Bg4 c4 21. bxc6 Ra6.

19. Na6! cxb5 20. Nb4 Qd6 21. Bxf5 Nxf5 Black b- and d-pawns are chronically weak after 21. . . . Qxb4 22. Bd3 (22. . . . Ra3 23. Rbl Qd6 24. Rxb5).

The pressure grows after, say, 27 . . . . Rda8 28. Ne5 Ra2 29. Nc7 R8a3 30. QbS and Qe8.

Ariel Boucchechter-Spas sky Olympiad, Tel Aviv, 1964 Ruy Lopez ( C89) 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d5! 9. exd5 Nxd5 10. Nxe5 Nxe5 ll. Rxe5 c6 12. d4 Bd6 13. Rel Qh4 14. g3 Qh3 15. Be3 Bg4 16. Qd3 Raes! The Marshall Gambit was almost obsolete in the 1950s. But with help from his trainer, Spassky revived it with 16. . . . Rae8, in place of 16. . . . fS, and it became a major weapon. "Bondarevsky and I thought we should erect a statue to Frank Marshall, a very sympa­ thetic player!" Spassky said. 78

10. Priva te Lives, Public Games

22 1

17. Nd2 Re6

19. . . . Bxdl 20. Raxdl f5!

In the 31st USSR Championship finals Ar­ kady Novopashin played 18. a4 bxa4 19. Rxa4 against Spassky. After 19 . . . . f5 20. f4?? he was suddenly lost because of 20. . . . Bxf4!. A key line runs 21. gxf4 Rg6! 22. Bxd5+ cxd5 23. Rxa6 Be2+. Stein improved with 20. Qfl in the 1964 Zonal and a spirited draw followed, 20. . . . f4 21. Qxh3! Bxh3 22. Rxa6! fxe3. Spassky later found an earlier improvement for Black, 18 . . . . Qh5.

Since Bxd5 is no longer possible, White cannot stop a powerful . . . f4. For example, 21. c4 f4! 22. cxd5 fxe3 23. dxe6 Rxf2! and wins.

18. Qfl Qh519. Bdl? (see diagram)

■ %-f��� t ■ �t ■ -1) ■ � �

�

���

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� r

%

r� r-�-- -j�

%•*

�1/,��-- --�r� �Y-� ¥.ili

�

¥ill

ij] §t- - - '�]l)��rir· - .ft iifil &J'. iifil

m,.·�"··· ··,..� ...,,� · · ·· �r-� �..... :,qir·½ After 19. Bdl

This logical move is a blunder. Later 19. a4 f5 became a main line, and computers even smile at 19. f3 Nxe3 20. Qf2.

21. Qe2 Qg6 22. Khl? Or 22. Qd3 f4! 23. Qxg6 Rxg6 and Black wins a piece. But that was White's best.

22. . . . f4! 23. gxf4 Nxf4 24. Qfl Nd3 25. Qg2 On 25. Re2 Black has his choice of 25. . . . Rxe3! (26. Rxe3? Nxf2+) and 25. . . . Qh5! (26. f4 Nxf4).

25. . . . Qh5 26. Nfl Rxe3! 27. Nxe3 Rxf2 28. Rxd3 Rxg2 29. Kxg2 Qg6+ White re­ signs Since they were juniors more than ten years before, the relationships of Spassky, Petrosian, Korchnoi and Tal had been molded by a wide range of powerful, often contra­ dictory, feelings: Envy and camaraderie, admiration and suspicion, sympathy and scorn. But as 1965 began, their ties were put to their greatest test. A new form of compe­ tition would pit them directly against one another in an unfamiliar format, the Candi­ date matches.

11. Candidacy "Why should we decide by a match who will play Petrosian? The system of competi­ tion is unfair," Boris Spassky said. 1 Many in 1965 agreed with him. Yes, they said, FIDE's Candidates tournaments were often gruel­ ing. But a long tournament allowed a player to catch his breath after a loss. A bad start in a short match could be disastrous. "Matches are like suicide, slow suicide," Leonid Stein said. 2 Moreover, there was an element of luck in match pairings. "One could meet an op­ ponent ill-matched for one's own style;' Max Euwe observed. 3 "The classic example" of that, he said, would be a Mikhail Tal-Viktor Korchnoi matchup. Paul Keres might have reached the 1965 Candidates finals if he had faced Tal and Bent Larsen, two of his favorite opponents, in the first two rounds. But when lots were drawn at the end of the Amsterdam Inter­ zonal, Keres was paired with Spassky in the first round, beginning April 7 in Riga. They were very close in rating if nothing else. It was the most clear-cut case of energy versus experience in a Candidates match until the Garry Kasparov-Vasily Smyslov finals of 1984. Spassky was 21 years younger than Keres but had never played a match. Experience won the first game. Spassky sacrificed two pawns and was playing what he believed was one of his greatest games. But he botched the attack and lost. Never-

theless, he said "I like this game very much." 4 After a drawn second game, age began to count more. Keres' energy gave out in the third and fourth hour of the third game.

Spassky-Paul Keres

Candidates Match quarterfinals, Third g ame, Riga, 1965 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E31) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. BgS One of the first to analyze this, the Leningrad Variation, was Spassky's first trainer. Zak-Lilienthal, Baku 1951 went 4 . . . . h6 5. Bh4 cS 6. dS QaS 7. Bxf6 gxf6 8. Qc2 fS 9. g3 d6 10. Bg2 Bxc3+ 11. bxc3 Qa6. Then came 12. Nf3!? Qxc4 13. Nd2 Qa6 14. 0-0 Nd7 15. e4 fxe4? 16. dxe6 fxe6 17. Qxe4 NeS 18. f4 Nfl 19. Qg6 dS 20. c4! Qd6 21. Radl es. White could have won faster with 22. Qxf7 + Kxf7 23. fxeS+.

4. . . . h6 5. Bh4 cS 6. dS d6 7. e3 eS 8. Ne2 Nbd7 9. a3 BaS 10. Qc2 0-0 11. Ncl What else was there to do with this piece? Not 11. Ng3? gs.

11. . . . ReS 12. Na2! Qe7

222

White stands well in this variation if his minor pieces control e4. For example, 13. Bd3 Nf8? 14. b4 Bb6 15. 0-0 favors him. But Black can stop that with 13. . . . e4! and enjoy a good game (14. Be2 gS 15. Bg3 NeS and . . . BfS).

11. Candidacy

223

13. f3? e4!

26. d6! Qe6 27. Rdl Bd7

Now 14. b4? is refuted by 14 . . . . exf3! (15. bxa5 Qxe3+ 16. Kdl Qd4+ and wins).

White can enlarge his edge in various ways, including 28. Nd5 or 28. Qb2.

14. f4 g5!

28. Bg3 f5 29. Nb5! Rf8 30. Qcl Qf6 31. Nc7! Rc8

So that 15. fxg5 Ng4 16. Qd2 hxg5 17. Bg3 Nde5 with smooth Black development.

15. Bg3 Nh5 16. Be2 Ng?? Black had the more active pieces after 15. Bg3 and needed to follow up quickly. One idea was 15. . . . b5! ? so that 16. cxb5 Nxd5. But even here 16. . . . gxf4! would have favored him (17. exf4 Ndf6 or 17. Bxf4 Nxf4 18. exf4 f5).

17. 0-0 Nf5 18. Qd2 Nf6 Black's idea is 19. . . . Nxg3 20. hxg3 g4 with somewhat superior chances.

19. fxg5 hxg5 20. Bel! Ng?? Keres gets too fancy with this knight ( . . . Nf6-h5-g7-f5-g7). He should prevent 21. b4 cxb4 22. axb4 Bb6 23. Na4! with 20. . . . Bd7. Then he could attack on the queenside with . . . b5 or on the h-file with . . . Kg7 / . . . Rh8/ . . . Qe5.

21. b4! Bb6 22. Na4! Nd7 23. N2c3 Bd8 Black had to do something about Bg3/Nb5 and a capture on d6.

24. bxc5 Nxc5? 25. Nxc5 dxc5 (see dia­ gram)

After 25. ... dxc5

Or 31. . . . Bxc7 32. dxc7 Be6 33. Bd6 and 34. g4!. Black's weak kingside dooms him.

32. Nd5 Qe6 33. Qb2 Ba4 34. Rel Rf7 35. Be5 Qg6 36. g4! Bc6 37. gxf5 Nxf5 38. Bg4 Now 38 . . . . Ra8 39. Qg2! and 40. Qh3 would be close to a win.

38 . . . . Bd7 39. Qxb7 Be6 40. Qbl Nxd6 41. Bxe6 Qxe6 42. Bxd6 Qxd6 43. Qxe4 Rb8 Or 43. . . . Rxfl+ 44. Rxfl Kg7 45. Qe8.

44. Rxf7 Kxf7 45. Qh7+ Ke8 46. Rfl Qe6 47. h3 Rc8 48. Qg7 Be7 49. Rf5 Bd6 50. Rf6 Black resigns Spassky won the next two games and over­ came a late Keres comeback to take the match by 6-4. He only had to wait five days to iden­ tify his next opponent. In the second quar­ terfinals Vasily Smyslov had no good answer for Yefim Geller's L d4 and lost his first three games as Black. They proved to be the only decisive results of the 5½-2½ match. That indicated the outcome of the Spas­ sky-Geller semifinals would depend on what happened when Geller opened L d4. The an­ swer: Spassky equalized with the Nimzo­ Indian and Queen's Gambit Declined Tar­ rasch Defenses. But Geller had problems an­ swering Spassky's L e4. In the second game he got a good position with his own version of the Marshall Gambit but was ground down in 55 moves. Geller switched to a closed Ruy Lopez defense in the fourth game and drew. He was crushed when he tried it again in the sixth game. Trailing 4½-2½, he switched to a Dragon Sicilian but had nothing new to say

224

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

about the attacking system that Bobby Fis­ cher had made famous. Final score: 5½-2½. The other two quarterfinal matches had not started yet, so Spassky had the summer off. He won a Chigorin Memorial in Sochi in August-September and relaxed in his free time by playing bridge with other invitees, Burkhard Malich, Mato Damjanovic and Vlastimil Jansa. During the tournament he drew with each of them. "I sometimes find it difficult to play a close friend," he said.

Communist Korchnoi Viktor Korchnoi joined the Communist Party in 1965. This was harder to do than it seems. Fewer than one out of ten USSR citi­ zens managed to pass through the approval process to join the Party in the 1960s. Grand­ masters tended to be welcome but many re­ fused. Mikhail Botvinnik and his student Garry Kasparov were proud to be Commu­ nists. But world champions Smyslov, Spassky and Petrosian did not join, nor did Geller or Lev Polugaevsky. The apolitical Tal was elected to the central committee of the Lat­ vian Komsomol. But he did not take it seri­ ously. Asked what his Party responsibility was, Tal said, "To win the world champi­ onship:•s Korchnoi put an idealistic spin on his Party membership. "I was under the naive impression that, by my participation in party work, I could correct much that I did not like;' he said. But he also saw it as a shrewd career move. "I also realized that it would make it easier for me to travel abroad:' 6 It gave him seniority and some authority over other Soviet players at foreign events, even over Petrosian when he was world cham­ pion. Korchnoi indicated he did not mind writing up reports, for the Sports Committee and the KGB, about the players he led abroad. He later convinced Leonid Stein to overcome his own reluctance and join the Party. 7

Korchnoi made this decision after his pa­ triotism was tested in West Germany. He went to Hamburg as a member of the 12-man Soviet team in the European Team Champi­ onship finals. Petrosian had the best score of anyone on first board but it was just 6-4. He was discovering that everyone wanted to draw with the world champion. He was in no mood to refuse them. Six of his eight draws were over before move 24. The Soviets won the tournament by 9 points, well below the 16-point margin in the previous Euro­ pean Team Championship but still impres­ sive. Afterwards, Korchnoi and his colleagues gave simultaneous exhibitions in West Ger­ man cities. At one stop, he and Geller "were guests of a German, who did not speak Rus­ sian badlY:' 8 After chatting awhile the Ger­ man "unexpectedly switched to English;' Korchnoi said. Geller "was not strong in lan­ guages" and therefore the German could speak to Korchnoi without Geller catching on. "Westerners were already able to detect in my conduct that I was only a lodger in the Soviet Union;' Korchnoi recalled. The Ger­ man suggested he defect and offered to help him build a new life in the West. But Korch­ noi was not ready for that drastic step. "You had to mature to certain things;' he recalled. "I delicately and diplomatically declined the offer;' he said. "I replied to him that chess­ players in the USSR were very privileged people . . . :' 9 Decades later he said the inci­ dent still "gnaws at me. You know I lost 11 years of human life:' 10

Sputnik Tai Immediately after losing the 1961 champi­ onship match, Tal said it was like being sentenced to temporary exile. "I feel like Napo­ leon when they sent him to the island of Elba:' But, he added, "I hope I am not on St.

11. Candidacy Helena:' 11 No, he was not, and he had reason to expect he might make a triumphant return to the top. After all, he had played many more match games than the other young Candidates in 1965. Tal's personal life remained a mess. His son Georgy saw him less and less. "He whirled around like Sputnik in orbit. He left, arrived, and showed up at home once or twice a year;' Georgy said. 12 Tai was virtually living with his actress fan Larisa Sobelavskaya in Mos­ cow, according to Mark Taimanov. "She wor­ shipped Misha;' he said. "He and Larisa lived like Bohemians:' They used cheap dinner forks at home "like in a school cafeteria. It didn't bother Tai. For him it all seemed non­ existent;' he said. 13 Sally Landau was torn. She sent Tai "a pretty tough letter" asking for a divorce. "I wrote that I was bored with his prolonged 'simultaneous exhibition"' -that is, with her and Sobelavskaya. 14 She was mollified by his reply but also upset when Tai wanted to know all about her boyfriends. Spassky com­ miserated with her. "Sally, in my opinion, Misha just torments you;' he told her. 15 But once again she excused Tai's behavior. When he focused on chess, Tai was seri­ ous. He was concerned about the length of his quarterfinals match with Lajos Portisch: He had gotten used to the peaks and valleys of a two-month battle during his bouts with Botvinnik. Even his 1954 match with Vladi­ mir Saigin had gone 14 games. Because the margin of error in a ten-game match would be so little, "my trainer forbade me to play the King's Indian Defense;' Tai wrote. 16 In­ stead, he would play solidly as Black. With White he tested Portisch with 1. e4.

Tal-Lajos Portisch

Candidates Match quarterfinals, Second game, Bled, 1965 Caro-Kann Defense (BIO)

l. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5

225

The opening surprised Tai. "Evidently for the first time in his life" Portisch adopted the Caro-Kann Defense. "To me such a blatant copying of Botvinnik seemed somewhat guileless;' he wrote in his memoirs. 17 But Por­ tisch had been playing the Caro- Kann since 1960, including in four games in tournaments in which Tai took part.

3. Nf3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bg4 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Qxf3 Nd7 7. d4 Ngf6 8. Bd3 Nxe4 9. Qxe4 This looks like a generic Caro- Kann po­ sition but is actually rare.

9. . . . e6 l0. 0-0 Be711. c3 Nf612. Qh4 Nd5 13. Qg4 Bf6 14. Rel Qb6! (see diagram) Portisch tried to deny Tai the kind of king target he had in their crazy 1964 Interzonal game. After 14 . . . . 0-0?! White could reor­ ganize his pieces nicely with 15. Bh6, threat­ ening 16. Qe4.

After 14• ... Qb6 Tal's15. c4!? astonished spectators, includ­ ing Petar Trifunovic, a prominent GM. "No other master would have made such a move;' he wrote in Chess Review. It dooms the d4-pawn, which White had spent a tempo to protect at move 11. Black replied15. . . . Nb4 and Trifunovic wondered about 15. . . . Ne7, which avoids the sacrifice of the game. Koblents said Tai intended 16. d5 cxd5 17. cxd5 Nxd5 (17. . . . exd5 18. Bg5!) 18. Qa4+ Kf8. Garry Kasparov and Mark Dvoretsky

226

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

seemed to agree that White would have enough for a pawn then. But Trifunovic ex­ pressed the conventional (pre-Tal) wisdom when he said: "This writer cannot believe in this line." He said 16. Be3 was more likely, and then 16. . . . Qxb2 17. Rahl Qc3 18. Bfl b6 with "a very unclear position:' 18 Computers have doubts about these moves. But the main difference is that 16. dS! would open lines and prevent castling, almost al­ ways a Tal goal. And his pieces would "come alive:'

16. Rxe6+ fxe617. Qxe6+ Like Spassky, Tal usually let his intuition tell him what moves deserved his calcula­ tion. But here he was upset to find he had spent "so much time and effort" on positions that did not arise, such as those after 17. . . . Be7. He intended 18. Bg6+! because he saw that 18 . . . . hxg6? 19. BgS Qc7 20. Rel Qd7 21. Qxg6+ is strong. But he quickly realized that 18 . . . . Kd8! would be solid (19. Bf5 Qxd4! 20. Bf4 Re8). Why then did he go for 16. Rxe6+? One explanation is that if the 20. . . . Re8 position arose he could bail out with 21. Bes Qd2 22. Bf4 and a draw by repetition. Another is that he was tempted to try 21. Rel instead be­ cause it could lead to a pretty finish, 21. . . . g6 22. Be3 Qd6 23. Bxa7 Qxe6? (23. . . . Kc7!) 24. Bb6+ Kd7?? 25. Bxe6+ Kd6 26. cS mate. 19

17. . . . Kf8? But there is another mystery: Why did Portisch not play 17. . . . Kd8? It is not hard to see that White has nothing better than perpetual check, 18. Qd6+ Ke8 19. Qe6+ Kd8. Again there are two explanations. One is that Portisch was influenced by the first match game, which had been adjourned and ap­ peared lost. In a short match, this second game seemed like Portisch's best chance to get a point back. And the other explanation? Portisch was embarrassed by their Interzonal game. He

did not want to let Tal escape after making another outrageous sacrifice.

18. Bf4 Rd8 Some computers look at 18 . . . . Be7 19. Rel Qd8 and see only perpetual check (20. Qf5+ Kg8 21. Qe6+)-until you force them to look at 20. Bbl followed by Re5-f5+.

19. c5 Nxd3! 20. cxb6 This looks like an obvious move, until you realize that Tal could also have sought per­ petual check with 20. Bh6 Qxb2! 21. Qxf6+ Ke8 22. Qe6+ (not 20. . . . Qc7 21. Qxf6+ Kg8 22. Bxg7 with advantage). 20. . . . Nxf4 21. Qg4! Only Black has winning chances after 21. Qf5? Ne2+ 22. Kfl Nxd4 23. QcS+ Be7.

21. . . . Nd5 22. bxa7 Ke7? "Suicide?" Tal wondered to himself when he saw Black's move. 2 0 He expected 22. . . . g6!. Portisch considered it "but I decided to remove my king from the danger zone:' How­ ever, the king was at greater risk after White opened the queenside. Tal said Portisch was surprised by his next move although it "would have occurred to a player with an attacking style."

23. b4! Ra8 24. Rel+ Kd6 25. b5 Rxa7? Not yet lost is 25. . . . Rhd8 26. b6! Nxb6 27. Rbl. But it is getting there.

26. Re6+ Kc7 27. Rxf6 Black resigns Fans, and more than one grandmaster, concluded that Portisch lost because he over­ looked the rook sacrifice. No, he said after the game. He just felt confident it would be unsound. When Tal quickly played 16. Rxe6+ he was stunned. "Had I miscalculated? I in­ voluntarily remembered our Amsterdam game, when with an extra rook it was a drawn result. I began to get nervous, played quicklY:' 2 1

11. Candidacy The fourth match game, a French Defense, was crucial. During the postmortem, Por­ tisch asked Tal why he had not played the move he feared, 14. Rd3. (It was later recom­ mended by computers.) Tal replied that such a move never entered his mind. "He looked at me in astonishment, and said I had already played this move:' Tal wrote. "Where? When?" he replied. ''At Cu­ rac;:ao, against Benko," was the correct an­ swer. 22 The game was close until Portisch blundered at move 27. Tal also won the fifth game and the match ended 5½-2½. His spring successes returned him to number one in the world rating first, after an absence of four years. He remained on top for five months.

Miracle in Bled The Candidates schedule left less than two weeks between Tal's quarterfinals and semi­ finals matches. Koblents anticipated this by preparing him-before the Portisch match­ for Borislav Ivkov. But their work went up in smoke when Bent Larsen beat Ivkov 5½-2½ in what was considered the biggest upset of the 1965 matches. The start of the Tai-Larsen match was de­ layed two days because of a foot blister Tal was suffering from after marathon rounds of table tennis. 23 To almost any other grand­ master, a blister was a minor concern. But it was a serious handicap to Tal, who habitually prowled the playing stage. Larsen was in many ways the un-Portisch. He liked the sharp positions that the Hun­ garian hated and played less well in the quiet positions Portisch thrived on. These differ­ ences proved decisive in crucial moments of the match. The first came in the first round. Koblents disastrously gave Tal permission to try the King's Indian Defense. Larsen sacri­ ficed a pawn to kill Tal's attacking chances and forcefully outplayed him in an endgame.

227

But Larsen tried to change character by adopting an old Steinitz Defense to the Ruy Lopez in the second game. It was a bad fit for him and he was ground down. After the third game was drawn, Larsen cleverly challenged Tal's "Hussar" image with I. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 and now 4. . . . dxe5 5. Nxe5 Nd7!?. If this had hap­ pened in an exhibition game against an am­ ateur, Tal would have quickly replied 6. Nxf7 Kxf7 7. Qh5+ and obtained a strong, likely winning, attack. But the great matches of the 1960s showed how powerful a weapon psy­ chology was. Obviously, Larsen must have analyzed 6. Nxf7. Tal let his intuition wrestle with his calculating power. After 50 minutes, his intuition lost. "I found something resem­ bling a defense:' he wrote. He played 6. Bc4 and was soon worse. He drew but admitted, "This was a betrayal of myself." 24 Tal loved playing in Yugoslavia again and was his usual accommodating self, to fans and journalists, during the match. Petrosian considered that a character flaw: A Yugoslav reporter reached Tal by phone at 3 a.m. one night. "Tal described in detail the game played that evening, gave the adjourned po­ sition, and even quoted some variations from his analysis," Petrosian said. To Petrosian this was crazy. 25 The match score was tied after six games. Tal adjourned the seventh game the Ex­ change ahead and did not try hard in the drawn eighth game so that he could study the seventh game position. Both players con­ sulted the relevant endgame text and found that the extra Exchange was not enough to win. That made the score 4-4 and raised the prospect of a 5-5 tie after the regulation ten games. There was no established tie-breaking rule. Match arbiter Wilfried Dorazil talked it over with the seconds. When they could not agree, Dorazil joked about the Solomonic ruling he would make: "I will stand Larsen and Tal side by side, and give them each a sheep's bone,

228

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

and then bring in my dog. The one he goes up to will go through to the final! " 26 No sheep bone was needed. Tal ended the match 5½-4½ with one of his most famous games. But it was decisive only because of the series of mutual endgame blunders in the ninth game. Tal had nursed a small advan­ tage into the third hour when he made a po­ sitional blunder. After the game Koblents asked Larsen what he thought when Tal played 24 . . . . gS?. "For several minutes I thought that Tal had lost his mind;' Larsen replied. "It seems he was right;' Tal agreed. 27 During the adjournment session his position was critical.

49. . . . Rxf2 he set his own trap, 50. Kd5! Rb2! 51. Ra7+. It is natural to avoid 51. . . . Ke8 52. Ke6 be­ cause of the threat of Ra8 mate. But this would draw, e.g., 52. . . . Kf8! 53. Ra8+ Kg7 54. KxeS b3 55. axb3 Rxb3. However, Tal erred with 51. . . . Kc8? and then came 52. Kxe5 b3? (52. . . . Re2) 53. axb3 Rxb3 54. Kd6 Rd3+. (see diagram)

Bent Larsen-Tai Candidates Match semifinals, Ninth game, Bled, 1965 After 54. ... Rd3+

After 45. ... Bd8 With two pawns fixed on the color of White's bishop, Larsen could have won slowly with, perhaps, 46. f3 and Bd2. That is the procedure that a more skilled technician-a Portisch-would likely have chosen. But Larsen tended to play endgames ag­ gressively. Play went 46. Bd2? Be7! and he saw 47. RxaS?? Rxd2+ 48. Kxd2 Bb4+. That trap enabled Tal to get bishops off the board, 47. Ra4 Bb4!. Larsen had no choice then be­ cause 48. Be3 Kc6! would threaten 49 . . . . KbS. But the battle was not over. He found 48. Bxb4 axb4 49. Kc4!, avoiding the dead draw of 49. f3 b3 50. axb3 Rxb3+. After

Few fans paid attention to the final 20-plus moves of the game because most annotators said it was a dead draw after 47. . . . Bb4! . But Larsen could have won with 55. Ke7! , as endgame tablebases later confirmed. Instead, 55. Ke6? Rh3! was played. Then 56. Ra4 would threaten to cut off the king with 57. Rd4! and advance the e-pawn to victory. But that would fail to 56. . . . Kd8!. This de­ fense would have been denied by 55. Ke7! . So Larsen allowed a book position to arise after 56. Ra8+ Kc7 57. Rf8 Re3! 58. es Rel 59. Re8 Rhl!. He played another 17 moves before agreeing to a draw. It was not discov­ ered until decades later that Tal had blun­ dered again at move 66 and should have lost. But Larsen counter-blundered. "A miracle happened;' Trifunovic wrote in Chess Review.

The Private Petrosian Unlike Mikhail Botvinnik, whose personal life was a closed book, the new champion

11. Candidacy

229

gingerly welcomed publicity. For­ eign magazines began publishing snapshots of the home life of the Petrosian family. An American magazine, Chess Review, ran 13 photos in one issue, March 1966. They showed Petrosian and son Vartan looking over his fan mail, Petrosian in the kitchen kibitzing about Rona's cooking and Rona and Tigran playing nard y, the backgammon-like game he grew up on. Petrosian also agreed to a "blitz" interview with the maga­ zine Nedelya. He was allowed 20 seconds for each reply. Readers learned from it that his favorite dish was "Of course, shashlik:' 28 He very rarely drank alcohol. He Petrosian's private life became better known in photographs tried to learn to smoke "for so­ released by Soviet media. Here he is showing his wife Rona lidity" but did not like it. His fa­ the finer points of billiards ( Chess Review, March 1966, used vorite participant sports were by permission of the United States Chess Federation). ping-pong, billiards and skiing. When he saw Rona at the airport the first Aside from chess, his favorite table game was thing he asked was whether she had bought nardy. tickets for the next Sp artak match. He and Rona regularly played nardy. "He Once Petrosian became the chess king, he often excoriated me for some dumb move, began to live more regally. "Like almost all from his point of view;' his wife said. "At the other Soviet celebrities, Tigran loved not those moments the man from the Caucasus only comfort but comfort in the American came out in him:' Rona, on the other hand, way;' said Andrei Gavrilov, a pianist and famloved the card game preferance. "At that, ily friend. "He had a huge American televi­ she was the grandmaster. He was the first­ sion set, an American washing machine, a category player;' their son Mikhail said.29 General Electric refrigerator, and a big Amer­ As a spectator, Petrosian said his favorite ican automobile:' 31 When the Petrosians vis­ sports were hockey, chess and football, in ited the United States in 1976 they were asked that order. His favorite day was Sunday be­ whether their record player and other elec­ cause "there's always football on Sunday:' 30 tronic equipment was made in the USSR. He remained a passionate fan of Spartak, the They burst into laughter. "Most of my equip­ sports society that had given him shelter in ment was made in the USA!" Tigran said. 32 1949. He knew all the players on the Spartak In 1968 Petrosian bought a summer home, a football team personally. During tourna­ dacha, in the elite Barvikha section west of ments he would take breaks by asking the Moscow. He furnished it well and spent more wallboard boys what the latest Sp artak score time there than at his Moscow apartment for was. "I remember how he hadjust flown home the rest of his life. "A palace:' said Gavrilov. 33 from Cura�ao;' his son Mikhail recalled.

230

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Petrosian went to concerts but rarely to stage plays. He loved to tend to the flower garden in his dacha and liked to say, "If I had such an opportunity in childhood I would have become a gardener:' He prided himself on his skill with a camera and showed friends copies of major Soviet newspapers with his credit line in tiny letters, "Photograph by Tigran Petrosian:' To the 1963 Piatigorsky Cup he brought a motion picture camera, a rare possession for a Soviet citizen. He loved dogs and for many years had a German shep­ herd and a Caucasian shepherd. But the Ger­ man shepherd was killed by an oncoming train when Petrosian did not hear it coming because of his poor hearing, his son Vartan said. 34 His artistic tastes were widespread. In one of his trips abroad in the early 1960s, "he brought me a record of the Beatles:' Vartan said. "I remember it was vinyl plastic, a 45. Then in the Union no one had heard of the Beatles. Papa said, 'Listen, son. This is good music:" 35 Petrosian also enjoyed movies, es­ pecially comedies. Petrosian loved to watch John Belushi in "The Blues Brothers:' "He looked at this videocassette almost every day," Gavrilov said. 36 Petrosian was given a green Oldsmobile for winning the first Piatigorsky Cup and, according to Gavrilov, even acquired a Cadil­ lac. But he rarely drove. Rona played chauf­ feur even though she was so short she needed three pillows to reach the steering wheel. She cracked up the car once when driving Tigran home to the dacha. The crash left her uncon­ scious. Tigran rushed her to the hospital. "The doctors diagnosed a concussion. The next day he had to play Lev Polugaevsky," their son Mikhail said. But "Papa knew Polu­ gaevsky was a little afraid of him'' so he of­ fered a quick draw and went back to the hos­ pital. "Chess colleagues knew nothing of this;' Mikhail Petrosian said. 37 The differences between the Petrosians were evident when they went shopping, said

Iser Kuperman, a family friend and world checker champion. Tigran had grown up poor and was often kopeck-stingy, even when he had money to spend. But Rona, who was al­ ways "elegantly dressed," shopped for hard­ to-get, high-end goods at the closed section, open to Party favorites, of the GUM depart­ ment store off Red Square. And she wanted the most for her rubles. "She was rather tight­ fisted and loved to bargain. Tigran stood silently and listened. When she agreed on a price and moved on, she left her husband to pay;' Kuperman said. But if Petrosian were shopping alone he would pay "the first price mentioned:' 38 Petrosian's big event of 1965 was a Zagreb international in April and May that com­ memorated the 20th anniversary of the oust­ ing of Nazi forces in World War II. He was not particularly ambitious: eight of his 19 games were drawn in fewer than 26 moves. He finished third but had the pleasure of mating Bent Larsen in the seventh round.

Petrosian-Bent Larsen Zagreb, 1965 English Opening (All)

1. c4 c6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. b3 g6 4. Bb2 Bg7 5. g3 0-0 6. Bg2 d6 7. 0-0 e5 8. d3 Re8 9. Qc2 cS?! Black has an easier path to equality after 9. . . . as and 10. . . . Na6.

10. Nc3 Nc6 11. a3 Bg4 12. e3 h6 13. Nd2 Qd7?! 14. NdS Nxd515. cxd5! Nb8 16. f3 White forces a trade of Black's better bishop and will attack eS with f2-f4 before Black can defend it with . . . Nd7.

16 . . . . Bh3 17. Bxh3 Qxh3 18. Ne4 Qd7 19. f4 Na6 Both players must have considered 19. . . . f5 but came to the conclusion that 20. fxeS! would be strong. For example, e.g., 20 . . . . fxe4? 21. e6 and wins, or 20. . . . dxeS 21. NxcS Qxds 22. e4.

11. Candidacy 20. fxe5 dxe5 21. Nc3?! Black would be better after 21. Nxc5? Nxc5 22. Qxc5 Rec8. Instead, Petrosian wanted to play 22. e4 and double rooks on the f-file. His advantage would be slim after 21. . . . f5. He had two ways to try for a more substantial advantage. One is 21. Rf6, which stops . . . f5 and prepares Rd6 and Rafl (21. . . . Qxd5?? 22. Rd6). If Petrosian was uncertain about whether 21. . . . Rad8 was a good reply he could simply have gone for 21. Nf6+! Bxf6 22. Rxf6 with Rafl to come. For example, 22. . . . Qxd5 23. Rafl Re7 24. e4! Qd7 25. Qc4! threatens Rxg6+ and wins after 25. . . . Kg7 26. Bxe5 Rxe5? 27. Rxt7+. Or 25. . . . b5 26. Qcl knight­ move 27. Qxh6.

21. . . . Ne??! 22. e4! Re7 23. Rf3 Rf8 24. Rafi h5 25. a4 White's ideas include a4-a5 and Na4/Ba3. But after 25. . . . b6 and . . . £5 Black has enough counterplay.

25. . . . a5? 26. Ndl! (see diagram)

After 26. Ndl Now that . . . a6/ . . . b5 is ruled out, the knight can land on c4 and threaten both the a- and e-pawns. White has a significant advantage.

26. . . . b6 27. Ne3 Ne8 28. Nc4 Qd8 29. Qg2! Nd6 30. g4! hxg4 31. Qxg4 White has a winning plan of h2-h4-h5 or Rh3/Qh4. For example, 31. . . . Nxc4 32. dxc4 Qd6 33. h4.

23 1

Black should reorganize with 32. . . . Rd7 and . . . Rd6/ . . . Qd7. In time pressure, Larsen goes desperate.

31. . . . f5? 32. Qxg6 Rf6 33. Qg5 Nxc4 34. dxc4 f4 35. Khl Qd6 36. Rgl Kh7 37. Rh3+ Kg8 38. Rh5 f3 39. Bxe5 Rxe5 40. Qxg7 mate.

Dictator Ron a The Petrosians had friends in high places, including members, such as Anastas Mikoyan, of the so-called Armenian lobby in the Krem­ lin. 39 The world champion also had confi­ dants among the cultural elite. The composer Arno Babadzhanian visited the dacha regu­ larly to play nardy. "They were both passion­ ate people and often swore over nardy. The score between them was about even but each considered that he played better;' Mikhail Petrosian remembered. Other VIPs who vis­ ited the dacha were violinist David Oistrakh, movie director Sergei Bondarchuk, surgeon Alexander Vishnevsky, electric engineer An­ dronik Iosifian and economist Alexander Alkhimov. 40 Even in the presence of such celebrities, Rona was often the center of attention, Iser Kuperman said. He said her contacts and personality gave her enormous influence in Soviet chess. "In the chess federation at that time she was a dictator;' Kuperman said. She could arrange trips abroad for eager grand­ masters. "She had the widest and most varied connections, a huge number of friends and acquaintances. Like a fish in water, she bathed in this world of acquaintances, intrigue and connections:' 41 Her son Mikhail acknowledged "there were many good acquaintances 'upstairs' who helped us:' But he said it was an exaggeration to say his mother influenced which Soviet players would play abroad. "Everything was decided by the Central Committee of the USSR and the Sports Committee:' 42

232

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

However, Kuperman said Lev Abramov, then vice chairman of the Soviet Chess Fed­ eration, "consulted with Rona about any im­ portant question. I was a witness to a tele­ phone conversation when Rona in Alushta gave Abramov an order how to decide a series of international questions-who to send to tournaments that year. . . :' In short, Kuper­ man said, "Rona was known and feared by all the major chessplayers:' 43 And she also had many friends in chess. Sally Landau said Rona was an enormous help to her after she and Tal split up. Leonid Stein's widow Lilya said, "Rona helped me a lot after my husband's death:' She used her great connections "with the highest echelons of vlasti:'

Korchnoi Abro ad Foreign trips had become Viktor Korch­ noi's obsession. After all, that was a major reason he claimed he joined the Party. But after he was personally invited to the Zagreb tournament he was told by the Soviet Chess Federation that he had to play in Hungary instead. To manage the increasing demand for in­ vites, Soviet grandmasters were usually al­ lowed only two international tournaments a year. Korchnoi feared he would miss a choice assignment if he went to Hungary. When he protested to the Sports Committee, he was told it was a political priority. Hungary's Com­ munist leader Janos Kadar, an avid chess fan, had asked the Soviets to send Korchnoi. In addition, his visit would repair the lingering damage from the 1956 invasion of Hungary. Soviet tanks had "smashed holes in the houses of Budapest" and he was selected to "plug up these holes;' Korchnoi was told. "I refused;' he said. 44 But he learned he was temporarily nyevyezdny. When he was again allowed to go abroad his assignment was-to Hungary. 45 "I began to grow tired of

this kind of nagging. I began to feel like a bird in a gilded cage, only to be fed if the master wished, to sing only at his pleasure:' He agreed to go to Hungary in August 1965 after the vlasti allowed him to bring his wife Bella. It was a much weaker tournament than Zagreb. After he won it by a score of 14½-½ he complained about allowing the single draw. Retrospective ratings say his performance made him the world's highest rated player, a position he held for four months-and never again.

Istvan Csom-Korchnoi

Gyula, 1965 A nti-Grunfeld D efense (E60) l. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. d5!? Bg7 4. Nc3 0-0 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 c6 7. Be3 a6 8. a4 a5 9. g4? White mistakenly thinks he has a free had to overwhelm Black's castled position with pawns.

9. . . . Na6! 10. f4 Nd7 11. h4 Ndc5 The threats include 12. . . . Qb6 (13. Qd2 Qb4 and . . . Nb3) and 12. . . . Bxc3+/13. . . . Nxe4.

12. Bf3 Qb6! 13. Qe2? (see diagram)

After 13. Qe2 Korchnoi's 400 B est Games recommended 13. Ra2?. But that loses to 13. . . . Nb4. Not much fun is 13. Rbl Qb4 14. Ne2 Qxc4 15. 0-0 but at least the game goes on.

11. Candidacy 13. . . . Qxb2! 14. Qxb2 Nd3+ 15. Kd2 Nxb2 16. Be2 Bxg4! White resigns In view of 17. Bxg4 Nxc4+ 18. Kd3 Nxe3 19. Kxe3 Bxc3. But if Korchnoi was only al­ lowed two internationals a year, what was his other one in 1965? It was a round robin in Yerevan, arranged to prepare Petrosian for his 1966 title defense. The world champion "invited his very best friends . . . including Korchnoi;' Yuri Averbakh said. 46 Despite Korchnoi's later claims of a personal war with Petrosian since 1960, he had been on good terms with the Petrosians, including being a guest in their Moscow home, Averbakh said. They usually played real games with one another, but there also three draws of 18, 18 and 12 moves during 1967-69. Korchnoi won the Yerevan tournament by pressing advantages to the end:

Yuri Averbakh-Korchnoi

Yerevan 1965

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After 33. Kfl Many of the fans in the packed 1,200-seat Armenian National Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet may have expected a draw soon. Instead, 33. . . . gS! 34. Kel hS 35. Kd2 h4 came. The h3-pawn becomes a fatal weak­ ness after 36. g4 Nf4 37. Rb3 fS!. White had to try 36. gxh4 Rxh4 37. Rb3. He was sur­ prised by 36. Nd3? g4! 37. hxg4 h3. His only hope was 38. f3 h2 39. Nf2, when 39. . . . aS and 40. . . . Nb4 may win. The game ended with 38. Kc2? Rc4+ 39. Kd2 Rel! White re­ signs in view of 40. . . . h2.

233

The contrast between Korchnoi and Pet­ rosian was clear in games like this:

Petrosian-Reinhard Fuchs

Yerevan, 1965 Queen's Gambit Declined (D43) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Qb3 Be7 6. Bf4 0-0 7. e3 Nbd7 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 Re8 10. 0-0 Nf8 n. a4 as 12. Qc2 Ng6 13. Bg3 Bd6 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. Rfel Bd716. Rahl Re717. Na2 Rae818. b4 axb4 19. Rxb4 Bg4 20. Nd2 Ne4 21. Nfl Nh4 22. Ng3 Qh6! Black threatens 23. . . . Nxg2! 24. Kxg2? Qh3+ 25. Kgl NgS! and wins. White would have to struggle after 23. f4 Nf6 24. Rb3 Bh3, for instance. But Black offered a draw, which Petrosian quickly accepted. "Why did you draw? You know your po­ sition was better;' Leonid Stein asked Fuchs after the game. "Yes:' replied Fuchs. "Against any other player I would play for a win but not against the world champion:' "Your error lies in that;' Stein said. "It's not every day that you get such a position against the champion! " 47 In his later memoirs Korchnoi added something that was not in the first version of Chess Is My Life. He said his success in the tournament embarrassed the hosts who in­ vited him. "Something, of course, could be done to spoil the mood of the winner. Petro­ sian's wife phoned my wife and reported with pleasure that during the tournament I had had a mistress:' 48 He said for this reason he "got even" with Petrosian in the annual Len­ ingrad-Moscow match by winning both games.

Not On e Cat Tal's fans knew he was a heavy underdog in the Candidates finals. He had only beaten

234

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Spassky once-the miracle game of the 25th USSR Championship-and lost five other times to him. Their match was scheduled to begin in November so there would be plenty of time for the winner to prepare for a spring 1966 world championship match. Agreeing on match conditions was easy. "Not one cat ran between us;' Spassky said, using an old Russian expression. 49 Part of the reason, he said, was "Misha was perhaps the only one of the great chessplayers who knew no feeling of envy:' Tal offered Spassky a choice of five cities. Spassky agreed to Tbil­ isi, despite Tal's vast following among Geor­ gians. Tal said he did not get to prepare properly because doctors again detected "something" in his lungs. They virtually insisted he go to a sanatorium in the Crimea. "Occupied with all kinds of medical procedure, I did not spend a lot of time at the board" he said, and taking various kinds of medicine "did not ex­ actly assist the development of my creative fantasY:' 5 0 Meanwhile, Spassky and Bondarevsky devised an overall match strategy. What was unique about Spassky's Candidate matches of 1965 and 1968 is that he prepared a dif­ ferent approach-not just different open­ ings-for each. Against Geller, "I aimed above all to secure the initiative because Geller himself likes so much to have an active po­ sition:' He wanted to play open games against Tal, "But I decided to restrain myself and use waiting tactics: draw, draw, and draw again, reserving my final kick for the end of the match when I was gaining in strength and Tal was weaker:' 5 1 Tal said he was badly thrown off in the first match game when Spassky adopted the Marshall Gambit and gave "up a pawn to avoid a sharp calculating struggle:' 52 Spassky's goal was to deny Tal op­ portunities to force matters. "He played, of course, best of all when he had the initiative;' Spassky said. 53

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After 27. . . . f6! Tal remembered "two quite old games" in which a stunning com­ bination worked in similar positions. 54 Here it was 28. Nxc6 so that 28 . . . . Rxc6 29. Ra8! Rxa8 30. BxdS+ wins. Tal managed to carry out this same tactic in a middlegame at the 1966 Olympiad against Bj0rn Brinck­ Claussen. But Spassky coolly replied 28. . . . Bxc6! 29. Ra6! Kf8 ! (not 29. . . . Rdd6? 30. Rcxc6! Rxc6 31. Rxc6 Rxc6 32. BxdS+). This allowed Tal to win a pawn, 30. Raxc6 Rxc6 31. Rxc6 but after 31. . . . Nxe3 32. fxe3 Bd2! Black won it back and created bish­ ops of opposite color. A draw quickly fol­ lowed. The match took a strange twist when Wolf Messing showed up in the audience. Mes­ sing, then 66, was reputed to be a psychic with telepathic and hyp notic powers, as well as ties to the KGB. Westerners smiled at the tales told of Messing. But Russians, even a natural skeptic such as Viktor Korchnoi, be­ lieved in him. Messing was "a man who with accuracy within a day predicted the end of the war in 1945;' Korchnoi wrote. 55 Messing was a chess fan and a friend of Tal. He was rumored to have helped him in some mysterious way in the 1960 world cham­ pionship match. But Messing was also friendly with Bondarevsky, a former pupil of his. Was

235

11. Candidacy he in Tbilisi to aid Spassky or Tal? "He sup­ ported Misha. They were both from Riga;' Spassky later insisted. 56 He hinted at Mess­ ing's role when he said that at one point in the match he could not concentrate. "I was literally mesmerized;' he said: "I made a se­ rious mistake. Usually a grandmaster imme­ diately understands that something's wrong. But I was almost paralyzed. This lasted for several minutes. It's very long by chess meas­ ures. It's like a short circuit. You're only hit by the electric current for fractions of a sec­ ond, but for you, it seems like an eternitY:' 57 Spassky did not say when this occurred. The closest he came to a meltdown was in the second game.

Spassky-Tal

Candidates Match finals, Second game, Tbilisi, 1965 Sicilian Defense (B82) I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Bd3 Nc6 7. Be3 Nf6 8. 0-0 b5 Tal played this position often and in his own signature way, such as by delaying . . . Bb7 or . . . d6. A Curas:ao game with Geller had gone 9. Qe2 Bb7 10. Radl Ne5 11. Bf4 and now 11. . . . Bes 12. Nb3 Bb4 13. Nbl Bd6! 14. Bg3 h5! 15. h3 h4 (15. . . . gS!) and an even­ tual draw.

9. Nb3 Be7 I0. f4 d6 11. Qf3 0-0 12. a4 b4 13. Ne2 e5! 14. f5 d5 15. Ng3 Na5 16. exd5 Bb7?! 17. Ne4! Nc4? Now 18. Bxc4 Qxc4 19. Nxf6+ Bxf6 20. Radl puts White in charge (20. . . . Qxc2? 21. NcS).

18. Bg5 Nxb2 (see diagram) When Spassky chose 18. Bg5 he must have intended 19. Bxf6 since 19. . . . gxf6? allows 20. d6! Bxd6 21. Nxf6+ Kg7 22. Qg3+! Kxf6 23. Qh4+ Kg7 24. f6+ and wins. He would have good play after 19. . . . Bxf6 20. a5. But he got his tactical ideas mixed up.

After 18. ... Nx b2

19. d6? Qxd6! So that 20. Bxf6 Qb6+! or 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6 21. Qxb7 BxgS favors Black.

20. Nxd6 Bxf3 21. Rxf3 Bxd6 22. Bxf6 gxf6 23. Be4 Raes 24. as Bb8 25. g3 RfdS 26. Rel Ba7+ 27. Kg2 Rd6 28. Rffl Nc4 29. Kh3 Ne3 30. Rf3 Nxc2 31. Rel Rc4! 32. Rd3! Bd4 It was easy to go astray in the last few moves (32. Bxc2 Rdc6 33. Nal Bd4 or 32. Bd3 Rc3). Now 33. Nxd4 exd4 34. Rb3 Ne3 35. Rxc4 Nxc4 36. Rxb4 Nxa5 37. Bd3 offers slim chances of a draw.

33. Rxc2 Rxc2 34. Rxd4 exd4! 35. Bxc2 d3 36. Bdl Rd5 37. Kg4 Re5! 38. Kf4? Re2! 39. h4 h5! White might have built a defense with 38. Bf3 and Kf4. Now he runs out of moves ( 40. Kf3 Rel! or 40. g4 hxg4 41. Kxg4 Rb2 42. Nc5 Rbl).

40. Nc5 Rel! Adjourned; White resigns. (Spassky would have been a full rook down after 41. Nxd3 Rxdl 42. Nxb4 Rd4+. He sealed 41. Bxh5 but did not resume play in light of 41. . . . d2 42. Nxa6 b3!.) Spassky said he did not notice Messing in the playing hall and learned of his presence later from Bondarevsky. "He told me noth­ ing-and only after the match, he stunned me: 'Messing was here. But I didn't want to

236

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

disturb you . . . : That was the right thing to do:•ss

g6 6. 0-0 Bg7 7. d3 0-0 8. Bg5?! h6 9. Bd2 es 10. a3 Be6 11. Rbl as 12. a4 dS! 13. exdS NxdS 14. Nxd5 Bxd5 15. Be3

Until Tai Is Sick of Them

Annotators thought 15. . . . Nd4 would lead to equal play after 16. Bxd4 cxd4 17. Nd2. But after 17. . . . f5 Black could have played for a win without risk. Tai looked instead at 15. . . . b6 and concluded he would have many good continuations after 16. Nd2 Bxg2 17. Kxg2 fS. But he also began to see tactics.

Mikhail Botvinnik made his sympathies clear before the match when he said it pitted "a one-sided chessplayer with a player of a universal style." 59 But Spassky seemed the one-sided player this time. He followed Bon­ darevsky's orders to refuse early draws and play out even positions "until Tai is sick of them:' In the third game, he reached a very even rook and bishop endgame. Tai lost a pawn and the game was adjourned. Spassky continued his grinding policy-"no forced variations! " as Tai put it. 60 In his memoirs Tai said he had worked out "a long study-like variation" in which he would draw thanks to a pawn on f7. 61 But he had lost his f-pawn around the time of ad­ journment. This was an apparent case of dic­ tating his memoirs from memory, without a board. In any case, Spassky ended resistance with a neat triangulation. The match remained tied after eight games. Tai was counting on "Spassky's former in­ ability to play decisive games" -that is, he choked in big games. But Spassky won the next three games and the match ended 7-4. Korchnoi had an explanation: "Messing rooted for Spassky. It was no secret. Under the guid­ ance of Wolf Messing himself! Tai the ama­ teur hypnotist had walked into a professionaI;' he said, meaning Spassky. "We will pay trib­ ute to the tenth world champion. He was a pioneer, a pioneer of new types of struggle:' 62 But psychology rather than hyp nosis was more evident in the tenth game:

Spassky-Tal Candidates Match finals, Tenth game, Tbilisi, 1965 Sicilian Defense (B25) I. e4 cS 2. Nf3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 Nf6 5. Nc3

15. . . . c4 16. dxc4 Bxc4 17. Qxd8 Rfxd8 18. Rfdl Nb4!? 19. Rxd8+ Rxd8 20. Bb6 (see diagram)

After 20. Bb6 If White had lost, annotators would have blamed his passive opening and piece swap­ ping. But Spassky knew his opponent: Tai would not abandon winning chances with 20. . . . Ra8 if he could set traps.

20. . . . Rd7? So that 21. Bxa5? Nxc2 22. Rel Bd3, with the idea of . . . e4, favors Black.

21. Nell e4 22. b3! Another Tai trap was 22. Bxe4? Ba2 23. Ral Bxb2. After 22. b3 he would have had some compensation for a pawn with 22. . . . Bd5 23. Bxa5 Bc3. But he saw more traps.

22. . . . Ba6? 23. Bxe4 Na2 24. Bf3! They were 24. Bxa5? b6! 25. Bxb6 Nc3 and 24. Bd3? Nc3 25. Rel Bxd3 and . . . Ne2+.

237

11. Candidacy 24. . . . Nc3 25. Rel Bf8 26. Nd3 Tal's last hope was that 26. . . . Ba3 would trap the rook. Spassky could also have won with 26. Bxa5 Ba3 27. Ral Bb2 28. Bxc3.

26. . . . Bxd3 27. cxd3 Rxd3 28. Kg2 Bb4 29. Bxb7 Kg7 30. Be3 With an extra pawn and the two bishops­ and no more traps-the rest is a job for Spas­ sky the technician.

30. . . . h5 31. Ba6 Rd6 32. Bc4 f6 33. Rc2! Nbl 34. Bf4 Rd4 35. h4 Na3 36. Rel Nxc4 37. bxc4 Kf7 38. c5! Ke8 39. c6 Kd8 40. c7+ Kc8 41. Rc6 g5 (sealed) Black resigns. Tal did not resume play in view of 42. hxg5 fxg5 43. Be5! Rd5 44. Re6, threatening Re8+. After the match, doctors in Tbilisi exam­ ined Tal and came to the conclusion that he was "perfectly healthy:' The "something" wrong with his lungs was "mythical;' he said. But the damage was done. Tal indicated that if he had gotten the correct diagnosis in Riga, his nerves and kidneys would have been in better shape for the match. But at least he had freed himself from St. Helena.

Numb er On e Versus Numb er Eight That Tigran Petrosian was a heavy under­ dog in the 1966 world championship match, there was no doubt. The Soviet newspaper Trud polled his colleagues and found virtu­ ally everyone-including Tal, Keres, Larsen, Svetozar Gligoric, Vasily Smyslov, Miguel Najdorf and Samuel Reshevsky-predicting a Spassky victory. 63 Petrosian was running against a historical trend. No defending cham­ pion had won a title match since the 1930s. In the seven world championship matches from 1951 on, the challenger won five and two were drawn. The Elo rating system was not accepted by

FIDE until 1970 but retrospective ratings show that Petrosian was the eighth highest rated player in the world on the eve of his title defense. Spassky was number one, after winning the first major international tour­ nament of the year, at Hastings.

Spassky-Peter Lee

Hastings, 1965-66 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E30) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 cs 6. d5 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 es 8. d6! (see diagram)

After 8. d6 Spassky said he got this idea from Vladi­ mir Zak. It stops . . . d6 but is virtually a gam­ bit because the d6-pawn is beyond natural defenses. 8. . . . gs 9. Bg3 Nc6 IO. Qc2! Qa5? Black would have an easier time with 10. . . . Nh5 11. e3 Qf6 12. Rdl b6 followed by . . . Bb7I . . . 0-0-0. Instead, he is playing for 11. e3 Ne4!, after which 12. Rel Nxd6 13. Nf3 f6 14. Qg6+ Ke7 is double-edged.

11. Rel Qa3 12. Nf3 Ne4? On 12. . . . e4 Spassky would likely have gone for 13. h4!, e.g., 13. . . . exf3 14. hxg5 Ng8 15. exf3 or 13. . . . g4 14. Nd2 with advantage.

13. Bxe5! Nxe5 Not 13. . . . f6 14. Bxf6 Nxf6? 15. Qg6+ and 16. Qxf6+.

238

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

14. Nxe5 Nxd6 Black can not last long after 14 . . . . 0-0 15. h4 Re8 16. Ng4.

15. h4! gxh416. e3 b617. Rdl! Nb718. Nxf7 Faster than 18. Ng6 Rg8 19. Qe4+ Kd8 20. Qxh4+ Kc7. But 18. Be2 and Bf3 also wins. Now 18 . . . . Rf8 19. Be2 Rxf7 20. BhS is over.

18 . . . . Kxf7 19. Qf5+ Kg7 20. Qe5+ Kg8 21. Rxh4 d6 22. Qg3+ Kf7 23. Rf4+ Ke8 24. Qg7! Black resigns While in Britain, Spassky took the extraor­ dinary step of giving a free-wheeling, six­ hour interview to a Western journalist. He and chess columnist Leonard Barden agreed it would not be published until he was world champion. When it finally appeared more than three years later, readers heard some of the most candid words they would get from a Soviet champion. Spassky said, for exam­ ple, that he trained as a journalist because it was a "soft option'' in college. He agreed with Bobby Fischer that "it is a bad idea for a chess master to study hard at school or university" and added "I lost five years" by attending col­ lege. "I don't even enjoy writing about chess:' he admitted. His salary came from his sports society, where he was listed as a trainer. But he said his duties were slim. He added that he "cannot work systemat­ ically" on chess when he is not playing in a tournament. "Recently much of my time is spent flat-hunting" because he wanted to trade up to a better apartment. "Practical matters" like that were taking up time he could have spent on preparing for Petrosian. "I have to wash my shirts and look after my­ self;' he said. "You need a woman:' Barden said. Spassky agreed and laughed when Bar­ den asked, "Only to wash shirts?" 64 Spassky's rebound from the dark days of 1958-61 cheered his fans. Petrosian's support­ ers, on the other hand, had to be dismayed by his loss of both games to Korchnoi in the

annual Moscow-Leningrad match in Novem­ ber 1965. As White he played 1. e4, a rarity for him, and lost an Open Variation of the Ruy Lopez when Korchnoi delivered a pow­ erful Exchange sacrifice. The other game:

Korchnoi-Petrosian Moscow-Leningrad Match, Moscow,

1965 Nimzo-Indian Defense (ESO)

I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Nf3 c5 6. Be2 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 b6 8. Nd2 Bb7 9. 0-0 d610. f3 Nc6 ll. Nb3 Ne712. e4 Ng6 13. g3 Rc8 Petrosian has avoided the thematic . . . e5 in favor of an attack against the c4-pawn.

14. Rf2 Ba6 15. d5 Re8 16. Nd2 Qd7 Black would be at least equal after 16. . . . exdS! 17. cxdS Bxe2 18. Rxe2 c4!, with the idea of . . . Ne5-d3. And not 18. Qxe2 NxdS.

17. a4 Re7 18. a5 b5? This grants White open lines and too much space. Better was 18 . . . . Rb8 19. Rbl Qd8 and . . . Reb7.

19. cxb5 Bxb5 20. c4 Ba6 21. Bb2 Qe8 22. Bfl Rb8 23. Bc3 e5 24. Bd3! Bc8 25. Nfl Reb7 26. Bc2 a6 27. Ne3 Nf8 28. Qfl White's bishops neutralize Black's rooks by stopping . . . Rb2 or . . . Rb3. This enables White to slowly advance kingside pawns with­ out fear of queenside counterplay.

28 . . . . h6 29. Rel N8h7 30. f4! Ng4 Black is lost after 30 . . . . exf4 31. gxf4! Nxe4? 32. Bxe4 Qxe4 33. Rg2 and Rxg7+ or Ng4.

31. Nxg4 Bxg4 32. h3 Bd7 33. Qg2 f6 34. Refl Qd8 35. Ral Qe7 36. Kfl Qe8 37. Ke2 Qc8 38. f5 Rb4! (see diagram) If this game had a different outcome, it would have joined the anthology of great

11. Candidacy

After 38. ... Rb4 Petrosian Exchange sacrifices. It made sense because Korchnoi was preparing to attack with h3-h4, g3-g4, Rf3-g3, for g4-g5.

39. Bxb4 cxb4 40. Bb3 Qc5 Black threatens 41. . . . Qd4 42. Rbl Ng5 with real counterplay.

41. Kfl Ng5 42. Re2 Qd4 43. Rbl Qd3? This is what doomed the sacrifice. It would have been harder for White to untangle after 43. . . . Qc3! and then . . . Be8, . . . Nf3-d4 or . . . Rc8. One difference between the queen moves is that 43. . . . Qd3? 44. Rbb2 Nf3 fails to 45. Kf2 Nd4? 46. Re3.

44. Rbb2 Be8 Greater resistance comes from 44 . . . . Qc3 although 45. Qf2 Nxh3 46. Qa7 is bad.

45. h4! Nf3 46. Kf2! Nd4 47. Re3 Qc3 48. Rxc3 bxc3 After a few tricks Black can resign.

49. Rbl Rxb3 50. Rxb3 Nxb3 51. Ke3 Nd4 52. Qa2 c2 53. Kd2 Bh5 54. c5 dxc5 55. d6+ Bf7 56. Qa4 Black resigns The two losses to Korchnoi "rendered me a great service;' Petrosian said. "They forced me to give serious attention to my training, to pull myself together for the forthcoming title clash:' 65 Both players agreed the games did Korch­ noi a disservice. "It seemed to me that I was

239

now clearly stronger than anyone else, and that I should easily come first wherever I played;' Korchnoi wrote. 66 "Unfortunately, these games had a bad effect on Korchnoi;' Petrosian said. "They gave him a wrong im­ pression of his ability:' Korchnoi came crashing down to earth in the 33rd USSR Championship finals, which began November 21, 1965, in Tallin. He lost to four of the top five finishers and managed only to tie for tenth place in a field of 20. It was his worst result in the championship in ten years. Petrosian took his cues from the Korchnoi losses. He helped arrange a six-man round robin tournament in January 1966 to prepare him for the Spassky match. He used it to try experiments. For example, he met Isaac Boleslavsky's I. e4 with I. . . . Nf6 2. e5 Ng8?!. He soon had a passive position (3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Bc4 c6 7. h3 d5 8. Bb3 b6 9. 0-0 e6 10. Rel) and lost. But he scored 8-1 in his other games and won the tournament by two points. Yefim Geller, now clearly Petrosian's enemy, was not invited to it. But Korchnoi was. He said he played in it because he was "upset" with his play in Tallinn. He tied for next-to-last place.

Isaac Boleslavsky-Korchnoi

Training Tournament, Moscow, 1966 Ruy Lop ez (C83) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 N xe4 6. d4 b5 7. Bb3 d5 8. dxe5 Be6 9. c3 Be710. Nbd2 Nc511. Bc2 Qd712. Rel Five years later, when Korchnoi needed his own training games, he played 12. . . . d4 against Anatoly Karpov and lost a double­ edged game after 13. Ne4 dxc3 14. bxc3 0-0-0.

12. . . . Bf5!13. Bxf5 Qxf514. Nfl Qd315. Be3 0-0-0 16. Qcl Kb717. Bxc5?! Bxc5 18. b4 Bb619. a4

240

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

With 20. Qa3 looming, Black was reluc­ tant to try 19. . . . bxa4 20. Rxa4 Rhe8.

19 . . . . d4 20. Ra3 Qg6 21. axbS axbS 22. c4! Nxb4 23. cs Ba7 (see diagram)

Instead, Boleslavsky threatened 25. Ne5. The game could have ended with 24 . . . . fxe6 25. c6+ Nxc6 26. Ne5 Nxe5 27. Rxa7+! Kxa7 28. Qxc7+ and mates. But Black can defend better with 24 . . . . Qc2 25. Qal Bxc5.

24 . . . . RdS? 25. NeS RxeS 26. RxeS Nc6 27. Re2 QhS 28. Rb2 b4 29. Rxa7+! Nxa7 Worse is 29. . . . Kxa7 30. Ra2+ Kb8 31. Qc4! and mates.

30. Rxb4+ Kc6 31. Qc2 Nb5 32. Qa4 Rb8 33. e7 Qe2 34. Rxd4 Qxe7 35. Ne3 Qe6 36. Re4 Qc8 37. Rb4 (37. Re5!) KxcS 38. Rc4+ Kd6 39. Qc2 h6 40. Qe4 Qb7 41. Qf4+ Ke7 42. Qe5+ Black resigns After 23. . . . Ba7 24. e6? With 24. Rb3! Black would be in trouble, e.g., 24. . . . Nd3 25. Qc4! (25. . . . c6 26. Qxd3). Worse is 25. . . . Nxel 26. Qxb5+ Kc8 27. Nxel.

Petrosian later said he was astonished that Spassky had played in Hastings instead of using the time to prepare for the champi­ onship match. 67 Yet Hastings ended nearly a week before Petrosian's Moscow tournament began.

Hunger and the Locomotive

Petrosian remembered his youth at the Tbilisi Pioneer Palace and seemed to enjoy giving this simultaneous exhibition at the Moscow Pioneer Palace. Shakhmaty v SSSR, July 1964.

Towards the end of his life Petrosian reminisced with Spassky about how their friendship survived two world championship matches. "Do you remember how we signed our [match] contract on a window-sill in Moscow's Sophia restaurant?" he asked. 68 They did not argue over its details. Petrosian said this contrasted with the "dirt" of the Garry Kasparov-Anatoly Karpov era. They readily agreed to start play on April 9 at the Estrada Theater, on the embankment of the Moscow River, the site of the 1963 Botvinnik-Petro­ sian match.

11. Candidacy Once again Spassky placed his fate in the hands of Pater. Igor Bondarevsky was blunt, demanding and, in the Russian expression, "not sugar:' He believed Spassky was "a lo­ comotive" who needed to slowly rev up to get to his peak form. He knew the new Spassky rarely won in a first round and had been sluggish at the start of the 1963 Soviet championship, the 1964 Zonal and Inter­ zonal and two of his 1965 Candidates matches. To get him into shape, Bondarevsky had him play a blindfold simultaneous against ten strong players. Looking back on his career, Spassky felt he reached his peak during 1965-70 and was the better player in his first world cham­ pionship match. "But I was exhausted;' he said, citing "98 difficult qualifying games" since 1963. He felt he had run out of original ideas, and not just in the open­ ing. In each of his Candidates matches he tried a different approach. The Keres match "turned into a street brawl. Geller was rela­ tively weak in defense and I only needed to attack him at all costs. I didn't allow Tal to seize the initiative. That approach brought me success;' he said. "However, in order to beat Petrosian I needed something new:' 69 And, he added, "I was poor" and could not afford to properly prepare for a world cham­ pionship match. Petrosian and his chief trainer, Isaac Boleslavsky, began their preparation be­ fore the Tal-Spassky finals was over. They studied Petrosian's own games, then turned to Spassky games. They later claimed that they guessed some of the surprises Spas­ sky would pull, including 1. d4 b5! ?. Un­ like Bondarevsky's "locomotive" regi­ men for Spassky, Petrosian wanted to build up a hunger for chess, as he had be­ fore the Botvinnik match. He "quit all chess training about a month before" the 1966 match. 7 0 Nevertheless, it seemed like the champion was not ready when it began.

241

Spassky-Petrosian World Championship Match, First game, Moscow, 1966 Caro-Kann Defense (B19) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. Nf3 Nd7 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Qc7 10. Bd2 e6 11. 0-0-0 0-0-0 12. c4 Ngf6 13. Kbl c5 14. Bc3 cxd4 15. Nxd4 a616. Nf3 BcS 17. Qe2 Bd618. Ne4 Be7 19. Nxf6 Bxf6 20. Bxf6 Nxf6 Spassky believed drawing the first game of a match was actually better than winning. A first round victory "always costs a lot of strength;' as sports psychologist Rudolf Za­ gainov put it. He said Spassky felt that was what happened when he won a difficult first game in his 1974 Candidates semifinals with Karpov and then lost the match. 71

21. Ne5 Rxdl+ 22. Rxdl Rd8 23. Rxd8+ Kxd8 24. Qd3+ Ke7 25. Qd4 h5 26. a3 Nd7! 27. Nxd7 Qxd7 28. Qc5+ Qd6 29. Qg5+? Ke8! 30. Qe3 (see diagram)

After 30. Qe3 Spassky appreciated that taking either the g- or h-pawns would favor Black after 30 . . . . Qd3+!. And 30. Kc2 Qd4! is also bad, e.g., 31. Kb3 Qxf2 32. Qxg7 Qxh4. After 30. Qe3 Petrosian could have won a pawn with 30. . . . Qdl+ (31. Qcl Qd4). Max Euwe believed White could draw after 31. Ka2 Qg4 32. Qc5 Qxg2 33. Qc8+ Ke7 34. Qc7+ Kf6 35. Qf4+ Kg6 36. f3. But Black would have winning chances with 36. . . . fS.

242

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Instead, Petrosian played 30. . . . Qc6? and headed for a draw with 31. Qg3 g6 32. b3 Qe4+ 33. Kb2 e5. The gamed ended with a handshake after 34. Qe3 Qxg2 35. Qxe5+ Kf8 36. Qh8+ Ke7 37. Qe5+. Years later he blamed this game on his nerves, as he had in the penultimate round at Curaej:ao. "I took my pulse discreetly under the table. It was up to 140 beats a minute:' he said. 72 He did not mention his pulse in a post-match interview with Yuri Averbakh for the Novosti news agency, but said, "I missed a wonderful chance of gaining the lead in the very first game and this upset me so much that I was too nervous in the next two games:' 73 The first six games were drawn. A fine Petrosian win with an Exchange sacrifice in the seventh was followed by two more draws. In the tenth round, Petrosian won an anthol­ ogy game culminating in a queen sacrifice. It was evident Spassky was not familiar with Petrosian's thought processes. He did not know which Petrosian moves were based primarily on intuition and which on calcu­ lation, or even what he was aiming at with his moves. It is very difficult to play a grand­ master when you do not know what he wants, he said. In the Candidates cycle Spas­ sky had only trailed once, by one point briefly at the start of the Keres and Tal matches. But he was down two points at the midway point of the Petrosian match.

Petrosian Turns Hims elf Off Petrosian's son Vartan said his father suf­ fered more after losses by his beloved Spartak football team than after his chess defeats. 74 The most painful game of his father's career, he said, was a draw:

Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Match, 12th game, Moscow, 1966 Modern D efense (A04) 1. Nf3 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. Nc3 Nd7 5. e4

e6 6. Be2 b6 7. 0-0 Bb7 8. Be3 Ne7 9. Qc2 h6 Spassky seemed to be giving his opponent "opening odds" in the match. To avoid posi­ tions he and his opponent had played before, he adopted lines that no world class players had, like this passive defense.

10. Radl 0-0 11. d5 e5 12. QcI Kh7 13. g3 f5 14. exf5! Petrosian loved these positions. Black has to concede pawn control of e4 or grant White a target at fS, as with 14 . . . . gxfS 15. Nh4 and f2-f4. Black's kingside is particularly weak­ ened when . . . h6 has been provoked.

14. . . . Nxf515. Bd3 Bc816. Kg2 Nf617. Ne4 Nh5 18. Bd2 Bd7 19. Khl Not 19. g4? Nh4+ 20. Nxh4 Qxh4 21. gxh5 Qh3+ 22. Kgl Qxd3.

19. . . . Ne7 20. Nh4 Bh3 21. Rgl Bd7 22. Be3 Qe8 23. Rdel Qt'7 24. Qc2 Kh8 25. Nd2 White's plan since 14 . . . . NxfS was to attack the g6-pawn three times. He would win after 25. . . . g5? 26. Ng6+. Hidden below the surface were tricks such as 25. . . . Kh7 26. f4! ? exf4? 27. Bxb6! , with a threat of 28. Rxe7 Qxe7 29. Nxg6 and wins.

25. . . . Nf5 Now 26. Nxg6+ Qxg6 27. g4 looks prom­ ising until you notice 27. . . . Nhg3+! 28. fxg3 Nxe3! 29. Rxe3 Qxg4 and 28. hxg3 Qxg4, with mixed chances. Better is 26. Ndf3, which makes 27. g4 a threat. White comes out ahead after 26. . . . Nf6 27. NxfS gxfS 28. BxfS Nxd5 29. Be4!. Mikhail Tal covered the match for the daily newspaper Sovietsk y Sport and pointed out tactics like that. He was delighted to receive two letters. One accused him of being pro ­ Spassky in his reporting. The other said he was pro-Petrosian. For a journalist, this is high praise. When Botvinnik was later asked

11. Candidacy to name "the most objective journalist;' he said, "Tal:' 75

26. Nxf5 gxf5 27. g4! e4? This is what Black banked on, after seeing 27. . . . Nf4 28. Bxf4 gxf4 29. Bxf5 Bxf5 30. gxf5 QxfS 31. QxfS Rxf5 32. Re7. He also rejected 27. . . . fxg4?? 28. Bg6 and 27. . . . f4 28. Bg6 Qe7 29. Bxh5 or 29. Bd4, which analysts concluded was good for White. But Black has chances after 29. Bd4 Nf6 30. f3 c6.

28. gxh5 f4 29. Rxg7! Qxg7 30. Rgl Qe5 Or 30 . . . . exd3 31. Qxd3 queen-move 32. Bd4( +). The queen and knight are supe­ rior to Black's rooks and bishop after 31. . . . Qxgl+ 32. Kxgl fxe3 33. Qxe3.

31. Nf3!! exd3 (see diagram)

After 31. ... exd3 Black would be lost after 31. . . . exf3 32. Bd2! and Bc3. Both players were in time pressure. The audience cheered as they real­ ized Petrosian was setting up a combina­ tional pattern known as the "windmill:' Spassky admired the way his opponent could switch from subtle positional play to explo­ sive shots. After the match, he told Svetozar Gligoric, "You know, Gliga, Tigran is first and foremost a stupendous tactician:' 76 32. Nxe5 dxc2 33. Bd4 dxe5 34. Bxe5+ Kh7 35. Rg7+ Kh8 This is the pattern. The rook can alternate between discovered checks and Rg7+.

243

36. Rg6+ Kh7 37. Rg7+ Kh8 White could have swept the seventh rank, 38. Rxd7+ (or at move 36) Kg8 39. Rg7+ Kh8 40. Rxc7+ Kg8. Then White has to keep checking until he had stopped the c2-pawn from queening. But he could have adjourned at move 41. Then he and Boleslavsky could analyze positions such as 41. Rg7+ Kh8 42. Rxa7+ Kg8 43. Rg7+ Kh8 44. Rgl+ until they decided whether to play for a win when play resumed. Petrosian felt vindicated when later analysis confirmed there was no win in that line.

38. Rg6+ Kh7 39. Rg7+ draw But he was deeply upset when he discov­ ered that he could have improved his com­ bination with 32. Qxd3! (instead of 32. Nxe5?). Then on 32. . . . Bf5, the windmill works bet­ ter: 33. Nxe5 Bxd3 34. Bd4 because 34 . . . . Be4+ allows 35. Nf3+. After 34 . . . . dxe5 35. Bxe5+ there is no Black pawn at c2 to worry about. (Many years later it was pointed out that the routine 32. Qxd3 Bf5 33. Qe2! would have won without much difficulty. For example, 33. . . . Be4 34. Bd2 and Bc3 or 33. . . . fxe3 34. Nxe5 exf2 35. Rg2 Rae8 36. Qxf2). In any case, the discovery of 32. Qxd3! had a devastating effect on the champion. "Father 'turned himself off' for a week, all the time remembering that game;' his son Vartan said. 77 Viktor Malkin, who had friends in both camps, said a fellow psychologist examined Petrosian. He diagnosed depression and in­ sisted on Petrosian taking a time out. 78 Soviet sportsmen were not supposed to be depressed. So in his Novosti interview after the match Petrosian claimed he got a five-day break after this game because of a "sore throat:' The next game was number 13. In an in­ terview later aired on Soviet television Petro­ sian was asked what he would do if a crucial game were to be played on the 13th day of the month "and on your way to the game you

244

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

see a black cat in your path:' He replied, "If you have time, you know, it's best to cross to the other side of the street:' 79 The 13th game proved unlucky. After the match, Petrosian said he lost it twice: He fought back from a bad position to a prob­ able draw at adjournment "but got into time trouble" and erred again on move 72. He re­ signed 19 moves later. His match lead, which could have been three points a week before, was cut to one game.

Nib elung and Hon ey Had this been a 21st century world cham­ pionship, it would have been over in three weeks. But the best-of-24-game matches of 1951 to 1993 often lasted two months. The players relied on strategically timed rest days and prepared backup openings. They also had ways to restore their emotional stamina. Before a key game Petrosian liked to listen to Wagner's The Ring of the Nibelung to bring out his fighting spirit. Spassky preferred opera selections sung by Fyodor Chalyapin, Enrico Caruso or the Russian mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Obukhova. His mother had an­ other approach. Ekaterina Spasskaya, still very much part of his life, prepared a mixture of honey and lemon according to her family recipe. ''A three-liter pot stood near his bed, and he would eat two-three spoons a night;' said Shura Koroleva, longtime hostess of the Central Chess Club. 80 Koroleva was not the only woman who loved to mother Spassky. During the match he visited Vasily Smyslov's home for chess advice as well as for home-cooked meals pre­ pared by Smyslov's wife Nadezhda. "By the time I had lost the match I had gained six kilos! " Spassky recalled. 81 But gaining weight was not a good sign. Botvinnik often lost weight during matches. Petrosian normally weighed 165 pounds. In this match he lost the same amount of weight that Spassky gained.

After Petrosian lost the 19th game the match was tied. Spassky's fans remembered how he had beaten Tal by waiting for his late-match "final kick:' His opponent was eight years older than him and clearly showing signs of fatigue. After the match Spassky said his greatest mistake was not taking a time-out then. He had been fighting for four weeks to equalize the score. ''A new moment had ar­ rived in the match and I should have con­ centrated;' he said. But he did not want to give Petrosian time to rest. 82 Petrosian comforted Rona by saying that life would go on when he eventually lost his title. But he won the 20th game. The 21st was drawn. He needed only a point in the sched­ uled remaining three games to guarantee at least a drawn match and the retention of his title.

Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Match, 22nd game, Moscow, 1966 Polish Defense (A40) 1. d4 b5?! 2. e4 Bb7 3. f3 a6 White's best chances of punishing Black's almost-insolent first move require him to make moves that are more aggressive than Petrosian was comfortable with.

4. Be3 e6 5. Nd2 Nf6 6. c3 Be7 7. Bd3 d6 8. a4 c6 9. Ne2 Nbd7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Ng3 Res Spassky is playing as if this were a Ruy Lopez, Breyer Variation, with a pawn on eS, not e6. He would not fear, for example, 12. b4 Nb6 13. a5 Nbd7 14. f4 c5!.

12. axb5 axb5 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. Qc2 Bf8 15. b4! QbS 16. Nb3 g617. Ral e518. Qf2 d5! This is often an equalizing stroke in simi­ lar Breyer positions.

19. dxe5 Nxe5 20. Bc2 Bg7 21. Ba7 The position favors White slightly. His

11. Candidacy bishop belongs on d4 but rather than go there immediately he wants to see what Black will do with his queen. The queen is well placed on the b8-h2 diagonal because of tactical possibilities such as 21. Na5 Bc8 22. Bd4 dxe4 23. Nxe4 Nxe4 24. fxe4? Ng4.

21. . . . Qc7 22. Bb6! Qb8! 23. Ba7 Qc7 24. Bb6 Qb8 Petrosian sank into deep thought. He could have called over the match arbiter, Al­ beric O'Kelly, written down 25. Ba7 on his scoresheet and say it would repeat the posi­ tion for the third time, with Black to move. Instead of claiming a draw, he played 25. Ba7! (see diagram) on the board.

245

so much as waste time worrying about moves Petrosian did not play. It is likely Spassky burned clock time on his last move wonder­ ing what he would do after 30. Qxh4. That seems strongest but would lead to Black counterplay after 30. . . . c5!? 31. Nxc5 Nxc5 and . . . Nxe4. Instead, Spassky should have spent his precious seconds looking for the most likely "Petrosian move;' and 30. Nfd2! was a perfect example.

30. Nfd2! c5 31. Nxc5 Nxc5 32. bxc5 Bxe4 Black would have lost a piece after 32. . . . Nxe4 33. Bxe4 Bxe4 34. Bxg7 Kxg7 35. Qd4+. After 32. . . . Bxe4 Tal recommended 33. Bxf6 Bxc2 34. Bxg7 Kxg7 35. Nf3. Later analysis suggested 35. . . . Be4! would muddy the wa­ ters.

33. Bb3! The f6-knight is threatened and can not move (33. . . . Nh5 34. Bxf7+).

33. . . . Bf5 34. Ra7

After 25. Ba7 Now it was Spassky's turn to either claim a draw or make a move. The best move was probably 25. . . . Qc7. But that would admit he was not trying to win. A draw would mean he needed to win the final two games of the match to take the championship title.

25 . . . . Qc8!? 26. Bd4 h5?! 27. h3! h4? Spassky had to do something about the threat of 28. f4 and 29. e5. He would have no real winning chances after 27. . . . Ned7 28. exd5 Nxd5 29. Bxg7. But now the h­ pawn is permanently weak.

28. Nfl dxe4 29. fxe4 Ned7 Mikhail Botvinnik concluded Spassky did not overlook Petrosian's moves in this match

Around this point Petrosian rose from the table and left the stage, swaying his shoulders as he often did when winning. He knew the match was over. "It was probably cruel to leave Spassky alone;' wrote Viktor Vasiliev, who was sitting in the first row of the audi­ ence. "But who thinks of the opponent in such moments?" 83 Spassky's face betrayed nothing, as usual. But he fidgeted in his chair and leaned on his elbows. Then he shot an "agonizingly long glance" at Bondarevsky in the audience. Was he blaming him for the choice of 1. . . . b5? Only after Bondarevsky got up and left did Spassky make a move. Petrosian returned to the board.

34 . . . . Nd7 35. Nf3 The knight can go to g5 with decisive ef­ fect. Black resigns. This rendered the final two games almost irrelevant: Petrosian would retain his title.

246

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

The only question was whether he would win the match outright and earn the 2,000-ruble winner's prize. (Of that, 200 rubles in taxes were subtracted.) Spassky came back with a win in the 23d game but was lost in the 24th when Petrosian agreed to a draw. He had to settle for the 1,200-ruble loser's share. It "was not enough to pay for the work of seconds;' he said. 84 In his postmortem analysis, Petrosian said Spassky lost because of over-confidence­ believing "in his lucky star" after his Candi­ dates matches-and for playing at Hastings.85 On the other hand, Spassky said he lost be­ cause he was alone, with "no family;' living in his apartment opposite the Butyrka Prison near Moscow. He also said that to win the championship a player needed to have the conviction that his victory was inevitable. "I

didn't have this. Perhaps I was subconsciously frightened of victory, knowing that I wasn't ready to become king;' he said. 86 The match ended on the same note of ci­ vility with which it began. "I was invited to a banquet at the i\.rmenia' restaurant, where Tigran Vartanovich was honored;' Spassky recalled. "Looking around the hall, I gave a toast and in particular said, 'Earlier I thought that the chess world was a republic but now I understand that it is a monarchY:" 87 But, he said later, "I was a happy man . . . . I lived like a free bird. No responsibilities:' He was automatically seeded into the Candi­ dates matches leading to the 1969 champi­ onship match. No Zonals and Interzonals to agonize about. He said he enjoyed "strength, health and the carefree challenger's life for three years! " 88

12. Humors The four great rivals seemed to go out of their way to show that they were very dif­ ferent people. The choices Mikhail Tal made, good or bad, were not the ones Tig­ ran Petrosian, Boris Spassky or Vik.tor Korch­ noi were likely to make. The steps Spassky took, at the board and away from it, were often inexplicable to Korchnoi, Tal and Pet­ rosian. But William Shakespeare would under­ stand all four. They confirmed the ancient theory of the "four humors;' which he often used in drawing the personalities of his stage characters. The theory held that a person's disposition was determined by the balance among four fluids ("humors") in his or her body. It was widely appreciated, if only with smiles. Shakespeare could portray a sad, de­ pressed character and the audience would instantly recognize him as melancholic, hav­ ing too much "black bile:' Spassky, who said his world championship years were "the most unhappy" of his life, was often melancholic. The easily provoked Korchnoi regularly fit the choleric personal­ ity (too much "yellow bile"). Not always, but often enough. When Petrosian was lethargic, he could personify the phlegmatic (too much phlegm). The fourth humor, blood, gave us "san­ guine:' It describes buoyant enthusiasm and a try-anything attitude. In other words, Mik-

hail Tal. He was at his most sanguine during 1966-7. In July 1966 Tal began an international tournament in Kislovodsk, formerly a Tsarist­ era spa destination in the northern Cauca­ sus. Once more his health failed. "Misha sud­ denly felt unwell, again suffering sharp pains;' said Mark Taimanov, who also played in the tournament. 'J\n ambulance was called and they advised him to stop playing:' It seemed like a replay of Curaej:ao 1962. But Tal was certain he could play-and play well-if he was allowed to make moves from his hotel bathtub. "He lay in a warm bath (and) dictated his moves without look­ ing at the board-and he won this game! " Taimanov said. 1 All that Tal said in his mem­ oirs was, "For several days the question of my leaving the tournament was debated:' 2 Earlier in the book he described how in the 32nd USSR Championship at the end of 1964 he played several games "under doctor's in­ structions" in his hotel room and still managed to finish in third place. 3 Taimanov did not identify the "bathtub" game but this is a likely candidate.

Tai-Svend Hamann Kislovodsk, 1966 Sicilian Defense (B43)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 7. 0-0 Bb4

247

248

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Black threatens 8 . . . . Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nxe4. Standard, balanced play runs 8. Qd3 Nc6 9. Nxc6. 8. Bg5!? Bxc3 9. Bxf6 gxf6 10. bxc3 Qxc3! ll. Rb1 Nc6 Black's king must live or die in the center because 11. . . . 0-0? 12. Rb3 loses, e.g., 12. . . . Qc5 13. Qd2 and Qh6. 12. Nxc6 dxc6 White can prompt another weakness after 12. . . . Qxc6 13. Qd4 but keeping the d-file closed with 12. . . . bxc6 may be more of a test of his gambit than 12 . . . . dxc6. 13. Rb3 Qc5 14. Qd2 (see diagram)

After 14. Qd2 White can get his pawn back after 14 . . . . e5 15. Qh6 and can play for more (15. . . . Qe7 16. Rdl or 16. Rb6 rather than 16. Qg7).

threat of 19. Re8+!. But 17. . . . Be6! is unclear, e.g., 18. Rd7+ Kf8 19. Qe2 Bxd7 20. Rxd7 Rh7. 17. e5! Black resigns It's a massacre after 18. exf6+, or 17. . . . fxe5 18. Qg5+. Tal finished with an even score and a tie for sixth place out of 12 and fell out of first place as the world's top-rated player, after a two-month reign. Spassky also lost ratings ground right after his championship match when he was pressed into emergency duty. A Chigorin memorial international began June 21 in Sochi. It was a strong event, with Korchnoi, Lev Polugaevsky and Ratmir Khol­ mov among the invitees. But 30 minutes be­ fore the first round was scheduled to begin "it was discovered" that Kholmov had re­ fused his invitation, according to Shakhmaty v SSSR. "Therefore B. Spassky came to the aid and was included in the tournament lit­ erally five minutes before the opening;' the magazine added. "Of course, after the world championship and before a major tourna­ ment in the USA he could not play at full strength:' 4 Spassky tied for fifth after losing to the tournament winner, Korchnoi.

Korchnoi-Spassky Sochi l966

14. . . . h5? 15. Rdl Ke7 Or 15. . . . Qe7? 16. Rd3 and Rd8+. 16. Rd3? We can guess that Tal stopped looking at candidate moves when he saw an apparent win. But the right way was 16. Rc3! Qe5 17. Rd3 and 18. Rd8. For example, 17. . . . Qc7 18. e5! fxe5 19. Qg5+ mates. 16. . . . Qb6? Tal overlooked 16. . . . e5!. Then 17. Bxh5! Rxh5? 18. Rd8 would win because of the

After 65. ... Kf5 There is more than one way to win. White chose 66. Nh3!?. Then 66. . . . Kf6 67. Ngl! Kf5 68. Ne2 and Kxb5 wins with the passed a-pawn.

12. Humors Black liquidated pawns, 66. . . . g4 67. fxg4+ Kxg4 but after 68. Nf2+ Kf3 69. Ndl! Ke2 he could afford 70. Kxb5! Kxdl 71. Kb4! and the a-pawn could not be stopped (71. . . . Kc2 72. a4 Nxc3 73. aS). Also winning was 70. c4! .

Showtime for Sp assky The American tournament the magazine referred to was the second Piatigorsky Cup. Once again Jacqueline and Gregor Piatigor­ sky sponsored an elite invitational and again they wanted to make sure the world cham­ pion, whoever he was, took part. Their or­ ganizer, Isaac Kashdan, helped guarantee that by inviting both Petrosian and Spassky well before their title match. The prize fund was $20,000-double that of the 1963 tour­ nament. Modest by today's standards, it was the most generous prize of the era. All ten invited players accepted the terms, even Bobby Fischer. Spassky was eager to see Southern California, especially after he learned that the 1963 Hollywood movie It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World was partly filmed in the tournament's city, Santa Monica. The pairings pitted Spassky against Petro­ sian in the first round on July 17. Spassky apologized to fans for not trying hard. "The present game demonstrates once again how grandmasters play when they do not care to win;' he wrote in the tournament book. 5 They drew in 29 moves and again, in the double­ round tournament's second half, in 22 moves. Petrosian got off to a bad start with his third­ round game:

Lajos Portisch-Petrosian

Piatigorsky Cup, Santa Monica, 1966 King's Indian Defense (E63) 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nf3 d6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. g3 0-0 6. Bg2 Nc6 7. 0-0 a6 8. dS NaS 9. Nd2 cS 10. Qc2 Rb8

249

Petrosian knew both sides of this position. Spassky had played 10. . . . eS in the title match and allowed him to play one of his most fa­ mous games: 11. b3 Ng4 12. e4 f5 13. exfS gxfS 14. Ndl bS 15. f3 e4 16. Bb2 exf3 17. Bxf3 Bxb2 18. Qxb2 NeS 19. Be2 f4? 20. gxf4 Bh3 21. Ne3! Bxfl? 22. Rxfl Ng6 23. Bg4 Nxf4 24. Rxf4! Rxf4 25. Be6+ Rf7 26. Ne4 Qh4 27. Nxd6 QgS+ 28. Khl Ra7 29. Bxf7+ Rxf7 30. Qh8+!! Black resigns.

11. b3 b5 12. Bb2 bxc4 13. bxc4 Bh6 14. f4 es Both Portisch and Petrosian had wit­ nessed how the trading policy of 14 . . . . Ng4 15. Ndl Rxb2 16. Qxb2! Bg7 17. Qcl Bxal 18. Qxal failed in Korchnoi-Bilek, Stock­ holm 1962. Black was left with awful knights and lost after 18 . . . . Bd7 19. h3 Nf6 20. e4 Qb6 21. es.

15. Rael exf416. gxf4 NhS 17. e3 Re8? The rook turns out to be misplaced on this natural square because it may be needed to protect f6 after . . . fS. Better was 17. . . . Bg7.

18. Nce4 BfS19. Bc3! Nb7 20. Qa4 a5 21. Rbl (see diagram)

After 21. Rbl "Black's position is already strategically lost;' Petrosian wrote, because the b7-knight is a chronic problem. 6 He could visualize fin­ ishes such as 21. . . . Bxe4 22. Nxe4 fS? 23. Rxb7! Rxb7 24. Nxd6 and wins. But Black has resources. Once again Petrosian

250

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

was seeing more for his opponent than for himself.

21. . . . Qe7 22. Rfel Bd7 23. Qc2 Bf5 24. Qa4 For example, 24. . . . Rf8 followed by . . . Bxe4 and . . . fS.

24. . . . Kf8 25. Rb6 Rbd8 26. Qb3 Bes 27. Nfl! White wants to trade this knight for the one on hS. Black can still control f6 with 27. . . . f5 28. Neg3 Nf6 and defend.

21. . . . Rd7? 28. Nfg3! Nxg3 29. hxg3 Bg7 30. Qb2! f5 31. Bxg7+ Qxg7 32. Nf6 Black resigns Spassky was alone in first place after eight rounds, after winning one of his finest games, against Fischer. But Petrosian did not return to an even score until the 14th of 18 rounds. His only impact on the top prizes came on the last day when he drew with Fischer, while Spassky won and clinched first prize. All of the players appeared in dark business suits that day except for Spassky and Petrosian, who unaccountably showed up in flowered Hawaiian sports shirts, The New York Times reported. The Times noted that during the tourna­ ment "a woman who was knitting in the front row" of the audience was "evicted:' 7 When Shakhmaty v SSSR celebrated Spassky's per­ formance with a long interview, it quoted him as denying that he was responsible for her ejection. 8 But what actually happened? It was not until 1997 that he explained: The woman was Rona Petrosian. She regularly sat in the first row of spectators and was talk­ ing with "two Armenian comrades:' Spassky said. Fischer called over Kashdan and said, "Miss Petrosian is talking and disturbing me. I ask you to remove her from the hall:' Petro­ sian "was very annoyed at Fischer" and re­ mained upset with him "until the end of his days:' Spassky said. 9 Gregor Piatigorsky was impressed by Spas-

sky's expressive personality. "Spassky's en­ thusiasm was as catching as his humor, which he demonstrated in his hilarious pres­ entation at the awards banquet:' Piatigorsky wrote. 1 0 What he referred to was Spassky's skill as a mimic. He loved to portray other grandmasters, such as Mikhail Botvinnik and Fischer, with exaggerations of their ges­ tures and appearance at the board. A Holly­ wood producer was present at the dinner and suggested to Spassky that he play a role of a chess player in a film, according to Niko­ lai Krogius. 11 Nothing came of it. But after he became world champion, Spassky agreed to audition for a starring role in what turned out to be an acclaimed 1971 Soviet film ver­ sion of The Twelve Chairs. "It could not work out:' Spassky recalled. "I do not like [authors] Ilf and Petrov. Just don't:' 12 Spassky's first prize at Santa Monica was $5,000, the equivalent of about $40,000 in 2018. It meant that in his next bid for Petro­ sian's title he would not be short of money.

FIDE, Fidel and Ch e For the first time all four of the rivals were on an Olympiad team. The tournament, which began October 23 in Havana, was an­ other easy Soviet victory. It is best remem­ bered for incidents before and after the tour­ nament. The first occurred before the first round: Tal was in a bar/nightclub when he tried his charms on a Cuban woman. The woman's boyfriend took offense and hit Tal over the head with a bottle, sending him to the hos­ pital. He missed the first four rounds and played the rest of the tournament with his head bandaged near the left eye. It was yet another crazy Tal story. Even his friends joked about it. "Only because of his iron-like health could Tal sustain such a blow:' Petrosian said. 13 Tal assumed readers of his memoirs knew the story because his only

12. Humors

25 1

The six Soviet team members relax before the start of the 1966 Olympiad in Havana. Left to right, Lev Polugaevsky, Spassky, Leonid Stein, Tai (before being injured in a bar fight), Petrosian and Korchnoi. Shakhmaty v SSSR, February 1967.

comment was: "At the Olympiad in Havana an unknown man 'caught' me with a 'tactical blow' . . . a bottle to the head. As a result, the 'first game' of the Olympiad, Tal-N.N., ended in my defeat, close to a rout:' 14 Korchnoi, who roomed with Tal, said nothing about the incident in his 1977 mem­ oir. But he later described how he and Tal left a pair of shoes outside their hotel door so it would seem to their KGB minders that they were in for the night. They went to a dark bar, drank Bacardi rum and spent about two hours there with two Cuban women. Korchnoi danced with one of the women, sat down and let Tal dance with her. Suddenly there was a dull thud and "a hysterical woman's cry;' Korchnoi said. Tal had been hit in the forehead with a Coca-Cola bottle and he crumpled to the floor. 15 Korchnoi added: "The bloodstained Tal and I were taken to a hospital, where we waited until morning for a translator. They cleaned up Tal's wound under the eye and stitches were inserted." A man with a gun guarded Korchnoi "so I wouldn't be attacked or escape:' "Everyone who was in the bar-43 peo­ ple-was taken to the Cuban security com­ mittee. One youth confessed that he de­ livered the blow out of jealousy. In the hotel

in the morning there was a meeting of the team. Tal, for his disobedience, received a mighty blow, as the reader will under­ stand;' Korchnoi said. "But they criticized me for weakening the team on the eve of a decisive meeting: the evening match with Monaco:' 16 Tal was back at the board for the fifth round and, with dark glasses, scored 12-1, the best score of anyone in the tournament. But the KGB did not forgive Tal or Korchnoi, Korchnoi said. Mark Taimanov gave two less credible accounts: Tal was not the intended target, he said. "'Someone out of jealousy threw a bottle at one of the patrons and it inex­ plicably hit the innocent Misha in the head;' he said in a symposium at the Tal memorial tournament in 2011. 17 In a 2009 interview, Taimanov claimed Korchnoi was the of­ fender: "Korchnoi invited a Cuban girl to dance;' he said. "When Korchnoi returned to his chair, a bottle was thrown at him. Of course, it didn't land on him but on Misha:' Taimanov said this was typical of Tal's "ill fate:' It was not just his perilous health. "If I read in the newspaper that near Sochi a car fell into a ravine with passengers, the first thought that came to me was-Misha was there:' 18

252

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

The Cubans published an impressive tour­ nament book with no mention of the Tal incident. It included several photos of their national hero Jose Capablanca and of Petro­ sian. In one snapshot Petrosian is shown ad­ miring the board and pieces used by Capa­ blanca to win the world title from Emanuel Lasker in Havana in 1921. Petrosian did not seem to notice that the board was set up wrong. 19 The book also included four photos of the titular head of the Olympiad organizing committee, Fidel Castro. The chess-loving E l Comandante wanted to meet the world champion and got his wish when Petro­ sian arrived at the Havana Libre playing site a few minutes after he did. Bobby Fischer, the first board of the U.S. team, and "a Mexican colleague;' apparently master Filiberto Terrazas, were also in the playing hall. The Soviet version of what happened next is that Castro began a game with Ter­ razas and it quickly became a consultation game: Fischer suggested moves to Terrazas, while Castro was advised by Soviet players. "Petrosian and Lev Polugaevsky helped Fidel;' said Alexey Serov, the Soviet team captain (and Communist Party Central Com­ mittee member). "The socialist collaboration won:' 20 After the tournament was over, Castro presented the gold, silver and bronze medals to the winning Soviet, United States and Hungarian teams. The next day he showed up for a massive simultaneous exhibition. Visiting grandmasters, including Petrosian, played 6,840 amateurs in the vast Square of the Revolution. Serov spoke to Petrosian beforehand. "I advised him it was obligatory to make a draw with Fidel;' he recalled. After the game, a delighted Castro shook Petro­ sian's hand and said, "You didn't want to of­ fend me. I think you're not only a great chess player but a great diplomat:' As soon as this was announced on radio, people in the square outside chanted, "Petrosian! Castro!

Petrosian! Castro! Viva Russia! " according to Serov. 21 Spassky did not join in the Fidel-mania. "I avoided him" even though "the delega­ tion leaders ordered me to go to a meeting with him;' he said. "I just ran away. I had been also running away from his public speeches. I could not stand endless slogans like Patria o mu erte! Venceremos! for five hours:' 22 It was a minor diplomatic matter but it was a rare case of Spassky refusing a direct order from the vlasti. During the tournament he and the rest of the Soviet team remained silent when Igor Bondarevsky demanded that they insist on forfeiting the U.S. team during a brief crisis over scheduling. In the same outdoor exhibition, Korchnoi played Che Guevara, a much better player than Castro. Korchnoi, too, was advised to make a draw. He nodded his head in agree­ ment but, as Gennady Sosonko said, "When Korchnoi plays chess he forgets about every­ thing:' Korchnoi returned to his hotel several hours later and told Tal, "I beat everyone without exception! " 23 "Well, what about Che Guevara?" Tal asked. "I beat Che Guevara too. He does not un­ derstand the Catalan Opening! " Korchnoi replied. He was asked in 2011 about the story. "I will say this: it's very close to the truth;' he said. "Generally I played simuls seriously, not trying to end them quicklY:' 24

In th e Corrida Korchnoi said the Olym piad left him ex­ hausted. But Tal, still sore from his bar inci­ dent, was allowed to skip the final round in Havana so he could fly to Spain for an inter­ national tournament in Palma de Mallorca. It was a moderately strong 16-player event.

12. Humors After Tai won his first six games, there seemed little doubt that the 1,200-peseta first prize would be his. He was enjoying himself so much that he agreed when promoters of a local bull ring asked him to become a tore­ ador for an afternoon. "The debut of Miguel Tai in the corrida went brilliantly:' one of the local newspapers said. ''A second Cordobes!" -referring to the legendary Spanish bullfighter Manuel Benitez Perez. 25 Tal, who could read Spanish as well as English, German and Serbian, downplayed the account. "Firstly, it was really more like a calf:' he answered. ''And secondly, I had heard so much about the bull-fight-from Bizet to Hemingway-that was I to decline to take part in one in such convenient cir­ cumstances? Unthinkable! " 26 That he had never been to a bull ring be­ fore did not matter. Yuri Averbakh recalled how he and Tai were in Yugoslavia when Sve­ tozar Gligoric took them to a swimming pool with a diving board three meters high. "Misha was watching. Someone challenged him to dive off it himself:' he said. Tai "im­ mediately took up the challenge, even though he had never been on a springboard before:' 27 Fans might also have detected Tal's san­ guine confidence in the tournament's first round:

Tai-Robert Wade

Palma de Mallorca, 1966 Sicilian Defense (B77)

I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. Be3 Bg7 7. f3 Nc6 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Bc4 Fischer popularized this attacking forma­ tion. But one of the first to play it interna­ tionally was Tai. In his 1956 student Olym­ piad game with Anthony Saidy he obtained clear superiority after 9. . . . NaS 10. Bb3 a6 11. 0-0-0 bS 12. Bh6 Re8 13. Bxg7 Kxg7

253

14. h4 Nxb3+ 15. cxb3! ? Rh8? 16. hS Bd7 17. Kbl Qb6 18. NdS.

9. . . . Bd7 IO. h4 Rc8 II. Bb3 Qa5 12. h5 Nxh513. g4 The 11. . . . QaS variation was fairly new. Tal's move order allows Black the option of 13. . . . Nxd4 14. Bxd4 Bxd4 15. Qxd4 Nf4! . Whether White has compensation for a pawn after 16. Qd2 QeS 17. 0-0-0 is unclear (17 . . . . gS 18. Rh6 or 17. . . . Be6 18. Qh2).

13. . . . Nf6 14. 0-0-0 Ne5 15. Bh6 A mating attack plays itself after 15. . . . Nc4?? 16. Bxc4 Rxc4 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Qh6+ Kg8 and 19. NdS Re8 20. gS! NhS 21. RxhS! gxhs 22. Nf6+.

15. . . . Bxh6 16. Rxh6! Black intended a sacrifice on c3, and 16. Qxh6 Rxc3! 17. bxc3 Rc8 or 17. . . . Qxc3 would have improved it.

16. . . . Rxc3! 17. bxc3 Black has ample endgame compensation after 17. Qxc3 Qxc3 18. bxc3. After 17. bxc3 the game's outcome depends on whose attack is faster.

17. . . . Rc8 18. Kb2 b5 Black wants to recapture with a pawn on c4. But 18 . . . . Nc4+ 19. Bxc4 Rxc4 has vir­ tues as well (20. Rdhl? Ra4). Chances would be roughly balanced after 20. Nb3 QeS. More­ over, Black is not worse after 18 . . . . Bxg4! 19. fxg4 Nxe4. For example, 20. Qe3 (or 20. Qg2) Nxc3 21. Rdhl Nc4+ 22. Bxc4 Rxc4.

19. Rdhl Nc4+ On the previous move, another sacrifice, 18 . . . . Nxf3 19. Nxf3 Nxe4 would walk into 21. Qf4. But after 19. Rdhl that defense fails (19. . . . Nxf3 20. Nxf3 Nxe4 21. Qf4? Qxc3+ 22. Kbl Qxf3! 22. Qxf3 Nd2+). However,

254

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

there is another difference. Instead of 21. Qf4, White could win with 21. Rxh7! because 21. . . . Nxd2 22. Rh8+ Kg7 23. Rlh7+ Kf6 24. Rxf7 is mate.

20. Bxc4 bxc4! White's king is a factor after 21. Ne2 Rc6!, when 22. Rbl Rb6+ 23. Kal Rxbl+ is even.

21. Rxh7! Nxh7 22. Qh6 (see diagram)

together and Shamkovich said: "Misha, I had a terrible dream. We were to play and agreed to a draw before the game. The round began, an hour passed, then another but you con­ tinued to play. My position worsened with each move and I was on the verge of defeat. I said softly, Misha what are you doing? But you just smiled and smoked a cigarette. And then I woke up in a cold sweat:' 28 Tai laughed as he later told the story to Gennady So­ sonko. When his game with Shamkovich began, it was a quiet Queen's Gambit Ac­ cepted. He traded pieces quickly and drew in 24 moves.

The Korchnoi Luck

After 22. Qh6 Black loses outright after 22. . . . Rb8+?? 23. Nb3. Best is 22. . . . Qe5! 23. Qxh7+ Kf8. The endgame, 24. Qh8+ Qxh8 25. Rxh8+ Kg7 26. Rxc8 Bxc8, favors Black's bishop and fast king (27. Nc6 Kf6 28. Nxa7 Bd7). Tai could have kept chances equal after 24. f4 Qg7 25. Qh4.

22. . . . e6?? 23. f4! Now 23. . . . Rb8+ 24. Nb3? cxb3 would win for Black. But not after 24. Kcl! (24 . . . . Qxc3 25. Qxh7+ Kf8 26. Qh8+ Ke7 27. NfS+! and Qxc3). 23. . . . es 24. gS! Be8 25. Ne6! Black resigns In view of 25. . . . Rb8+ 26. Kcl fxe6 27. Qxh7+ Kf8 28. fxe5 and Rfl+ (or 28. Qh8+ Ke7 29. Rh7+). Also playing at Palma was Leonid Sham­ kovich, a grandmaster who had quietly helped Tai in his 1965 Candidates match with Spassky. Shamkovich, known as "The Prince;' had an earnest, innocent demeanor. Before their eighth round game they took a stroll

Korchnoi said he was still fatigued when he entered a new world championship cycle on December 28, 1966. This was in another Zonal, the 34th USSR Championship finals, in Tbilisi. Without quite a bit of luck, the drive that eventually brought him to the 1968 Candidates finals would have died in Tbil­ isi. Four players were to advance from the Zonal. With two rounds to go, three of those spots seemed certain to go to Leonid Stein, Yefim Geller and Aivars Gipslis. Korchnoi was tied for fourth place with Nikolai Kro­ gius and Anatoly Lein, with Mark Taimanov a half point back. His chances of being the fourth qualifier for the 1967 Interzonal were in serious doubt. Korchnoi said he only played "fighting" draws in the tournament. But he made an eight-move draw in the penultimate round. Then he watched as the best possible results occurred: Gipslis, Krogius and Lein all lost. Krogius lost again on the final day. So, Korchnoi finished in a tie with Taimanov and Gipslis for the final two Interzonal spots. They resolved the tie in a match-tournament in Tallinn two months later. Korchnoi's luck was tested again in this game:

12. Humors Korchnoi-Aivars Gipslis

Zonal playoff, Tallinn, 1967

After 24. b4 With 24. . . . Na6 25. a3 Rc8 Black might have equalized. But he tried 24. . . . Qa4?? and would have lost a piece after 25. Nel! . This would nearly have guaranteed Korch­ noi's qualification for the Interzonal. Yet he played 25. Nd4??. Suddenly Black had the advantage, 25. . . . Rd8! 26. Bf3 Qxc2 27. Nxc2 Rxdl+ 28. Bxdl Nd3 29. f4 Bxb4. But ten moves later, in a very favorable endgame, Gipslis's flag fell before he could play his 40th move, the time control. The playoff ended in a three-way tie. Taimanov, with inferior tie breaking points, was the odd man out. For the first time since 1962, Korch­ noi was headed to an Interzonal.

Jubilees In 1967 the Kremlin rolled out a red car­ pet, literally, for celebrations of the 50th an­ niversary of the "Great October Socialist Revolution." In addition to a massive Red Square military parade, Lenin retrospectives and the issuing of silver commemorative medals, the year was marked by two inter­ national "Jubiliee" chess tournaments. To ac­ commodate the Sports Committee's calendar they were held in May 1967. The committee wanted the best players in

255

the world-with one exception. By then Bobby Fischer was far and away the highest rated player in the world and the only non­ Soviet in the top ten. Korchnoi wrote that "there was a rumor" that Fischer was eager to play in one of the Jubilee tournaments, "even without an extra appearance fee:' 29 It was more than a rumor-and it posed a political problem. "What the hell would happen if an American citizen would win the tournament commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the state?" Korchnoi said. 30 The Sports Committee wanted assurances that that would not happen. It summoned Petrosian, Spassky, Tal, Paul Keres and Vasily Smyslov and demanded assurances. "Do you guarantee that you' ll win the first place?" they were asked. "We could answer only with some vague nods;' Tal wrote. That was not good enough. The vlasti used the excuse of Fischer's religious strictures to exclude him. He was told "we would be very glad to in­ clude him, but the tournament's schedule in­ cluded playing every Friday and Saturday, so it'd be impossible;' Tal said. 31 Korchnoi was chosen to go to the first tournament, in Leningrad, while his three other rivals were invited to a much stronger "Jubilee" in Moscow. Korchnoi was in splen­ did form and had his statistically best per­ formance of the 1965-1972 period.

Vlastimil Hort-Korchnoi

Jubilee tournament, Leningrad, 1967 Queen's Gambit Declined (D32)

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 dS 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 cS 5. e3 Nc6 6. a3 Ne4 7. Bd3 Nxc3 8. bxc3 dxc4 9. Bxc4 Be7 10. 0-0 0-0 11. Qe2 Bd7 12. dS The slow buildup of 12. Bb2 and 13. e4 is more natural. White was trying to anchor his bishop in the center, 12. . . . exd5 13. Bxd5 fol­ lowed by c3-c4 and e3-e4, as Petrosian did against Hort in 1970.

12. . . . NaS 13. Ba2?!

256

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Black was willing to accept some pawn damage (13. dxe6 Bxe6 14. Bxe6 fxe6) to get bishops off the board. Now he can do it for free.

13. . . . exdS 14. BxdS Bc6! 15. Bxc6 Nxc6 16. Rdl QcS 17. e4 Qe6 18. Rbl b6 19. Bf4 Rads The weak White queenside pawns and c4 square make him worse.

20. Qc2 NaS 21. h3 Nc4 22. RxdS RxdS 23. Ral h6 24. a4 gS! (see diagram)

Korchnoi finished first, a point ahead of Kholmov. The other Jubilee was the strongest inter­ national tournament of the year-in fact, one of the greatest ever. Eighteen players com­ peted in the Red Banner Hall of the Central House of the Soviet Army. Petrosian started well, 3-1, but then ran into his latest nemesis. He was betrayed by his defensive intuition.

Lajos Portis ch-Petrosian Jubilee Tournament, Moscow, 1967 Slav Defense (DlO) 1. d4 dS 2. c4 c6 3. cxdS cxdS 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. Bf4 e6 7. e3 Bd6 8. Bg3 0-0 9. Bd3 ReS?! 10. NeS! Petrosian likely trusted his defensive skill in a 10. 0-0 Bxg3 11. hxg3 es 12. dxeS NxeS middlegame. His opponent had played the position with 9. Bd3 as much as anyone and soon got attacking chances.

After 24. ... g5 Black's last was a prelude to a heavy piece invasion at d2.

25. Bg3 h5 26. Rel g4 27. hxg4 hxg4 28. Nh4 Rd2 29. Qcl Qd7 30. NfS BgS 31. Qal a6 32. Kh2 Qd3 33. Qcl Kh7! Now 34 . . . . Kg6 and 35. . . . Rxf2! is a win­ ning threat because the gS-bishop would be protected. 34. Kgl Qc2 35. Qal Bf6 36. es BxeS 37. BxeS QxfS 38. Bg3 Qc2 39. Kh2 Kg6 40. Rgl KgS! 41. Qfl? Qh7+ White resigns It was also lost after 41. Rel fS! and . . . f4. The only player who had a chance of nos­ ing Korchnoi out of first prize was Ratmir Kholmov. When he heard that Korchnoi had praised his play, Kholmov had doubts. He recalled how, after he won a lost ad­ journed game, "Korchnoi ran around crying, look how lucky Kholmov is:' 32 In the end

10. . . . BxeS 11. dxeS Nd7 12. f4 Qb6 Now 13. Qd2 NcS should equalize (14. Bbl Nb4).

13. 0-0! Qxe3+ 14. Khl Qb6 The dangers to Black are illustrated by 14 . . . . a6, which stops Nb5-d6. Then 15. Rf3 Qb6 16. Bf2 QaS? 17. Bxh7+! Kxh7 18. QhS+ Kg8 19. Rh3. After 14 . . . . Qb6 White would have compensation from 15. Bf2 (15. . . . Qd8 16. NbS or a possible queen trap after 15. . . . Qxb2 16. NbS Rd8 17. a3).

15. Qh5 Nf8 Good defenders do not trust weakening moves like 15. . . . g6. But this time it works better than the knight move (16. Qh6 Qb4! and . . . Qf8). As the game goes, computers want White to play NbS at move 16 or 17.

16. Rf3 Ng6 17. Bf2 QdS? (see diagram) Petrosian doubted that 17. . . . Qxb2 18. Rbl

257

12. Humors

weak dark squares. Here 15. . . . Nxd4 16. Qxd4 Qc7 and . . . QcS was the way.

13. Rhfl b5 14. Nxc6! Rxc6 15. Bf3 Rc5 16. f5! This is a thematic idea in similar positions. If White gets control of dS and e4, even at the cost of a pawn (16. . . . exf5? 17. NdS fxe4 18. Bxe4), he is better. Spassky also prepared a strong Ne2-f4 maneuver.

After 17. ... Qd8

16. . . . Qa5? 17. fxe6! fxe6 (see diagram)

Qxc3 19. Rh3 was survivable. His move looked like a good pawn offer to create drawing chances-18. Rh3 h6 19. Bxg6 fxg6 20. Qxg6 Ne7 21. Qg4 NfS. But after White's next move his advantage is manifest.

18. Nb5! Nee? 19. Nd6 Bd7 Black recognized how lost 19. . . . Rf8 20. Bh4 was, in view of 21. Rh3 h6 22. BgS and 23. Bxh6!.

20. Bh4! Qb6 21. Rh3 h6 22. Bf6 Qxb2 23. Rfl Nf5 24. Bxf5 Black resigns

After 17. ... fxe6 Low-risk is 18. Qd4!, threatening 19. b4 as well as 19. Qxf6. For example, 18 . . . . Res 19. Qa7! (19. . . . Res? 20. eS! and 21. Ne4 is stronger than in the game).

Not waiting for 24 . . . . exfS 25. Bxg7! . The tournament was so strong that Por­ tisch managed to defeat the past, current and future world champions (Tal, Petrosian and Spassky) yet only earned a tie for sixth prize. Petrosian finished with an even score and tied for ninth place. Spassky settled for ten short draws out of 17 games. But on occasion he looked like the Tolush-cloned Spassky of ten years before.

19. Qf4 Rf5

Spassky-Istvan Bilek

Here 20. Qe4 and Qb7 or Qa8+ keeps White ahead.

Jubilee Tournament, Moscow, 1967 Sicilian Defense (B61)

18. e5!? Rxe5! Black can resign after 18 . . . . fxeS? 19. Qg5 (and 20. Ne4). Also 19. Bxh5+ RxhS 20. Rxf8+ Kxf8 21. Qxd6+. Or 18 . . . . d5? 19. NxdS Qxd2 20. Nxf6+.

20. Qg3?! Rg5? After 20. . . . Kd8! White has nothing con­ crete, e.g., 21. Qh4 Rh6 22. Qg3! Rh8 23. Qh4 is a draw by repetition.

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Bd7 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Rc8 9. f4 h610. Bxf6 gxf6 ll. Be2 h512. Kbl e6

21. Qh4! d5

Leonid Stein managed to handle these po­ sitions well as Black by trying to exploit the

There was no defense in view of the 22. Ne4 threat.

258

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

22. Bxd5! exd5? 23. Rxf6 Rhg8 24. Nxd5 Bg4 25. RxfS+

three times, including the painful last round game of the 28th USSR Championship finals.

Good enough (25. . . . Kxf8 26. Rfl+) be­ cause Black resigned. But 25. Rel+ is even better (25. . . . Kd7 26. Nb6+ Kc7? 27. Qg3+ and mates). The tournament turned out to be Leonid Stein's greatest triumph, a half point ahead of the star-packed field. Stein was an unlikely chess superstar. He did not go to college but worked in a metal-working factory, then served in the army. He was already a strong player at age 19 but his lack of discipline held him back. He was briefly barred by Soviet chess officials from major events because of his addiction to card games. He would re­ main a challenge to the four rivals for the rest of his tragically short life.

Leonid Stein-Spassky USSR Spartakiad Teams Championship, Moscow, 1967 French Defense (C09)

Sp assky and Maturity

8. . . . a6 9. cxd5?

As Spassky had told Leonard Barden, "a bachelor's life is very bad" because "it is so disorganized:' But he also found he had little patience with dating. "I don't like to spend a lot of time with girls;' he said before the Petrosian match. "Just enough to say how­ do-you-do and good bye:' 33 Nevertheless, in 1966 Spassky married Larisa Zakharovna Soloviev, who was de­ scribed as the daughter of a high-ranking of­ ficial of the Leningrad gas industry. They had met in 1962 at a beach near Leningrad. Shortly after the Moscow "Jubilee" he became a father for the second time when Larisa gave birth to a son, Vasily. Family life seemed to instill a measure of maturity in the now-30-year-old. His playing style also seemed more seasoned. Three weeks after his son was born he was playing in an­ other Spartakiad team tournament. He had the best first-board score, 4-1, with wins over Petrosian, Alexey Suetin and Stein. Spassky had never beaten Stein before and had lost

I. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 Spassky very rarely played the French De­ fense, although it was an Igor Bondarevsky favorite. In one previous Tarrasch variation, ten years before, Spassky tried 3. . . . Nf6 4. eS Ng8!? and drew.

4. Ngf3 Nc6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Bb5 Bd6 7. 0-0 Ne7 8. c4 Virtually a new move. Now 8 . . . . 0-0 9. dxcS BxcS 10. Nb3 Bd6 ll. cS offers White a small edge. He would also be slightly better after 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. dxcS and 11. Nb3.

9. . . . axb5! IO. dxc6 c4! 11. cxb7 Bxb7 12. Rel 0-0 13. Ne4 Res It seemed that Black's only compensation for the lost pawn is his two bishops and now he is willing to allow Nxd6. But Spassky ap­ preciated that White had no good square for his bishop and that mattered a lot, e.g., 14. Bd2 NfS or 14. Ng3 Qb6 15. Be3 NdS.

14. Bg5 f6 Black regains his pawn soon after 15. Bh4 NfS 16. Nxd6 Qxd6.

15. Bd2 Nf5 White can play for a draw with 16. Nxd6 Qxd6 17. Be3 so that 17 . . . . Bxf3 18. Qxf3 Nxd4 19. Bxd4 Qxd4 20. Qc6 liquidates ten­ sion. But Black could do better with 17. . . . Re6 and 18 . . . . Rae8.

16. Qc2? Bf817. Re2 Nxd418. Nxd4 Qxd4 19. Rael f5! (see diagram)

12. Humors

After 19. ... JS Stein underestimated this move. He would be close to losing after 20. Ng3 QdS 21. f3 Rxe2 22. Rxe2 and then 22. . . . Qd3 or 22. Bes+ 23. Kfl Rxa2.

20. Nf6+ Qxf6 21. Rxe8 Qg6! 22. Rxf8+ Rxf8 23. f3 Not 23. g3? Qc6! and Black wins.

23. . . . Bxf3 24. Bc3 Be4 25. Qf2 f4!? Queen endgames, such as after 26. Bxg7 Bxg2 (26. . . . Kxg7 27. Qd4+) 28. Bxf8 Be4+ 29. Kfl Bd3+, may be winning for him. But the rook endgame after 28. Qxg2 Kxg7 29. Res offered some hope. Better was 25. . . . Rd8.

26. Rdl? Bc6 27. h3 h6 28. Kh2 Rf5 29. Rd8+ Kh7 30. Qc2 Qg3+ 31. Kgl Qe3+ 32. Qf2

259

matches, he said. "His play has deteriorated over the past two years:' 34 But Fischer was the pre-tournament favorite in the Interzonal that began in Sousse, Tunisia, on October 16, 1967. There would be eight Candidates in the 1968 matches. Spassky and Tal, the finalists in 1965, were seeded, so the Sousse partici­ pants were vying for six other Candidates spots. It was assumed that Fischer would earn one of them. The other five appeared up for grabs among Korchnoi, Stein, Yefim Geller and four non-Soviets, Larsen, Glig­ oric, Portisch and Vlastimil Hort. But Stein, the hero of Moscow, was unrec­ ognizable. He lost in rounds seven, eight and nine to Fischer, Hort and Larsen. Korchnoi was plagued by draws and blamed an ulcer. But he soon amassed a plus-four score, with a bit of luck.

Robert Byrne-Korchnoi Interzonal, Sousse, 1967 Sicilian Defense (B77)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 g6 7. f3 Bg7 8. Qd2 0-0 9. Bc4 Qa5 10. 0-0-0 Bd7 11. Kbl Rfc8 12. Bb3 Ne513. h4 Nc414. Bxc4 Rxc415. Nb3 Qa616. e5! This was briefly a main line of the Dragon Variation. Now 16. . . . dxeS 17. NcS costs ma­ terial.

White can resign after 32. Kh2 Be4!. Black wins a second pawn after 32. Kfl Be4 33. Qf2 RgS 34. Qxe3 Bxg2+.

16. . . . Ne8 17. Nd5! Bxe5

32. . . . Rg5 33. Qxe3 Rxg2+ 34. Kfl fxe3 35. Rd6 Be4 36. Rd4? Bf3 37. Rf4 e2+ White resigns

Computers later pointed out 17. . . . Be6 18. Nxe7+ Kf8 19. exd6 and now 19. . . . Rd8 20. NdS Rxc2!. But White comes out on top after 21. Qxc2 BfS 22. QxfS gxfS 23. d7.

Souss e When Bobby Fischer refused to play in the 1964 Interzonal, Bent Larsen said he would not be missed. "I don't think Fischer would have qualified" for the 1965 Candidates

18. Nxe7+ Kf8 White's attack is the faster one after 18 . . . . Kh8 19. hS.

19. Nd5 Bf5 20. Bh6+ Ng7 21. Ne3! Now 21. . . . Ra4 22. NxfS gxfS 23. f4! Bf6 24. Qxd6+ is over.

260

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

21. . . . Rac8!? 22. Nxc4 Rxc4 A Tai finish would be 23. Nal? Ra4 24. a3 Rxa3! and wins.

champion;' he said. "Earlier, I deserved it, maybe . . . :' 35

23. Rel Ra4

Tai Prep ares

Here 24. Rhel! would threaten 25. Rxe5 dxe5? 26. Qd8 mate. It would end the game soon after 24 . . . . Bf6 25. Bg5 Bxg5 26. hxg5 or 25. . . . Bxb2 26. Kxb2 Rxa2+ 27. Kbl Qa3 28. Qc3.

Tai prepared for the 1968 Candidates matches with three quite different events­ a Swiss System tournament, a major inter­ national and a training match-and with a new helper. Alexander Koblents had been growing weary for years of trying to harness Tal's talent. "Sometimes Koblents complained that Misha was not very disciplined;' said his friend, the Polish master Andrzej Filipowicz. Tai would much rather play blitz than study. Moreover, Koblents was no longer a trainer for all ofTal's needs. Openings played an in­ creasingly important role in the Candidates match era, and Koblents had not kept pace with quickly evolving theory. Gennady Sosonko, a 23-year-old Lenin­ grader, had drawn with Tai in a simul five years before. He got to know him better in autumn 1966 when they played hours and hours of blitz chess over a few days and soon became friends. 36 Soviet chess official Alex­ ander Bakh, a fellow graduate of the Riga Pi­ oneer Palace, later claimed credit for uniting Tai with Sosonko. "He won't let me down;' Bakh quoted Tai as saying about him. 37 The Swiss that Tai entered was the 130player 35th USSR Championship finals in December 1967. It was not a top-tier event. The bulletins were so haphazard that three ofTal's 13 games are apparently lost. Tai and Lev Polugaevsky tied for first prize. Shortly afterwards there was a 20-player round robin blitz tournament in which only one grandmaster took part. Of course, it was Tai. He won his first 18 games, then lost in the final round to 17-year-old Evgeny Svesh­ nikov. Tai had been Sveshnikov's idol since he won the final game of his 1965 Larsen match with a knight sacrifice. 'Mer that game I sacrificed probably tens of such knights . . .

24. f4 Bf6 25. BgS BxgS 26. hxgS Rxa2 (see diagram)

After 26. ... Rxa2 Black has only one trick and 27. Qc3 Be6 28. Reel, among others, would foil it. Robert Byrne, who was suffering from a stomach ailment like Korchnoi, self-destructs.

27. Rxh7?? Be6 28. Qc3? Ral+ White re­ signs It is mate after 29. Nxal Qa2. White would have been worse after 28. Rh8+ Ke7 29. c4 Bf5+. During the tournament Korchnoi gave up smoking, one more time. But he relapsed after a loss to Milan Matulovic. With six rounds left, Korchnoi needed steady nerves or more luck. His nerves held and he won his next five games. He finished a half point behind Larsen, the tournament winner. Korchnoi was satisfied with his play. But at age 36, he felt his best years were be­ hind him. "I don't hope to become world

12. Humors

26 1

and tried to imitate my hero;' Sveshnikov re­ called. At a Tai memorial tournament in 2011 Sveshnikov added that Korchnoi was right when he said Tai played by stereotype. But it was one he invented. "Every major player has his stereotype;' he said. "Tai had his program, his scale of values:' 38 Two weeks after the championship finals Tai was in Wijk aan Zee for the most presti­ gious European tournament of 1968. But he played without energy, and although he tied for second place, it was three points behind Korchnoi. Tal's training match was against Ratmir Kholmov. Here is how it began.

He is playing for 17 . . . . Nxdl? 18. f6! Bxf6 19. Rxdl, when he can keep his extra piece.

Ratmir Kholmov-Tal

17. . . . h5! 18. Qxh5 Qxd7!

Training Match, Riga, 1968 Sicilian Defense (B89)

Black is roughly equal after 18 . . . . Nxb3+ 19. axb3 Nxdl.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Ne3 Ne6 6. Be4 e6 7. Be3 Be7 8. Qe2 0-0 9. 0-0-0 Bd7 10. f4 ReS 11. f5? Na5!? In Tai's training games, he wanted to be the one giving a sacrifice, not the one accept­ ing one, even if it were dubious (11. . . . Nxd4 12. Rxd4 ext:5 13. ex£5 Bxt:5 14. g4 Be6). How­ ever, a better counterattacking idea is 11. . . . NeS! (12. Bb3 Rxc3!). Black would be better after 12. fxe6 Rxc4 13. exd7 Rxc3! 14. bxc3 Nxe4.

12. Bd3 e5 13. Nb3 b5 Tai was trying to improve the . . . Rxc3 sac­ rifice, which could have been played at move 12 or 13.

14. Bxb5 Rxe3 15. bxc3 Not 15. Bxd7? Nxb3+ 16. axb3 Rxe3 17. Qxe3 Qxd7 when Black is much better.

15. . . . Nxe416. Bxd7 Nxe317. Qg4! (see di­ agram) Kholmov stays in the spirit of a training game. It would have petered out to a likely draw after 17. Qa6 Nxb3+ 18. axb3 Nxdl 19. Rxdl Qxd7 20. Qxa7.

After 17. Qg4

19. Nxa5! He would have had more than that after 19. Rd3 Nxa2+ 20. Kb2 Nb4. 19. . . . Qa4 20. Nb3 Res 21. f6! To play for a win, White would have to try 21. Kd2!? or 21. Rd3. 21. . . . Nxa2+ 22. Kd2 Qe4! 23. Rel Qxg2+ 24. Qe2 Qd5+ 25. Qd3 Qg2+ draw

Try to Ask Tai On the last Sunday of every August, Tai tried to make sure he was in Moscow. That is when an annual speed tournament was organized by the newspaper Vechernyaya Moskva in Sokolniki Park. The prize was an elegant samovar. Tai won 11 of them. A healthy Tai rarely refused an opportu­ nity to perform like that. An extreme exam­ ple occurred one day when he was home in Riga and the telephone rang. "Kiev studio of scientific-documentary films speaking. We need a grandmaster to give a blindfold exhi­ bition;' said the caller. 39

262

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

The producers of a series, "Seven Steps Be­ yond the Horizon;' wanted a GM to give a ten-board blindfold simul in a television stu­ dio for a segment about secrets of the human mind. Blindfold play was rare in the Soviet Union, but not banned, as often thought in the West. Tal remembered that when the producers approached the Soviet Chess Fed­ eration, they were told: "No one here engages in such stupid things. Try to ask Tal:' He readily agreed and the film was made in 1968. In it he recalled how he was intro­ duced to blindfold play after his surgery in 1962, before the Curac;:ao Candidates tour­ nament. When he awoke from anesthesia, several patients "gathered in my room'' and wanted to play him. Tal could not stand up, let alone walk from table to table as in a nor­ mal simul. So four boards and sets were brought into his room. Tal made his moves without looking at the boards. "It was very intense. I managed to win three games but my position in the fourth game was very bad;' he said. After an hour he won that game by default: his opponent was taken away for his own surgery. Tal finished the documentary simul with four wins and six draws. At one point during the filming he was asked by an announcer about the positions remaining. He quickly reeled off all the moves played so far, ranging in 15 to 19 per board.

Playing a "Great G entleman" Tal's opponent in the Candidates match quarterfinals was an old friend, Svetozar Gligoric. They had first played one another at Portoroz ten years before. But this was a different Gligoric. He had a new second, the fiery attacking grandmaster Dragoljub Ve­ limirovic. Together they worked out a new opening repertoire. Sosonko joined Tal in Riga for their own opening preparation for the match, often joined by Koblents.

Tal was willing to play in Belgrade, even at a site across the street from Gligoric's home. But Mikhail Beilin, vice chair of the Soviet Chess Federation, asked for a neutral location. The Yugoslavs replied that Tal should not be concerned: He had more fans in Belgrade than Gligoric did. Belgrade was chosen. Fans of both players were excited when Tal, playing White, put a rook en prise with his 22nd move of the first game. Gligoric thought for 35 minutes and declined it. He defended well and outplayed Tal in the game's fifth hour. It was another first-round loss for Tal. In the second game, Tal had strong win­ ning chances by move 18. But Gligoric seized the upper hand and was close to his second win at move 31. The tension eased and when they adjourned, Gligoric believed he was bet­ ter. Computers say it was roughly even. But Gligoric could certainly have pressed Tal fur­ ther. However, on the day of the resumption, there was an eagerly anticipated Yugoslavia­ France football (soccer) game. Knowing that Tal was as big a fan as he was, Gligoric sug­ gested they agree to a draw and go to the sta­ dium instead. "I was called a great gentleman after this;' Gligoric recalled in 2011. 4 0 The next three games were also drawn, so at the half-way point Gligoric kept his one­ point lead. Tal was certain he would lose. Gligoric later gave various reasons for why he did not. "I was really unlucky: the tour­ nament hall was across the street from my house;' he said. "Friends from all over Bel­ grade would drop in to talk to me, and I couldn't say no:' 41 He said he began "to feel exhaustion'' from "the expectations of my fans and friends who were constantly visiting me and calling me and encouraging me to win:' 42 Another reason, he said, was making "a terrible mistake" by reading newspaper ac­ counts of the match. Before the sixth game, "a stupid journalist" complained in print that

12. Humors the same Nimzo-Indian Defense variation arose in the second and fourth game and could occur again in the sixth. Upset, Glig­ oric decided "to show that in chess there are other openings:' He made his point at the ex­ pense of abandoning the work he had done with Velimirovic.

Svetozar Gligoric-Tai

Candidates Match quarterfinals, Sixth game, Belgrade, 1968 Bogo-Indian Defense (Ell)

263

Bxf3 16. Nxf3. He could hold the heavy piece endgame of 16. . . . cxd4 17. Bxd4 dxeS 18. NxeS NxeS 19. BxeS Nd6 20. Bxd6! .

15. . . . cxd4 16. Bxd4 dxe5 17. fxe5 Nxe5! 18. Bxb6 With 18. cS! ? White threatens 19. BxeS (compared with 18. BxeS? QcS+). The posi­ tion after 18 . . . . Nd7 19. cxb6 Nd6 20. Radl is tenable.

18. . . . Nd6 19. Bd4? (see diagram)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Gligoric and his second had not even looked at this move when they prepared for Tal. Gligoric was "shocked" when he realized his hand had played 3. Nf3. 43

3. . . . Bb4+ Any hope that Tai would steer the opening back into Gligoric's preparation (3. . . . cs or 3. . . . dS) was dashed. This may have been the first time Tai ever played 3. . . . Bb4+ and the first time Gligoric faced it.

4. Bd2 a5 5. Nc3 0-0 6. e3 d6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. a3 Bxc3 9. Bxc3 Qe7 10. Be2 a4 Gligoric had to make several minor errors to lose. His failure to play 10. b4 allows Black to unbalance the position, as Tai wanted. But chances are still equal, if not a shade better for White.

11. 0-0 b6 12. Nd2 Bb7 13. e4 Koblents believed Gligoric passed up the draw-minded 13. Bf3 Bxf3 14. Nxf3 because he was going for a knockout blow.

13. . . . c5! 14. e5 This gives him the double-edged situation he wanted. But so would 14. Radl cxd4 15. Bxd4 eS 16. Bc3 NcS, for instance.

14. . . . Ne8! 15. f4 This sharpens it further. If Gligoric belat­ edly sought a draw he might have tried 15. Bf3

After 19. Bd4 The critics could agree on one thing: This was an error, rather than 19. Qc3! QgS 20. Nf3 or 19. . . . Nd7 20. Bf2.

19 . . . . Nf5! 20. Bxe5 Qc5+ 21. Rf2 Qxe5 22. Nf3 Qc5 23. Qc3 Rfd8 24. Qb4 Qa7 25. c5 Rab8 26. Qc3? Time pressure and match tension show. To be consistent White should play 26. Qb6 and pray for a draw in a pawn-down end­ game.

26. . . . Rbc8 27. Rdl Rxdl+ 28. Bxdl Rxc5 29. Qb4 Bc6? But he was losing the middlegame. Tai was short of time, too, and missed 29. . . . Bxf3! 30. Bxf3 Rel+ or 30. gxf3 Ne3 and wins.

30. Qf4 Rd5 31. Be2 h6 32. Ne5 Ba8 33. g4 g5! 34. Qc4 Rxe5 White resigns Gligoric also lost the seventh and ninth games, ending the match 3½-5½ and, he said, "feeling more relief than disappointment."

264

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Looking back after more than 40 years, he gave another explanation of his defeat: He never liked the "nervous struggle" of chess. "I love sports in the fresh air, but chess-this game is not for my nature:' Korchnoi's first-round opponent was Sam­ uel Reshevsky, who had only played in one Candidates round-back in 1953. He looked very rusty and was in time pressure in almost every game. Korchnoi won the first three games he had White and drew the fourth to clinch the match, 5½-2½. The third quarterfinals was a rematch, Spassky versus Yefim Geller. Despite Geller's one-sided loss three years before, Tal felt his chances of winning were 50-50. Geller might have won if he had more of Korchnoi's chol­ eric quality. But Geller could not motivate himself that way. "Boris was always so pleas­ ant to me, as a person and as a player, that I could never feel in myself genuine sporting malice . . . " he said after the match. 44 Geller was better prepared than in 1965. But all four of his White games were drawn and only in his fourth did he get real winning chances. It was a different story when Spas­ sky had White: All four games were Closed Variations of the Sicilian Defense, an open­ ing in which theoretical novelties are rarely significant. Spassky's plan was simply to out­ play his opponent between moves 15 and 40. "I was the king of the middlegame;' he said of his 1960s successes. "I knew well what was the critical moment of a game . . . . In every game a critical point arises. It is like two play­ ers rising up a mountain and meeting at the summit. The one who finds the correct way remains on top:' 45 Geller failed the test: He lost the first three Sicilians, despite getting very good positions.

Bg7 6. f4 Nf6 7. Nf3 0-0 8. 0-0 Rb8 9. Nh4 Nd410. t'5 b511. Bg5 b412. Nbl? Nd7!13. Nd2 Geller searched for a reason why he was not already better. He was. He could have safely grabbed a pawn with 13. . . . h6 14. Be3 g5! 15. Nhf3 Nxf3+ and . . . Bxb2.

13. . . . Ne5 14. Khl a5 15. Rbl a4 16. Nhf3 Nexf3 17. Nxf3 Nb5 18. Qd2 a3! 19. bxa3 Nxa3 Geller preferred a textbook attack on the weakness spots in White's camp, at b2 and c3. Spassky's poker face showed no concern about what seemed to be a clearly deterio­ rating position. His next move left Geller frowning in disbelief.

20. Rbel!?! Bc3 21. Qf2 Bxel 22. Rxel f6 23. Bh6 Rf7 24. g4 White's only evident bid for attack involves Nh4 or a prepared g4-g5. Geller prepares de­ fensive measures like . . . Rbb7.

24. . . . e6! 25. Nh4 g5 After the game Spassky thought 25. . . . Qe8 would have defended better, based on 26. fxg6 hxg6 27. Nxg6 Rh7! .

26. Nf3 exf5? Opening part of the g-file does not spoil matters. But 26. . . . Kh8! was safe enough to win.

27. gxt'S Kh8 28. h4 g4 29. Nh2 (see diagram)

Spassky-Yefim Geller Candidates Match quarterfinals, Second game, Sukhumi, 1968 Sicilian Defense (B25) 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 d6 3. g3 Nc6 4. Bg2 g6 5. d3

After 29. Nh2

12. Humors Geller was addicted to time pressure. "I look at masses of variations but spend time and strength on this. It's hard to choose;' he admitted. 46 After Eduard Gufeld became his second, Gufeld tried to get Geller to follow a guideline: Never think more than 25 min­ utes over any move. But Geller could not. "He would calculate a long and compli­ cated variation exactly and then begin to search for another;' Gufeld wrote. "Why? Be­ cause his understanding told him there was a simpler and more rational way;' Gufeld added. "He was always a fighter and remains a fighter, but he can not play rationally. . . :' 47 Here 29. . . . Qg8 and then 30. Qg3 Nxc2 was still a superior position for Black.

29. . . . g3? 30. Qxg3 Nxc2 31. Rgl Bb7? Even here 31. . . . Rbb7 would have left the outcome uncertain, Garry Kasparov said (32. Bf3 Nd4 33. Bh5 Rfc7).

32. Bf3! Qd7 33. Bh5 Re7 34. Ng4! Rg8 35. Qf2 Nd4 36. Nxf6 Rxgl+ 37. Qxgl Black resigns Gufeld's diagnosis seemed to describe what happened in the fourth game. Geller amassed a substantial advantage in the same opening. At move 35, with about 40 minutes left, he had a choice of rook moves. He had earlier calculated one of them and concluded it would win. But he thought and thought and played the other rook move. Spassky's attack was fatally revived. "Geller had a glass jaw:' Spassky said many years later. 48 When an opponent suddenly made sharp threats, Geller would often play poorly. Spassky won the fourth game in 48 moves and took the match by the same score as three years before, 5½-2½.

64 As world champion, Petrosian was a mem­ ber of the ruling presidium of the Soviet

265

Chess Federation. Federation vice chair Mik­ hail Beilin discovered that Petrosian shared his enthusiasm for a pet idea, reviving 64. It was a popular weekly chess newspaper that was forced to close after the Nazi invasion in 1941. Now seemed like a good time to bring it back. Soviet readers were eager for chess information. Three other publications­ Shakhmatny Bulletin, Shakhmatnaya Moskva and the Bulletin of the Central Chess Club­ had been launched from 1955 to 1958 and were thriving. Shakhmatnaya Moskva (Chess Moscow), which appeared every two weeks, was edited by Petrosian. The idea to relaunch 64 arose at a presid­ ium meeting in 1968. After a long talk, a pro­ posal was pitched to the propaganda section of the Communist Party Central Committee, which kept a close eye on both chess and publishing. But there were serious problems, starting with the Soviet Union's chronic short­ age of paper and printing capacity. "With paper, as always, there were known difficul­ ties;' said Alexey Serov, the Federation chair­ man. 49 But the propaganda section eventually gave its approval. The newspaper was revived on July 5, 1968, with Petrosian as editor. It eventually had a circulation of 100,000, mak­ ing it the most widely read chess publication in the world. Beilin said he was the one who pushed the project through but "Tigran Pet­ rosian helped a lof' 50 Petrosian enjoyed his 64 role but few of the other responsibilities of being world champion. He constantly seemed to be trav­ eling at the request of the vlasti. Like Spassky and Tal, he was a somewhat absentee father. "It's true he was not home often, in general, not more than four months a year:' his son Vartan recalled of this era.51 Korchnoi was estranged from his son Igor for years and also had a son out of wedlock in the Ukraine, according to Gennady Sosonko. 52 As champion, Petrosian could have repre­ sented the interests of the world's leading

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

266

players. But he did not like to make unpleas­ ant requests, particularly about money. "In 1968, one of the famous foreign grandmas­ ters literally begged, 'They do not pay us honorariums because the world champion does not get one;" Vartan Petrosian said. 53 But his father claimed chess would be dam­ aged by inflated fees. For example, he warned, if Bobby Fischer ever became world cham­ pion he would ask for a sum like $10,000 to play his next match. 54 At the board, Petrosian's title was a curse and a blessing. It was a curse because many of his opponents were looking for ways to suck the life out of a position and draw with him. It was a blessing because he got unde­ served draws. When he tied for second place at Bamberg 1968 he drew ten out of 15 games and got two extra half-points:

Petrosian-Jiirgen Teufel

Bamberg, 1968 English Opening (AOO)

I. g3 d5 2. Bg2 g6 3. c4 c6 4. Qc2 Nf6 5. b3 Bg7 6. Bb2 0-0 7. Nf3 Bg4 8. 0-0 Nbd7 9. d3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 e6 Il. Nd2 NeS 12. Bxg7 Nxg7 13. b4 Ne5 14. Bg2 Nf5 15. Qb2 Qf6 16. Rabi hS 17. e4! Ne718. b5 RfdS 19. bxc6 bxc6 20. exd5 cxd5 21. Qa3 Rahs 22. Rxb8 Rxb8 23. cxd5 exd5 24. Nb3 h4 25. Qxa7 Rc8 26. d4? Nf3+ 27. Khl Rc2 28. a4?? Nxh2! (see diagram)

lost: 29. Kxh2 hxg3+ 30. fxg3 Qxfl or 30. Kxg3 Qd6+ 31. f4 NfS+ 32. Kh2 Ne3. "The champion participating in a tourna­ ment is everyone's target, everybody wants to draw with the world champion;' Petrosian said. Thinking ahead to 1969 he added, "Let Spassky become champion and you will see that he, too, will win no tournaments:' 55 The Bamberg tournament director was Grandmaster Lothar Schmid, who was also playing in it. He offered a draw in a position when Petrosian could have resigned.

Petrosian-Lothar Schmid

Bamberg, 1968 English Opening (A30)

1. c4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 Nc6 5. 0-0 e6 6. Nc3 Nge7 7. d3 d5 8. Bd2 0-0 9. Qcl b6 10. Rdl Bb7 11. Rbl Qd7 12. a3 Nd413. Bh6 Nxf3+ 14. Bxf3 Bxh6!15. Qxh6 Nf5 16. Qf4 Nd4 17. Bg2 dxc4 18. dxc4 Bxg2 19. Kxg2 Qc6+ 20. f3 Rads If White wants more than equality he should at least try 21. Qf6.

21. Kf2 Kg7 22. e3 Nf5 23. g4 Nd6 24. Rd2 f6 25. Rbdl Nf7 26. h4 Rxd2+ 27. Rxd2 Rd8 28. Rxd8 Nxd8 29. Ke2 es 30. Qe4 Qxe4 31. Nxe4 f5 32. Nc3 Nc6 33. g5 h6 34. Kd2 hxg5 35. hxg5 Kf7 36. Nd5 Ke6 37. b4 Kd6 38. Kc3 cxb4+ 39. axb4 Nd8 40. f4 Ne6 41. Kb3?! exf4 42. exf4?? b5! (see diagram)

After 28. ... Nxh2 A draw was agreed although White is quite

After 42. .•. b5

12. Humors Here the players shook hands. But White is lost due to Zugzwang, e.g., 43. Kc3 bxc4 44. Kxc4 a6! .

Much Ambition, Little Ammunition Bent Larsen had a difficult time overcom­ ing Lajos Portisch in their quarterfinals match. Larsen said that when Boris Spassky looked over those games he "could conclude I will be an easy opponent for him:' But, he added, "I can think of Spassky in the same way after looking at his games with Geller:' 56 Malmo, Sweden, was chosen for the Larsen-Spassky semifinals. Both men were outraged at the meager prize fund, $500, for a competition that was two steps away from the world championship. Spassky acted in the bold way that Petrosian could not. ''.At the opening of the match I protested;' Spas­ sky recalled. The FIDE president Folke Rog­ ard replied, "Mr. Spassky I'm only following your Federation's recommendation:' 57 This confirmed Spassky's suspicion that the vlasti wanted to discourage big paydays for their players. When they returned home with hard currency or impossible-to-get con­ sumer products, it undermined the Marxist doctrine that all workers were paid according to their needs. "The Soviet Chess Federation, of course, did not care about the players;' Spassky concluded. "For the Communists, chess was only an instrument:' 58 Larsen said his prize was "a little more than $200:' 59 Spas­ sky put that in perspective: "We earned less than skilled laborers in Sweden:' Spassky was also annoyed by Larsen's boasts that he would be the next world champion. "Larsen plays like an amateur and is paid like a professional;' Spassky said. "While I play like a professional and get paid like an ama­ teur:' 60 The tone of the match was set when Spas­ sky again began games quietly, as if finding

267

the right opening moves did not matter. In fact, the middlegame did not seem to either.

Spassky-Bent Larsen

Candidates Match semifinals, First game, Malmo, 1968 Slav Defense (D14) 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 c6 4. cxd5!? cxd5 5. Bf4 Nc6 6. Nc3 Bf5 7. e3 e6 8. Bb5 Nd7 9. 0-0 Spassky makes no attempt to force matters in view of 9. Ne5 Ncxe5 10. Bxe5 a6! or 9. Qa4 Rc8 10. Bxc6 Rxc6 ll. Qxa7 Qc8 and . . . Rxc3 or . . . Ra6.

9. . . . Be7 10. Rel 0-0 11. h3 Rc8 12. Bd3 Bxd313. Qxd3 Nb614. Qe2 a615. Nel Nc4 16. Nd3 Nb4 17. b3 Nxd3 18. Qxd3 Nb6 19. f3 Bd6 20. Ne2 Qe7 21. Bxd6 Qxd6 22. Qd2 The game could plausibly end in a draw after 22 . . . . Rxcl 23. Rxcl Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Nxc8.

22. . . . Qa3 23. Nf4 Rxcl 24. Rxcl Rc8 25. Rxc8+ Nxc8 26. Qc2! But there are two factors that give White tactical hopes. One is Black's vulnerable first rank. Another is his somewhat clumsy knight. For example, 26. . . . Nd6 27. Qc7 threatens Qd8+. Then 27. . . . g6 28. Qd8+ Kg7 29. Qe7! Kg8 30. Kh2! closes in on Zugzwang. Black only has three pieces but can not move any of them comfortably (30. . . . Qb4? 31. Nd3! Qa3 32. Ne5 and wins).

26. . . . Ne7 27. Qc7 g6? Better Luft is 27. . . . h6. Black can also try 27 . . . . Ng6 to neutralize the White knight. Larsen may have overestimated White's chances in the queen ending (28. Nxg6 hxg6 29. Qc8+ Kh7 30. Qxb7 f6!).

28. Nd3!? White may be close to winning after 28. Qxb7 NfS 29. Qc8+ Kg7 30. Qc7! . A key

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

268

continuation is 30. . . . Kg8 31. e4! dxe4 32. fxe4 Nxd4? 33. Qd8+.

28. . . . NfS 29. g4 Nh6? Fear of Zugzwang scared Larsen away from the natural 29 . . . . Nd6! . But after 30. NeS h6 he has plenty of pass-moves and there is no obvious way for White to make decisive progress.

30. NeS (see diagram)

it bluntly: "Much ambition, little ammuni­ tion:' But he was rewarded because the vlasti had seen the Dane as the biggest threat to a Soviet world champion. "Apparently he frightened the Kremlin;' Spassky said. 62 Spassky was given the Order of the Badge of Honor, one of the Soviet Union's highest civilian honors. Towards the end of his career he noted that it was "my only government award;' forget­ ting the medal for "Valorous Labor" he was given in his breakout year of 1955.

Korchnoi Versus Dakhtari

After 30. Ne5 Spassky's idea is Nd7 followed by Qb8+. Then on 30 . . . . Qxa2 31. Nd7 Qa3 32. Qb8+ Kg7 33. Qe5+ Kg8 and now there is nothing much in 34. Nf6+. But a pass, 32. Kg2! , is strong. If Black allows a trade of queens, his knight is fatally offside, e.g., 32. . . . Qe7 33. Qxb7 a5 34. Qa8+ Kg7 35. Nc5 Qc7 36. Qb7. One of the pretty finishes is 32. . . . bS 33. h4 as 34. gs NfS 35. Qb8+ Kg7 36. QeS+ Kg8 and now 37. b4! ! wins. For example, 37. . . . axb4 38. Qb8+ and mates. Or 37 . . . . Qxb4 38. Nf6+ Kg7 39. Nxd5+.

30. . . . Qb4 31. Nd7! Qel+? 32. Kg2 Qe2+ 33. Kg3 NfS+!? 34. gxfS Qel+ 35. Kf4 Qh4+ 36. KeS Qg3+ 37. f4 Qxe3+ 38. Kf6 Qxd4+ 39. NeS Black resigns Spassky won three of the next four games and might have won the fourth. "I could have won by almost 6-0;' he said, but had to settle for 5½-2½. Larsen "was never considered a dangerous competitor to our best grand­ masters;' Mark Taimanov said. 61 Spassky put

Mikhail Tal was one of the few elite players who got along with Viktor Korchnoi. "We had very good relations;' Korchnoi said. 63 When they were abroad they often shared hotel rooms and had meals together. Return­ ing from their Candidates quarterfinal matches, they met by accident at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. In the taxi to their hotel they quickly agreed on the terms of their semifinals match. Korchnoi was impressed by Tal's self­ confidence. He "really believed he had hyp­ notic power;' Korchnoi said. "For example, in a restaurant he would say 'There's been no waiter for a long time. I will order him to come.' He would strain himself and order him to come:' 64 Korchnoi did not believe Tal could hyp­ notize opponents. Yet he believed Tal was one of three players in history-along with Magnus Carlsen and Henrique Mecking­ who had the power to read the thoughts of opponents. 65 His suspicions about Tal deep­ ened during the best-of-12-games semifinals in Moscow. Tal had scored only one point in six games with Korchnoi since Cura�ao. So he took a page out of Spassky's book and tried to vary his overall strategy according to the nature of his opponent: He would seek middlegames

12. Humors against Korchnoi that were safely within the draw radius. After 25 moves of the first game each side had only kings and seven pawns. Tal set traps but agreed to a draw 15 moves later. Korchnoi claimed he was amazed Tal failed to win it. The second game was drawn.

Tal-Korchnoi Candidates match finals, Third game, Moscow 1968

After 31. ... Rxc2

269

in an empty hall;' Tal wrote. "We're actors! " Korchnoi did not feel quite that way but he had a habit of looking into the audience early in a game to find a friendly face. 'Tm pleased if I know that in a specific spot there sits a man at whom I can look at any moment;' he said. 66 But in this match he had not noticed a man sitting in one of the front rows of the audience until one of his seconds pointed him out before the fourth game. The man was constantly looking at the board. Korch­ noi learned this was Tal's doctor. What was he doing there? Korchnoi suspected that Tal was being given drug injections before the games and that was influencing his moves. Everyone knew of Tal's medications by then. Petrosian joked, "If I lived such a life I'd already be dead:' Sally Landau said, "He took a myriad of pain medications. He strug­ gled to get used to it, he was afraid of becom­ ing a drug addict, and he did not:' 67 Mikhail Botvinnik was so concerned that he wrote Sally on November 1, 1967, offering confidential psychiatric help at a Moscow

Korchnoi knew this kind of position for both sides but said "Tal was too uncertain of his endgame technique." After 32. a4! Tal would have strong winning chances. But he allowed Korchnoi to put his pawns on the right squares, 32. h4? Kg6 33. a4 Ra2 34. as e5! 35. Ra7 e4! 36. a6 Ral+ 37. Kg2 Ra2 38. Ras Kh5 39. Ra7 g5! 40. hxg5 hxg5. Tal sealed 41. Rh7 + so that he could study 41. . . . Kg6 42. Ra7 Kh5 at home. But there is no way to play for a win and he agreed to a draw without resumption. Tal and Korchnoi, and Spassky as well, were al­ Tai (left), one of the few players who had good relations with ways conscious of their au­ Korchnoi, shares a moment with him before their Candidates dience. "To Spassky and match in 1968. Chess Review, September 1968 (used by permission me it's simply boring to play of the United States Chess Federation).

270

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

clinic to deal with Tal's dependency. She showed the letter to Tal but he swept it aside with his usual irony. "I understand! " he said. "The Patriarch is in love with you and wants to carry you off to Moscow. But is it worth exchanging one ex-world champion for an­ other?" 68 Besides drugs, Korchnoi feared something else-that Tal's doctor was "exerting a visual influence on Tal" during play-that is, hyp ­ notic or telepathic help. 69 (After his 1978 World Championship match with Anatoly Karpov, Korchnoi claimed his opponent made use of "scientists, psychologists, magicians, doctors" and so on.) Vyacheslav Osnos, a Korchnoi second, told the chief match arbiter, German Frid­ shtein, that Tal's "doctor-psychologist" was interfering with "the normal course of the game:' Fridshtein had the playing table moved further back on the stage, several yards from the audience. Then he talked to the doctor "and asked him not to sit closer than the tenth row" because his presence was making one of the players nervous. Korchnoi gave a slightly different version in the first version of Chess Is My Life. He said he wrote the arbiters "without expres­ sing my views" about the doctor but asking that he be moved back to the eighth row. "The Tal camp-his assistants and himself­ were unhappy about the action I had taken:' 70 After the match, Korchnoi approached Frid­ shtein to explain that the doctor did not disturb him "but I felt that he influenced Tal-he helped him maintain his emotional equilibrium and confidence in his actions:• Fridshtein said. 71 Valentin Kirillov, who had joined Kob­ lents and Sosonko on Tal's team, said the doctor was Tal's family physician, Dr. Joseph Gliekhman. Tal called him "Daktari;' from the Swahili word for doctor. Kirillov felt the Korchnoi suspicions of wrongdoing may have disoriented Tal. "His focus and, more impor­ tantly, his game was off;' he said. 72 Sosonko

said that when his seconds tried to reason with him Korchnoi sharply replied, "Why should I remain silent if it's true?" And Tal simply shrugged and said, "Well, if that's what Viktor really wants. . . :' 73 In any case, the next three games were crucial. In the fourth game Korchnoi blitzed off his first 15 moves. To relieve pressure Tal offered a pawn and Korchnoi had "a recur­ rence of his old illness"-grabbing any pawn that was left hanging. 74 But Tal missed tacti­ cal chance and fell behind by one point. Korchnoi's big plus score against Tal going into the match stemmed partly from Tal's thirst for revenge. After Tal lost a game he would try too hard the next time he had White. That cost him once more:

Tal-Korchnoi Candidates Match semifinals, Fifth game, Moscow, 1968 Ruy Lopez ( C98) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 0-0 9. h3 Na5 10. Bc2 c5 ll. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2 Nc613. dxc5 dxcS 14. Nfl Be615. Ne3 Rads 16. Qe2 c417. Nt'S Bxt'S18. ext'S RfeS 19. Bg5 h6 20. Bxf6 Bxf6 This was the real starting point for several GM games in the 1960s. The orthodox pro­ cedure is 21. Be4, to stop tactics involving . . . e4, followed by a2-a4 on the queenside and/or h3-h4 and g2-g4-g5 on the kingside.

21. Nd2 Ne7 22. Ne4 Nd5 23. b3!? White would have nothing after 23. g3 (to prevent . . . Nf4) Be7 and 24 . . . . Nf6. More ambitious is 23. a4. Instead, Tal set a trap: 23. . . . cxb3 24. Bxb3 Nxc3 allows 25. Nxf6+ gxf6 26. Qh5. Then 26. . . . Kh7? allows 27. Bxt7 and 26. . . . Kg7 27. Re3 offers a dan­ gerous attack. In his memoirs he said that if he had not lost the fourth game he would have sought "quiet positions" but instead made a fatal "nervous decision:' 75

12. Humors 23. . . . Nxc3! 24. Nxf6+ gxf6 25. Qe3! The difference is 24. Nxc3 cxb3 means just a lost White pawn and 25. QhS can be answered by 25. . . . Rd2 (26. Re3 Rxc2 27. Qxh6 Ne2+).

25. . . . cxb3 26. Bxb3 Kh7 27. Reel?? (see diagram)

After 27. Reel Tal made no mention of 27. Bxf7! which would have led to a roughly equal position (27. . . . Qxf7 28. Qxc3 Rg8 or 28 . . . . Qd7). Instead, he set what Korchnoi called "a de­ vious trap:' If Black defended the knight with 27. . . . Rc8, then 28. Bxf7! favors White a bit. Therefore, he intended 27. . . . b4. The trap appears after 28. a3 as 29. axb4 axb4 30. Ra7! ? Ne2+! 31. Kh2! Qxcl 32. Qxe2. Black seems to finish the game with 32. . . . Qf4+ 33. g3 Rd2. But this loses to 34. gxf4 Rxe2 35. Bxf7!. Korchnoi said there were other ways for Black to play but they would give Tal "the game he wanted:' But it is hard to see that in 32. . . . Kh8!. In any case, Korchnoi had a bet­ ter defense: 27. . . . b4 28. a3 e4! 29. axb4 Rd3 30. Qel e3 31. Bc2 Rd2! White might have built an impregnable fortress after 31. . . . exf2+ 32. Qxf2 Ne2+ 33. Qxe2 Rxe2 34. Bxd3 Qa7+ 35. Khl. Or 32. . . . Re2 33. Bxd3 Rxf2 34. Kxf2 Qf4+ 35. Kgl Qe3+ 36. Khl Qxd3 37. Ra3.

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32. fxe3 Ne2+ 33. Khl Ng3+ 34. Kgl Re2! 35. Qdl Qb7 36. e4 R8xe4! White resigns Tal rallied to win game six but Korchnoi drew the next three games. In a must-win situation in the tenth game, Tal built up a powerful edge after 31 moves (not a winning one, as he wrote). But his nerves failed. "I needed to stand up, leave the stage and do some breathing exercises;' he said later. 76 But he made an impulsive pawn sacrifice in­ stead. His advantage vaporized and he was nearly lost when Korchnoi proposed a draw at move 61. Korchnoi was not a particularly magnan­ imous winner. In a post-match article in 64 he called Tal "a highly routine player:' Thanks to his tactical gift, Tal could win tourna­ ments but not matches. Korchnoi felt Spas­ sky, Paul Keres and Alexander Alekhine were the genuine masters of attack, not Tal. 77 Petrosian responded in 64 and defended his friend. But Tal shrugged off Korchnoi's rant. "I knew Victor, and I knew that he was capable of saying what he did not mean:' 78 Whether he meant it or not, Korchnoi had been saying this about Tal since 1957. Spassky knew it was just Korchnoi being Korchnoi. "When he wins he usually insults his oppo­ nent: 'Why do you play chess, you know you don't have any talent:"

Fin als A grandmaster consensus felt Spassky would have a tough time in the Candidates finals against Korchnoi. "Spassky is playing as if he doesn't enjoy it very much;' Bent Larsen said. Spassky's style had "moved away from the very enterprising chess he used to play" and he had become "very much a wait­ ing player, which probably cost him the [1966] match with Petrosian;' Larsen added. True, Spassky did attack Geller when he had White. "But he probably felt he could beat Geller in many ways;' Larsen concluded. 79

272

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Korchnoi more or less agreed. In the pre­ vious Candidates matches Spassky did not try to outplay his opponents. He "waited for them to beat themselves:' he wrote. He later acknowledged that Spassky was superior to him in one-and only one-phase. "He is very strong in the middlegame, where I am weak;' he said. "But other than that he is a quite ordinary grandmaster:•so Korchnoi arrived in Kiev for the match in full "evil Viktor" mode. On the eve of the first game, journalist Viktor Lvovich Khenkin was surprised to find Korchnoi sitting all alone with a bowl of borshch in the city's popular Moscow Restaurant. Khenkin sat down next to him to get an exclusive inter­ view. Before he could say a word, Spassky ap­ peared. "Two Viktor Lvoviches is luck! " he said and sat down. Korchnoi silently picked up his bowl and moved to another table, making clear he wanted nothing to do with Spassky. 81 When play began in Kiev's October Palace of Culture, Spassky seemed to fit the carica­ ture drawn by Larsen and Korchnoi. As White he offered a draw shortly after a book Ruy Lopez position was reached in the first game. He was worse for most of the second but won thanks to Korchnoi blunders. Korchnoi blamed his loss on becoming "very agitated" when he felt the building begin to shake. He sensed it was an earthquake, like one that had badly damaged Kiev in 1967. Only after he resigned did he learn that the building shook because of a massive artillery salute involving hundreds of heavy army guns. 82 After another draw, Spassky won the fourth game with a Petrosian-like Exchange sacrifice. He drew the fifth and could have decided the match when he amassed a big edge in the sixth. But he suffered another mysterious blackout, he told the match ar­ biter Alberic O' Kelly. ''.All of a sudden he was sitting at the board with an empty head, unable to concentrate or think normally;'

O'Kelly wrote. When he finally moved, it was a blunder. Oddly enough, "at that very mo­ ment Spassky's assistant, Bondarevsky, was struck by a kind of heart attack;' he added. 83 The match seemed to be paralleling the course of the Korchnoi-Tal semifinals, when a 2-0 lead suddenly became a close match. But after Spassky used a time-out to recover, he won the seventh and eighth games con­ vincingly:

Korchnoi-Spassky Candidates Match finals, Eighth game, Kiev, 1968 English Opening (A14) 1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. b3 b6 7. Bb2 Bb7 8. e3 c5 9. Qe2 Nc6 10. Rdl Rc8 11. d3 Qc712. Nc3 Rfd8 13. Nh4 dxc4!? This move reveals a sharp difference in positional thinking. Spassky liked to resolve the center tension this way. Korchnoi felt it was a basic mistake because it grants White a mobile center and rules out . . . d4. After Nigel Short played 1. Nf3 c5 2. b3 d5 3. e3 Nf6 4. Bb2 e6 5. c4 dxc4!? and beat him in a 1996 game, Korchnoi lectured him: "You played a match for the world championship so you should understand the position bet­ ter:' In any case, computers say 13. . . . d4! fa­ vors Black, e.g., 14. NbS Qd7 15. exd4 a6 16. Na3 cxd4.

14. bxc4 a6 15. Rabi Na7! 16. Bxb7 Qxb7 17. Nf3 b5!? This was Spassky's aim when he played 13. . . . dxc4. He seeks an outside passed pawn. But he granted Korchnoi a tactical trick, 18. cxb5 axb5 19. NxbS!, based on 19. . . . Qxb5 20. Bxf6 and 19. . . . Nxb5 20. a4. Spassky could have bailed out with 18 . . . . NxbS 19. Ne5 Nd6, when he would be slightly worse. More likely he would have gone into the unclear 18 . . . . axbS 19. NxbS Nxb5 20. a4 Nd4!?.

12. Humors 18. Nd2? Qd7 19. Nde4 (see diagram)

273

Both players missed 31. d4!. Black should have prevented that with 30. . . . Re6 followed by expanding on the wings with . . . g5 and . . . as. 31• • . . as 32. Qf4 Qe6 33. Kf2 a4! 34. Ke2 g5!

After 19. Nde4 Spassky did not think much of Korchnoi's early knight maneuvers in this-or in many other games. "Viktor spends his time in the opening with the White pieces putting them all in the wrong places so that he can repo­ sition them in the early middlegame;' he later told Robert Byrne. "He's done that all his life. It's his style:' 84 Here Black's superiority would be clear after 19. . . . Nxe4! in view of 20. Nxe4? fS 21. Nc3? b4.

Korchnoi later told Garry Kasparov that Spassky's superiority at the time lay in his ability to maintain tension in a position, complicate matters in time pressure and make "strong, unexpected moves at decisive moments . . . when I no longer had any time left:' 85 Or as Spassky would say, they met at the summit and only one remained on top. 35. Qf2 Kg7 36. h4 Qe5! 37. Qf3 Res 38. Kf2 gxh4! 39. gxh4 Rg6 40. Rhl f4 41. exf4 Qd4+ 42. Kfl h5 White resigns Simpler was 42. . . . Rf8 43. fS Rgf6 and . . . Rxfs. After this game, Spassky's ailing trainer, Bondarevsky, bought a ticket to go home. But as White in the next round, Spassky was soon worse and adjourned an Exchange down.

19. . . . b4!? 20. Nxf6+ Bxf6 21. Ne4 Bxb2 22. Rxb2 f5 23. Ng5 Nc6 24. f4? The trend is running against White and it was time for Korchnoi to look for tactics. Here 24. d4! would eliminate his main weakness, the d-pawn. It works because 24 . . . . cxd4 25. exd4 Nxd4? is refuted by 26. Rxd4 Qxd4 27. Qxe6+ and mates. The position would be in rough balance after 24. . . . h6 25. Nf3 es 26. Rbd2.

24. . . . e5! 25. Qh5 h6 26. Nf3 Qe6 27. Nxe5 Nxe5 28. fxe5 Qxe5 29. Re2 Rc6 30. Qf3 Rcd6? 31. Red2?

Spassky (left) takes a break with his longtime trainer, Igor Bon­ darevsky, during the peak of their collaboration, 1968. Their brit­ tle relationship would suffer in the 1969 world championship match and break in 1972. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1968.

274

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Bondarevsky had to cancel his trip back to Leningrad. Korchnoi was heartened: With­ out Pater at his side, Spassky could not win a won match, he felt. 86 But Spassky held the draw and drew the final game to win the match 6½-3½. Korchnoi blamed his loss on external fac­ tors, including the inability of Semyon Fur­ man to serve as his second. Furman's boss, the Central Army Sports Club, would not re­ lease him. Korchnoi concluded this was done at the urging of Petrosian, who he claimed had used his ties to a fellow Armenian, army Marshal Ivan Bagramian. But Korchnoi con­ ceded that he had also lost Furman's services during the Tai match and still won. 87 Spassky has given different explanations of why he won, none particularly serious. One is: "In Kiev where Viktor and I played the final Candidates match in '68, I under­ stood the very first day that I would win. He arrived with his wife, I had two blondes:' Spassky had to choose between the two "and this had a very good effect on me:' 88 He also said that before the match he took one of his favorite vacations, a long-distance trip to a remote part of Russia. This time it was to Yeysk on the Sea of Asov. There he studied several recent Korchnoi games and saw the "low quality" of his moves. "Instead of winning in 40 moves he took 140!" he said. After he realized that he "calmed down;' went fishing and returned home to prepare. 89

for the Havana bar incident. Tai did not play on the Olympic team again until 1972. Nevertheless, the Soviets won by 8½ points in Lugano. Petrosian scored 10½-l½ and might have done better. In the third round of the finals, the Czech team wore black mourning ribbons in their jacket button­ holes, to protest the August invasion of their homeland by the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces. Petrosian "understood my condition" and offered a draw after 18 moves, Vlastimil Hort recalled. 9 0 Petrosian's games showed he was still a student of Nimzowitsch:

Jacek Bednarski-Petrosian

Olympiad, Lugano, 1968 French Defense (COS)

I. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 b6 6. c3 c5 7. Ne2 Ba6 8. Bxa6 Nxa6 9. 0-0 Nc710. f4 f511. Nf3 Be712. Be3 c4! Two months later, on December 27, Petro­ sian defended his dissertation on "Certain Problems of the Logic of Chess Thought;' in the Great Hall of Yerevan University. "I love the games where I played in accordance with the demands of the position;' he said. 9 1 After trading off his bad bishop, the de­ mands of this position called for building a pawn structure on light squares and an attack on the base of the chain at c3.

13. Khl bS14. Rgl Nb615. g4?! fxg416. Rxg4 g617. h4 Kd7! (see diagram)

Lugano Spassky and Korchnoi were pressed into service three weeks after their match to play second and third board below Petrosian on the Olympic team in Lugano, Switzerland. Tai should have been fourth board. But when he arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Air­ port for the team flight he was abruptly told to go home. Vasily Smyslov would replace him. Korchnoi felt this was Tal's punishment

After 17. ... Kd7

12. Humors One of Petrosian's trademarks was a king march to the other wing. Earlier in this tour­ nament he beat Reshevsky after moving his king from cl to g2 in a middlegame and eventually won an endgame when it got to h4.

18. Qc2 Qf8 19. Ragl Ne8! White was preparing h4-h5 but that now would favor Black, 20. h5 Ng7! 21. hxg6 hxg6+ 22. Nh2 NfS 23. Bel Rh3, for exam­ ple.

20. R4g2 Ng7 21. Ng3 Qf7 22. h5 Raf8 The inconsistent 23. h6 gets an inferior endgame (23. . . . NfS 24. NxfS QxfS 25. QxfS RxfS) in which the b2- and h6-pawns are vulnerable. But the middlegame is lost.

23. hxg6? hxg6+ 24. Rh2 g5! Based on 25. Nxg5 Bxg5 26. fxg5 Qf3+ and wins.

25. Rxh8 Rxh8+ 26. Nh2 gxf4 27. Rfl Bg5 28. Qf2 Nf5 29. Nxf5 fxe3 30. Qg2 e2 White resigns Tal's exclusion from the team was a major financial blow to him. The Sports Committee paid a bonus of 1,500 rubles to members of winning Olympic teams, according to Korch­ noi. That sum was several times what top scorers in the most prestigious Soviet tour­ nament, the national championship, earned.

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Tal, chronically short of money, needed every ruble he could get. He disguised his dismay. "I found out that a place had not been found for me" on the Olympic team, he wrote, "and I went off to a small tournament" in the Georgian town of Gori. 92 He began with yet another first-round loss, to a local player, Aleksandr Vokuchava. He recovered, won an anthology game against Eduard Gufeld and nosed out Yefim Geller for first prize. While in Georgia, Tal visited friends in one of his favorite cities, Tbilisi. One night at a chess club, he was talking to an old col­ league, Alexander Geller. ''A tall, handsome Georgian'' walked by and suggested they go to dinner. On the way out, Geller realized it was Gia Nadareishvili, the famed endgame composer. With him in tow they found a restaurant. It normally closed at 11:30. But for "Miho'' Tal, the staff agreed to stay open. After much partying, Nadareishvili asked Tal to solve one of his studies. He did it in seconds. Nadareishvili gave him another and then another. Tal solved each in five or six seconds. Finally, one of the other players said it was pointless to test Tal. He obvi­ ously knew all of Nadareishvili's studies from memory. "What do you mean he knows?" Nada­ reishvili exclaimed. "I thought them up this evening! " 93

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? Mikhail Tai managed to find the positives in his setbacks and forget the negatives. He suffered a devastating loss to Bent Larsen in a supplementary Candidates match in 1969 but translated the experience into an expla­ nation of his chess philosophy. Forgotten today, tiebreaking matches were held by FIDE in the 1950s and 1960s to de­ termine the pecking order in Interzonal and Candidates competitions in the next world championship cycle. When Tai and Bent Lar­ sen were eliminated in the 1968 Candidates semifinals, the FIDE rules stipulated that one of them would be seeded into the 1970 In­ terzonal. To determine which, they played a best-of-ten-game match in March 1969. Once again Tai's health complicated mat­ ters. He sought what he called the first post­ ponement in his career. But the Soviet Chess Federation claimed it could not locate Larsen in time. Tai had little to say in his memoirs about the match in Eersel, the Netherlands. Only the eighth game, "in which Bent played splendidly, is worth singling out;' he wrote. 1 He lost after a mental lapse:

Tai-Bent Larsen

Candidates Playoff Match, Eighth game, Eersel, 1969 Tai sought this position believing he would win by pushing his a-pawn. But after Black's

After 28. ... g5 last move he saw a defense: Larsen could cas­ tle after 29. as Bg7 and control the queening square with his rook. Tai playe d another move and lost. After he resigned, a Dutch fan asked about 29. as. Tai began to explain why it failed. He suddenly realized that Larsen could not have castled because he had previous played . . . Kf7 and . . . Ke8. With 29. a5! he would likely have drawn. Tai said if this had been the decisive game of the match he would have been near a heart attack when he discovered his hallu­ cination. He lost the match 5½-2½. Nevertheless, the match inspired Tai to write an article, "Knowledge? Intuition? Risk?" that Tigran Petrosian ran in three issues of 64 that autumn. 2 Tai cited examples from the Larsen match to explain his views on move selection:

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13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? Chess is often called a science, a sport and an art. But how is it a science? Tal said there is a scientific approach to choosing a move and it relies on knowledge and calculation. This is emphasized when a master annotates a game: He typically justifies his move choices with analysis of variations and an explana­ tion of the principles that guided him. But this is not the only way to choose a move. "It is hard to admit even to oneself, but very often, the main argument for mak­ ing a move is 'It's good. I can just feel it:" Tal wrote in the 64 series. This is intuition and it is part of the artistic aspect of chess. Moreover, there are different kinds of intuition. "One player has a very strong sense of initiative, another can't always find the best and quickest way to attack, but he can, amazingly, predict and prevent even the smallest symptoms of impending danger; yet another player just knows where to place his pieces and pawns best:' (It is not hard to imagine he was thinking of himself, Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky as these types of players.) The third aspect of chess-sport-involves risk, Tal wrote. Risk is common in sports. "The hockey team that leaves its goal empty in the last minute; a gymnast who decides, in a crucial moment of competition, to try a difficult element that he can not always exe­ cute perfectly; a boxer who wants to knock out his opponent in the last round and 'drops' his defense-it's all risk. Deliberate risk, probably even dangerous, but it is dic­ tated with one single desire: to win. Win at all costs! " How does this apply to chess? Tal contin­ ued: ''A chess player sacrifices a piece for at­ tack, even though he could choose a different plan. Does he risk? Of course, because the attack can be repelled, and the opponent's extra piece will unleash its negative (for the risk-taker, of course) power:' "Good, let's proceed. A chess player accepts the sacrifice (even though he could decline),

277

hoping he can repel that attack. Does he risk? Of course, because the attack can be irre­ sistible. Whose risk is riskier?" Tal concluded there is no metric to eval­ uate risk and answer this crucial question. Moreover, each aspect of move selection has its plusses and minuses. Even knowledge is risky. For example, in the sixth game with Larsen, Tal tried to rely on his knowledge, that is, memory, of an opening recommen­ dation by Isaac Boleslavsky. He agonized over the decision and got a bad position. "This game shows how risky 'knowledge' is;' he concluded.

Risk Korchnoi Style Viktor Korchnoi surpassed Tal in August 1967 to become the second-highest rated player in the world, behind Bobby Fischer. He would remain there for three years. It took consistently good, if not great, results to hold his place and Korchnoi did it with first prizes at the international tournaments of Palma de Mallorca 1968, Sarajevo 1969, Havana 1969 and Luhacovice 1969. He re­ sented Spassky's being awarded a "Chess Oscar" for 1969 based on a vote of chess jour­ nalists. He told Dimitrije Bjelica such awards undermined respect for the world champi­ onship title. "Why are Candidates matches played if journalists choose their Oscar?" he asked. Korchnoi grumbled about being chroni­ cally shortchanged when foreign invitations were doled out by the Sports Committee. But he was playing abroad as much as any Soviet player, and much more than some elite inter­ national grandmasters. Yefim Geller, still an enemy of world champion Petrosian, played in only one Western invitational during 196869. Korchnoi said his invitation to Palma de Mallorca was arranged by Petrosian: "He was planning to have me as his trainer:' 3 Korchnoi's ability to gauge his own accept-

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

278

able risk and beat draw-minded players was impressive.

Jesus Diez del Corral-Korchnoi Palma de Mallorca, 1968 Sicilian Defense (B44)

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e6 5. Nxc6?! bxc6 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. 0-0 d6 8. b3 Be7 9. Bb2 eS 10. Nd2 0-0 11. Nc4 Be6 12. Qe2 Nd7! 13. Radl Re8 14. Qd2 NcS 15. Rfel f6 By protecting his e-pawn, Black threatens to get the upper hand with 16. . . . d5.

16. NaS! Qc717. Bc4 Bxc4 18. Nxc4 Nxe4! 19. Rxe4 dS 20. Rg4 dxc4 21. Qh6 (see dia­ gram)

making a target of f2 and an immediate threat of 24. . . . Rf8. For instance, 24. Rd2 Rf8 25. Qh4 Rxf2! 26. Rxf2 and now not 26. . . . Rf7? because of 27. Bd4! Bxd4 28. Rxd4. Rather, 26. . . . Qd6!!, threatening 27. . . . Qdl mate and 27. . . . Rf7. For example, 27. Bd4 Bxd4 28. Rxd4 exd4 or 27. h3 Rf7 offers solid winning chances.

24. QgS? It is psychologically hard for White to seek equality (24. Qf3! Rf7 25. Qe2) when he seemed to be better a move or two ago.

24. . . . Rf8 25. Rfl Qd7 26. Rc4? Bxf2+ 27. Khl Ref7! White is lost (28. Qxe5 Bb6, 28. Bxe5 Be3 or 28. h3 Bh4!).

28. Qh5 Qd2 29. Rxc6 Bb6 White resigns In this busy period of his career Korchnoi also played a match of training games with Petrosian at a fast time control, according to grandmaster Vladimir Bagirov.4 The result is not known.

R ematch After 21. Qh6 White would be a little worse after 21. Rxc4 Rad8 22. Qe2 Rxdl+ 23. Qxdl Rd8 and 24. . . . Rd5 because his bishop bites on granite and Black controls the d-file. That is not much but enough for Korchnoi to play to win. After 21. Qh6 he must have examined 21. . . . Bd8, so that g7 and f6 are defended. But would he have any real winning chances after 22. Qh5 Rf8? And what if 22. . . . g6? To go into that line Korchnoi would have to cal­ culate 23. Rxg6+ hxg6 24. Qxg6+ Kf8 25. Bel and be sure he has more than perpetual check-and not getting mated.

21. . . . BcS! 22. Qxf6 cxb3 23. axb3 Re7! This maximizes his winning chances by

During the Palma tournament, journalist Dmitrije Bjelica asked the world championship contestants, what would be the deciding factor in their upcoming match. "Nerves and physical condition will decide;' Petrosian said. "The greater number of points;' Spassky deadpanned. 5 When he was serious, Spassky explained what this match meant to him. "If I lose to Petrosian I will never play again for the world championship until the Candidates is again played as a tournament and not by a system of matches;' he said. "I do not have the nerves to endure the matches:' 6 Vasily Smyslov pre­ dicted that if Spassky lost again he would never become champion, even if he tried. "The third time is impossible, believe me. I

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? also won the Candidates tournament twice but I had no strength left," he said. But Spassky had something he did not have before the 1966 championship match: money. Thanks to prizes from his foreign victories, especially the second Piatigorsky Cup, he had a veritable war chest. By the end of 1968 he had enlisted Nikolai Krogius and Igor Bondarevsky to prepare him at a train­ ing camp in Dubna, not far from Moscow. "I remember the evening when Spassky pulled out of his wallet a thick pack of money and said 'Pater, here are the match expenses;" Krogius recalled. Spassky ended up paying for all sorts of luxuries, even a chauffeur to drive his Volga car. 7 Team Spassky usually worked five or six hours a day, followed by long walks or some sports activity, Krogius said. "Studying with Spassky was simultaneously easy and hard:' Krogius said. It was easy because of the chal­ lenger's good nature, modesty and huge tal­ ent. It was difficult because Spassky could still be the self-described lazy Russian bear. "Boris was never a workaholic:' Krogius said, "but in preparation for the 1969 match he worked diligently and conscientiously:' Unlike the run-up to his previous cham­ pionship match, Spassky played no public chess in the months beforehand. The best clues to his latest thinking came from Palma de Mallorca 1968.

Ricardo Calvo-Spassky Palma de Mallorca, 1968

279

played recently:' But Spassky had a very good associative memory. "He remembers ideas, not moves," Malkin said. 8 But this move order is suspect, as Isaac Boleslavsky realized when he went over the game with Petrosian in their training camp.

7. cxd5 exd5 8. 0-0 Bb7 9. a3 Bd6 10. f3?! The position is fairly even after 10. b4, since 10. . . . c5?! 11. bxc5 bxc5 12. Rbl favors White.

10. . . . c5! 11. Bc2 Nc6 12. Qd3 Re8 13. Rdl g6!? Many grandmasters would jump at the opportunity to create a queenside majority with 13. . . . c4. Spassky tended to keep center tension longer than other elite players.

14. dxc5 bxc5 15. b4? He set a trap, 15. Nxd5? Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Nd4!. Then 16. Qxb7? Nxc2 loses. Or 16. Qc4 Bxh2+! (17. Kxh2? Qh4+ 18. Kgl Nxf3+ ). 15. . . . Ne5! White's idea was that 15. . . . cxb4 16. Nxd5 is safer now. Spassky would have good win­ ning chances after 16. . . . Bes or even 16. . . . Bxh2+ 17. Kxh2 Ne5. But in such a favorable position he could minimize risk. Now 16. Qd2 Nc4 17. Qd3 a5! (18. b5 Qc7) would leave him with an unchallenged initiative.

16. Qb5 a6! 17. Qa4 The queen is trapped after 17. Qxb7? Re7.

Nimzo-Indian Defense (E47)

17. . . . cxb418. axb4 Nc419. Rd3 Qb6

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 b6 6. Ne2 d5

Tal might have gone for 19. . . . NhS!, to prepare 20. . . . Qh4.

Spassky's repertoire was designed by Bon­ darevsky, who knew his reluctance to mem­ orize main line continuations such as 5. . . . c5, 5. . . . d5 and 5. . . . b6 6. Ne2 Bb7. Viktor Malkin, who was close to the Spassky team, said that his longterm memory was "weak:' "Boris quickly forgets games, even those he

20. Nd4 Nxe3 So that 21. Bxe3 Rxe3! 22. Rxe3 Qxd4. But 20. . . . Qc7! is even stronger because of the threat of 21. . . . Ne5 22. Rdl Qxc3.

21. Rxe3 Qxd4 22. Ne2 Qb6 23. Kf2 Re6 24. Bd2 Rae8 25. Ra3 (see diagram)

280

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

After 25. Ra3 Black can win a second pawn (25. . . . Rxe3) but there was no reason to play an endgame.

25. . . . Bb8! 26. b5 Ba7 27. Qf4 Ne4+! 28. Bxe4 dxe4 29. bxa6 Bxa6 30. Nc3 Qd8 31. Nxe4 Rxe4 White resigns

How They Prep ared Igor Bondarevsky's training program for Spassky was based on three elements. First, the team would analyze all of the losses of the two players. Losses tend to be more re­ vealing than victories, Bondarevsky said. Second, they would do a "chronometric" study: How often did Petrosian think 30-plus minutes about a move and what kind of move did he make? The same was done for 20-30 minute moves, 15-20 minute moves, and so on. 9 The goal was to detect when the cham­ pion was confident and played quickly and when he was not and did not. "The expen­ diture of time is very important;' Spassky said. "There are positions in which the op­ ponent 'swims: And there are positions in which he calms down:' 10 The third focus of Team Spassky was on pawn structures. They concluded that Petro­ sian did not play his best when his opponent had an isolated cl-pawn. For that reason, Spassky chose the Tarrasch Variation as his main defense to the Queen's Gambit. "Petro­ sian likes sometimes to wait a little bit and

to maneuver and to make some prophylactic moves;' he explained. "But this is not good for such positions. This is the knife in his heart, the Tarrasch:' 11 Spassky also felt Petrosian was vulnera­ ble when facing hanging pawns. He wanted to prepare the Tartakower-Makogonov­ Bondarevsky Variation. But Bondarevsky thought the variation that bore his name was too risky. He did not permit debate. "Enough!" he said, thumping his hand on the table. "No Tartakowers, Makogonovs and Bondarevskys. Suicide is not needed:' 12 Petrosian's inner circle was led once again by Boleslavsky, with Alexey Suetin as his "consultant:' The world championship rules at the time stipulated that a player could only have one "official" second, who alone was permitted to help analyze adjourn­ ments. The two contestants had played one another some 40 times so it would be hard to prepare a surprise. The match was like "a husband and wife who live together 25 years:' Spassky said. "They know each other well:' 13 To add something new, Petrosian recruited Semyon Furman, formerly a Korchnoi trainer. Petrosian later regretted not bringing in one or two additional advisers. They would have taken a different point of view and "intro­ duced an argumentative fervor in our prepa­ rations:' he said. 14 Petrosian's team focused on Spassky's predilections. "We basically studied such positions as . . . Spassky liked;' Suetin said. 15 They noticed that Spassky was often aggres­ sive in the Kan Variation of the Sicilian De­ fense and had lost to Tal's Kan in the second game of their 1965 Candidates match. With the help of Furman, a Kan expert, Petrosian used it in the first match game. As per Bondarevsky's "locomotive" analogy, Spassky never seemed to get his wheels turning and lost. He equalized the match by winning the fourth game with a Tarrasch Variation and

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? took the lead in the fifth game. He stretched his lead further with another isolani game:

Petrosian-Spassky

World Championship Match, Eighth game, Moscow, 1969 Queen's Gambit Declined (D37) I. c4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bf4 c5 6. dxc5 Na6 7. e3 Nxc5 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Be2 0-0 10. 0-0 Be6 11. Be5 Rc8 12. Rel a613. h3 b5 (see diagram)

After 13. ... b5 Petrosian was 14 years old when he learned Aron Nimzowitsch's rule that an isolated d-pawn should be blockaded (14. Nd4): "A passed pawn is a criminal who should be kept under lock and keY:' White controls d4 three times but, as Nimzowitsch might say, mild measures, such as police surveillance, are not enough. This must have come back to Petrosian after he spent ten minutes on 14. Bd3? and was surprised by14. . . . d4!. However White takes on d4, 15. . . . Nxd3 16. Qxd3 Bc4 will win the Exchange. After the match Spassky said he felt stronger than three years before but Petrosian had become weaker. The ab­ sence of blunders like 14. Bd3? in the 1966 match attests to that. But this game also led to another shift in momentum. Petrosian was calm and relaxed when he showed up to resign at the adjourn­ ment session. But Spassky appeared depressed, TASS reported. It was a hint that his melan-

28 1

cholia was resurfacing. He later described the first nine games as "my sprint" followed by "fatigue:'

Punching B ag Spectators at the 1,500-seat Estrada The­ ater looked for clues in the stage demeanor of the players. Whoever had the better posi­ tion would walk around the dais. Petrosian strolled with his arms folded on his chest, slightly swaying his shoulders. 16 The player who was worse often sat for almost the full five hours. In the audience, Rona Petrosian made each move on her pocket set and then asked Bole­ slavsky, sitting beside her, what it meant. But she knew her husband's behavior better than other spectators. "Let the experts maintain that Petrosian had a bad game. If I see that Tigran, having made a move, gets up, buttons the upper button of his coat and puts his hand in his pocket, then I know everything is in order. He has a good position;' she had said. "But if before making a move he touches his upper lip with his hand, that sig­ nifies his position is in a bad way, the experts to the contrarY:' 17 Spassky's wife Larisa came to every other game, and often sat with Yefim Geller's wife Oksana. This was the clearest tipoff that Geller was helping Team Spassky. After he lost the Candidate finals, Korch­ noi said Spassky was "of course" the world's strongest player. "I am absolutely convinced that Spassky will win" the championship match, he said publicly. 18 He also said it pri­ vately to the champion. "I told him directly that he would lose;' Korchnoi recalled. "Well, that's the way I felt and turned out to be right:' 19 But after Petrosian won the 10th and 11th games, Korchnoi walked back his prediction. "I don't know what's happening here. It seems to come in waves, first one wins and then the other;' he said. 20 Spassky said of this period of the match that "I am a punching bag:' 2 1

282

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Match, Tenth game, Moscow, 1969 Nimzo-Indian Defense (E47) I. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 0-0 5. Bd3 b6 This is the same move order as in the Calvo game but it was inaccurate. If Black had played 4 . . . . b6 5. Bd3 Bb7 White could not allow 6. . . . Bxg2 and should avoid 6. f3 c5! . That means he would be denied the harmonious setup with Nge2 that Petrosian adopts.

6. Ne2! d5 7. 0-0 dxc4 Korchnoi agreed to annotate this game for Petrosian's periodical 64. He said Black would have equalized after the more popular 7. . . . Bb7 and 8 . cxds exds 9. a3 Bd6 10. b4, citing "long . . . established theorY:' But Boleslavsky said Korchnoi was confusing that position with one with 6. Nf3 instead of 6. Ne2, which he said favored White a bit.

8. Bxc4 Bb7 9. f3! c5 10. a3 cxd4 11. axb4! dxc312. Nxc3 Nc6 "Black is probably already lost:' Boleslav­ sky wrote. 22 He felt Spassky's a-pawn had become a sick man, his knights lack good squares and the White bishops grow in punch. Better was 12. . . . Qc7, 12. . . . Nd5 to swap one knight or 12. . . . a6 and, if allowed, 13. . . . bS! . Bondarevsky believed Spassky overestimated his lead in development but still had chances to equalize.

14. Be2 Qc7 15. e4 Rfd8 16. Qel Qc5+ Better was 16. . . . Nd3 17. Bxd3 Rxd3 fol­ lowed by the repositioning of Black's other knight. White could eventually double rooks on the a-file and tie Black to the defense of his a7-pawn. Is that lost for Black? Larsen may have provided an answer before the match. "Spassky is a little afraid of Petrosian, and if it were not for that, I would not give Petrosian any chances;' he said. 23 17. Qf2! Qe718. Ra3 Ne8? It is not too late for 18 . . . . Nd3 19. Bxd3 Rxd3. Even Bondarevsky thought Spassky was lost after 18 . . . . Ne8.

19. Bf4 Ng6 Or 19. . . . Nd3 20. Bxd3 Rxd3 21. Rfal Bc8? 22. Nd5! exds 23. Rxd3.

20. Be3 Nd6 21. Rfal Nc8 22. Bfl f5 Spassky gives his bishop more scope and hopes to play . . . f4 before Ne2-d4! kills him. But 22. . . . es served better.

23. exf5 exf5 24. Ra4! Re8 25. Bd2!? (see diagram)

13. b5 Ne5 Black can solve the knight problem with 13. . . . Na5 14. Be2 Qxdl 15. Rxdl Nb3 16. Ra3 Nxcl. But the a-pawn is lost after 17. Rxcl and 18. Rfal. However, if Black plays as in the game, 14 . . . . Qc7! 15. e4 Rfd8, then 16. Qel al­ lows an improved 16. . . . Nb3! . Instead 16. Qa4 would keep a small edge, 16. . . . Qc5+ 17. Khl Rd4 18. Qa3.

After 25. Bd2 Many grandmasters would have played 25. Bd4 without much thought. But Petro­ sian apparently did not want to deal with . . . Qg5 followed by . . . f4/ . . . Nh4 and perhaps . . . Nf5-g3!?. Deprived of an active plan, Spassky now goes into a lost endgame.

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier?

283

Petrosian takes his usual stroll across the stage of the Estrada Theater in Moscow as Spassky ponders his next move. Shakhmaty v SSSR, July 1969.

25. . . . Qc5? 26. Qxc5 bxc5 27. Rc4 Res 28. Na4! Many international grandmasters would play 28. f4 fairly quickly, even though Black's minor pieces become more active (28 . . . . Re7 29. RxcS Nd6). Petrosian took 14 of his re­ maining 40 minutes in the first time control to choose 28. Na4!. Spassky spent ten min­ utes on his reply. Boleslavsky felt Spassky just wanted the game over. However, 28 . . . . Nb6 29. RxcS Nxa4 30. RxeS NxeS 31. Rxa4 and Be3 is another way of resigning.

28. . . . a6? 29. Nxc5 axb5 30. Nxb7! Rxal 31. Rxc8+ Kti 32. Nd8+ Ke7 33. Nc6+ Kd7 34. Nxe5+ Kxc8 35. Nxg6 hxg6 36. Bc3 Rbl 37. Kf2 b4 38. Bxg7 Black resigns Petrosian felt Spassky was "groggy" after this game and vulnerable. But he did not

know how to deliver a knockout blow. "If only I had something of the character of Korchnoi;' Petrosian said. "He would have found in himself the strength to put pressure on a cowed opponent:' 24 Spassky agreed afterwards that Petro­ sian missed his best chance to win the match at this point. "He apparently thought I was broken and could not recover;' Spas­ sky said. Instead of going for the kill, Petro­ sian's play became "drier:' 25 But to outsiders, the trend seemed obvious. Bent Larsen now predicted Petrosian would win by two points.

Depression Spassky was vulnerable because he was undergoing an emotional crisis. It severely

284

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

tested his relationship with Bondarevsky. Spassky had told Leonard Barden that one of the reasons he liked Pater was that unlike his predecessors, Vladimir Zak and Alexan­ der Tolush, Bondarevsky did not reprimand him. "When I make a mistake Bondarevsky keeps his silence, and this is much stronger than advice;' he said. 26 But that led to a breakdown in communi­ cation in mid-match. Spassky and Bonda­ revsky were not talking to one another. Vik­ tor Malkin attended the games regularly with a prominent scientist, Alexander Sergeevich Pavlov, and they both knew Bondarevsky well ''.At the time of the 11th game which Spassky again lost, Igor Zakharievich suddenly turned to us with a request-to find a doctor for Boris! " Malkin said. "He said he was in an uncontrollable condition and their working contact had taken a bad turn:' This was the kind of bout of melancholia that Spassky al­ luded to in later years. Malkin recalled in 1997 how, when Paul Keres died, Spassky said of him, "Unlike us, he was a mentally healthy person:' Pavlov found an experienced psychother­ apist for Spassky. But before the 12th game "Bondarevsky happily reported that his re­ lationship with Boris had gotten better and a doctor was not needed. Fighting spirit re­ turned to Spassky;' Malkin said. He and Bon­ darevsky were talking again. 27 But Spassky had not fully recovered. The midway point in a best-of-24-game match was usually when backup openings ap­ peared. Petrosian sprung one in the 13th game when he met 1. e4 with the Petroff Defense, an opening he may never have played before in a serious game. Spassky responded feebly and drew in 25 moves. When Petrosian repeated the Petroff in the 15th game, Spassky had nothing new to say and they drew in 19 moves. Short draws with White were very costly since Spassky only had four more Whites in the match. "The de­ pression that began with Spassky after the

ninth game had not passed;' Bondarevsky wrote. The match was still tied after 16 games. But more changes were coming. Petrosian abandoned the Petroff. Boleslavsky later ex­ plained that it was "not one of those reliable openings that should be employed regularly" and that Spassky was bound to improve on his play in games 13 and 15. 28 Meanwhile, Pater took a bold step. "Bon­ darevsky decided to have a serious chat with me, which was a rare event;' Spassky recalled. "Either you listen to me or I leave you:' Bon­ darevsky told him. "I argued that I needed to prepare for the game on my own . . . to be one on one with myself. I can concentrate better this waY:' Spassky said. "He disliked that very much:' He left the Spassky team­ and "was rooting for Petrosian . . . to punish me for my disobedience:' 29 As he left, Bondarevsky suggested that Geller take his place. "Geller's help was in­ valuable;' Spassky said. "Yefim Petrovich just told me, 'Forget about everything, think only about chess, play chess! ' This was his most valuable advice." So in a strange twist, Petro­ sian's former best friend was helping Spassky while Spassky's longtime father figure was cheering on Petrosian.

A Fateful Draw Offer In the 17th game Petrosian returned to the Kan Sicilian, quickly equalized and appeared to have the upper hand when he offered a draw at move 21. Boleslavsky felt this was a "psychological mistake" because it told Spas­ sky that Petrosian was not up to a five-hour battle. As Korchnoi put it, Petrosian "has only one significant weakness: he can not play equally well every day." 30 Spassky understood that. He refused the draw offer because he felt it showed Petro­ sian was "very nervous:'

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? Spassky-Petrosian World Championship Match, 17th game, Moscow, 1969

But Petrosian later claimed that he did not really want a draw. He said he made the offer to get Spassky to refuse it and then "over­ reach himself:' 31 This is what happened when Spassky declined a three-time repetition in the 22nd game in the 1966 match. This psychology worked again, as Spassky refused the draw and also rejected a solid move such as 23. Qf3. He chose 23. Qc7?. Petrosian saw the refutation, 23. . . . Nd5! . Then 24. Rxd5 exd5 25. Rxe7 would allow 25. . . . dxc4 (26. Rxf7 Rxg2+! and wins). Bet­ ter is 25. h4 but White would be fighting for a draw after 25. . . . dxc4 26. hxg5 Bxg5 or 25. . . . RfS. But Petrosian inexplicably played 23 . . . . ReS?. Spassky obtained a slightly better end­ game and Petrosian, "angry with myself;' botched it. 32 Petrosian resigned on the 58th move. After the match he said that the mo­ ment he lost his title was when he offered the draw in this game. Spassky called games 14 to 17 the turning point of the match. Petrosian's fans began to sense this. One day "there was a terrible knocking on the door" of Spassky's apart­ ment. He heard "an unknown voice with an accent" say "Listen, Boris, don't you dare beat our Tigran! " He replied, "I'll be sure to beat him" and that seemed to calm the fan down. 33

285

Spassky said "my final offensive" followed the drawn 18th game. The strain got to Petro­ sian and severely strained his relations with Boleslavsky and Suetin. In the 19th game he took two major risks. First he switched open­ ings again, meeting 1. e4 with a highly double­ edged line of the Najdorf Sicilian. Then he castled kingside. That was a challenge to Spassky. He had avoided a direct attack on Petrosian's king all match long. But Spassky understood what Tai said about the two faces of risk. If he failed to sacrifice and play for mate, he would be taking a greater risk than Petrosian had by inviting an attack. He would have wasted a golden opportunity. Spassky had only one long "think;' spend­ ing 19 minutes on a pawn sacrifice at move 15. Petrosian was about to be mated when he resigned after 24 moves. Boleslavsky said Petrosian lost the game when he decided to castle. Tai had covered the last two world cham­ pionship matches from ringside for Sovietsk y Sport. But because of another health setback, he analyzed this match in a Riga hospital bed. The moves of this game were relayed to him by telephone. To the amazement of his doctor, he guessed each of Spassky's moves in the 19th game. "Ah, Misha, if you play this well sick, what would you be able to do if you played healthy! " the doctor said. 34

L ast Turning Point That game might have decided the match. But Spassky also made another critical decision. He switched to the Tartakower­ Makogonov-Bondarevsky Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined in the 20th game. This was likely at the urging of Geller, one of the world's experts in the line. Spassky lost. His lead was cut to one point with four games to go. But then:

286

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Spassky-Petrosian World Championship Match, 21st game, Moscow, 1969 Ruy Lopez (C92) I. e4 es 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. 0-0 Be7 6. Rel b5 7. Bb3 0-0 8. c3 d6 9. h3 Nd7 In his Shakhmaty v SSSR notes, Boleslav­ sky said, "This variation does not have a good reputation but Petrosian, apparently, does not intend to follow the recommenda­ tions of chess authorities." 35 Petrosian was more blunt: Playing this line and choosing the Najdorf in the previous Black game was "stupid:' 36 Databases indicated he used this stolid line only two other times in his career, in 1947 and to draw in 14 moves in the last round of the 1962 Interzonal.

10. d4 Bf6 11. Be3 Na5 12. Bc2 Nc4 13. Bel Bb7 14. b3 Ncb6 Petrosian looks for an opportunity to liq­ uidate in the center. But unlike in the Breyer Variation, here Black is stuck with at least one poorly placed knight. 15. Be3 Res 16. d5!? Black was ready for 16. Nbd2 dS or 16. . . . exd4 17. cxd4 cs. But 16. dS gives Black other ways to free his pieces, with . . . c6 and . . . fS. After 16. . . . Be7! he may equalize, e.g., 17. Nbd2 fS or 17. . . . c6 18. c4 cxdS 19. cxdS fS!

16. . . . RcS?! 17. Nbd2 c618. c4! cxd519. cxd5 Now 19 . . . . Be7 is answered by the the­ matic 20. a4!. Black is worse if the b-file is opened and a4-a5 is played. The liquidating 20. . . . fS 21. aS Na8 22. exfS BxdS 23. Ne4 is poor. But 21. . . . fxe4 was better than what happens.

19. . . . Qc7?! 20. Rel QbS The eyes in the match press room focused on 20. . . . Qc3. Boleslavsky looked at 21. Bbl Qxcl 22. Qxcl Rxcl 23. Rxcl. Then on 23. . . .

Rc8 24. Rxc8+ Nxc8 the endgame recalls one in which Vasily Smyslov squeezed Max Euwe in the 1948 world championship match­ tournament. For example, 25. a4 Bd8 26. axbS axbS 27. Bd3 b4 28. BbS, or 25. . . . bxa4 26. bxa4 Bd8 27. g4 Bb6 28. Bxb6 and 29. as.

21. a4! Once again 21. . . . bxa4 22. bxa4 is difficult for Black in view of Rbl, a4-a5 and Nc4. But at least he could swap one of his knights with 22. . . . Nc4. This was a pivotal point because White also has good kingside prospects from Nfl-g3 and Nh2-g4. Spassky might have been thinking about this game when he told an interviewer, "In the first match I flung my­ self at Petrosian like a kitten at a tiger, and it was easy for him to parry my blows. But by the second match I'd matured and turned into a bear that was always putting the tiger under pressure, by which I mean I held him in a grip that even if it was loose was con­ stant, and he didn't like that:' 37 He put it more crudely when Garry Kas­ parov asked for advice in the 1980s about how to play against Petrosian. Spassky told Kasparov to apply pressure: "Squeeze his balls:' he said. 38

21. . . . Nc5 22. axb5 axb5 23. Ral b4 24. Qe2 Nbd7 25. Bd3? (see diagram)

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? seemed preferable to 25. Nc4 Ba6 26. Nfd2 Bd8 27. Ra2 Bb5. Fans of the two players tended to sit sep­ arately and quietly in the audience. But when Spassky played 25. Bd3, "tension grew in the half of the hall where fans of Petrosian sat:' Boleslavsky wrote.39 The reason was 25. . . . Bxd5! . The key line is 26. exd5 e4 27. Nxe4 and now not 27. . . . Bxal? 28. Nxc5 but 27. . . . Nxe4!. Analysts later tried to find an advantage for White in 28. Nd4 Nc3! or 28. Ba7 Qb7 but failed. "The move 25. . . . Bxd5 passed from mouth to mouth. It was evident as Spas­ sky suddenly and quickly went to the table, sat down and began to think:' Boleslavsky wrote. ''.After several minutes he calmed down:' 40 Neither Bondarevsky nor Boleslav­ sky gave Petrosian's next move a question mark but it turned out to be the last turning point in the match. 25. . . . Nxd3? 26. Qxd3 Bas 27. Nc4 Nc5 28. Bxc5 Rxc5 The b4-pawn is secure after 28 . . . . dxc5 but White can bring decisive pressure in var­ ious ways. For example, 29. Ra4 Bb7 30. Real Qc7 31. Nh2 and Ng4.

29. Ra4 h6 30. Qd2 The b4-pawn is doomed, 30. . . . Rb5? 31. Rxa8 Qxa8 32. Nxd6. Spassky occasion­ ally shot glances at his opponent during this phase as he appreciated how his position was improving. As he said at a Petrosian memo­ rial tournament, "It's like in Canada. A 2-year­ old boy is put on skates and told: You shouldn't look at the ice or the puck, but at the oppo­ nenf' 41

30. . . . Be7 31. Real! Bb7 32. Qxb4 f5? 33. Ra7! Rc7 34. ext'S QcS 35. Ne3 e4 36. Nd4 Bf6 37. Rfl Spassky might have won faster with 35. Qb6, 35. Nxd6 or here with 37. Ne6 Bxal 38. Nxc7. But he had reached his risk limit.

287

Having been disappointed so many times in pursuit of the championship title his caution is understandable. He had thought the match was decided when he won the 19th game. When he played the decisive 24th move in that game he went to a spot behind the play­ ing stage, where no one would see, and burst into tears of relief, according to Gennady Sosonko. "Emotional stress," Spassky ex­ plained. 42 37. . . . Ba6 38. Rxc7 Qxc7 39. Qa4 Ra8 40. Rdl Qb8 41. Nc6 Qb7 42. Qxe4 Qxb3 43. Rel Bc3 44. Rbl Qa2 45. Nb4 Qa4 46. Qe6+ Kh8 47. Qxd6 Be2 48. Nc6 Qa2 49. Rb8+ Rxb8 50. Qxb8+ Kh7 51. Qg3?! Bh5 52. Kh2 Bel 53. f6! Black resigns Another champion, a Kasparov or a Fis­ cher, might not have passed up the prettier finishes, 51. Ne7! Qal+ 52. Ndl! Qxdl+ 53. Kh2 or 52. Nfl! Qxfl+ 53. Kh2. After drawing the next game, Spassky needed only a half point to become champion. He adjourned the 23rd game with an extra pawn. Petrosian wanted to resign. But Spassky offered a draw through the match arbiter. "Well, if Spassky wants to have 12½ points rather than 13, that's his business:' Petrosian replied. "I am not so proud to decline." 43 The match ended 12½-10½ on June 17. It was Petrosian's 40th birthday.

Postmortem Petrosian's fans and friends thought he would be devastated by losing his title. "But for me that moment, as strange as it seems, passed rather painlessly," he said. When Spas­ sky and his seconds celebrated victory at Moscow's Hotel Metropol restaurant, Tigran and Rona showed up to congratulate them. 44 The Petrosians had their own party at home. Among the guests were former world cham­ pion Max Euwe and the match arbiter Al­ beric O' Kelly. They believed Petrosian was

288

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

numb from shock. "No;' Petrosian told them. "I know what has happened, but now at least I can breathe freely! " 45 Years later Vladimir Kramnik recalled what he had been told about Petrosian's mood that night: "He was terribly happy, held a party, danced with his wife and re­ peated 'What joy! Finally I'm rid of it:" 46 Petrosian's son Mikhail recalled how every­ one present agreed "that finally he was rid of the suffering:' 47 What suffering? Petrosian felt burdened with having to prove over and over that he was the world's best player. "The title requires regularly winning;' Yuri Averbakh said.48 But that was not possible if you are only a first among equals. "It seemed to me that Petro­ sian was mentally tired of being the cham­ pion;' Spassky recalled. "After all, he held the crown for six years without being the strong­ est player. That was evident from his tour­ nament results:' 49 Gennady Sosonko quoted Petrosian about the pressure he had felt: "In my six years as world champion I didn't smoke a single cig­ arette and didn't drink a drop of alcohol. My doctor says I shouldn't get too excited when

I'm watching ice hockey or football matches because iron nerves are needed to play chess. 'Don't get too excited! ' It's easy to say. But what's the point of life then? What do I get out if it? What does life give me then?" 50 Nevertheless, Petrosian soon realized how much influence he had lost. A semifinals for the 37th USSR Championship was held in the Siberian city of Barnaul. Yefim Geller was expected to play but did not show up. In­ stead, the Soviet Chess Federation seeded him directly into the championship finals, a Zonal. Petrosian complained in the pages of 64 that Geller was granted special "privi­ leges" because of his aid to Spassky during the just-completed match. Spassky defended Geller in print and the Geller decision stood.

Three Champions

Three former world champions played in that Soviet championship: Vasily Smyslov, Petrosian and Tai. The last two were a sur­ prise. Petrosian did not need a Zonal because he was guaranteed a place in the 1971 Candi­ dates matches. He just wanted to play chess. Tai decided to play despite his diseased kidney. His doc­ tors wanted to remove it. But Tai realized that he would be confined to a bed for six to eight weeks after the surgery. Besides, this championship fi­ nals would mean returning to the same playing hall where his career took off, in winning the 1957 championship. His decision was disastrous, as anyone could see in Tai's agony at the board. Leonid Zorin, a prominent playwright and passionate chess fan, reg­ ularly attended rounds. He Soviet media featured this photo of Spassky after defeating told Shakhmaty v SSSR read­ Petrosian. Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1969. ers how Tai, "hollow-cheeked,

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier?

289

thin, with an unhealthy yellow face, a ciga­ rette in his mouth, hunched over . . . sat at the board trying to create a miracle out of the position." 51 Tal was fortunate to tie for 14th place out of 23 players. His most memorable game was a loss: He walked into a devastating opening preparation by Lev Polugaevsky in the sec­ ond round. Polugaevsky had never beaten Tal before but this was the first of eight vic­ tories and one defeat in their remaining ca­ reers. "He is a genius:' Polugaevsky said of Tal. "But, psychologically, he always tried too hard against me:' 52 The big surprise of the tournament was Petrosian. He alternated strategic gems with short draws. Which would it be when he faced Geller? By then their feud was well known. An overflow audience showed up for their game. But it ended in a 13-move draw. In other games Petrosian looked like a man freed from the burden of being judged as a world champion. Mark Taimanov called this victory "a purely Petrosianesque game:' 53

11. Qa4+ Nc6 12. Qxc4 0-0!

Petrosian-Vladimir Savon

Black's king is secure after 20. . . . h6! and he has good play, e.g., 21. Bd2 gS 22. Rbl (else 22. . . . a4!) Rads 23. a4 fS.

37th USSR Championship finals, Moscow, 1969 Grunfeld Defense (D31)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 dxc4 6. e3 This is a modest alternative to 6. e4 cS 7. dS!.

6. . . . Be6 7. Nd2 c5 8. dxc5 Nd5! 9. Bxc4 Nxc310. bxc3 Bxc4 Vladimir Savon had his own sense of ac­ ceptable risk and he rejected 10 . . . . Bxc3? 11. Bxe6 fxe6 12. Rel. After 10. . . . Bxc4 Petrosian said he considered 11. Nxc4 Bxc3+ 12. Ke2 because 12. . . . Bxal 13. Qxal is prom­ ising. But he noticed that 12. . . . Qc8! would favor Black. (And he did not see that 12. . . . Bxal?? 13. Nd6+! Kf8 14. QdS would be crushing when he annotated the game.)

More adventurous was 12. . . . NeS 13. QbS+ Qd7 14. Rbl 0-0-0!?.

13. Nb3 Ne5 14. Qe2 Where Korchnoi often wrote with sarcasm and Tal with irony, Petrosian preferred un­ derstatement. ''.After the game Mark Tai­ manov advocated 14. Qe4;' he said, "but it has long been known that his chess optimism is much greater than the author of these lines:' 54 Taimanov's idea was that after 14. Qe4 Nd3+? 15. Ke2 Black has nothing better than 15. . . . NeS and is a bit worse than in the game.

14. . . . Nd3+ 15. Kfl Ne5! 16. e4 Nc617. Rel Qd7 Chances are roughly equal and Black can get good play in various ways including . . . a5a4 and . . . Rad8. Petrosian finds the best way to activate his king's rook.

18. h4! Qe6 19. h5 a5 20. Rh3 a4?!

21. Nd4! Qe5? Petrosian believed 21. . . . Nxd4 22. cxd4 Bxd4 was necessary, although 22. Rd3 would favor him.

22. Qg4! Qxc5? The belated 22. . . . Nxd4 23. cxd4 Qxd4 24. hxg6 fxg6 25. Qe6+ gets to a bad end­ game after 25. . . . Kh8 26. Be3 Qf6 27. Qxf6.

23. Qh4! h6? (see diagram) Petrosian thought 23. . . . f6 24. hxg6 hxg6 25. Qh7+ Kf7 was necessary. He would have a very good endgame after 26. Qxg7+ Kxg7 27. Ne6+ Kg8 28. NxcS fxgS 29. Rbl or 29. Rg3. But 26. Bh6 Rg8 27. Rel! is a strong bid for a quick kill.

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

290

After 23. ... h6 24. Bxh6! Nxd4 The game could end 24 . . . . Bxh6 25. hxg6 QgS 26. gxt7+ Kg7? 27. Ne6+ or 26. . . . Kxt7? 27. Rf3+ Ke8? 28. Rxf8+ Kxf8 29. Ne6+.

25. cxd4 Qxd4 26. hxg6 fxg6 27. Be3 Qf6 28. Qh7+ Kt7 29. e5! And not 29. Rf3? Qxf3 30. gxf3 Rh8 when White's advantage is slim. 29. . . . Qxe5 30. Rf3+ Ke6 31. Qxg6+ Bf6 32. Qg4+ Faster was 32. Rel! (32. . . . Kd7 33. Bf4 and wins). 32. . . . Kt7 33. Rf5 Qb2 34. Qh5+ Ke6 35. Rel! Kd7 36. Rd5+ Kc7 37. Rel+ forfeits Polugaevsky led the tournament going into the final rounds but Petrosian beat him and they tied for first. Petrosian won a play­ off by 3½-1½ and earned his third national championship. Taimanov played the game of his life, beating Anatoly Lutikov in the last round to qualify for the Interzonal. Tal ad­ mired his rook sacrifice. "Misha, today I am your student;' Taimanov told him. 55

lisi, where surgeons at last removed the dis­ eased kidney. It was an operation, he said, that should have been performed two or three years earlier. Doctors forbade him from smoking, drink­ ing or eating spicy foods after the operation. It was in vain. His son Georgy said Tal knew what he was doing with his health. Tal saw life as a chess game that usually ended with "a boring, technical endgame:' He wanted to avoid it: "If he had deprived himself of ciga­ rettes, brandy, parties and his female fans­ who were willing to do anything for him­ all the passions that spice things up in life's middlegame, he would have ended up in the endgame, when he was supposed to be tak­ ing the last few drags on the cigarettes of life;' Georgy Tal said.57 Tal recovered from the operation quickly. Just three weeks after the surgery and days after leaving the hospital, he entered a Gog­ lidze memorial international on December 17. His appearance surprised some fans, who had heard rumors that Tal had died on the operating table. After he won the following spectacular game in the tournament's 11th round, his opponent said, "Really not bad for a semi-moribund! " 58

Tal-Alexey Suetin Tbilisi, 1969-70 Sicilian Defense (B42) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Bd3 Ne7 6. Nc3 Nbc6 7. Nb3 Ng6?! 8. 0-0 b5 9. Be3 d6 10. f4 Be7 11. Qh5! Bf6 Castling looks risky but after . . . Bf6 the king is in greater trouble on e8 because of BxbS sacrifices.

12. Radl Bxc3?

Tal's R ebirth At the end of 1969 Tal came to a realiza­ tion: "It was not possible for me to continue living and playing chess:' 56 He went to Thi-

White threatened 13. eS. He would win after 12. . . . Qc7 13. BxbS! axbS? 14. NxbS and have the better of 13. . . . Bxc3 14. Bxc6+ Qxc6 15. bxc3 Qxe4 16. Qe2 followed by Rxd6 and/or Na5-c4.

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? 13. bxc3 Qc7 Or 13. . . . Nce7 14. BcS! dxcS 15. BxbS+.

14. Rd2 Nce715. Nd4! (see diagram)

After 15. Nd4 This renews the BxbS+ idea. For example, 15. . . . es 16. fxeS NxeS 17. BxbS+! (17 . . . . axbs 18. Nxbs and Nxd6+ or 17. . . . Kf8 18. Rdf2!). Or 15. . . . Qxc3 16. fS exfS 17. exfS NeS 18. QgS! Rg8 19. BxbS+!.

15. . . . Bd716. f5 exf5 17. exf5 Ne518. Ne6! Bxe6 19. fxe6 g6 The sacrifices keep coming: 19. . . . N7g6 20. ext7+ Nxt7 21. Bxg6 hxg6 22. Rxt7! wins (22 . . . . Kxt7 23. Rf2+ Kg8 24. QdS+ Kh7 25. Rf3). But 19. . . . 0-0-0 20. ext7 g6 would have lasted longer.

20. Qxe5! dxe5 21. ext7+ Black resigns White mates with 21. . . . Kf8 22. Bh6 and would sweep the board after 21. . . . Kd7 22. BfS+ Kc6 23. Be4+. Tal won the tournament in a tie with his old friend Bukhuti Gurgenidze and followed this by winning a Georgia Open Champion­ ship. He was feeling more and more like a Georgian and was planning to move to Tbi­ lisi with the rest of the Tal family. A major reason is that he had become romantically involved with a Georgian woman. She is not mentioned in most accounts of Tal's life but was well known to Tal associates. 59 Accord­ ing to Taimanov, the relationship had been

29 1

encouraged by Tal's mother because the woman was descended from Georgian roy­ alty. "Imagine, her grandmother was a former Georgian princess;' Ida said. Tal replied, that princesses "couldn't be 'former' just as there couldn't be a former St. Bernard:' 60 Tal was still married to Sally. At Uncle Robert's request she granted a divorce. The Georgian news media gave a lot of attention to Tal's lavish wedding. But the marriage lasted a matter of days. Family members said Tal was crushed. His mother tried to get Sally to return once more to him. But she was done with "self-sacrifice;' she said.

King Sp assky Boris Spassky reigned but did not rule. Like his predecessor, he did not want the leader­ ship role that came with the job of world champion. He and Bondarevsky were back on speaking terms when Pater advised him: "Now you can arrange your own life: enter the Party, become the editor-in-chief of 64, travel to the Damansky Peninsula;' the kind of a remote Russian locale Spassky loved to visit. "No, Pater, that's not for me;' he re­ plied. 61 Later he denied that he ever wanted to be world champion: "If you look at the photos of l969 when I overcame Petrosian, you'll see a sour face:' Why? "I understood a difficult time was coming. The responsibility is colos­ sal and there's no one to help:' 62 He specifically did not want the assistance of a new force in Soviet chess, Viktor Davi­ dovich Baturinsky. The former Stalinist pros­ ecutor and KGB colonel became director of the Central Chess Club in 1970, then vice chairman of the Soviet Chess Federation and head of the chess section of the Sports Com­ mittee a year later. Spassky called him "our chess Fuehrer:' Baturinsky tried to cultivate a friendship with Spassky. He invited him to his home,

292

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

calling him "Borya" and addressing him with the informal Russian form of "you" ty (pro­ nounced t'ee), used by friends. But Spassky refused the overture. "Viktor Davidovich, I will have one request for you;' he said. Ba­ turinsky beamed until Spassky added, "Don't deal with me, please, as ty:' 63 With the title came the perks of a cham­ pion. Spassky's monthly stipend was raised from 250 rubles to 300. He said he received 800 more rubles for beating Petrosian than for losing the 1966 match. "A little progress;' he said. 64 He got one of the best foreign in­ vitations of l969, to an international tourna­ ment in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where he soaked up the sun and easily took first place. Spassky stopped in New York to give a simul­ taneous exhibition at the United Nations be­ fore flying home. But as Petrosian predicted, Spassky had a very hard time winning major tournaments. He was only fifth at Palma de Mallorca 1969 and would be third at Goteborg 1971, then sixth at the Alekhine Memorial in 1971. "I re­ member those poor champions, Petrosian and Spassky;' Korchnoi later said. 65 "They disliked me so much because I would win every tournament when they were present. Because of that, they chose me as the enemy of their lives:' (In reality, Korchnoi never won a tournament in which Spassky took part as champion.) At Palma, Korchnoi and Petrosian drew in 12 moves, an indication that they were still not yet the bitter enemies Korchnoi later claimed they had been for years. Korchnoi's most dominating win from the tournament was:

Korchnoi-Jonathan Penrose Palma de Mallorca, 1969

King's Indian Defense (E67)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. g3 0-0 5. Bg2 d6 6. Nf3 Nbd7 7. h3 e5 8. e4 c6 9. Be3 b5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Nd2

There is little in 11. cxb5 cxb5 12. Nxb5 Qa5+ 13. Nc3 Nxe4 (14. Qd5? Ndc5! 15. Qxa8? Bxh3).

11. . . . a6 12. 0-0 Qe7 13. Qc2 Bb7 14. Nb3 RabS 15. c5! RfdS 16. a4 The pawns at a6 and c6 are chronic, but not necessarily fatal, liabilities.

16. . . . NfS 17. Na2 Ne618. Nb4 Qc719. Nd3 For instance, 19. . . . Ne8 offers counterplay (20. axb5 axb5 21. Na5 Nd4!).

19. . . . Nd7 20. Bd2 ReS 21. Ba5 QcS 22. Rfdl Ras 23. h4 A new idea: White's finds a good bishop diagonal, rules out . . . f5 counterplay and considers his own kingside play with h4-h5 or a prepared f2-f4.

23. . . . BfS 24. Bh3 QbS 25. Kh2 Bes 26. Bd2 Bb7 27. Be3 Qc7 28. Qc3 Black's passive defense has been sufficient. But before Qa5 pinches him he could have considered 28 . . . . a5! ? and then 29. axb5 cxb5 30. Rxa5 Bxe4.

28. . . . Rads 29. f3 Ras 30. Rd2 Rads 31. Kg2 Ras 32. Rddl Rads 33. Qa5! (see diagram)

After 33. Qa5 Now 33. . . . Qc8 34. axb5 axb5 35. Qa7 and Na5 is positionally lost.

33• • . . Qxa5 34. Nxa5 Bas 35. Bxe6! Rxe6 36. Nb4!

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier?

293

Training before the USSR-Rest of the World match. Left to right: Petrosian, Korchnoi, Leonid Stein, Semyon Furman and Mark Taimanov study a position. Shakhmaty v SSSR, June 1970.

Crowning the strategy he began with 15. cS. Since 36. . . . bxa4 37. Nxa6 would threaten Nc7, the game ended with 36. . . . Kg7 37. Nxa6 Black resigns

Captain Sp assky Among the new champion's roles was be­ ing the public face of Soviet teams when they competed abroad. Spassky should have been happy when the USSR edged the Hungarians in the Olympiad, held in September 1970, in Siegen, West Germany. Instead, he was em­ barrassed by his teammates. He called them "patzers" because they drew so often-27 times out of 40 games in the finals. Usually in an Olympiad, he said, "you feel this electricity. . . . But now it is like impotence. Patzers. Remi. . . . It is awful:' 66

With a crucial win against Bobby Fischer he saved the USSR-U.S. match and finished with 9½-2½, the best result on first board, and the best on his team. He also made a point of shaking hands with each member of the Czech team to underline his sympathies for their country, two years after the Warsaw Pact invasion. According to Baturinsky, the U.S. Chess Federation was prodding FIDE to call for a Fischer-Spassky match outside of the nor­ mal world championship cycle. The Ameri­ can Chess Foundation, a separate fundrais­ ing organization, proposed a winner-take-all $30,000 prize match in April 1970. But the idea died after Spassky beat Fischer at Siegen, Baturinsky said. 67 After that game, the jubi­ lant Soviet ambassador to West Germany kissed Spassky. The big team event of 1970-in fact, of the

294

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

era-pitted the ten best Soviet players against the ten best non-Soviets. The Sports Com­ mittee was wary of making the USSR seem isolated. It insisted that "in no way would the other side be called 'the world team;" re­ called Mikhail Beilin. 68 So journalists called it the "Match of the Century:' But it was re­ membered as "USSR-vs.-Rest-of-the-World:' Perhaps no Soviet team was better pre­ pared. The players were presented with ex­ tensive paper files-in some cases weighing more than a pound-of games and other data concerning their likely opponent. Team members skied and played ping pong to get in shape. It was a must-win event in the eyes of the vlasti, and the Sports Committee determined the board order with little consultation with the players. The committee sought the most favorable matchups. Vasily Smyslov found himself on sixth board because his opponent would be Samuel Reshevsky. "I was a dan­ gerous opponent for him according to his style, and I had the experience of victories over him;' he said. 69 Mikhail Botvinnik was outraged when he learned he had been placed on eighth board solely because he had a 2-0 score against his opponent, Milan Matulovic. He refused to appear in the traditional team photo before departing Moscow. Tal calmly accepted his diminished stature. "I was al­ lotted a fairly high board;' he wrote. 70 It was only ninth board. "The USSR didn't have a team:' Spassky said. "We had only a collection of stars:' 71 He proposed determining board order by secret ballot of the team members. The Sports Com­ mittee would not hear of such an outlandish idea. 72 "I decided not to engage in an argu­ ment with such authority;' Spassky said. But the board order diktat destroyed team morale. "We should have been at least about six points better. But we almost lost:' 73 He blamed "scandals, intrigues, squabbles . . . . Half of our players did not say hello to one another. The atmosphere was terrible:' 74 Korchnoi agreed.

The World team "was more united and har­ monious than the Soviets:• he said. 75 One irony is that on first board Spassky was supposed to play Fischer, with whom he had a plus-three score. But when Bent Larsen insisted on playing first board instead of Fischer, Spassky got an even better pairing: Spassky led Larsen 10-2 in previous decisive games. They drew in the first round of the match but Spassky added another win, one of the greatest short games of all time, in the second. His team won by one and two points in those rounds. But Spassky lost in round three as his team was upset 4-6. He blamed ill health. "I was not feeling well even before the second game:• he said, and then felt tired throughout the third. He was replaced in the fourth round by reserve Leonid Stein, who also lost to Larsen. Petrosian, who ended up playing Fis­ cher, had the worst score on his team, 1-3. Before the final round, World captain Max Euwe called a team meeting "to instruct them to play for a draw on every board;' George Koltanowski wrote. Euwe's thinking was that since the Soviets had the slimmest of leads they "must play to win the last round and may overreach themselves:• Koltanowski said. 76 Tal said the Soviet thinking was the oppo­ site. They wanted to avoid risk and played "very cautiously" to ensure an overall match victory. Tal was Black against Najdorf and offered a draw after 24 moves. Najdorf thought for 45 minutes, during which he twice con­ sulted Euwe. Then he agreed to the offer and said, "But the position is completely won for White! " 77 (Computers say it is only slightly favorable.) The Soviets won the overall match 20½19½ with the help of this game:

Lajos Portisch-Korchnoi USSR-vs.-Rest-of-the-World, Belgrade, 1970 English Opening (A33)

1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? 5. Nxd4 e6 6. g3 Qb6 7. Nb3 Ne5 8. e4 Bb4 9. Qe2 0-0 10. f4 Nc6 11. es Ne8 12. Bd2 f6 13. c5! Qd8 14. a3 Bxc3 15. Bxc3 fxe5 16. Bxe5 b6?! 17. Bg2 Nxe5? 18. Bxa8 Nf7 19. Bg2 bxc5 20. Nxc5 Qb6 White should win without much trouble after 21. Rel or 21. b4.

21. Qf2 Qb5! 22. Bfl?! Qc6 23. Bg2 Qb5 24. Bfl?! Qc6 25. Bg2 (see diagram)

295

presence of so many other elite players to convince many of them to play in a double­ round, five-minute tournament in Herceg­ novi, a resort town on the Montenegro coast. This was Fischer's best chance to show the Soviets his speed skill since his visit to the Central Chess Club in 1958. He was over­ whelming. Petrosian, still regarded as the best Soviet five-minute player, lost both games to him.

Petrosian-Bobby Fischer

Speed Tournament, Hercegnovi, 1970 King's Indian Defense (E77) 1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 g6 3. d4 d6 4. e4 Bg7 5. Bd3!? cs 6. d5 0-0 7. Nge2 e6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bd2 Nbd7

After 25. Bg2 White should still get a full point after 25. . . . QbS 26. 0-0-0, for example. Portisch asked Euwe whether to take a draw. He pointed out that he and Korchnoi had about 20 minutes left to reach move 40 and that Korchnoi was better in time trouble than he was. Euwe allowed him to draw. Korchnoi believed Portisch "felt sorry for me:' 78 This outraged Fischer, who had been on very good terms with Portisch. "Lajos, you made the draw on orders of Kadar;' he said, referring to Hungary's Communist leader. "Bobby, you're absolutely crazy;' Portisch replied. But he could not change Fischer's mind. 79

Busy Spring After Belgrade, Spassky and Larsen were committed to a tournament in Leiden, the Netherlands, which was won by Spassky. The World match hosts took advantage of the

Black readies 10. . . . Ne5 (11. Bc2? Nxc4). Fischer intended to meet 10. f4 with 10. . . . es, e.g., 11. f5 gxfs 12. exfS e4! with the better game. Similar is 10. dxe6 fxe6 11. f4 eS! 12. fS gxfs 13. exfs e4!. 10. b3 exds 11. cxd5 a6 12. 0-0 b5 Computers recommend passive policies like 13. a3 and f2-f3.

13. f4? c4! Better than 13. . . . b4 14. Na4 Nb6, e.g., 15. Nxb6 Qxb6 16. Khl Bg4. But 13. . . . Re8! and 14. Ng3 c4! 15. bxc4 NcS was a good al­ ternative.

14. bxc4 Nc5 Even better is 14. . . . Ng4 and 15. . . . Qb6(+). Fischer thought White should meet 14 . . . . Nc5 with 15. Qc2 but 15. Be3 Nxd3 16. Qxd3 is more efficient. 15. Bc2 b4 16. e5! White would be even worse and without counterplay after 16. Na4 Nxa4 17. Bxa4 Qb6+ and . . . Nxe4. 16. . . . dxe5 17. fxe5 Ng4 18. Na4 Nxa4 19. Bxa4 Bxe5 20. Bf4 Qb6+ 21. Khl Bxal?

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

296

Fischer underestimates his dark-square weaknesses. After 21. . . . Bxf4 and . . . Nf2+ his extra Exchange should win.

22. Qxal Nf2+ And he later thought 22. . . . g5 was supe­ rior. But 23. Bg3 fS 24. Bc6 remains complex (24 . . . . Bb7 25. Bd7 and 26. Be6+). His easy win is gone.

23. Rxf2 Qxf2 24. Bxh6 f6 25. Bxf8 Kxf8 (see diagram) Neither player realized the strength of 25. . . . Bfs, e.g., 26. Bxb4 Be4 27. Qgl Qxe2 and wins. Better is 26. Ng3 Rxf8 27. NxfS when White can still fight.

39. Kh2 Qe5+ 40. g3 Rb2+ 41. Bg2 Qe4 42. Qd5 Rxg2+ White resigns "Bobby plays blitz the way I did ten years ago;' Petrosian said. 8 ° Fischer won the tour­ nament with 19-3. Tal was second, four a half points back. He was a half point ahead of Korchnoi and one point ahead of Petrosian. Tal lost twice to Fischer, split with Petrosian and won both games against Korchnoi.

Tal-Korchnoi Speed Tournament, Hercegnovi, 1970 French Defense (C07) 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nd2 c5 4. Ngf3 a6 5. exd5 exd5 6. Be2 c4 7. 0-0 Bd6 8. Rel Ne7 9. b3 bS 10. a4 c3 Black accepts a challenge. The more fluid way of meeting 11. axb5 is 10. . . . Bb7.

11. Nfl b4 12. Ne5 0-0 13. Bf4 f6! 14. Nd3 Bxf415. Nxf4 Qd6! 16. Bf3! (see diagram)

.1 •.1.� ��� j t· · � .. . . .,� �P!J t�; 1/, ,.�� ,, . , . t'tt· · '· ,, '¾

After 25. ... Kx/8 And neither appreciated 26. Qd4!. It would draw by perpetual check (26. . . . Qxe2 27. Qxf6+) or lead to an endgame with real survival chances for White (26. . . . Qxd4 27. Nxd4 Ra7 28. d6 Bd7 29. Bc2 Kf7? 30. c5).

26. Ngl Bg4? 27. Qbl! Kg7 28. h3 Bf5 29. Qxb4 Ra7! 30. Bdl! Qxa2 31. Bf3 as 32. Qc5 Rb7? 33. d6! Rbl 34. d7 Bxd7 35. Qe7+ Kh6 36. Qxd7?? The final error. White could have drawn with 36. Qf8+ because 36. . . . Kg5? 37. h4+! loses (37. . . . Kxh4 38. Qh6+ Kg3 39. Qh2+ Kf2 40. g3+! and 37. . . . Kf4 38. Qd6+). In fact 36. Qxf6 also draws, and White would likely have drawn earlier with 34. Qa7+.

36. . . . Qf2! 37. Kh2 Qxgl+ 38. Kg3 Qel+

�� t� ''""�� �V/21 ft ri� ijp3 fJ, � �� ft�J� .. Bii� � ,,,� �% "� �%'-� �1r·� �%"���-"'1:,��

' �,ft � �� ft ��

� � . ¥m4JW After 16. B/3

If White releases pressure on dS, Black's advantage in space matters (16. Nd3 Nbc6 with advantage). Tal may have seen that 16. Bf3 Qxf4? 17. Rxe7 Qd6 could be an­ swered by 18. Ne3! (18 . . . . Qxe7 19. BxdS+ or 18 . . . . Be6 19. Rxe6). However, 16. . . . Ra7! is fine (17. g3 gS). After his next move, Black is close to lost.

16. . . . Nbc6? 17. Ne3! Qxf418. Nxd5 Nxd5 19. Bxd5+ Kh8 20. Bxc6 Ra7 21. Qe2 Qxd4 22. Radl Qc5?

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? The 22. . . . Qe5 23. Qxe5 endgame is slow death.

23. Qe8! Raf7 24. Rd5 So that 24. . . . Rxe8 25. Rxe8+ Qf8 26. Rdd8.

24. . . . Qb6 25. Qxf7 Black resigns Less than a week later, Fischer, Korchnoi and Petrosian moved on to another interna­ tional in Yugoslavia. This was at Rovinj­ Zagreb, where Fischer again won, two points in front of Korchnoi and two and a half more than Petrosian. Korchnoi told this story: During Fischer's game with Vladimir Ko­ vacevic, an international master from Croa­ tia, Korchnoi and the Petrosians were watch­ ing. Korchnoi told them, "Fischer is allowing him to win the queen but if Kovacevic ac­ cepts the 'gift' he may even lose!" Chess Is My Life added: "Great was my astonishment when Petrosian's wife announced that she was going to tell Kovacevic about this trap:' 81 Kovacevic avoided it and won. He later con­ firmed that Rona did approach him. But he did not understand her Russian and found Fischer's trap on his own. 82 As the busy spring continued, Petrosian (first board), Korchnoi (second) and Tal (sev­ enth) went to Kapfenburg, Austria, for the finals of the fourth European Team Cham­ pionship. It was one more example of over­ kill: The Soviets finished ahead of Hungary by a stunning 11½ points. And again there was a Tal problem. He lost his airplane ticket home. A search of his room found nothing. But teammate Paul Keres was a veteran of Tal crises. "You have to look under the writing table in the waste­ paper basket;' he said. Sure enough, there, along with the other pieces of discarded paper, was the missing ticket. 83 Tal was always losing valuables. On an­ other occasion, the team members were al­ ready aboard a plane when their leader, Alex­ ander Kotov, asked for passports. Tal was the

297

only one who could not find his. "Why is there always a problem with you?" Kotov ex­ claimed. "Look, my passport is always in its place:' Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a passport. But it was Tal's. Kotov's passport was found in the lining of Tal's rain­ coat. And no one could figure out how that happened. 84

Midlife Rivals Spassky was the youngest of the four men who burst onto the scene in the early 1950s and had come to dominate Soviet chess. But at 33 he was no longer young. Predecessors such as David Bronstein, Yuri Averbakh and Isaac Boleslavsky were past their prime at 33. Spassky did manage to tie for first place in August 1970 at Amsterdam, in another of the strong invitationals that had begun under IBM sponsorship in 1961. He got some sus­ picious help from Lev Polugaevsky, who was leading with two rounds to go. Spassky and "Polu" made a 17-move draw in the next-to­ last round that looked like it was prear­ ranged. In the last round, Polugaevsky, with White, drew in eight moves with a Dutch op­ ponent he outrated by more than 200 points. That allowed Spassky a chance to tie him with a win, which he did. His best game was in the fifth round.

Spassky-Dragoljub Ciric

Amsterdam, 1970 Catalan Opening (E06)

I. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 The Catalan was a new weapon for Spas­ sky. He all but abandoned it after this game. Black adopts the most solid defense.

4. . . . Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 c6 7. b3 Nbd7 8. Bb2 b6 9. Nbd2 Bb710. Rel RcS 11. e3 c5 12. Qe2 This position had been known since a Keres-Kotov, Candidates tournament 1953,

298

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

game that favored White after 12. . . . cxd4 13. Nxd4 Nc5 14. Rfdl Qd7 15. N2f3 Rfd8 16. Ne5 Qe8 and now 17. cxd5 Bxd5?! 18. Ndc6.

12. . . . Rc7 13. cxd5 Bxd5 White also gets a small plus after 13. . . . exd5 14. Rfdl and 13. . . . Nxd5 14. dxc5. 14. e4 Bb7 15. es White would have very little after a stan­ dard policy of 15. Rfdl cxd4 16. Nxd4 Rxcl 17. Rxcl Nc5.

15. . . . Nd5 16. Nc4 Qa8 Black would be approximately equal after 16. . . . Ba6. Instead, he was preparing to get the upper hand after 17. . . . cxd4 because 18. Nxd4? would allow 18 . . . . Nf4!.

All three natural queen moves, to e2, d3 and c4, would maintain his superiority and likely regain a pawn. Spassky may have felt he had better chances with queens on the board after 23. Qc4 h6 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. Rxd5 than after 23. Qd3 h6 24. Nxe6 Rxe6 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. Qxd5 Qxd5. Another difference is that 23. Qc4 Re8! is playable, compared with 23. Qd3 Re8? 24. Bxd5! exd5 25. Qxf5. 23. • . . Qe8? 24. Rel! This is much stronger than after 23. Qe2 Qe8 because 25. Rxe6 is threatened. Now 24 . . . . Qg6 25. Qb5! and White wins on the queenside (25. . . . N7b6 26. Nxe6).

24. . . . Rxa2 25. Rxe6 Qa8 26. Bxds Bxds 27. Qh4 h6 (see diagram)

17. Nd6! Bxd618. exd6 Rc6 Spassky was not taking any risk when he played 17. Nd6 because he could get his pawn back with 19. Ne5 Rxd6 20. Nxd7 Rxd7 21. dxc5.

19. dxc5 Now the Ne5 idea is improved (19. . . . Rxc5 20. Ne5! Nxe5 21. Rxc5 bxc5 22. Qxe5 costs a pawn, for instance). On 19. . . . Nxc5 20. Ng5! White has a strong attack, e.g., 20 . . . . h6 21. Bxd5 exd5 22. Qe5 and 20. . . . Ba6 21. Qg4 Bxfl 22. Nxh7! .

19. . . . bxc5 20. Ng5! Rxd6 21. Rfdl White has full compensation for a pawn. It was too early for a combination like 21. Nxh7? Kxh7 22. Qh5+ Kg8 23. Bxg7 Kxg7 24. Qg5+ Kh8 25. Rc4 because of 25. . . . Nf4! 26. Rxf4 Rd4.

21. . . . Ra6? 22. Qe4! So that 22. . . . N7f6 23. Bxf6 Nxf6 24. Qxb7 costs a piece. Also lost is 22. . . . g6 23. Nxh7! (23. . . . Kxh7?? 24. Qh4+). 22. . . • f5 23. Qc4

After 27. ... h6

28. Qxh6! Nf6 29. Rxf6! Black resigns It was mate after 28 . . . . gxh6 29. Rg6. Black resigned in view of 29. . . . Rxf6 30. Qh7+ Kf8 31. Qh8+ Bg8 32. Bxf6 and wins. At 39, Korchnoi decided to take some ad­ vice from one of his elders. Bronstein wanted to correct what he called Korchnoi's imprac­ tical use of the clock. Korchnoi often burned so many minutes in the opening or early middlegame that he had nothing left by move 30. In contrast, Spassky often followed a rule of never taking as much as 15 minutes on a move and then only twice in a game. In September Korchnoi and Bronstein

13. Whose Risk Is Riskier? played six training games with unique time controls-30 minutes for the first 12 moves, an hour for the next 16, another hour for the next 16, another hour for the next 16 and then 30 minutes for the rest of the game. Bronstein won 4-2 but believed he helped cure Korchnoi's clock disease.

David Bronstein-Korchnoi

299

But this was his real mistake. After 32. . . . Nd2 or 32. . . . bS he would be happy. 33. Rxc5! bxc5 34. Bc4+ Rf7 What Korchnoi overlooked was 34 . . . . Kf8 35. NxfS! and wins (35. . . . QxfS 36. Qh8+).

35. Nxg6 Bb5! 36. Bxf7+ Kxf7 37. Qh7+ Ke6 38. Qc7 Rd6?

Training Match, Leningrad, 1970 English Opening (A34)

Shortening matters, compared with 38 . . . . Rd7 39. QxcS Qxg6 40. QxbS.

1. c4 c5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e3 Nxc3 6. bxc3 g6 7. Qa4+ Nd7 8. Ba3 Qc7 9. Rel!? Bg710. d4 0-011. Be2 b612. 0-0 Bb7 13. Rfdl e6 14. c4 Rfe8 15. Qc2 Rad8 16. Bb2 cxd4! 17. Nxd4

39. Nf4+! exf4 40. exf4+ Kd5 41. Rdl+ Qd4 42. Qb7+ Kc4 43. Rel+! Kb4 44. Rbl+ Black resigns

The use of d4 is temporary because Black can play . . . es.The weakening of the pawn structure is permanent.

17. . . . Nc5 18. Nb5 Qe7 19. Bxg7 Kxg7 20. Qb2+ Kg8 21. Qe5 Bc6 22. Nd4 Ba4 23. Rel Rd7 24. Nf3 Red8 25. h4 f6! 26. Qg3 es 27. h5 Ne4 28. Qh3 f5 29. hxg6 hxg6 30. Qh6 Qf6 31. Nh4 Rg7 Black is OK after 31. . . . Kt7 but just barely: 32. cs Qg7 33. Bc4+ Kf6 34. Nxf:5! Qh7!. Black could have killed the attack with 31. . . . Rh7 32. Qxg6+ Qxg6 33. Nxg6 Rd6. For exam­ ple, 34. Nxe5?? Rdh6 and 34. f3 Rxg6 35. fxe4 Bc6.

32. c5! Nxc5? (see diagram)

After 32. .•. Nxc5

Tal showed signs of aging when he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of a new event, the USSR Cup. Another innovation, a match­ tournament pitting veteran grandmasters against young masters, allowed Tal to turn in the best score of anyone, 10½-3½. Korch­ noi finished with a dismal 6-8. But his new clock discipline paid off when he won the 38th USSR Championship finals by a point and a half. Gennady Sosonko recalled an in­ cident during the tournament, held in Riga during the start of winter. One day the sewer pipes froze in the tournament building. 'J\t first this was felt by the spectators, who quietly began to leave the tournament hall, but soon the chief arbiter had to announce a break; the participants, exchanging jokes, began to leave the stage:' he said. "The lone figure of Korchnoi remained at a table. 'What's the matter? ' he said, raising his head to the arbiter who stopped the clocks in his game. 'Did something happen ? "' 85 Tal had been looking forward, "with great impatience;' to the 38th Championship be­ cause it would be held in his hometown, Riga, for the first time since his miraculous last-round finish in 1958. "But for formal rea­ sons I was not allowed in;' Tal wrote crypti­ cally. "Much as it pained me, I had to make do with the role of a correspondent:' 86 Mark Taimanov and Bernard Cafferty

300

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

suggested in The Soviet Championships that he was not invited because the organizers "doubted, on his recent history, whether he would last out the 21-rounder:' 87 Evgeny Gik offered another theory: Latvian authorities wanted to bar him from the finals because he tried to switch citizenship to Georgia at the time of his second marriage. 88 A third version was that Tal was snubbed "in revenge for not moving to Moscow" as the vlasti wanted. 89 That version comes from Angelina Petuk­ hov, who had met Tal when she played in an outdoor simultaneous exhibition he gave in Riga years before. "I remember that so many people tried to give me advice that my posi­ tion was lost after just three moves;' she said. The game went on for many moves and when it started to rain, her scoresheet was soaked. "Misha, what should I do?" she asked Tal. "Take a clean scoresheet and I will dictate the moves of your game;' he said. Tal even­ tually offered her a diplomatic draw. ''.After the simul, we went to play table tennis, but Misha had no chance there;' she said. 90 She was a first-category player at that "and he was an amateur. We had a long talk after that:' Angelina, known as Gelya, later worked in the postal chess department of Tal's Sahs magazine and when he dropped in to see how things were going, she would ask his help in

answering a reader's question. "I asked, 'Mik­ hail Nekhemyevich, could you . . . ? ' And, of course, Misha couldn't refuse the request of a pretty girl:' 91 They got to know each other more during the 38th Championship finals because he had to file daily newspaper reports on it. He dictated his thoughts to a typist, who "didn't know a thing about chess and made a lot of mistakes;' Gelya said. "I could type and knew something about chess, so I was asked to help. And it gradually became something more than just dictating and typing. . . :• They began dating, often dining at restaurants in nearby Yurmala. If it was hard to get a reservation and Tal did not want to use his popularity, his brother Yasha, the head doc­ tor of Yurmala's sanitary inspection office, would use his influence, she said. "I didn't want to marry Misha. He already had two unhappy marriages, and there al­ ways were many women around him. I said, 'Misha, we shouldn't rush: But when we came to tournaments, we couldn't rent a hotel room together because we weren't married, so we ultimately registered our marriage;' she said. "Then we had a great honeymoon. Misha was on tour with lectures and simul­ taneous displays, and we visited almost the whole country: Central Asia, Siberia, Kuril Islands . . . :•92

14. The Fischer Factor Bobby Fischer was having dinner with David Bronstein during the Hercegnovi speed tournament in April 1970 when he abruptly brought up the new world championship cycle. "Do you think I should play?" he "mut­ tered:' Bronstein replied "Yes:• Fischer sank into thought and dropped the subject, Bron­ stein said. 1 But after numerous obstacles, most cre­ ated by Fischer, were swept away, Fischer agreed to enter the Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca beginning November 9. The Soviet reaction to his victory in that 24-player round robin was sharply divided. Yevgeny Vasiukov, who was in Palma as a second, said Fischer's play had significantly declined. Mik­ hail Tal said it could not have been much of a decline since Fischer won the tournament by three and a half points. 2 Other Soviet grandmasters felt Fischer had been able to demand big appearance fees and prize money because he undeservedly was called a genius. "In order to rightly be considered a genius, you have to defeat equal opponents by a big margin:' Mikhail Botvin­ nik said. ''.As yet he has not done this:' 3 Tig­ ran Petrosian claimed Fischer withdrew from the Sousse 1967 Interzonal "because he was afraid of losing" a Candidates match and thereby forfeiting his claim to being a ge­ nius. 4 While Fischer was running away with the

Interzonal, Viktor Korchnoi was dominating a USSR Championship finals. He earned his fourth national title, by a point and a half. Few would have guessed that it would be his last.

Igor Platonov-Korchnoi

38th USSR Championship finals, Riga, 1970 Grunfeld Defense (D83) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4 Bg7 5. e3 0-0 6. Qb3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 Nc6 Quiet development with 8. Be2 yields a minor advantage.

8. Nf3?! Na5 9. Qb4 Nxc410. Qxc4 c6 Because of his two bishops, 11. 0-0 NhS 12. Bes Be6 (13. queen-move f6) is fine for Black.

11. Bes Bg412. Nd2 Be6 13. Qe2 Rc8 14. e4? Bh6! The positional threat is 15. . . . Ng4 and 16. . . . NxeS (16. Bg3? Qxd4). White would be worse after 15. Nb3 Nd7 16. Bg3 Bg7 17. Rdl Bxb3 18. axb3 Qb6.

15. Nf3 b516. Qc2 Bg417. 0-0 Nh5! Safe and solid was 17. . . . Bxf3 18. gxf3 e6. Korchnoi prefers to shoot for . . . fS.

18. Ne2 Qd7 19. Qd3? c5 20. Radl? c4

301

302

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

21. Qc3 f5! 22. exf5 Rxf5 23. Ng3 Rti! (see diagram)

This is an extreme way of avoiding the Griinfeld (3. Nc3 dS). One drawback is con­ ceding control of c5. Compare this with Petrosian-Geller, Moscow 1961, which went 2. . . . Bg7 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e4 d6 5. Be2 0-0 6. dS and now 6. . . . Na6 7. BgS NcS 8. f3 c6 9. Qd2 cxd5 10. cxd5 Bd7 11. h4 Rc8 12. Nh3 b5 13. Ndl NhS! 14. g4 Ng3 15. Rgl Nxe2 16. Kxe2 b4 with advantage to Black.

3. . . . Bg7 4. Nc3 d6 5. g3 es 6. Bg2 0-0 7. Nf3 c5 8. 0-0 Nbd7 9. e4 h610. Bd2 Ne8 11. Qe2 Kh7 12. a4 b6 13. a5! After 23. ... Rj7 Now 24 . . . . Nf4 and/or . . . Bxf3 are threat­ ened. After 24. d5 Bx£3 25. gxf3 Qh3 26. Nxh5 Qxh5 his advantage is obvious.

24. Nxh5 Bxh5 25. d5 Rcf8 Black could also win with 25. . . . b4! and 26. . . . c3, since 26. Qxb4 allows 26. . . . Rxf3! 27. gxf3 Bxf3 and . . . Qh3-g2 mate. In fact, 25. . . . Rxf3! is immediately good.

26. Qd4? Rxf3 27. gxf3 Qh3 White resigns Clearly, Korchnoi would be a Candidates contender in 1971. So would Fischer. But when Boris Spassky was asked to predict his 1972 challenger, he named Tigran Petro­ sian. Petrosian needed practice before the Can­ didates. He had played only one short match in 20 years. He got a chance to size up his quarterfinals opponent, Robert Hubner, in January 1971 when he and Korchnoi went to the annual invitational at Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. As Black, he squeezed the young German until a draw was evident at move 95. Petrosian's best game in the tournament:

Petrosian-Vlastimil Hort Wijk aan Zee, 1971

Anti-Grii.nfeld Defense (E60) 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. d5!?

On 13. . . . bxaS White can favorably regain the pawn with 14. Ra3 or 14. Ra2, followed eventually by BxaS.

13. . . . Rb8 14. axb6 Qxb6 15. Rfbl a6 16. Bh3 Petrosian could have followed his favorite recipe after 16. . . . fS? 17. exfS gxfS 18. Nh4!, with advantage. He also prepared to open the queenside further (16. . . . Nc7 17. b4 cxb4 18. Na4 and Bxb4).

16. . . . Qb7 17. Ndl Nb6 18. Bxc8 Qxc8 19. Nh4 Nc7 20. Ne3 Qh3 21. b4! Nd7 22. b5! Now 22. . . . Rb7! 23. Bas! axbs 24. cxbs Rfb8 25. Bxc7 and Nc4-a5-c6.

22. . . . axbs 23. Ra7 Rfc8 24. Bas Nb6 25. cxb5 Qd7 26. Kg2! (see diagram)

14. The Fischer Factor

303

mediate 26. Bxb6 Rxb6 27. Nc4? fails to 27. . . . RxbS 28. Nb6? Rxbl+.

21. e6 Rxe6! 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Nd4 Rxel+ 24. Rxel Qf6 25. Qg4 Ne5

26. . . . c4 27. Bxb6 Rxb6 28. Nxc4 Rxb5 29. Nb6 Rxb6 30. Rxb6 Bf6 31. Nf3 Be7 32. Rc6 Bd8 33. Nd2! Qe8 34. Nc4 Black re­ signs

Now 26. Qg3 Re8 27. f4 fails to 27. . . . Qb6!.

Blitz Two months later, Korchnoi and Petro­ sian, along with Tal, 19-year-old Anatoly Karpov and 12 others, took part in a five­ minute tournament held to honor the 24th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party. Janos Kadar, Communist leader of Hungary and avid chess fan, came to the Central Chess Club to watch the games. He witnessed a stunning performance by Petrosian: 14 wins and one draw. "The better the chess intu­ ition, the stronger you play blitz;' Petrosian had said. 5 His intuition was impeccable that day.

Tal-Petrosian

Blitz tournament, Moscow, 1971 Queen's Indian Defense (E14) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. e3 Bb7 5. Bd3 c5 6. Nc3 Be7 7. 0-0 cxd4 8. exd4 d5 9. b3 0-0 10. Bb2 Nc6 11. Qe2 Re8 12. Radl Rc8 13. Rfel Bf8 14. Bbl g6 15. Ne5 Bg7 16. h3 a617. cxd5 In a dead-even position Tal tries for a mi­ croscopic edge (17. . . . NxdS 18. NxdS exdS?! 19. Nxc6 Rxe2 20. Nxd8 Rxel+ 21. Rxel Rxd8 22. Re7!).

17. . . . exd5 18. Qf3 b5 19. Ne2? Nxe5! 20. dxe5 Nd7 Shakhmatnaya Moskva said speed chess reflected the true style of a player: "Petrosian looks to see where he can better place a piece. Tal looks to see where he can sacrifice if' 6 But here Tal was just losing a pawn.

26. Nf5+ Kh8 27. Qd4 Re8 28. Re3? Panic. Tal realized that a knight move would allow 28 . . . . Nf3+ and 29. . . . Qxd4. But he overlooked 28. Kfl! gxf5 29. f4!, which would regain the lost knight and force Black to work hard for a win.

28 . . . . gxf5 29. Qf4 d4! 30. Rg3 d3 and Black soon won. Korchnoi finished second, three points be­ hind Petrosian. Since 64 was awarding a prize to the winner, it meant editor Petrosian was presenting it to player Petrosian. Korch­ noi smiled at the way it would be handed over: "Tiger, here is Tiger! " 7 Tal tied for fourth in the blitz event. He said he was "recompensed" for being left out of the 38th USSR Championship finals with "an abundance of tournaments" in 1971. 8 They began with a Tallin international in February and another in Piarnu in June. He tied with local hero Keres in the first and finished sec­ ond in the latter behind Leonid Stein, who had become a dose friend. But Tal did not get to play in a foreign (individual) tourna­ ment until 1973. He was nyevyezdny, barred from travel, because of his, according to Korchnoi, "frequent marital changes" -and two divorces. 9

Pre-Candidates Thanks to a last-round win at the Inter­ zonal-which he allegedly bought from his opponent-Mark Taimanov had qualified to play his first Candidates match. His reward was having Bobby Fischer as his opponent. Taimanov turned to Tal for help. They agreed to play five training games. Tal's new wife Gelya recalled how they discussed condi­ tions. "Mark, should I play with you at full

304

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

strength or somewhat experimentally?" Tal asked. "Why the question? Of course, the strongest possible;' answered Taimanov. 10 Gelya said Tal won all five games. The moves have remained confidential. Tal offered to be Taimanov's second dur­ ing the Fischer match in Vancouver. But when Taimanov asked Mikhail Botvinnik for advice, he said Tal would be a bad choice. "You know, you and Misha love life too much. Both of you are given to Bohemianism;' he said, and a match requires an "ascetic" regi­ men. 11 "You'll be hanging out at night, drink­ ing vodka . . . no, and again no! " 12 Taimanov had to turn Tal down. "Was Tal offended?" he was asked in a 2009 interview. "Tal didn't know how to be offended;' Taimanov re­ plied. 13 Korchnoi, too, wanted to play a training match before his quarterfinals match with Yefim Geller. He said Anatoly Karpov "of­ fered me his services:' 14 This may seem strange because of their infamous later hos­ tility. Karpov claimed their relations got off to a rocky start in 1969 when he sought Korchnoi's help before the World Junior Championship. Korchnoi treated him with "contempt;' he said. 15 But during 1971-2-before they saw each other as world championship rivals-Karpov and Korchnoi got along. ''I'll never forget the scorching hot summer of 1972 we spent to­ gether in Dubna, outside Moscow, examin­ ing the games of the match between Spassky and Fischer;' Karpov wrote. "Only after mid­ night we would walk down to the river and skinny-dip in the still-hot water:' 16 He said he, Korchnoi and Paul Keres analyzed all of the Fischer-Spassky games during that match "and sometimes Petrosian joined us. It was a good schooI:' 17 Korchnoi dictated the terms of their train­ ing match: He would play Black in all six games and would choose the opening of each game. Korchnoi said this was because Kar­ pov was not strong in the opening and needed

to prepare the variations in advance. "I wanted the games to be of full value from start to fin­ ish;' Korchnoi said. 18 He changed the terms for the final game and played White. The match result was two wins, two draws and two losses apiece. Korchnoi said the games were to be "completely secret" but the moves eventually became known.

Anatoly Karpov-Korchnoi Training match, Leningrad, 1971 Sicilian Defense (B83) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Be2 Karpov liked 6. g4, the Keres Attack. But 6. Be2 was the favorite move of Geller, Korch­ noi's quarterfinals opponent. 6. • . . Be7 7. Be3 a6 8. f4 Qc7 9. g4 d5 This is the principled response. Now 10. exds NxdS 11. Nxds Bh4+ and . . . exds would be fine for Black.

10. e5! Ne4!?11. Nxe4 dxe412. h4 0-013. g5 Black's tenth move was almost a gambit because the e4-pawn will be very weak. But Karpov wants the center semi-closed as he goes for kingside expansion.

13. . . . Rd8 14. c3 Nc6 15. Qd2 Bc5 16. h5 Bd717. Bg4 Bes Black would have ample counterplay after 17. . . . Bxd4! 18. Bxd4? Nxd4 19. Qxd4 Bc6 or 19. cxd4 Bb5. But 18. cxd4! Ne7 19. Rel Bc6 is more complex after 20. g6! (20 . . . . hxg6 21. hxg6 Nxg6 22. Qh2).

18. g6! Qa519. gxf7+ Karpov had a remarkable resource, 19. h6. It could have led to perpetual check after 19. . . . Nxd4 20. gxh7+ Kxh7 21. hxg7+ Kxg7 22. f5 ! . The reason is Black has nothing better than 20. . . . Nf3+ 21. Bxf3 Rxd2 22. f6+ Kg8 23. Rgl+ Kh8 24. Rhl+ Kg8. 19 • . . • Bxf7 20. Nxc6 bxc6 21. Qf2 Bxe3 22. Qxe3 Rab8! 23. b4! (see diagram)

14. The Fischer Factor

After 23. b4 This looks risky but Karpov can keep con­ trol of the tactics this way, unlike 23. Rh2? Rd3 24. Qxe4 Qc5!.

23. . . . Qa3 24. Qcl Qa4 With four isolated pawns, Black would lose a 21. . . . Qxcl+ endgame.

25. Be2 c5 26. bxc5 A bit safer is 26. a3 followed by getting his king to safety, perhaps with Kf2-g3.

26. . . . Qc6 27. Qe3 Rb2 And here 28. 0-0! is surprisingly safe (28 . . . . Rdd2 29. Rf2).

28. Rgl?? Bxh5! Karpov overlooked this (29. Bxh5 Rd3 30. Qcl Qxc5 and wins).

29. Bc4 Qa4 30. Bxe6+ Kh8 31. Bg4 Bxg4 32. Rxg4 Rxa2 White resigns

Qu arter.finals The tone of the Korchnoi-Geller match was set by the first game. Geller forfeited on time with five moves to make. He was con­ stantly, often fatally behind on the clock dur­ ing the match, held in Moscow's October Hall of the House of Unions. Korchnoi came better prepared than Gel­ ler. In the second game, he reeled off his first

305

19 moves of a Dragon Sicilian in ten minutes. He had been playing the Dragon since his Leningrad Pioneer Palace days and had beaten Karpov with it in their training match. But it was a daring opening choice, since Geller's second, Eduard Gufeld, had written the best-selling Russian book on the Dragon. Gufeld was annoyed to find out that Geller had not read the book. 19 But Korchnoi missed a win at move 25 and the tide turned. Geller had a winning position at move 35, with five minutes to reach the move 40 control. But he was so rattled by Korchnoi's draw offer that he accepted. Gufeld proceeded to give Geller a crash course in the Dragon. When Korchnoi re­ peated the opening moves in the fourth game, Geller tied the score. But then:

Korchnoi-Yefim Geller

Candidates quarterfinal match, Fifth game, Moscow, 1971 Queen's Gambit Declined (D58) 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Be7 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bg5 0-0 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. Be2 Bb7 9. Bxf6!? This capture was usually made at move seven but Korchnoi wanted Geller to commit his c8-bishop first. After 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. cxd5 exd5 9. Bd3 Black has an easier time with 9. . . . c6 followed by . . . Bg4 or . . . Be6.

9. . . . Bxf610. cxd5 exdS11. 0-0 Qe712. Qb3 RdS 13. Radl Black has to make a decision about this c-pawn. The solid 13. . . . c6 would give White time to prepare e3-e4 with Bd3 and Rfel. Geller thought 73 minutes here. The vet­ eran trainer Vladimir Alatortsev concluded that this showed he was poorly prepared for the match in either openings or psychology. 20

13. . . . c5 14. dxc5 Bxc3 15. Qxc3 bxc5 16. Rel Nd717. Rc2 Rab8 A better way to handle Black's heavy pieces

306

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Korchnoi (right) could not kick the smoking habit, as he showed in his quarterfinal Candidates match with Yefim Geller in May-June 1971. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1971.

would be shifting the other rook to c8 and the queen to b6. Then if b2-b3, Black obtains play with . . . a5-a4.

18. b3 Qe6 19. Rdl Qb6 20. Nel! Rbc8 21. Bg4 Qg6 22. Bh3 (see diagram)

After 22. Bh3 Postmortems indicated Black would be fine after pass-moves such as 22. . . . Qb6, e.g., 23. Nd3 c4 24. bxc4 Rxc4.

22. . . . Rc7? 23. Nd3! Nf6?

It appeared that Black had no good answer to 24. Nf4 or 24. Bxd7. But 23. . . . Qd6 24. Bxd7 d4! 25. exd4 Qxd7 offered coun­ terchances on the long b7-hl diagonal.

24. Qa5! Ne8 25. Rxc5 Rxc5 26. Nxc5 Black resigns (Some web sites wrongly say Black resigned after 26. Qxc5?!.) After a drawn fifth game, Korchnoi ad­ journed a favorable position in the sixth. He and his seconds, Gennady Sosonko and Vy­ acheslav Osnos, could not find a convincing continuation. Osnos recommended a piece sacrifice that, at worst, would draw by per­ petual check. Korchnoi tried it, Geller quickly went wrong and lost. The match ended 5½2½ when Geller forfeited on time in a lost position. Never a particularly gracious win­ ner, the first thing Korchnoi said to his sec­ onds when they celebrated the victory was "No matter what you say, guys, I won a match against a jerk:' 21

14. The Fischer Factor Petrosian's quarterfinals match with Hilb­ ner began in Seville on May 13, the same day as Korchnoi's. But it lasted only nine days. The players' energy seemed to slowly dissi­ pate. The first two games were fighting draws of 41 and 42 moves. The next two were drawn in 28 and 24 moves. The fifth and sixth were drawn in 14 and 15 moves. The seventh might also have been drawn early, but Hilbner refused Petrosian's offer at move 19. Petrosian refused Hilbner's offer six moves later. Hilbner blundered on the 39th move and resigned one move later. He then withdrew from the match, saying the noise level was intolerable. As a result, Petrosian advanced to the semifinals to meet Korchnoi five weeks later. Korchnoi felt the short break favored Petrosian. Petrosian had had an easy time with Hilbner but "I was exhausted and could not recover" in time, he said.

Sp assky Versus Vlasti After he left the Soviet Union, Boris Spas­ sky described a lifelong opposition to the So­ viet authorities. "In my relations with the vlasti there was always an ideological aspect because I was a dedicated White Guard;' he said in 2001. 22 He did clash with the powers that be, but usually not in Moscow and not over matters of policy. Instead: "In '65 I spoke in Novosibirsk, and I was asked why Keres never became world champion. I said 'Imag­ ine a man of 24, who is already an eminent chess player, and has unbounded love for his little Estonia, which quickly fell into the hands of Stalin, then Hitler, then Stalin again. What does he feel when this is happening? ' After the lecture some Komsomol leaders asked me why I was so anti-Soviet. 'Did I tell you a lie? ' I reiterated. But it was too late. My dossier at the KGB swelled a bif' 23 In a 2007 interview he was asked if an offi­ cial donos, or denunciation, had ever been lodged against him. "Once in a lecture in the

307

Rostov oblast I said that if chess were not my profession, then most likely I would have been a priest;' he said. A high-ranking local Communist Party official demanded to know how a Soviet world champion could say such things. "What will our ideological opponents in the West say?" Spassky was asked. He was advised by the vlasti to "follow the example of Botvinnik:' 24 That is, to hew to the Party line. But Spassky claimed he could joke with the vlasti. Called before a Party commission after a trip to the West, Spassky said he judged what he saw there with his own eyes, rather than what he read at home. "Don't you read newspapers?" he was asked. Spassky fell back on his phantom career: "Excuse me, I am a journalist by profession and who, if not me, knows the value of our newspapers. Unfor­ tunately most of them lie:' ''And Pravda?" he was asked. "Pravda even more so:' he answered. 25 In 2016 an interviewer asked about an offi­ cial meeting Spassky had when "you came on a pink Volvo and in a yellow neckerchief and said 'I've never read our Pravda newslet­ ter and will never read if" Spassky said that was not quite accurate: "I remember how I came to a meeting with the vlasti in yellow velvet pants. They eyed me suspiciously:' But, he added, "there was no yellow neckerchief [and] I had a dark blue Volvo:' 26 It was a familiar Spassky tactic. "From the very beginning, he pretended to play the fool, pretended not to know anything;' said a former high-ranking chess official, Yevgeny Bebchuk. "I would often be called to official meetings in my administrative role, and col­ leagues on the committee would say, 'Well, he's a talented chess player, but he's a little strange in the head; and I would say 'Well, yes:" 21 Bebchuk felt Spassky was playing the role of the yurodivy, the holy fool. "He protected himself. It's a kind of survival technique because in Russian culture they take well to

308

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

fools, they forgive them for a great many things;' Bebchuk said. "Spassky without doubt did things no one else was allowed to do;' Mikhail Beilin said. "Others would never have been permitted to go abroad if they acted in the same way as SpasskY:' 28 One of the sore points with the vlasti was that by mid-1971 Spassky had not played a serious game in the Soviet Union since de­ throning Petrosian two years before. This was more than an accident, since he had played more than 50 games abroad during

the period. That changed when he scored 3½-½ in another USSR team championship in August.

Spassky-Leonid Stein USSR teams Cup, Rostov-on-Don,

1971 Benoni Defense (A57)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 cs 3. d5 d6 4. Nc3 g6 5. e4 Bg7 6. Nf3 0-0 7. Be2 e6 8. Bg5 exd5 9. cxd5 h610. Bh4 g5! 11. Bg3 NhS 12. Nd2! Nxg313. hxg3 a6 Svetozar Gligoric, the recog­ nized expert in this line, pre­ ferred a quick . . . Nd7 and . . . Qe7/ . . . Ne5. Black needs quick coun­ terplay because he has virtually invited a White knight to land on f5.

14. a4 Re8 15. Nc4 Qc7 16. Ne3 Nd7!17. Nf5 Nf618. Nxh6+ Kf8 No King's Indian/Benoni player likes to trade off his King's bishop, and Stein was more ambitious than 18 . . . . Bxh6 19. Rxh6 Kg7 and . . . Nxe4.

19. f3 g4! 20. Qc2 Qa5 Now 21. fxg4 Nxe4? 22. 0-0! is good because of the Rxt7 mate threat. But 21. . . . Re5! muddies the water.

21. 0-0-0! b5!

Anatoly Karpov (standing center) watches Spassky analyze one of his games from the 1971 USSR Teams Cup with Yevgeny Vasiukov (right). Karpov helped both Korchnoi and Spassky in the 1970-72 world championship cycle and later studied the Fischer-Spassky match games with Korch­ noi and Paul Keres. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1971.

For better or worse, Black must try to open the queenside. Now 22. fxg4 Re5 was again unclear and better than 22. . . . b4 23. g5! bxc3 24. gxf6 Bxf6 25. Rdft Bg5+ 26. Kdl! Bxh6 27. Rxh6 cxb2 28. Qxb2 with advantage. Spas­ sky opts for a safer edge. 22. axb5 axb5 23. Bxb5 Res 24. Qa4?!

14. The Fischer Factor Black would have been happy to play 24. f4 Rxe4! 25. Nxe4 Nxe4 (26. Qxe4? Qxb5 and wins). However 24. Bc6 Rb8 25. Qa4 or 25. Rdel was more of a test.

24. . . . Nh5? Black could get back into the game with the unlikely 24. . . . Rh5! (25. Nf'5 Bxf'5 26. exf'5 Qxa4).

25. Qxa5 Rxa5 26. f4! This gets material back with interest, e.g., 26. . . . Ral+ 27. Kc2 Rxdl 28. Nxdl Nxg3 29. fxe5 Nxhl 30. exd6 Bxh6 31. d7.

26. . . . Bxh6? 27. Kc2! (see diagram)

309

September 1971, he changed his travel plans, something likely to irritate his security han­ dlers. "The KGB has one hundred files on me;' Spassky said. "One hundred and one will make no difference:' 29 His biggest break with the vlasti came in January 1971 when he was asked to sign a joint letter demanding clemency for jailed American Communist Angela Davis. Similar letters had been signed by leading Soviet scientists and cultural stars like Dmitri Shostakovich, Aram Khachaturian and Maya Plisetskaya. It was considered an honor to be asked to sign. Botvinnik signed. Spassky re­ fused. This all took a toll on Spassky, he said. In 1971 "my nervous system collapsed" and ul­ timately left him vulnerable to Fischer. He could not be "the king of the critical mo­ ment;' as he styled himself, "if my nervous system is a mess:' 30

Neither of Us Wanted to Win After 27. Kc2 White's center pawns finally matter after 27. . . . Re7 28. Rxh5 Bg7 29. e5! dxe5 30. d6!.

27. . . . Rxe4 28. Nxe4 Bg7 29. Nxd6 Rxb5 30. Nxb5 Nxg3 31. Nd6 Bd7 32. Rhel Ba4+ 33. b3 Bd7 34. Re5!? There are many ways to win and Spassky finds the most flashy.

34. . . . Bh6 35. Nb7! Bxf4 36. Nxc5 Bf5+ 37. Rxf5 Nxf5 38. Kd3 Ne3 39. Rgl Nxd5 40. Ke4 Nc3+ 41. Kxf4 Black resigns But when he encountered strong resis­ tance from Viktor Baturinsky or the higher authorities on a policy matter, Spassky usu­ ally backed down. Instead, he joked to West­ erners about his troubles. After tying for first place in the Canadian Open in Vancouver in

Before Korchnoi's defection, he described his 1971 semifinals match as a battle of play­ ing styles, not feuding personalities. "Well, for me, it's not easy to play Petrosian. He's not a pleasant partner for me. He doesn't go forward when he plays chess. He waits for his opponents' mistake-no more, no other tactic. Well, I don't like to play such an op­ ponent;' he said in a 1974 lecture. 31 After his defection, Korchnoi gave a more sinister account. The match was the culmi­ nation of 11 years of hostility instilled by Petrosian, he said. He charged that Petro­ sian used his political pull to have it held in Moscow, his power base. "I was under Petro­ sian's thumb, and accepted the conditions;' he said. "It was some handicap. I got the feeling every day that I was spotting him a pawn, you know! " 32 The handicap, he felt, was that Petrosian had a nice home in Mos­ cow and a dacha outside it. That alone made

310

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

there were also drawing tricks, including stalemate traps. "When such beautiful variations are found it is natural that the mood improves even if the hands on the clock show that it's five in the morning;' Petrosian wrote. 33 He came to the board confident that there was no forced win. Korchnoi found ingenious winning at­ tempts but conceded the draw at move 66. This invigorated Petrosian and, after an­ other draw, he nearly won the sixth game as Black. But the match remained tied. "People joked that neither of us wanted to win the match;' Korchnoi said. It was more than a joke. "When I lost the match, everybody in my country or outside was sure I lost that match deliberately, because I did not want to play Fischer, because I was sure Fischer plays better than anybody now and I was sure I would lose! " 34 But there was a darker theory. Rumors spread in Moscow and in the West that the eight straight draws were ordered by Soviet officials, who were waiting for the outcome of the other semifinals match, in Denver. That match ended June 20 in a stunning 6-0 victory by Fischer over Bent Larsen. This meant that whoever won in Moscow would have to face Fischer in the finals. Fueling the conspiracy theory was the timing: The next Korchnoi-Petrosian game, on June 22, turned out to be decisive. Anatoly Karpov concluded that the Sports Committee had been waiting until Fischer's vic­ tory was certain before it chose his next opponent. Karpov gave this sce­ Korchnoi (left) weighs his options in the first game of the semi­ nario: Korchnoi and Petro­ final 1971 Candidates match with Petrosian (right). Former world sian were summoned to a champion Max Euwe (center) predicted a close match. Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1971. Sports Committee meeting

it impossible for Petrosian to lose the match, Korchnoi claimed. "Without having made the first move on the board, he had already won the battle;' he wrote in his 2004 memoir. Yet he conceded that he was not forced to play in Moscow: "I should never have agreed to play in Moscow:' If there was bitter antagonism between them, the first eight match games did not show it. When Petrosian was White he con­ ceded shorter and shorter draws: in 35 moves, then 27, then 15 and 13. Korchnoi said this was because Petrosian had not prepared his openings and was "lazy:' Korchnoi and Spassky said the fourth game was the turning point, and Petrosian seemed to agree when he wrote a long article about it for Shakhmaty v SSSR. Korchnoi had a rook, bishop and four pawns against rook, knight and four pawns. Petrosian described how he and Yuri Averbakh burned the mid­ night oil: They saw that waiting tactics would probably fail, that a trade of rooks or of rooks and minor pieces would also be fatal. But

14. The Fischer Factor and asked who would have a better chance of beating Bobby. Korchnoi said neither of them could do it. But Petrosian said he could. The Sports Committee then made a deal. Korchnoi would lose the match and get three major foreign invitations as compen­ sation.35 Korchnoi did lose the match and did get three desirable invitations in the next year­ to Hastings, Amsterdam and Palma de Mal­ lorca. But there is no other evidence to sup­ port the account of Karpov, which was written when he had become Korchnoi's archenemy and was in deteriorating relations with Pet­ rosian. Besides, the Fischer-Larsen match was already a 4-0 blowout after Korchnoi and Petrosian drew their fifth game on July 13. There was no reason to wait more than a week with three phony draws. Korchnoi, who had his own conspiracy theories, was compelled to deny this one. "Only those who knew me well realized that I was trying very hard, but that my play was not coming off;' he added.36

Petrosian-Korchnoi

Candidates semifinal match, Moscow, 1971 English Opening (A20)

31 1

The pawn structure after 11. exd4 cxd4! would resemble a reversed Modern Benoni Defense. Then White's bishop on b2 and knight on d2 are somewhat misplaced. For example, 12. a3 aS 13. Ne4 Be7 14. Rel Nd7 and Black is ready for 15. . . . fS 16. Ned2 Qb6 or even . . . Ra6-b6/ . . . NcS.

11. . . . Nd7 12. Nh4 g6 13. Bf3 Bc7 Spassky could not hide his feelings when he annotated this game. "While Korchnoi has no plan, Petrosian steadfastly improves the position of his pieces;' he wrote in the November 1971 Chess Life & Review.

14. a3 Ba5 15. Bel Qe7 16. Bg4 f5! Black would be slightly more comfortable after 16. . . . Bxg4 17. Qxg4 Nf6 but White would have greater chances of opening the position favorably.

17. exf5 gxf518. Bf3 Nf6 19. Bg2 Rad8 This rook could have gone to c8 on this or the previous move so that it could recapture on c6. But Bxc6 looks so anti-positional at this stage that Black could ignore it.

20. Ra2 Bc8 21. Rel Kh8? (see diagram)

I. c4 e5 2. g3 c6 3. b3!? Usual is 3. d4 exd4 4. Qxd4, since Black has denied himself . . . Nc6.

3. . . . d5 4. Bb2 d4 5. Nf3 Bd6 6. d3 c5 7. Bg2 Ne7 8. 0-0 Nec6 The Black knights work well on c6 and d7 compared with on c6 and g6 or fS. The mid­ dlegame will resemble the sixth game of the Petrosian-Fischer match four months later. It began L Nf3 cS 2. b3 dS 3. Bb2 f6! 4. c4 d4 5. d3 eS 6. e3 Ne7 7. Be2 Nec6! 8. Nbd2 Be7 9. 0-0 0-0 10. e4 a6 11. Nel bS 12. Bg4 Bxg4 13. Qxg4 Qc8, when Black was at least equal and went on to win.

9. e3 0-0 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. e4!?

After 21. ... Kh8 However, here Black should take precau­ tion, such as with 21. . . . Qc7. For example, 21. . . . Qc7 22. b4 cxb4 23. Nb3 is a double­ edged sacrifice (23. . . . bxa3 24. NxaS QxaS 25. Rxa3 Qc7). This game has been hailed as a strategic masterpiece but it is more a matter of Black's overlooking tactics.

312

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

22. b4! cxb4 23. Nb3 Bb6 Now 23. . . . bxa3? 24. NxaS NxaS 25. Bxa3 costs the Exchange. Black's move protects his a-pawn (compared with 23. . . . Bc7 24. axb4 Nxb4 25. Rxa7).

24. Bxc6!? bxc6 25. axb4 a6 Black can not defend the e-pawn with 25. . . . Qc7 or 25. . . . Qd6 because of 26. cS. But he had to meet the threat of 26. cS Bc7 27. Rxa7. He might have tried to muddy the water with 25. . . . Ng4 and if 26. h3, then 26. . . . Ne3?! 27. fxe3 Rg8 28. Ng2 Rxg3. But his attack would be halted after 29. exd4 Qg7 30. Qe2.

26. Nf3 e4 27. c5 Bc7 28. Nfxd4 Qf7 29. Rd2 White's long-range threats are based on Bb2 and getting the queen to c3.

29 . . . . Bd7 30. Bb2 Kg8 31. Na5! Bxa5 32. bxa5 Rb8 33. Bal Rfe8 34. Rde2 Qh5 35. Qd2 Kt7 36. h4 Petrosian anticipates threatening moves such as . . . Ng4. Korchnoi, in time pressure, played the rest of the game poorly but his po­ sition has been in steady decline since the diagram.

36. . . . exd3 37. Qxd3 f4 38. Nf3! Rxe2 39. Qxe2 Qxc5? Shortening the loss, compared with 39. . . . Re8 40. NeS+ and 41. Qxa6.

40. Ne5+ Kf8 41. Nxd7+ Nxd7. And Black resigned before 42. Qe6! forced mate. Korchnoi had the White pieces in the tenth game. He was in the same must-win situa­ tion as David Bronstein in the 1951 World Championship match and Paul Keres in his 1965 candidates match with Spassky. Never­ theless, he wrote, "It was not difficult to guess that the last game of our match would finish in a draw:' 37 He tried hard but adjourned in a lost po­ sition. "Well, draw-or I' ll resign;' he told

Petrosian. 38 It must have reminded Petrosian of Spassky's offer in their final match game two years before. He accepted. He had be­ come the last line of defense to avert a Fis­ cher-Spassky world championship match.

Breaking Point After their match, "Petrosian persuaded me to take part in his preparations for Fis­ cher;' Korchnoi said. 39 He went to Petrosian's dacha outside Moscow and visited him "for two weeks:' Karpov said this was the most telling evidence that Korchnoi had thrown the semifinals match. It was "staggering" that Korchnoi, so notoriously hostile after a loss, was suddenly "on good terms" with Petro­ sian, he wrote. But Yuri Averbakh said they had been on good terms for years. The breaking point came when Korchnoi arrived at the dacha one day and discovered that Petrosian was about to leave: There was a Spartak soccer match at Luzhniki Stadium and he was not going to miss it. Korchnoi could analyze openings with Averbakh instead. "This infuriated Korchnoi;' Averbakh said. "He refused to help Petrosian and returned to Leningrad:' 40 These were the kind of social blunders that even great players made: Despite years of analyzing and occasional socializing to­ gether, Petrosian and Korchnoi did not un­ derstand one another. Petrosian could not imagine how Korchnoi would feel slighted by his preferring to watch football rather than analyze with the man who had come to help him. And Korchnoi did not realize how this was a normal way for Petrosian to pre­ pare. "He often left for football or hockey, having asked us to look at some position;' Alexey Suetin said. "Then he actively took part in the checking of our work, agreeing, disputing:' 41 But there was still a chance to repair the damage. Just before the Fischer match, Pet-

14. The Fischer Factor rosian tried to get Korchnoi to go with him as his second. Spassky did not believe Petro­ sian was sincere and had been pressured to ask Korchnoi. In one of his last interviews, Korchnoi said he was tempted: "Imagine, I go to Argentina for free in order to show Petrosian one or two moves. Well, who in the Soviet Union would not grab such a possi­ bility?" 42 But "I said decisively no:' 43 He did not mention the dacha slight but gave an eth­ ical explanation: "Because we were in the same competition, it would be unfair to help one another. So to go to Buenos Aires I should have needed Fischer's permission. He should have appreciated that:' Korchnoi later laughed when he recalled his refusal: "This was a strong blow. After our conversation, Petrosian knew that the [Fischer] match was losf' 44 However, he added, "If the Soviet authorities had insisted on my working with Petrosian, it would have been quite difficult for me:' The matter was passed up to the Sports Committee, which summoned both players to make their cases. According to Karpov, Korchnoi said, "How can I be Petrosian's second, if he makes me sick to watch how he plays?" 45 Spassky, who heard Petrosian's version of the confrontation, said Korchnoi's words were, "When I see what disgusting, vile moves Petrosian makes, I do not want to be his sec­ ond!" Petrosian laughed at this, and Spassky said that was proof that the former champion had a good sense of humor. 46 In any case, Korchnoi was allowed to stay more than 8,000 miles away from the Can­ didates finals match. He could not be blamed if Petrosian lost.

Six Bottles of Cogn ac Some Soviet officials had been worried about Fischer for at least seven years. In March 1964 a "chess laboratory" of the All­ Union Scientific Research Institute of Phys-

313

ical Training sent letters to leading grand­ masters asking them to evaluate the Ameri­ can's strengths and weaknesses and report back within a month. The assumption was that Fischer would play in the upcoming Amsterdam Interzonal. His world champi­ onship ambitions might be stymied there if the Soviet entrants were prepared. Yefim Geller did not take the task very se­ riously. He looked at 20 Fischer games, all of them ending in the middlegame. Fischer's ideas are "transparent;' Geller wrote back. Korchnoi gave the most detailed response. He noticed that the most common Fischer endgames were those with rook-and-minor piece against rook-and-minor piece. Fischer rarely miscalculates and when he does it's usually because of "excessive self-confidence and haste;' Korchnoi added. Fischer was broadening his opening repertoire, he warned. But he is weaker in strategic battles than tac­ tical ones, and "lengthy positional maneu­ vering tires or bores him:' 47 Seven years later, Fischer was again the topic at a June 7, 1971, meeting of the USSR Chess Federation trainers' council. It tried to explain Taimanov's 0-6 loss to the Amer­ ican. Taimanov seemed in awe of his oppo­ nent. "Fischer knows everything;' he told Nikolai Krogius. "He's an Achilles without an Achilles heel:' 48 Alexander Kotov, a voice of the Soviet chess establishment, was not buying that. Taimanov's defeat was "the big­ gest setback in the entire history of Soviet chess;' he said during the council meeting. After further criticism, the meeting declared the results of the Fischer match were "totally unsatisfactory! " 49 Then came the Fischer-Larsen match. Izvestia, the official Soviet government news­ paper, said its sports department was deluged with so many calls that by the end of the match whoever picked up the phone would automatically say "6-0:' There was no reason to wait for the caller to ask for the final result of the chess match.50

314

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Spassky was grudgingly beginning to be­ lieve in Fischer. Journalist Vik.tor Khenkin recalled how he often visited the world cham­ pion's Moscow apartment and dined there one night after the quarterfinals matches. Spassky did his Taimanov impression. He "puffed his cheeks" in self-importance. Over cognac he and Khenkin discussed the up­ coming Larsen-Fischer semifinals. Spassky repeated his "much ambition, little ammu­ nition'' quip. But, he added, "Bobby won't overcome him so easily:' Yes, he will, Khenkin said, Larsen will not win a single game. Spassky said that wasn't possible. Khenkin offered to bet on it: He would give Spassky two bottles of cognac if Larsen won a game. Spassky would give Khenkin six bottles if Larsen did not. Spas­ sky took the bet. Khenkin did not hear anything further about it until September, well after the semi­ finals, when he was in the editorial office of the newspaper Komsomolsk aya Pravda. A telephone rang and "a familiar voice" asked for him. "Viktor Lvovich, what kind of co­ gnac do you prefer?" Khenkin replied in­ stantly, "Napoleon;' the top-shelf brand that cost a small fortune in a hard-currency store. Spassky was silent. "I took my move back;' Khenkin recalled, and told him that Armen­ ian cognac would satisfy the bet. "Wait half an hour;' Spassky said. Exactly 30 minutes later he showed up with a heavy bundle to pay off the debt. 51

Fin als Despite official confidence, Fischer fear was growing among Soviet grandmasters. Even Petrosian expected that he would lose the Candidates finals match, according to Alexey Suetin, his new chief trainer. Before the Candidate matches began, "I told Petro­ sian that Fischer could hardly be beaten;' re­ called Suetin. Petrosian replied that he would

be happy if he just won his first two Candi­ dates matches. "He agreed with me and said it was fully satisfactory to reach the finals;' Suetin said.52 Petrosian arrived in Buenos Aires well prepared, with advice from various Soviet sources. Botvinnik had studied Fischer's strong and weak points in anticipation of a 1970 match with him. "When he encounters a surprise in the opening (especially in the­ oretical positions) he nearly always responds badly! " Botvinnik wrote. 53 Petrosian got a chance to verify this in the first game when he uncorked an innovation in one of Fischer's favorite Sicilian Defense lines. It was not Petrosian's innovation, nor that of his seconds. As soon as the Korchnoi match was over, Petrosian was handed an envelope, addressed "Honorable Grandmaster! " and filled with the analysis from a Moldovian master, Vyacheslav Chebanenko. Cheba­ nenko sent it to the semifinals match officials with instructions to turn it over to the match winner, for use against Fischer. 54 When Petrosian played the Chebanenko moves quickly in the first game, Fischer re­ alized he was walking into a minefield. But, he told Robert Byrne after game, "I wanted to see what he had:' 55 Quickly he found him­ self in trouble. The game followed Cheba­ nenko's analysis until Black's 16th move. Pet­ rosian inexplicably passed up a powerful pawn capture that might have won. Fischer went on to win. Korchnoi's comments about the match in Chess Is My Life are strange: "Petrosian did manage to extract one colorless draw out of Fischer, but that was all:' 56 In fact, Petrosian crushed Fischer in the second game.

Petrosian-Bobby Fischer Candidates finals match, Second game, Buenos Aires, 1971 Griinfeld Defense (D82)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Bf4

14. The Fischer Factor This was a warning that Petrosian had prepared something deep. He had varied his anti-Griinfeld weapons over the years to in­ clude 4. g3, 4. e3 Bg7 5. b4, 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. BgS and 5. Bf4.

4. . . . Bg7 5. e3 c5 6. dxc5 Qa5 7. Rel Ne4 8. cxd5 Nxc3 9. Qd2 Qxa210. bxc3 It is worth noting the sacrifices Petrosian did not play in this game. For example, he considered 10. Rxc3 but rated 10. . . . 0-0! as equal. Later experience found 10 . . . . Bxc3 11. Qxc3 f6 12. Nf3 gave White sufficient compensation.

315

Also favorable is 20. fxe3. Black's position would be difficult because he can not castle (20. . . . 0-0? 21. Bbl makes h7 an untenable target). But 20. cS! is stronger since d5-d6 would expose f7, e.g., 20. . . . exf2+ 21. Qxf2 Bf6 22. d6 or 21. . . . 0-0 22. Rc4.

20. . . . Qd2 21. Qa4+ Kf8 22. Rcdl! To play this move Petrosian had to foresee positions in which . . . e2 forks his rooks.

22. . . . Qe2 23. d6! (see diagram)

10. . . . Qa5 11. Bc4 Nd7 12. Ne2 Ne5 Black later scored better with 12. . . . NxcS and . . . O-O/ . . . Bd7/ . . . Rfc8.

13. Ba2 Bf5?! 14. Bxe5! Another Exchange sacrifice would have been 14. 0-0 Nd3 15. c6. Then 15. . . . Nxcl 16. cxb7! Nxe2+ 17. Qxe2 Rd8 18. e4 favors him (18 . . . . Bd7 19. Rbl). But 15. . . . bxc6! is fairly balanced (16. Ral Nxf4 17. exf4 Rd8).

14. . . . Bxe5 15. Nd4 Qxc5 Otherwise Black would be down a pawn (15. . . . Bd7 16. c6!).

16. Nxf5 gxfS 17. 0-0 Qa5? Critics said Fischer should have tried to set up a defensive wall with 17. . . . f4 18. exf4 Bd6 19. Rfel 0-0-0. But he never played that brand of chess. Better is the repositioning of the bishop to cs (17. . . . Qc7 18. f4 Bd6 fol­ lowed by . . . BcS) but Black would still be worse.

18. Qc2 f4 19. c4! In bishops of opposite color middlegames, the stronger bishop is the one with more tar­ gets. Petrosian's move seems strange at first, considering that he would have an evident edge after, say, 19. exf4 Bxf4 20. Rbl.

19. . . . fxe3 20. c5!

After 23. d6 Petrosian second-guessed himself after the game and said 23. g3 was better. His sense of danger seemed to be confirmed when a can­ didate master from Moscow pointed out 23. d6 Bxh2+ 24. Kxh2 QhS+ 25. Kgl e2 and then 26. dxe7+ Kg7 27. RdS exft(Q)+ 28. Kxft Qg6! . However, computers later found 27. Rd4! would win. Once again, Petrosian's instinct was right. 23. • . . Qh5 24. f4 e2? The best practical chance was 24 . . . . Bf6 25. RdS Qg4. In a key line, 26. dxe7+ Bxe7 27. Rel Rg8 28. Qe4 Rc8 29. Rxe3, Black can trade into a piece-down endgame with some survival chances, 29. . . . BxcS 30. RxcS Qxg2+ 31. Qxg2 Rxg2+ 32. Kxg2 RxcS.

25. fxe5! exdl(Q) 26. Rxdl Qxe5 27. Rfl! The key f7 square is fatally exposed. White would mate soon after 27 . . . . e6 28. Qd7! , e.g., 28 . . . . QxcS+ 29. Khl QhS 30. Qxe6.

316

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

27. . . . f6 28. Qb3 Kg7 29. Qf7+ Kh6 30. dxe7 f5 31. Rxf5 Qd4+ 32. Khl Black resigns Petrosian said the ovation he received when Fischer resigned was his greatest ever. 57 The game seemed to have a powerful effect on Fischer, who was lucky to draw the third game. But in the fourth, Petrosian, with White, offered a draw after 20 moves. He gave a flimsy explanation after the match: "After Fischer's statements that Korchnoi and I had made ridiculously short draws in our match, I wanted to confront him with something of a psychological problem, to prove to him that if I wanted to make a draw with White, I could always achieve this, and without great difficultY:' 58 Petrosian gave other excuses to his seconds, including a "stomach ache:' But it was a missed opportunity to exploit his momentum, just as in the middle of the 1969 championship match. After the match, Fischer conceded that he could have lost all of the first four match games. When the fifth game was drawn, Bot­ vinnik concluded that Petrosian had "dom­ inated" Fischer. Among the few who dis­ agreed was Korchnoi. Petrosian "held his own for the first five games;' he wrote. 59

Substitute Petrosian Yuri Averbakh, who also served as a Petro­ sian second, said Petrosian's team had worked out an overall match strategy. A tie score late in the match was acceptable, just as it had been in the semifinals. "Like no one else, Tig­ ran knew how to wait! " Averbakh said. Before the sixth game Petrosian was in good spirits. "Fischer beat Taimanov and Larsen 6-0 and I am already two and a half points ahead of them;' he joked to journalist Dimitrije Bjelica. "I could calmly go home. But Rona likes Buenos Aires and that's why I'm staying:' 60

But Averbakh noticed warnings signs in Petrosian's behavior, the kind that appeared towards the end of the 1969 match with Spas­ sky. "He became easily excited and very ag­ itated;' Averbakh recalled. 61 The sixth game was crucial. After five hours of play:

Petrosian-Bobby Fischer Candidates finals match, Sixth game, Buenos Aires, 1971

After 40. ... Kc5 Petrosian's 41. Ngl? was a blunder for two reasons. First, the more energetic 41. h4! would have traded pawns or set up a target at h6 after 41. . . . h6 42. hS. The second rea­ son is that Petrosian could have sealed his 41st move and turned the position over to his seconds to analyze overnight. Fischer quickly replied 41. . . . Kb5. After studying the position, Petrosian sealed the consistent but bad 42. Ne2?. He returned to his hotel and after a brief look, told his sec­ onds 'Tm going to have a sleep. If you want to have another look at it, go ahead:' 62 This followed his view since the Botvinnik match: "The best preparation for a game is ten hours of sleep:' But before he could nod off he visualized a strong idea for Fischer. Without telling his seconds, he got up and analyzed during the night. In the morning he still had not found a way to save the position and was in a bad nervous state when Fischer replied 42. . . . Ba5!.

14. The Fischer Factor The a6-pawn was doomed and Petrosian missed opportunities to resist better: 43. Rb2+ Kxa6 44. Rbl Rc7 45. Rb2 Bel 46. f3 Ka5 47. Rc2 Rb7 48. Ra2+ Kb5 49. Rb2+ Bb4 50. Ra2 Rc7 51. Ral Rc8 52. Ra7? Ba5! 53. Rd7 Bb6 54. Rd5+ Bc5 55. Ncl Ka4 56. Rd7 Bb4 57. Ne2 Kb3 58. Rb7 Ra8 59. Rxh7 Ral 60. Nxd4+ exd4 61. Kxd4 Rdl+ 62. Ke3 Bc5+ 63. Ke2 Rhl 64. h4 Kc4 65. h5 Rh2+ 66. Kel Kd3 White resigns After he resigned Petrosian said, "If I had been playing Tal everyone would say that he had hyp notized me . . . . But as my opponent was Fischer they say he is a genius:' Actually, he was the one who might have been called a genius if he had played the magical 42. f4!!. That move has been analyzed for more than 40 years, with the conclusion that White would have an impregnable fortress in vari­ ations such as 42. . . . gxf4! 43. gS! fxgS 44. Nf3 Rxa6 45. Rxa6 Kxa6 46. NxgS Bas 47. Nxh7 Bd8 48. Nf8. Fischer had needed time to recover from his disastrous loss in the second game. Petro­ sian was in the same condition after the sixth. "It was as though a substitute Petrosian ap­ peared:' Averbakh wrote. "He lost his calm, stopped preparing and stopped relaxing be­ fore a game:' 63 Petrosian acted like he just wanted to end the match quickly. When he returned home, Petrosian blamed his seconds. He said he was upset on the morning of the sixth game resumption be­ cause Averbakh and Suetin were wearing sports jackets and neckties, as if they were ready to go out and enjoy Buenos Aires. "Tig­ ran forgot that he had breakfast in his hotel room but we had breakfast in the restaurant, where this dress was required:' Averbakh

317

said.64 Petrosian badly needed the emotional support of seconds, as the end of the 1969 world championship match showed. Fischer sensed the change in his opponent. "I felt Petrosian's ego crumbling after the sixth game:' he said. 65 In a pre-match joint press conference, Fis­ cher was asked if he still cried after losing. "Well, if l cry, the Russians get sick after los­ ing:' he replied angrily. He was alluding to how Taimanov took a medical time-out dur­ ing their quarterfinals match when his blood pressure hit 165 over 95. 6 6 After losing the sixth game, Petrosian should have taken a time-out and rested for two days. He didn't because he didn't want to confirm Fischer's wisecrack, according to Viktor Baturinsky. 67 The seventh game was played on schedule and became famous for Fischer's surprising exchange of a great knight for a "bad" bishop, 22. Nxd7+. He won. The eighth game was scheduled for two days later. Petrosian waited until the last minute to request a sick day. He gave the arbiters a certificate saying he was suffering from low blood pressure, then spent the day "wandering through the city and lis­ tening to Tchaikovsky records in a music store:' 68 The match ended 6½-2½. "In those last games it was no longer chess:' Petrosian said. 69 After the match, Botvinnik refused to rec­ ognize Fischer's achievement. "If we want to fight successfully against Fischer, we must acknowledge that he is not a genius, and study his strong and weak sides. . . :' he said. 70 But Spassky conceded "Fischer played simply splendidly:' The world championship match of 1972, he said, would be "a very interesting one:' 71

15. Countdown to Calamity As 1971 was ending, Soviet domination of chess seemed, if anything, to be solidifying. Players from the USSR occupied nine of the top ten places on the world rating list. That was likely to continue as new players, such as 20-year-old Anatoly Karpov, joined the elite. Five world champions, past, present and future, and two world championship chal­ lengers-all of them USSR citizens-com­ peted in an Alekhine memorial tournament in Moscow in November and December. So­ viet players took the top seven places. None of the seven foreign invitees got more than a plus-one score. Yet looming over the tournament was the player who was not there, Bobby Fischer. His threat to Boris Spassky's world championship title would be the big event of 1972, arguably the most widely watched chess event ever. Behind the scenes Soviet officials prepared to mobilize a small elite army, led by Spas­ sky's longtime rivals, to help him avoid what they increasingly feared would be a history­ making disaster. In the Alekhine memorial, the four rivals seemed to be playing the roles they had adopted. Mikhail Tal continued his remark­ able comeback. Tigran Petrosian lost interest after winning won one of his greatest games, from Spassky. Vik.tor Korchnoi was again the hardest worker. He scored one of his easiest

wins over Spassky since the time they were Young Pioneers.

Korchnoi-Spassky

Alekhine Memorial, Moscow, 1971 Catalan Opening (E09) 1. Nf3 d5 2. c4 e6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7 5. 0-0 0-0 6. d4 c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. b3 b6 9. Rdl Bb710. Nc3 Routine now is 10. . . . Rc8, which prepares to complicate with 11. e4 cS.

10. . . . b5!? This discourages 11. e4? in view of 11. . . . b4 (12. eS bxc3 13. exf6 Bxf6 14. Qxc3 cS ! with at least equality).

11. cxb5 cxb512. Nxb5 QaS 13. a4 Best, since 13. Nc3 Rfc8 14. Bb2 Bb4 favors Black. After 13. a4 he would lack compensa­ tion following 13. . . . a6 14. Bd2!. Spassky later showed the benefits of 13. . . . Rfc8 14. Qa2 Ba6 15. Bd2 Qb6.

13. . . . Ne4 14. Nd2 Rac8? This looks as good as 14 . . . . Rfc8 but has a flaw.

15. Qa2! a6 16. Bxe4

318

If Black had played 14. . . . Rfc8 Black would have good chances with 16. . . . axbS 17. Bd3

15. Coun tdown to Calamity Bc6! . But without the rook at a8 White can reply 18. axbS!.

16. . . . dxe417. Nc4! Rxc4

319

Tal-Spassky

Alekhine Memorial, Moscow 1971 Sicilian Defense (B82)

Desperation, since 17. . . . Qd8 18. Nbd6 would doom Black to a losing middlegame.

1. e4 cS 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. f4 Be7 7. Bd3

18. bxc4 axbS 19. axbS Qc7 20. cS! (see diagram)

Tai chooses a quiet system, compared with 7. Be3 followed by 8. Qf3 and perhaps 0-0-0.

7. . . . Nc6 8. Nf3 0-0 9. 0-0 Nb410. Khl b6 11. Be3 Bb712. a3 Nxd313. cxd3 He eliminates counterplay on the c-file and can continue modestly with Nd4 and Rel.

13. . . . dS 14. es d4!

After 20. c5 Among the pretty finishes is 20. . . . Ra8 21. Qxa8+ Bxa8 22. Rxa8+ Bf8 23. c6 Nb6 24. Bf4 Qe7 25. Rb8 NdS 26. b6! and the passed pawns win.

20. . . . BdS 21. Qa7 Qd8 22. c6 Nf6 The position is lost but at least the knight remains in play after 22. . . . Nb6 23. c7 Qa8 (although 24. Qxa8 Nxa8 25. Bf4 gs 26. Rdcl! wins).

23. Ba3! Bxa3 24. Rxa3 Bc4 25. b6 e3 26. Rxe3 Nd5 27. b7 The pawns are so strong that 27. Rbl and 27. c7 also win.

The computer-recommended 14 . . . . Ng4 15. Bgl Nh6 would not fit in with Spassky's DNA. His pawn sacrifice gives him excellent play on the b 7-g2 diagonal and along the d­ file.

15. Nxd4 NdS 16. Bgl! Black's compensation is more evident after 16. NxdS QxdS 17. Qe2 Rfd8 18. Rfdl Rac8 and . . . Bes.

16. . . . Nxc317. bxc3 Rc818. c4 Rc7! Spassky had played 14 . . . . d4 quickly but invested ten minutes on this move, which threatens . . . Rd7. He took another 15 minutes on his next move and 40 on the move after that.

19. fS Rd7 (see diagram)

27. . . . Nxe3 28. fxe3 QgS 29. dS Bxe2 Black resigns Spassky had played so infrequently in his homeland since becoming champion that the tournament was almost a reintroduction to the players he used to face every few months. He had not played Korchnoi or Petrosian in two years or Tai in four. In fact, he had not played a real game with Tai since the end of their 1965 Candidates match. That changed:

After 19. ... Rd7

320

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

This is the game's crisis. Tal must have looked at 20. fxe6 Rxd4 21. ext7+ and felt intrigued when he saw that 21. . . . Rxf7? 22. Rxf7 Kxt7 23. Qh5+ is at least a draw after 23. . . . Ke6 and a win after 23. . . . Kg8 24. Bxd4 Qxd4 25. Qe8+. The problem is 21. . . . Kh8!. Tal may not have trusted 22. Bxd4 Qxd4 23. Qe2 in view of 23. . . . Rxf7 24. Rxf7 Qxal+. Then 25. Rfl Qc3 is double-edged at best, and 25. Qfl! Qxa3 is unclear.

20. Qg4 h5! Now 21. Qf4 Bg5 or 21. Qg3 h4 22. Qg4 h3! 23. Qxh3 Rxd4.

21. Qxh5 Rxd4! 22. f6 There is little in 22. Bxd4 Qxd4 23. fxe6 fxe6 24. Rxf8+ Bxf8 25. Rfl Qd7.

22. . . . gxf6 23. Ra2! fxe5 The threat was 24. Rf3 Bxf3 25. gxf3 and Rg2+. Now 24. Rf3 Bxf3 25. gxf3 Re8 26. Rg2+ Bg5 27. Rxg5+ Kf8.

24. Bxd4 Qxd4 25. Rf3 Bxf3 26. gxf3 Bf6 27. Rg2+ Bg7 28. Rxg7+! Kxg7 29. Qg5+ draw

L azy Russian B ear Boris Spassky tied for sixth place, fueling suspicions that he was one of those world champions-like Petrosian and Vasily Smy­ slov-who felt his goal in life was achieved when he won the title: He had nothing left to prove. "I gained the impression that after winning the crown Spassky stopped studying chess seriously:' Yuri Averbakh said. 1 Spas­ sky later acknowledged he ceased to be the world's best player "in the beginning of ' 71. Problems, which perhaps I created, played a role:' 2 Tal tied with Spassky at Moscow and excused his play. "Spassky was pulling his punches in that tournament:' Tal said. In

light of the Fischer challenge it "would have been silly to reveal even the slightest part of his way of playing or ideas in the opening:' Spassky rarely played the Scheveningen Vari­ ation that he had used against Tal, for exam­ ple.3 But by the time Tal spoke, he, Korchnoi, Petrosian and other elite GMs had been pressed into service by an alarmed Sports Committee. It was an extraordinary effort. Nothing similar was mounted on the Amer­ ican side to aid Fischer, nor had there been comparable efforts made by the vlasti on be­ half of previous Soviet world champions. Petrosian and Korchnoi approached the task with mixed emotions. Petrosian had begun to resent Spassky for his many fans, frequent foreign travels and carefree, un ­ Soviet-if not anti-Soviet-attitude. If Spas­ sky lost to Fischer it would not reflect badly on Petrosian. Rather, it would show that Petrosian had lost to the best player in the world in the Candidates finals. There was no love lost between Korchnoi and Spassky after their 1968 match. Korchnoi wondered if Spassky was a hopeless cause be­ cause he had burned himself out in his 196569 drive to the championship. "Every player has some kind of reserve of energy for the rest of his life:' Korchnoi said. 4 Spassky had demonstrated little of it in 1970 and 1971, he felt. Did he have any left? Spassky predicted to Leonard Barden in their 1966 interview that if he won the cham­ pionship he would be in decline by 1970. "Chess is an abnormal way of life, and to remain at the top you need to be very self­ disciplined:' he said. "Botvinnik is a very dis­ ciplined man and has this discipline. But it is a quality you need to be born with. I am quite the opposite, very impractical and com­ pletely disorganized:' Those closest to Spassky were worried about his work ethic. "Boris just couldn't study alone. He needed a constant everyday opponent and helper at the chessboard:' one

15. Coun tdown to Calamity of his seconds, Nikolai Krogius, wrote. 5 The good news was that Spassky had reconciled with Igor Bondarevsky and was speaking regularly by phone with Krogius. But Spassky needed someone sitting next to him in Mos­ cow to force him to work, Krogius said. Bon­ darevsky was comfortable in Piatigorsk, more than 800 miles to the south and he resisted offers by the Lokomotiv sports society to find him an apartment in Moscow. Krogius wanted to continue studying psychology at Saratov University. 6 Concern about "the lazy Russian bear" reached the Sports Committee's chairman, Sergei Pavlov. He told the Communist Party Central Committee on July 31, 1971, that the world champion's personality flaws were to blame. Spassky, "as a result of a difficult child­ hood and gaps in his upbringing, makes im­ mature statements, violates sporting regi­ men, and is not sufficiently industrious:' he wrote. 7 Instead of sitting at a chess board, Spassky preferred physical conditioning and vaca­ tions to distant destinations. In autumn 1971 he and Krogius spent a month at a remote mountain camp. Spassky skied down Cheget peak, which even veterans of the slopes found hard. Viktor Baturinsky, now head of the Sports Committee chess section-in effect, the boss of Soviet chess-expressed concern about Spassky's "unplanned trips across the USSR:' But by then Spassky had had enough of Baturinsky and the Sports Committee as well. He tried to byp ass the government agencies by going above their heads to the Commu­ nist Party hierarchy. In a letter dated Novem­ ber 17 Spassky gave a senior Central Com­ mittee member, Pyotr Demichev, his match plans, including a request to negotiate the Fischer match terms himself. He got as far as talking with Alexander Yakovlev, head of the Central Committee's propaganda depart­ ment-and later credited as the architect of Mikhail Gorbachev's perestroika reforms of

32 1

the 1980s. "I asked to be included in the talks-how and where to play, on which con­ ditions:' Spassky said. And Yakovlev even supported me. But nobody included me in any talks:•s Nevertheless, the Sports Committee felt that a more comfortable Spassky would be a stronger Spassky. His stipend was raised to 500 rubles a month, Demichev was told on January 4, 1972. That was about the same salary as a government minister, like Pavlov. No Soviet sportsman had ever been paid more. Spassky's trainers also got raises. The Mos­ cow city council was given an "urgent" order to find Spassky better housing. He soon had a four-room flat on Vesenin Street, the kind many Soviets could only dream of.

R esurgent Tai In addition, an eight-grandmaster "con­ sultative council" that included Tal, Petrosian and Korchnoi was created to provide Spassky with their experience and advice. While they tried to find flaws in Fischer, they kept busy. Tal played more than 80 games at slow time controls and in speed competitions in 1972. He was still plagued by ill health and had to withdraw from the Wijk aan Zee invitational in January shortly before it was to begin. Yet Tal was undergoing a remarkable resurgence. He had fallen to the world's 20th ranked player in October 1970 but reached number two in just over two years. When he got a chance to play like Tal, he did.

Tai-Vladimir Antoshin

National blitz tournament, Moscow, 1972 Philidor's Defense (C41) I. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 His opponent played this line enough for it to be considered the ''Antoshin Varia­ tion:'

322

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Vladimir Tukmakov (left) and Tai battle in a national five-minute tournament in Moscow in May 1972. The previous month, Tai and Korchnoi had offered advice to Spassky for his world championship match with Bobby Fischer. Shakhmaty v SSSR, July 1972.

6. g3 d5! 7. e5! White gets nothing from 7. exds Nxds, e.g., 8. NdbS Nxc3 9. Qxd8+ Bxd8 10. Nxc3 BfS.

21. Rxe6 Rxe6 22. Bh3 Raes 23. Nxe6 Rxe6 24. Qb4! (see diagram)

7. . . • Ng4 8. e6 Nf6 9. exfl+ Kxfl 10. Bg2 c6 ll. 0-0 Re8 Black is quite solid because the g2-bishop bites on dS-granite.

12. b3 Na6 13. Bb2 Nc5 14. Rel Bg4 15. Qd2 Qd7 16. f3! Bh5 17. Nce2 White eliminated the possibility of . . . Nce4. He could exploit the hole at e6 with 17. Ndl and Nf2/Bh3. But more Tal-like was 17. g4! Bg6 18. h4 and then 18 . . . . Kg8 19. hS Bf7 20. NfS, with advantage.

17. . . . Bd6 18. Nf4 Bxf4 19. Qxf4 Bg6 20. Ba3 Ne6? Antoshin was a top-SO player for more than a decade (and also regarded by col­ leagues as a KGB informer). Here he walks into a somewhat obvious pin.

After 24. Qb4 The threats of 25. Qf8 mate and 25. Bxe6+ win.

24. . . . Bxc2 25. Bxe6+ Qxe6 26. Rel Qc8 A slower death is 26. . . . cS 27. Qxb7+ Qd7 28. Qa6.

27. Re7+ Kg6 Or 27. . . . Kg8 28. Rxb7, threatening Rb8. White's next move leaves the c2-bishop no escape.

15. Coun tdown to Calamity 28. g4! b6 29. Qd2! Bbl 30. Qdl! Black re­ signs In view of 30. . . . Bxa2 31. Qc2+. Also win­ ning is 30. h4 h6 31. Qb2!. Tai even seemed to be adjusting to a nor­ mal married life. Unlike Sally Landau, Gelya Tai devoted herself exclusively to taking care of him, their home and soon, their daughter Zhanna. Gelya got used to his frenetic life­ style, such as living on four or five hours of sleep a day. "He was up every morning at six oclock and sat at the board:' 9 He went over "all the games played recently in the world:' 10 He was also a voracious reader and a televi­ sion addict. When he was home, "the televi­ sion was on from 6 in the morning until 2 at night:' Zhanna recalled. "He ate, talked on the telephone, read, played chess and looked at television simultaneously. He looked at football, all the news, all the detective stories and even dramatic series . . . :' she said. 11 He had six chess sets in the home, including one in the bathroom. Tal still smoked, two packs of Kents a day. But Gelya said his habit was to smoke a quar­ ter of each cigarette and then start a new one. So in fact, he only smoked a half a pack a day, she said. He also drank vodka and whiskey and managed to get brands like Kristal and Stolichnaya vodka that were earmarked for export. Several doctors warned him to take better care of his health. "But father only re­ sponded with an ironic smile:' his son Georgy said. 1 2 Korchnoi began 1972 by sharing first prize at Hastings with Karpov. A minus score in the USSR team championship finals included a ten-move draw as White with Petrosian. Few in the West were aware that Korchnoi was about to become a movie star, Soviet style. Leonid Zorin, who reported on Tal's miserable experience in the 1969 Soviet Cham­ pionship, had written a screenplay for Gross­ meister, based on the life of Vladimir Sima­ gin. Zorin wanted Tai to perform the key role

323

of a grandmaster's trainer. But Tal's audition with a Soviet film star, Natalya Fateeva, turned out poorly, Tal said. 13 Instead, he played a minor role in the move, as did Mark Taima­ nov. The juicy role went to Korchnoi instead. The film was released in 1973. "It was not by accident that I was praised as being the best actor in the film:' Korchnoi wrote. 14 But he added in an interview, "That's not such a compliment for the film itself' 15 Since losing the final Candidates match, Petrosian kept a relatively low profile. Korch­ noi said Petrosian managed to avoid punish­ ment from the vlasti for his loss to Fischer because of "his political dexteritY:' 16 But Petrosian went to only one highly desirable foreign tournament in 1972, in San Antonio, Texas. His other big events of the year were the Olympiad and a Sarajevo invitational in March and April, where he finished second to Laszlo Szabo. On the days when he wanted to play chess, no one could make winning seem easier.

Petrosian-Milan Matulovic

Sarajevo, 1972 Dutch D efense (A87)

I. c4 g6 2. Nf3 Bg7 3. d4 f5 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 d6 7. d5 This avoids popular lines such as 7. Nc3 Nc6 8. dS NeS and 8 . . . . NaS.

7. . . . c5 8. Nc3 Na6 9. Rbl Bd710. b3 Nc7 11. a4 a612. b4! cxb413. Rxb4 Rb814. Qb3 Now 14 . . . . Bc8 allows White to expand his edge slowly with 15. aS Nd7 16. Na4. A devious defense is 14 . . . . Na8 with the idea of 15. Rxb7? Qc7! with advantage. Instead, 15. Bd2 b6 would force White to come up with a new plan.

14. . . . Ne4?15. Nxe4 fxe416. Ng5 a517. Rb6! (see diagram) There was nothing wrong with 17. Rxb7 Bxa4 18. Qb6. But the endgame after 18 . . . .

324

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Rxb7 19. Qxb7 Qb8 20. Qxb8 is not as prom­ ising as what happens now.

34. Ke4 gxf4 35. gxf4 Ke8 36. f5 Rc8 37. Rb7 Rd8 38. f6 exf6 39. Bc6+ Kf8 40. e7+ Black resigns

Running on Empty

After 17. Rb6 The e4-pawn is doomed and White can also get a sizable advantage from Ne6. If 17. . . . Bd4, he might have opted for 18. Rxb7 Bxa4 19. Qbl. But more Petrosianesque would be 18. Be3! Bxb6 19. Bxb6 followed by 20. cs or 20. BxaS. Note that 17. . . . Qc8 prepares to trap the rook with 18 . . . . Na8. But White would have more than enough compensa­ tion after, say, 18. Be3 Na8 19. Rb5 Bxb5 20. cxbs, e.g., 20. . . . b6 21. Ne6 Rt7 22. Rel.

17. . . . Na6? 18. Be3 Nc5 19. Bxc5 dxc5 20. Ne6 Bxe6 21. Rxe6 Rf6 22. Bxe4 Qc7 23. f4 Black's bishop may look better than White's but it is easily shut out of play (23. . . . Rxe6 24. dxe6 Qd6 25. BdS and e2-e4-e5).

23. . . . Qd7 24. Bf3 Rxe6 25. dxe6 Qd4+ 26. Kg2 Qc3 Another lost endgame is 25. . . . b6 26. Rdl Qb2 27. Qxb2 Bxb2 28. Rd7 Kf8 29. Be4 fol­ lowed by h2-h4-h5.

27. Qxc3 Bxc3 28. Rdl Kf8 29. Rd7 b6 30. Bd5 Ke8 31. e4 h6 32. Kf3 Kf8 33. e5 g5 Matulovic was notorious for playing lost positions until a game was resumed after ad­ journment. In that way his resignation would not be reported in the next day's newspaper. He didn't make it that far today.

Spassky told the Sports Committee that he began preparing in the beginning of 1971 for a Fischer match-before Fischer had played his first Candidates match. But one year later Spassky's seconds conceded he had done little. Igor Bondarevsky admitted that the world champion was "empty" and out of creative weapons. 17 The Sports Committee learned Spassky, Bondarevsky and Krogius had finally had gotten down to work, in a six­ room cottage at Krasnaya Pakhra, southwest of Moscow as of December 21, 1971. They were joined by livo Nei, an Estonian grand­ master who was a friend of Spassky's. Spas­ sky wanted him included for physical con­ ditioning, which meant being his tennis partner. Spassky needed stronger backup than in 1969 but it was soon clear that his team did not gel. Krogius said Nei was a yes-man who regularly told Spassky, "You are absolutely right." 18 The Sports Committee expressed "bewilderment about Spassky's rash and in­ sufficiently considered [Nei] decision, but it was too late;' Krogius said. Nei contrasted sharply with Bondarevsky, who tried to resume his role of demanding taskmaster. But Pater found himself in a sit­ uation similar to Koblents' in 1961. His great influence over his protege diminished once Spassky became world champion. Bonda­ revsky "spoke sharply (perhaps excessively so)" to Spassky, Krogius said. "If you don't work, you'll lose the match;' he warned. This only irritated Spassky. For years after the Fischer match he stiffened whenever it was suggested he had not prepared diligently. "Before Reykjavik I worked for half a year like I was cursed!" he said in 2007. 19

15. Countdown to Calamity According to Krogius, Yefim Geller joined Nei in a lengthy campaign to ease Bonda­ revsky out, "constantly talking about Bon­ darevsky's lack of knowledge of opening theory and his detachment from practical plaY:' 20 The campaign succeeded and by Feb­ ruary 1, 1972, Bondarevsky had cut ties with Spassky for good. He was replaced as chief trainer by Geller. Spassky made no excuses for the palace coup. Bondarevsky was "one of the cleverest persons I have ever met in my life" he said. But he was also "a terrible coward . . . . [H] e would offer second-rate, substandard deci­ sions:' Years later he said, "I've never once regretted not including Bondarevsky in my team-neither during the Fischer match nor after it:' 21 As with Spassky's break with Alex­ ander Tolush, there were sharply differing accounts of how Bondarevsky left the inner circle. Spassky said he forced Bondarevsky out. Bondarevsky said he left on his own ac­ cord, indicating that he did not want to be blamed for the train wreck he could see com­ ing. Whatever the truth, his departure was "a deeply mistaken decision:' Krogius said. "The world champion separated from his mentor, friend and the constant trainer with whom he worked for more than ten years:' Yuri Averbakh agreed: Bondarevsky "was the only one who could force Spassky to work at full efficiency:'

Advice R ebuffed On February 27, the Sports Committee became more alarmed. It asked members of the grandmaster "consultative council" to evaluate the strong and weak points of Spas­ sky and Fischer so they could be passed on to Spassky. No one was willing to admit the subtext: Fischer was the strongest player in the world but with proper preparation he might be beaten.

325

Petrosian sent back a short, vague sum­ mary on March 17. He made a veiled criti­ cism of Spassky, saying he had played so little since 1969 that it was hard to say much about him. Fischer plays well when he has an ob­ vious plan, particularly in open and semi­ open centers, Petrosian added. But he can not defend passively and underestimates the value of a pawn center. 22 Korchnoi's analysis was more useful. Fis­ cher is practical and never gets into time trouble, he wrote. But his technique is sus­ pect and he often tries to win too quickly. Also, Fischer does not know how to bluff when he is defending: "Many will consider this last factor to be a virtue, but I consider it to be a defecf' Korchnoi was more critical of Spassky than of Fischer. His refusal to study opening theory, overestimation of his defensive skill and deficient calculating abil­ ity can be a problem, he said. 23 Tal wrote an extensive letter dated April 1. Unlike Korchnoi he found Fischer's tech­ nique to be good and called it his "most salient feature:' He should never be allowed an "uncompensated advantage" or he will get the most of it. On the hopeful side, "Fischer's opening repertoire has not changed substan­ tially since Portoroz" and in the middlegame he "cannot do without a concrete plan:' 24 Tal twice offered to work directly with Spassky. "I repeat that I will gladly help Spas­ sky as soon as he and his team ask me to:' he wrote. There were other suggestions, from Mikhail Botvinnik, Paul Keres and Vasily Smyslov. Keres apologized for keeping his remarks brief but "if Boris Vasileyevich would like me to elaborate on some of these ideas I would be glad to be of service:' Spassky revered Keres and respected Bot­ vinnik and Smyslov. But in 1972 he had little use for them. "We don't need general advice from old men;' he told the deputy Sports Committee head Viktor Ivonin. 25 He also dismissed the warnings of his ri­ vals. Korchnoi had predicted in 1971 that

326

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Spassky's laziness would cost him his title. "Yes, I am lazy:• Spassky replied. "But I think I have chances of remaining champion for more than three years-because what Korch­ noi says is usually wrong:'26 Spassky believed Petrosian had turned against him. He was right: Petrosian was rooting for Fischer. "If Spassky wins, he'll be the monarch and everything will revolve around Spassky:' Gennady Sosonko quoted Petrosian as saying. "If Fischer wins, though, a chess republic will be created, and everyone will be in equal conditions:• Some of Petro­ sian's feeling may have been tinged with jeal­ ousy. When he heard how much Spassky earned for the 1972 match he said, "Usually after winning a tournament abroad we could buy a car. But to buy the whole showroom, that's something:' 27 Spassky refused to discuss the recommen­ dations with Petrosian, Korchnoi and the other "consultative" advisers in part because he feared a leak of information. One of the unusual provisions in the match preparation plan he gave to Demichev in November was that "everything concerning preparation for the match must be secret" and anyone in­ volved in it must sign a document promising not to disclose "official secrets:• In other words, he did not trust his old rivals. In April team Spassky moved to Sochi where he played training games against a consulting team of Geller, Krogius and Nei. Spassky preferred tennis with Nei and told his seconds he would get into serious prepa­ ration in June, just before the match.

Waiting for Bobby Spassky left for the match site, Reykjavik, on June 22, four days before Fischer was ex­ pected to arrive. He expected a warm reunion with the former teenager he first met at the Central Chess Club 14 years before. "I brought four kilograms of black caviar to Iceland to

please the American grandmaster:• Spassky recalled. 28 While he waited, he played two training games with Geller to get the "loco­ motive" running. Their score was 1-1 and Krogius said the champion's play "wasn't par­ ticularly great:' Fischer remained in New York, demand­ ing more money. When he finally arrived on July 4, he failed to show up for the cere­ monial drawing of lots to see who would play White in the first game. The Soviets were in­ censed. "Spassky should have left!" Averbakh later wrote. The delay and snub had placed the world champion in a "humiliating posi­ tion:• he said. 29 Moscow felt Western public opinion would support Spassky if he walked out and aborted the match. FIDE President Max Euwe indi­ cated FIDE would continue to recognize Spassky as world champion. "Dear Boris, you can leave the match at any moment. Take as much time as you want, go to Moscow or wherever" Spassky quoted Euwe as telling him. He replied, "Thanks for the good advice Max but I will act in my own waY:' 30 If someone from the Sports Committee or Bondarevsky, a political hardliner, had been in Iceland, Spassky would have been under greater pressure to leave. But they were 2,000 miles away. Spassky had even barred KGB agents from his entourage. 31 Instead he relied on Geller. Geller was "a withdrawn man, in­ troverted:' not suited for the role of delegation leader during a crisis, Krogius said. 32 Spassky got a second chance to walk away after Fischer inexplicably blundered in the match's first round and then refused to show up for the second game in a dispute over TV cameras. American chess officials heard that Spassky had been ordered home. "If he had left he would have been world champion. There is no really plausible argument we could think of to have avoided that outcome:• USCF president Leroy Dubeck recalled. 33 Anatoly Karpov said if Petrosian had been in Spassky's situation "he would have merely

15. Countdown to Calamity licked his lips and regaled himself with the gift points:' But "Spassky the philosopher . . . lost his equilibrium:'3 4 With the score 2-0 in Spassky's favor, Fischer said he was willing to continue but only in a small separate room away from the audience and cameras. Geller told Spassky to refuse. "He felt that under no conditions should you grant a Fischer request:' Spassky recalled.35 So did the Sports Committee chair­ man Sergei Pavlov, in a half-hour telephone conversation with the champion. "He de­ manded that I should declare an ultimatum'' that Fischer would reject "so the match would be broken off;' he said. "The whole conver­ sation was just a never-ending exchange of two phrases: 'Boris Vasileyevich, you must declare an ultimatum! ' to which I responded, 'Sergei Pavlovich, I shall play the match! ' After this conversation I spent three hours in bed shivering with nervousness:'36 After the match Spassky convinced him­ self that what really cost him his title was what happened when the third game was about to begin. Fischer continued to com­ plain to arbiter Lothar Schmid. "Bobby be­ haved quite badlY:' Spassky remembered. He felt he should have simply stood up and left the room. ''I'd have resigned that game and got a zero, but at the same time I'd have pre­ served my nerves. In that case Bobby would have got an empty point and nothing more, and my moral conviction would have grown:' he said in 1997. 37 In another interview, in 2007, he added, "It seems to me that if I had refused to play the third game and received a zero . . . he would have been in a difficult psychological situation, like a blind boxer, not seeing his goal:'38 Why did Spassky remain? "I was the chess king:' he said later, and felt "I could not go back on my word" to play the round. Besides, he wanted to win the match and, leading by two points, had reason to expect he would. If the match were aborted, no prize money

327

would be dispensed. "Well, if you feel you're going to win anyway, why would you give up [the winner's share of] $250,000:' Dubeck said.39 Averbakh agreed. 'J\.fter all, even if he lost he would receive significantly more than Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal and Petrosian put together for all their wins in similar matches:• Averbakh wrote. 40 But Spassky did play the third game. Fis­ cher made an unusual knight move, 11. . . . NhS, that stunned fans and many a grand­ master. It was dubious but Krogius said their team had anticipated it in their preparation. They had shown Spassky a solid response but he had simply forgotten it, Krogius said. 4 1 Spassky quickly got the worst of the position, lost a pawn and resigned after adjournment. USCF executive director Ed Edmondson later said 11. . . . NhS?! was the deciding move of the match. In a way he was right: If Spas­ sky was not using his team's preparation­ presumably based on the vast resources of the Soviet Chess School-it meant some­ thing was very wrong.

Loss of Faith The first week got the biggest headlines. But the decisive period of the match was the second and third weeks. That is when Spas­ sky and his seconds lost faith in one another. The breakdown began on Tuesday, July 18 when Spassky's preparation finally seemed to be working.

Bobby Fischer-Spassky World Championship match, Fourth game, Reykjavik, 1972 Sicilian Defense (BBB) I. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 There was no consensus outside Team Spassky about how to answer 1. e4. Petrosian

328

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

said "practically any opening can be used against Fischer, with the exception of 1. . . . es:' Korchnoi suggested he try the Najdorf Sicilian. But Petrosian said it was "currently undergoing a serious crisis:'

6. Bc4 e6 7. Bb3 Be7 8. Be3 0-0 9. 0-0 a6 10. f4 Nxd4! ll. Bxd4 bS 12. a3? Bb713. Qd3 a5! Spassky's seconds had found several anti1. e4 weapons, including improvements for Black in the Ruy Lopez's Exchange Variation and Marshall Gambit. But the most signifi­ cant was this answer to Fischer's favorite Sozin Variation.

14. es dxe5 15. fxe5 Nd7 16. Nxb5 Nc5 17. Bxc5 Bxc5+ All this fit in with Tal's advice in April­ to exploit Fischer's predilection for "occa­ sional pawn grabbing" -as well as Petrosian and Tal's advice to seize the initiative. Spassky played his first 17 moves quickly, taking only 12 minutes compared to Fischer's 44 minutes. But Spassky felt that Fischer had moved relatively quickly. He began to suspect that members of his team had leaked his preparation secrets.

18. Khl QgS 19. Qe2?! Rad8 20. Radl Rxdl 21. Rxdl (see diagram)

at the board. Some say it was at move 19 and others say he spent 45 minutes here. 42 But what was he thinking about? His seconds had shown him how strong 21. . . . Rd8 was. Then White cannot easily get his knight back into the game because 22. Nd6? Bxg2+ ! 23. Qxg2 QxeS is lost. Their analysis went 22. Rxd8+ Qxd8 23. c3 QgS 24. Nd4 Qcl+ 25. Bdl BdS, when "Black has more than sufficient compensation for the pawn;' Nei wrote. He threatens 26. . . . Bxd4 27. cxd4 Bb3 and would have all the winning chances after 26. Qc2 Qe3 27. Qe2 Bxd4 28. cxd4 Qxd4, for example. Less clear is 23. Bc4 QgS 24. Nd6 although Black would have the better chances after 24 . . . . BdS!. But when Geller began to review this analysis with Spassky before the game, Spas­ sky stopped him. "Oh, this is not so impor­ tant, because I will find the moves over the board;' he said.

21. . . . h5 22. Nd6! Ba8 23. Bc4 h4 24. h3 Be3 25. Qg4! Qxe5! Annotators said 25. . . . Qxg4 26. hxg4 Bf4 27. Rel h3 28. Bfl f6 would be drawish.

26. Qxh4 gs 27. Qg4 Bes 28. Nb5 Kg7 29. Nd4 Rh8? Both 29. . . . Rb8 and 29. . . . Rd8 offered better winning chances. There are few in the impending endgame. Krogius, the psychol­ ogist, felt Fischer had suffered for years from an "uncertainty complex with regard to Spas­ sky:' By outplaying Spassky in this middle­ game, his strength, Fischer finally overcame the complex.

After 21. Rxdl

30. Nf3! Bxf3 31. Qxf3 Bd6 32. Qc3! Qxc3 33. bxc3 Be5 34. Rd7 Kf6 35. Kgl Bxc3 36. Be2 Bes 37. Kfl Rc8 38. Bh5 Rc7 39. Rxc7 Bxc7 40. a4 Ke7 41. Ke2 f5 42. Kd3 Bes 43. c4 Kd6 44. Bf7 Bg3 45. c5+ draw

Team Spassky had analyzed this far and much further. Contemporary reports are in dispute about when he really began to think

Did you forget about 21. . . . Rd8, his seconds demanded after the game? No, Spassky replied. He just felt 21. . . . hS was better. In the

15. Coun tdown to Calamity Soviet training regimen, this bordered on dis­ respect-similar to what triggered his break with Alexander Tolush a dozen years before. Rejecting 21. . . . Rd8 "signified a mistrust of us, of our entire preparation;' Geller told Spassky, and this time he had the support of Krogius and Nei. Anatoly Karpov revived the debate in a 2015 interview. He said 21. . . . Rd8 "was winning by force." 43 Computers deny that and some recommend a third move, 21. . . . Be3 with the idea of 22. Nd4 Bf4. Karpov had gotten a chance to study Spas­ sky firsthand after the champion asked the Sports Committee to arrange for them to play a training match in June. Krogius said Karpov was paid 150 rubles, "big money for that time, a whole month's salary." When Karpov showed up, Spassky asked him to open with the Ruy Lopez as White. Karpov said he soon gained a winning position but went too far and lost. Spassky decided that he was in excellent shape, thank you, and did not need any further training games. Karpov came away with quite a different conclusion. He was struck by Spassky's belief in "the 'theory' of the clear head:' 44 This was the idea that if you memorize a lot of prepared opening moves it clutters your mind and pre­ vents you from being creative at the board. Spassky explained his theory at the 1970 Olympiad: "During tournaments and team competitions I never use preparation. I do not have a chess set in my room. Just to have a fresh head-that I think is more important:' Preparation was the practical American ap­ proach, he said with emphasis. Fischer "stud­ ies everything. It means that during the game, in the fight, he is not very creative. This is the weakness of Bobby. He plays too stereotyped, too practical, too American style:' 45

S eeking R evenge Two days after the Sozio setback, Spassky and Fischer landed in an opening variation,

329

the Hubner system in the Nimzo-Indian De­ fense, that neither had played before in a public game. Spassky badly misunderstood the variation and was considerably worse when he blundered on the 27th move and re­ signed. In Moscow, the "consultative" team reacted in horror when they examined the moves in Pavlov's office. "Why on earth did Spassky permit the Nimzo-Indian in game five?" Petrosian demanded. 46 He remembered how Spassky botched the Nimzo in their 1966 and 1969 matches. All three of Spassky's seconds urged him to take a time out after the loss. That would have given him five days to recover. But he refused. "He wanted revenge;' Krogius said. 47 The sixth game began on schedule with a huge surprise: Fischer playe d 1. c4!. Korchnoi had warned the Sports Committee that Fischer might play 1. d4. But in his training camp Spassky ridiculed the idea of preparing something special for either move. "Let's not bother with such nonsense;' he said. "I'll play the Makogonov-Bondarevsky defense. What can he achieve?"48 The answer came after I. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 0-0 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 IO. Nxd5 exd511. Rel Be612. Qa4 c513. Qa3 Rc814. Bb5 (see diagram).

After 14. Bb5 Geller was perhaps the world's expert on this position. Two years before he lost a game to Semyon Furman that went 14 . . . . a6

330

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

15. dxcS bxcS 16. 0-0 Ra7 17. Be2 aS 18. Rc3 Nd7 19. Rfcl Re8 20. BbS! and White's pres­ sure steadily increased. Afterwards Geller said he found 14 . . . . Qb7! . He showed it to Spassky during their preparation for Fischer. But when this position arose in Iceland, Spas­ sky played 14. . . . a6?! 15. dxc5 bxc516. 0-0 Ra7 17. Be2. Geller "couldn't believe his eyes:' 49 Spassky did come up with a new move, 17. . . . Nd7, but was steadily outplayed after 18. Nd4! Qf819. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4!. Whether Spassky forgot about 14 . . . . Qb7! or just wanted to go his own way, the rapport be­ tween player and trainers was strained fur­ ther. It got worse in the seventh game. For the first time in the match Spassky played 1. e4.

Spassky-Bobby Fischer World Championship match, Seventh game, Reykjavik, 1972 Sicilian Defense (B97) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6 Everyone knew this might be coming. "When playing Black, Fischer is happy to join in the theoretical debates over the board in the most complex variations (for example, . . . Qxb2 in the Sicilian Defense):' wrote an­ other Soviet task force of Fischer analysts in August 1971. This group, which included Isaac Boleslavsky, Lev Polugaevsky, Leonid Shamkovich and Yevgeny Vasiukov, said the American should be "boldly" challenged "on his own ground . . . seeking to lay bare the faults in his favorite variations:•so But the more senior consultative panel came to a different conclusion in spring 1972. "If it were possible to divert Fischer from his favorite variation in the Sicilian Defense, Spassky's task would be greatly facilitated:' Tal said. 51 He suggested 3. Nc3 by White, for example. Paul Keres said 6. BgS, a move he pioneered, should be avoided "unless the

match situation is desperate:' Korchnoi said if the 7. . . . Qb6 position occurs Spassky should not go into the hyp er-analyzed 8. Qd2 and consider 8. Nb3 or 8. Qd3 instead.

8. Qd2 Qxb2 Spassky and Geller decided to reject that advice and work intensely on refuting Fis­ cher's strongest weapon. "Every morning in the Crimea where we prepared for the Fis­ cher match I saw Geller at this very position:' Spassky recalled. 52

9. Nb3 Qa3 10. Bd3?! The Soviets wanted to detonate their the­ oretical bomb early in the match, as with the Chebanenko analysis in the Fischer-Petro­ sian match. But as Keres had warned in March, "Fischer is a very conscientious worker" and the chances of finding a flaw in his analysis of "his favorite variations are slim:'

10. . . . Be7 11. 0-0 h6! White's compensation would be vanishing after 12. Bxf6 Bxf6.

12. Bh4? Nxe413. Nxe4 Bxh414. f5 This is what Geller et al. came up with. Nei wrote, "White has achieved a great advantage in development and plays now for line open­ ing in the good old style of the previous cen­ turY:' 53

14. . . . exf515. Bb5+! axb516. Nxd6+ Kf8! Not 16. . . . Ke?? 17. NxbS Qa6 18. Qb4+ with advantage. Krogius believed that Fischer may have found this defense in home prepa­ ration. He did not say if Spassky's team had.

17. Nxc8 Nc6 (see diagram) "White's idea has not justified itself:' Kro­ gius admitted to readers of Shakhmaty v SSSR in November. "The initiative is not worth two pawns:' 54 Spassky must have realized that trusting

15. Coun tdown to Calamity

331

40. . . . Kg6 41. h4!

After 1 7. ... Nc6 his trainers this time had gotten him a lost position, and with White. Black is ready to secure his king with . . . g6/ . . . Kg7 and win routinely. A likely continuation is 18. Qd7 g6 19. Nd6. But then 19. . . . NeS! is powerful, e.g., 20. Qxb7 Qxd6! 21. Qxa8+ Kg7. Black wins after 22. QaS Ng4 23. g3 Bxg3 and 22. Qa7 Bd8!. And, as Tal sadly noted in 64, also after 22. Qb7 Rb8 23. Radl Bf2+! 24. Khl Qxdl! .

18. Nd6 Rd819. Nxb5 Qe7 20. Qf4 g6 21. a4 Bg5 Black has numerous favorable alternatives along the way, such as . . . Kg7 on this or the next move.

22. Qc4 Be3+ 23. Khl f4 24. g3!? g5 25. Rael Qb4 26. Qxb4+ Nxb4 27. Re2 Kg7 28. Na5! b6 29. Nc4 Nd5 30. Ncd6? Bc5 31. Nb7 Rc8? Annotators criticized Fischer for avoiding 31. . . . Ne3 so that 32. Rfel f3! (33. Rf2 Ng2 and wins). Or 30 . . . . Kg6 with the idea of 31. . . . Bes and . . . Rhe8. Now White can dis­ solve the f4-pawn and create real tactical chances.

32. c4 Ne3 33. Rf3! Nxc4 34. gxf4 g4 35. Rd3 h5 36. h3! Na5 37. N7d6 Bxd6 38. Nxd6 Rel+ 39. Kg2 Nc4 40. Ne8+! Suddenly Black has to take threats to his king seriously, such as after 40. . . . Kf8 41. Rd8. Computers later pointed out how 40. NfS+ Kf6 41. Ng3 also draws, e.g., 41. . . . gxh3+ 42. Kxh3 h4 43. Ne4+ Kg6 44. RdS!.

Spassky thought for 45 minutes over this sealed move. He threatened to win with 42. RdS followed by 43. RgS+ Kh6 44. Ng7! and NfS+. If Black tries 41. . . . fS he has a trick, 42. Rd7 Rc2! 43. Rxc2 Ne3+-although even then White would likely draw. How­ ever, 42. Kf2! allows White to force a draw more directly. What does 41. h4 have to do with this? One answer is that the immediate 41. RdS fails to 41. . . . gxh3+ 42. Kxh3 f6 when White's threats are calmed.

41. . . . f6! 42. Re6 Rc2+ 43. Kgl Kt5 44. Ng7+ Kxf4 Now it is a perpetual check for one player or the other. After the game 44 . . . . Kg6 was considered bad because of 45. fS+ Kxg7 46. Rd7+. However, 45. . . . Kh6 is safe enough.

45. Rd4+ Kg3 46. Nf5+ Kf3 47. Ree4! Rel+ 48. Kh2 Rc2+ 49. Kgl draw This left Spassky trailing by one point and having wasted what his seconds assured him was a powerful challenge to Fischer's favorite opening. The eighth game was worse. Spas­ sky has never explained whether he blun­ dered or misevaluated when he lost the Exchange at move 15. Nei said it was an over­ sight and it depressed Spassky, leading to a pawn-losing blunder four moves later. He re­ signed at move 37. Two games later he was neatly outplayed when he adopted the Black side of a Ruy Lopez-ignoring Petrosian's warning: "prac­ tically any opening can be used against Fis­ cher, with the exception of l. . . . es:• In a two­ week span Spassky had scored l½-6½ and turned a two-point lead into a three-point deficit. He never recovered.

Month Two A popular view of the match's second half is that Spassky played better than Fischer but

332

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

Fischer played well enough so that it did not matter. Spassky claimed he had "four win­ ning positions in a row but I didn't win a sin­ gle one:•ss There is little to support this. He did have advantages in the drawn 14th and 15th games but they were far short of deci­ sive. Spassky held an insignificant extra pawn early in the endgame of the 16th outing and played out a dead drawn position for more than 25 moves. The biggest advantage either player held during the seven-game drawing streak in August came in round 15 when Fis­ cher amassed a winning position after 32 moves and missed at least two forced wins. What would have happened if Spassky had paid more attention to the analyses made by Petrosian, Korchnoi and Tal in the spring? This is one of the mysteries of 1972. The So­ viet press gave his rivals opportunities to an­ notate some of the second-half games but they were mild in their criticism. Here is what they said about Spassky's last good chance to save the match.

Spassky-Bobby Fischer World Championship match, 19th game, Reykjavik, 1972

11. Qxe2 Qxd4 12. NbS White has a strong initiative, therefore Fischer refuses the gift:'

9. . . . 0-0 10. Be3 "On 10. . . . Nc6 White can play 11. exd6 cxd6 12. dS with advantage;' Korchnoi wrote. (A key point is that with the insertion 7. h3 BhS, the bishop is attacked after 12. . . . cxdS 13. NxdS NxdS 14. QxdS.)

10. . . . d5 "Black closed the center, giving the play a new character;' Tal said.

11. c5 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 "Deserving attention is 12. gxf3;' Korchnoi said. In fact, that became the main line in the 1970s. "Then 12. . . . Nc4 13. Bxc4 leads to the win of a pawn, and after 12. . . . Nc8 13. f4 White has a very big advantage in space:'

12. . . . Nc4 13. b3 "A very original and correct decision;' Tal said. "White doesn't want to lose time with a retreat and agrees to this exchange:' Korch­ noi believed Spassky was following a line prepared by Geller.

Alekhine's Defense (BOS)

13. . . . Nxe314. fxe3 b6

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 Bg4

Correct was "14 . . . . Nc6! " said Petrosian. For example, 15. Rbl f6 offers equal chances, computers say.

"Such opening diversity was never demon­ strated before in one world championship match;' wrote Korchnoi. "In 18 games I counted 14 opening schemes:' Most of this was due to Fischer, who was doing what Spassky's high-Elo colleagues had advised Spassky to do-vary the opening as much as possible. 56 Tal called this Fischer's "tactics of 'one shot: constantly varying Black opening systems:'

5. Be2 e6 6. 0-0 Be7 7. h3 Bh5 8. c4 Nb6 9. Nc3 "Usually in this position there is an ex­ change on d6. Spassky offers a pawn sacri­ fice;' Tal said. 'J\fter 9. . . . dxeS 10. NxeS Bxe2

15. e4! "The logical follow-up of White's thought. Black cannot allow the 'rebirth' of the bishop;' Tal wrote. For example, 15. . . . bxcS 16. exdS cxd4 17. dxe6! .

15. . . . c6! 16. b4! bxc5 Spassky felt he would have equalized by liquidating material, 16. . . . aS 17. a3 axb4 18. axb4 Rxal 19. Qxal BgS and . . . Bd2. But later analysis said 20. Khl or 20. Rel retains a White edge.

17. bxc5 Qa5

15. Coun tdown to Calamity Black must play actively, for 17. . . . Nd7 and 17. . . . Qc7 can be answered strongly by 18. Qa4.

18. Nxd5 "The sacrifice of the knight is based on the superiority of White's development and has the goal of strengthening a powerful center;' Korchnoi said. "Quiet continuations do not give White anything real." Later analysis showed that 18. Qel! would have made 19. Nxd5 a serious threat. White retains an advantage after 18 . . . . Bh4 19. Qxh4 Qxc3 20. Qf2 or 18 . . . . Qb4 19. Rdl.

18. . . . Bg5 (see diagram) Tal pointed out: "Taking the piece imme­ diately is very dangerous, after 18 . . . . cxd5 19. exd5 exd5 20. Bxd5 with an attack on as:' Fischer played 18 . . . . Bg5 "instantly;' eyewit­ ness Robert Byrne said, so "Bobby must have been expecting the piece sacrifice:'

333

met by 20. Nf6+ since 20. . . . Bxf6 21. exf6 sets up a Qcl-h6 mate threat. Black can also lose quickly after 20. . . . Kg7 21. Qg4 Be3+ 22. Khl in view of 23. Nxh7! Kxh7 24. Bxg6+. 20. Bxf7+! lf 20. exd5 exd5 is inserted, then 21. Bxf7+! Rxd7 22. Rxf7 Qd2 can be met by 23. Qg4! and the d4-pawn is protected, unlike the game. However, Spassky said 22. . . . Qc3! would equalize, and Stockfish confirms this with 23. Khl Nc6 24. Rd7 Bf4 25. Rxd5 Qg3.

20 . . . . Rxf7 21. Rxf7 Qd2! "Many in the press room thought Fischer's position was hopeless" before this move, Krogius said. For example, 21. . . . Kxf7? 22. Qh5+ wins. Korchnoi noted that 21. . . . Be3+ 22. Khl Kxf7 23. Qh5+ Ke7 is also bad after 24. Rfl Nd7 25. Qf7+ Kd8 26. c6. He said 21. . . . Nc6 was possible but would lead to a complex position. "And Fischer in the last third of the match tried only for draws;' he wrote.

22. Qxd2 Bxd2 23. Rafl Nc6

After 18. . . . Bg5

"The connected White pawns are a strength and a weakness;' Tal said, "because they can be an easy target of attack for Black:' A key line is 24. Rc7 when 24 . . . . Nxd4? 25. Rlf7 Bh6 26. exd5 exd5 27. Rxa7 with winning chances for White. Spassky endorsed lengthy analysis that said 24 . . . . dxe4 25. Rxc6 e3 was good enough to hold.

19. Bh5

24. exd5 exd5 25. Rd7

Korchnoi wanted to see 19. h4 so 19. . . . Bxh4 20. Ne3 "and White retains a positional advantage:' But 20 . . . . Qc3! is an adequate defense. Tal had a better idea in "the quiet move 19. Qd3:' Computer analysis likes White's position after 19. . . . Na6 20. h4 Bxh4 21. Ne3 Rad8 22. Nc4 Qxc5 23. Nd6.

"At first it seemed to me that White could have played stronger with 25. e6;' Korchoi said. "However then I saw that Black has suf­ ficient defense, 25 . . . . Re8 26. Rc7 Nxd4 27. e7 Nc6:'

19. . . . cxd5 Korchnoi noted that 19. . . . g6 would be

25. . . . Be3+ 26. Khl Bxd4 27. e6 Be5 "Still another exact defensive move;' Korch­ noi wrote, noting that 27 . . . . Bxc5 28. Rel was bad and 27. . . . Re8 28. Rd6 was risky.

334

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

28. Rxd5 Re8 29. Rel Rxe6 30. Rd6! (see diagram)

line that won him the 21st game. The match ended 12½-8½ in his favor. "There was no Spassky in the match;' Tal summed up. 57

Finger Pointing

After 30. Rd6 "Otherwise the advantage could transfer to Black;' Tal said.

30. . . . Kt7! 31. Rxc6 Rxc6 32. Rxe5 "Another rook endgame;' noted Tal. "The extra pawn is weak:' The rest was fairly rou­ tine:

32. . . . Kf6 33. Rd5 Ke6 34. Rh5 h6 35. Kh2 Ra6 36. c6 Rxc6 37. Ra5 a6 38. Kg3 Kf6 39. Kf3 Rc3+ 40. Kf2 Rc2+ draw Bondarevsky thought Fischer's play was unique in the last weeks. "I am sure that any other grandmaster with a three-point lead and six games to go would have opted for sure-fire systems;' he wrote. Instead, Fischer continued to surprise the world with his opening choices including a Sicilian Defense

Spassky returned home to be grilled by the Sports Committee and Soviet chess officials. Each of his old rivals gave a brutal assess­ ment of his play. Korchnoi said Spassky's opening preparation was "terrible" and he had not studied chess seriously in three years. 58 Petrosian said Spassky went to Reyk­ javik badly prepared in his openings and mental attitude. "Can you really go along to a match with Fischer as if it's a holiday?" he asked. 59 Even Tal told Spassky and the meet­ ing that his play was "simply unrecogniz­ able:' 60 "I think he was learning as he went along:' Spassky insisted he had "never worked so hard on chess before:' Yes, he did make mis­ takes, he said, such as bringing Nei with him instead of his wife Larisa and allowing Fis­ cher "to get on my nerves:' Later he claimed Nei was "an American spy" and that Krogius had not helped him at all. He also claimed he had secret information that would expose why he really lost. "Unfortunately, in the match there were many events which I can­ not discuss. I intend to write about this;' he said in 2007. 6 1

Epilo gue: Four A gin g Men The era of Soviet hegemony in chess lasted well after the 21st game in Reykjavik. The USSR team won all but one of the Olym piads it entered until the 1990s. The regained world championship remained in Soviet/Russian hands until the 21st century. Nevertheless, the Fischer-Spassky match and the period leading up to it marked the end of a golden age. It was a time that seems remote now-when USSR-versus-U.S. bat­ tles over the board drew universal attention and when world championship matches were major historical events. The age that began with Mikhail Botvinnik lasted until his heirs, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Viktor Korch­ noi and Boris Spassky, had reached superstar status. "I think the golden age ended at the end of the 1960s:' Spassky said.1 The rivalry of these four men continued but the collaborative synergy was over. They tried to find new roles in chess, with widely varying success: Mikhail Tai not only survived but pros­ pered. "Doctors had already said for a long time that he hadn't long to live. But a miracle happened:' said Dr. Victor Malkin. "His sav­ ing medicine was chess! " 2 Tal was allowed back into the good graces of the Sports Com­ mittee by becoming the senior trainer of Anatoly Karpov. "I think that Misha would have worked with Karpov on his own accord:' Tal's wife Gelya said. "But the Party's Central

335

Committee gave an ultimatum to him: 'You help Karpov or we forbid you to travel abroad. We' ll take away everything: the 300 rubles stipend, country tours:" 3 But unlike other great predecessors who could not be both a trainer and a player, the reinvigorated Tal re­ mained in the world's top ten to the end of 1980. In contrast, Tigran Petrosian began a slow decline. He had amassed a solid career plus­ score against Korchnoi but then badly lost three Candidates matches to him. Korchnoi believed Petrosian was plagued by remorse over the latter's treatment of him in the 1970s, by helping to drive him out of the Soviet Union. "Why couldn't Petrosian play me? It turns out this person had a conscience:' he said.4 Petrosian acted increasingly as if his career ended when he lost to Fischer in 1971. In the 11th game of his 1977 Candidates match with Korchnoi he was trailing by one point but had a positional and time advantage. Korchnoi unexpectedly offered a draw. Pet­ rosian thought for half an hour and inexpli­ cably accepted. "I was beside myself:' said his second, Yuri Averbakh. 5 He demanded an explanation. "It is all so well with you, four years from a pension:' Petrosian replied. "But for me it is 12 years:' 6 Boris Spassky was in disgrace after Reyk­ javik and, at 35, far from retirement. He was declared nyevyzedny for the fourth time. 7 "I

336

Tai, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi

was invited to many, many tournaments then and I really needed to play then from a psy­ chological point of view. If you are beaten you need revenge and I was eager to have this revenge and I also had the strength:' he said. "But they blocked me for nine months. Even­ tually this made me ill. I sank into a depres­ sion which lasted more than one year. As a result of this attitude towards me I started to fight against the Sports Committee. I started to fight against the political system:•s Spassky had boycotted the Soviet championship since 1963 because of the paltry prizes. But the Sports Committee forced him to play in the all-star 1973 tournament. Korchnoi called Spassky's victory in it his greatest achieve­ ment in chess. But in 1974 Spassky was elim­ inated by Karpov in the Candidates semi­ finals, his first-ever Candidates match loss. And by 1976 he had spent all of the $93,000 he earned from the Fischer match and had to start all over. "Money always parted easily from me:' he said. 9 Viktor Korchnoi jumped into the vacuum left by Spassky and Petrosian. He eventually won 12 Candidates matches, a record that still stands. His last was in 1991 when he was 60. After losing to Karpov in the 1974 Can­ didates finals-a de facto world champion­ ship match-Korchnoi did what he had often done before. He belittled his opponent's play. But this was not permitted in the post-Reyk­ javik era. Petrosian mounted a campaign to punish Korchnoi. "Making use of his con­ nections, he slandered him in the press and choked him through official channels:' Kar­ pov said, and even tried to strip him of the grandmaster title. 10 Two years later Korchnoi defected to the West. The Sports Committee demanded that all leading Soviet players de­ nounce him in a joint letter. Spassky was one of the few who refused. "Spassky is a real friend, in trouble himself;' Korchnoi said. 11 Spassky was in trouble because he divorced Larisa and married for the third time in 1975. Korchnoi came to celebrate Spassky's mar-

riage, to a French woman whose family fled Russia after the Revolution. Spassky moved to France when he could not get the tourna­ ment invitations he wanted. After his Soviet stipend ended in 1983, he no longer played under the hammer-and-sickle flag. He seemed to lose all ambition. In 1984 he said one of his favorite pastimes was to play tennis-by himself, against a wall. "I am not competi­ tive:' he explained. 12 Tal remained friends with Korchnoi for more than 25 years despite Korchnoi's acid comments about him. But when Tal criti­ cized Korchnoi in Sovietsk y Sport before the 1978 world championship match, it was the end of their relationship: "With Mikhail Tal, I was friends for decades and suddenly these things . . . :• Korchnoi said. 13 Korchnoi had already severed his ties with Spassky in the 1977 Candidates finals. "We began our 1977 match as friends but ended it as enemies:' Korchnoi wrote. 14 Spassky re­ fused to speak to him for years. When asked if Korchnoi's failure to become world cham­ pion was merited, he replied, "100 percent:' "Spassky and I were never friends:' Korchnoi said in his late years. 15 He listed five reasons why they could not have been on good terms. First, he said, he was older than Spassky by six years. Second, Spassky was poorer when they were young and then became "rich:' Third, they advanced at different rates. When Korchnoi became an interna­ tional grandmaster, Spassky had already been a Candidate. Fourth, they had "different views on life:' Spassky had a "cynical" out­ look, he said. And fifth, they had different playing styles and "one did not respect the style of the other:' 16 Yet when Tal was near the end of his life and had, once again, too much to drink at a banquet in Reykjavik, Korchnoi and Spassky looked at one another. "What about it, shall we carry him?" one said. "Yes, let's carry him:' And together they toted their rival of four decades back to his hotel. 17

Epilogue: Four Aging Men

Fin al Moves As a result of his defection "members of my family suffered:' Korchnoi said. 'J\nd who else? Petrosian!" Korchnoi felt God punished Petrosian for driving him out of the USSR. 18 "Sometimes I even think that his illness was the result of our verbal conflict:' 19 Near the beginning of 1984, doctors determined that Petrosian had inoperable pancreatic cancer. But he was told it was a kidney stone. Three futile operations were performed on him. "Everyone but Petrosian himself knew that he was dying:' said his friend Andrei Gavri­ lov. "Everyone lied to his face, and he did not suspect anything:' 2° Korchnoi said that shortly before he died, Petrosian approached a mu­ tual friend at a tournament in Tallinn and "apologized for all that he had done to me:' 21 When a Petrosian memorial tournament was organized in 2007, Korchnoi intended to play. But he said he was "suddenly" barred after objections from a Petrosian relative. 22 Mikhail Tal and Sally Landau remained close for the rest of his life. "Misha had many women, as Sally had many men:' Mark Tai­ manov said. "But I firmly know that the only

337

one for Misha always remained Sally, and for Sally the only one remained Misha:' 23 Tal was plagued by illness and multiple operations in his last years. He died in 1992 of what was called a hemorrhage in the esophagus. His widow Gelya said it was hepatitis C. "In re­ ality, his entire organism ceased to function:' Gennady Sosonko said. 24 Rakhmaninoff's music was played at Tal's funeral. His daugh­ ter said Tal had modest goals in life. "He just wanted to play chess and live. That is, to live, not to exist, to enjoy the process itself:' she said in 2017. 25 Viktor Korchnoi remained an active tour­ nament player until his final days. He won the Swiss national championship at age 80. But a stroke in 2012 all but ended his playing career and he died at age 85 in his adopted Swiss home of Wahlen in 2015. Boris Spassky, also hobbled by strokes, re­ turned to Russia in 2012 and said he was di­ vorcing his third wife. ''I'm losing all my property:' he said. 26 In his last interviews he said he had "a huge and very dear archive" 27 and was working on his autobiography. ''I'm writing about my chess career. I hope I man­ age to finish it:' he said. 28

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Appendix A: Chronolo gy, 1929-2016 1929-JuNE 17-Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian is born in Tbilisi.

SuMMER-Petrosian reaches second-category sta­ tus. Korchnoi is hospitalized with "dystrophy" (clinical starvation). Spassky learns to play chess in a children's home in the Kirov region.

1931-MARCH 23-Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi is born in Leningrad. 1936-NovEMBER 9-Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal is born in Riga.

1943-JANUARY-FEBRUARY-Petrosian wins his first tournament, in Tbilisi. SuMMER-Spassky, rescued by his parents from near starvation, arrives with his family in the Moscow area. AuTUMN-Tal enters school in Riga and is quickly promoted from first grade to third. DECEMBER-Leningrad Pioneer Palace reopens. Abram Model begins a chess circle on January 16, 1944.

1937-Korchnoi's father teaches him how to play chess. JANUARY 30-Boris Vasilyevich Spassky is born in Leningrad. APRIL-Tal falls seriously ill with apparent meningitis and gradually recovers. 1940-SuMMER-Petrosian learns how to play chess at a Young Pioneer camp.

1944-Tal's father teaches him how to play chess. Spassky's parents separate and soon divorce. NovEMBER-Tal's family returns to Riga. NOVEMBER-DECEMBER-In the Georgian Championship, Petrosian ties for ninth place with an 8-9 score.

1941-JuNE 22-Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union begins. SuMMER-Spassky and his brother are evacuated from Leningrad to the Urals after their train narrowly escapes bombing. Tal's family flees Riga and reaches the Urals town of Yurla. Korchnoi's mother pulls him off an evacuation train and he spends the rest of the Nazi block­ ade in Leningrad. AuausT-Petrosian joins the Tbilisi Pioneer Palace. After both of his parents die he be­ comes the family breadwinner. NovEMBER-Korchnoi's father dies when his barge is bombed at Lake Ladoga.

1945-APRIL-Korchnoi serves as a wallboard boy in the 14th USSR Championship semifinals. MAY-JUNE-Petrosian finishes a half point behind winner Genrikh Kasparian in the Tbilisi city championship. He beats his teacher Archile Ebralidze. AuausT-Petrosian ties for first in the Soviet Jun­ ior Championship, in Leningrad. DECEMBER 1945-JANUARY 1946-Petrosian easily wins the Georgian Championship.

1942-JuNE-Petrosian defeats Salo Flohr in a simultaneous exhibition game.

339

340

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

1946-First-category player Korchnoi becomes Leningrad junior champion for the second time. Spassky, his mother, brother and sister return to Leningrad and endure severe poverty. Tal falls into a "Scholar's mate" against a visiting cousin and soon joins a Riga Pioneer Palace chess circle. APRIL-Petrosian's first retroactive rating places him 69th best in the world. JUNE-Vladimir Zak, demobilized from the Soviet armed forces, returns to conduct chess lessons at the Leningrad Pioneer Palace. SuMMER-Petrosian moves to Armenia. Spassky discovers a chess pavilion in a Leningrad park and becomes fascinated. JuLY-AUGUST-Petrosian wins the Soviet Junior Championship again. He easily beats Korchnoi in their first game. Korchnoi ties for 11th place out of 16. SEPTEMBER-OCT0BER-Petrosian defeats Kas­ parian in a match for the Armenian Champi­ onship. OcTOBER-Spassky finds the Leningrad Pioneer Palace where Zak soon becomes his trainer and father figure. 1947-Earliest published photo of Spassky, win ning a game from world champion Mikhail Bot­ vinnik in a simultaneous exhibition. JuNE-Petrosian ties for second in the Armenian Championship behind visiting grandmaster Igor Bondarevsky. Korchnoi wins the Soviet Junior Championship in Leningrad. OcT0BER-N0VEMBER-Petrosian earns the master title in a USSR Championship semifinals. 1948-Spassky reaches first-category status and soon gives his first simultaneous exhibition. He is awarded a government stipend. Korchnoi enrolls in Leningrad State University but becomes disenchanted with studies. He re­ peats as Soviet junior champion. Tal becomes a student of Yanis Kruskops at the Riga Pioneer Palace and achieves second­ category status. He defeats Paul Keres in a si­ multaneous exhibition. OcT0BER-N0VEMBER-Petrosian and Kasparian tie for first in the Armenian Championship. 1949-Tal beats Ratmir Kholmov in a simulta-

neous exhibition. His first published game, a win in the semifinals of the USSR youth team cham­ pionship, appears. Alexander Koblents, Latvia's premier player, takes notice of Tal's talent and soon becomes his trainer. Spassky, a candidate master, ties for first in the Leningrad Junior Championship. APRIL-MAY-Petrosian places second in the 17th USSR Championship semifinals in Tbilisi and qualifies for his first national championship fi­ nals. He and Yefim Geller become friends and close collaborators. Photographs of Korchnoi and Spassky are fea­ tured in a Shakhmaty v SSSR report on the All­ Union Youth Team Championship. Korchnoi becomes a candidate master. OcTOBER-Korchnoi ties for eighth of16 players in an 18th USSR Championship quarterfinals in Lvov. He soon begins physical training to improve his stamina. OCTOBER 16-NovEMBER 20-After a disastrous start, Petrosian finishes 16th out of 20 players in the 17th USSR Championship finals. Late 1949-Petrosian moves to Moscow. 1950-Veteran master Alexander Tolush offers to be Korchnoi's trainer but he refuses. Andre Lilienthal agrees to become Petrosian's trainer. Korchnoi finishes second in the Leningrad Championship. AuausT-Petrosian places third in the Moscow Championship. SEPTEMBER-OCT0BER-Petrosian ties for second in an 18th USSR Championship semifinals in Gorky. NovEMBER-DECEMBER-Petrosian shares 12th and 13th place out of18 in the 18th USSR Cham­ pionship finals in Moscow. He meets Rona Avinezer, his future wife, on the final day. DECEMBER-Korchnoi fails to advance to the 19th USSR Championship finals. End 1950-early 1951: Tal scores 12½-½ in a semi­ finals of the Riga Championship and makes a first-category norm. 1951-JANUARY-FEBRUARY-Korchnoi ties for fifth place in a strong Chigorin Memorial finals in Leningrad. Spassky just misses qualifying for the tournament. JANUARY 14-FEBRUARY 18-Tal ties for tenth place out of 20 in the Riga Championship.

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016 MARCH 3-APRIL 1-In a Latvian Championship, Tal ties for 12th place of 20. MARCH 2-24-Petrosian, hors concours, ties for second in the Lithuanian Championship in Vil­ nius. APRIL-MAY-Petrosian crushes Mamadzhan Mukhitdinov in a match in Tashkent. MAY 25-JuNE 25-Petrosian tops a 19th USSR Championship semifinals in Sverdlovsk. Korch­ noi ties for fourth place in a semifinals in Len­ ingrad. AuausT-Petrosian captures both the Moscow Championship and Moscow blitz champion­ ship. SEPTEMBER-Korchnoi's photo appears on the cover of Shakhmaty v SSSR and he qualifies for the master title. SEPTEMBER 5-OCTOBER 8-Tal wins a candidate masters tournament in Riga. SEPTEMBER 6-14-Petrosian has an even score on third board in a USSR republics champi­ onship. SEPTEMBER 16-OCTOBER 11-Petrosian ties for second in a Tbilisi masters tournament. NovEMBER-Spassky ties for seventh place in a quarterfinals of the 20th USSR Championship in Riga. He and Tal postmortem some of Spas­ sky's games. NOVEMBER 11-DECEMBER 14-In major success, Petrosian ties for second in the 20th USSR Championship finals in Moscow. He qualifies for the 1952 Interzonal and earns the interna­ tional master title. 1952-JANUARY-Petrosian is the 22nd highest rated player in the world. Korchnoi is 97th. In secret training games at Gagra and Voronovo for national team players, Petrosian scores 3-5. Spassky switches trainers, from Vladimir Zak to Alexander Tolush, amid anti-Semitic "Doctors' Plot" campaign. FEBRUARY 20-MARCH 20-In a Latvian Champi­ onship, Tal places seventh of 18 players. MARCH-APRIL-Spassky finishes second in a Leningrad Championship, two points ahead of Korchnoi. SPRING-Tal finishes secondary school at age 15½. He applies for university law courses but because of his age he begins philological studies instead.

341

MARCH 3-APRIL 2-In his first foreign event, Petrosian ties for seventh at a Mar6czy memo­ rial international in Budapest. MAY 5-JuNE 13-Korchnoi ties for second in a Minsk semifinals of the 20th USSR Champi­ onship and is seeded into his first national championship finals. SEPTEMBER-At a USSR clubs championship in Odessa, Korchnoi scores 4½-3½ on Lenin­ grad's fourth board. SEPTEMBER IS-OCTOBER 20-Petrosian ties for second in an Interzonal at Saltsjobaden and be­ comes the world's youngest international grand­ master. NOVEMBER 29-DECEMBER 29-Korchnoi finishes an impressive sixth in the 20th USSR Cham­ pionship finals in Moscow. 1953-JANUARY-FEBRUARY-Korchnoi scores 4½5½ in the USSR clubs championship in Minsk. JANUARY 25-FEBRUARY 26-Spasskyties for fourth place and earns the international master title at a Bucharest international with the help of prearranged draws. Petrosian finishes second. FEBRUARY 20-MARCH 24-Tal becomes Latvian champion. MARCH-APRIL-Korchnoi is second in a Lenin­ grad Championship. MAY-Spassky's first retroactive rating makes him the 61st best player in the world. Petrosian finishes second in another secret training tour­ nament in Gagra. MAY-JUNE-Korchnoi ties for third at a 21st USSR Championship semifinals in Vilnius and qual­ ifies for his first championship finals. SuMMER-Korchnoi wins his first-ever game with Tal. AUGUST 30-OcTOBER 24-Petrosian is fifth in a Candidates tournament in Neuhausen-Ziirich. OcTOBER-Tal's 4½-3½ on second board in a USSR republic teams championship is worthy of the Soviet master title but he is told he has to earn it in a match with Vladimir Saigin. OCTOBER 29-31-Petrosian wins both games on first board in a USSR-Austria match in Vienna. 1954-JANUARY-Tal scores ½-1½ against Paul Keres on first board in a Riga-Tallinn match. JANUARY 8-FEBRUARY 7-Korchnoi ties for second in the 21st USSR Championship finals in Kiev, a major success. Petrosian ties for fourth.

342

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

FEBRUARY 12-MARCH 14-Tal ties for second in the Latvian Championship. FEBRUARY 24-MARCH 26-In his foreign debut, Korchnoi wins a Bucharest international. MARCH 16-25-Petrosian starts a foreign team tour with one win and three draws on sixth board in a USSR-Argentina match in Buenos Aires. APRIL 1-3-Petrosian scores 2-0 on fifth board in a USSR-Uruguay match in Montevideo. APRIL 17-19-Petrosian is again 2-0 on fifth board, in a USSR-France match in Paris. APRIL 11-19-At the World Student Team Cham­ pionship in Oslo, Korchnoi has a mediocre 4½-2½ on first board for the silver medal So­ viet team. JuNE-Tal enters the rating list at 183rd in the world. JUNE 16-23-Petrosian scores 3-1 on seventh board in a USSR-U.S. match in New York. SuMMER-Tal becomes a master by beating Saigin 8-6 in a match. JULY 3-5-Petrosian wins 2-0 on sixth board in a USSR-England match in London. JULY 9-13-Petrosian scores 1½-½ on sixth board in a USSR-Sweden match in Stockholm. JULY IO-AUGUST 2-Spassky wins a masters/can­ didate masters tournament in Leningrad. AuGUST-Korchnoi is awarded the international master title. AUGUST 7-23-Spassky wins his first-ever game with Tal, in a USSR youth team Championship in Riga. Spassky scores 7½-1½ and Tal 7-2. SEPTEMBER 3-17-At a USSR teams champion­ ship in Riga, Petrosian has the best first-board score, 7-3. Korchnoi registers 5½-4½ and Tal is 4-6. The first Tal-Petrosian game is drawn. In semifinals tournaments for the 22nd USSR Championship, Korchnoi ties for third in Yere­ van and Spassky is fourth in Leningrad. OCTOBER 20-NovEMBER 13-Petrosian shares fourth place in a strong Belgrade international. 1955-Korchnoi wins a Leningrad blitz champi­ onship. JANUARY 12-FEBRUARY 12-Tal is second in the Latvian Championship. FEBRUARY 11-MARCH 15-Debutant Spassky ties with Petrosian for third place in the 22nd USSR

Championship finals in Moscow and they earn spots in the 1955 Interzonal. Korchnoi finishes 19th of 20 players. MARCH-Spassky's rating tops Korchnoi's for the first time. MAY 6-15th-Spassky has the best second-board score at the World Student Team Champion­ ship in Lyon. MAY 5-JuNE 3-Tal ties for third in a 23d USSR Championship quarterfinals in Vilnius. MAY 23-JuNE 5-Petrosian's 5½-1½ is the best score in a USSR-Hungary match-tournament in Budapest. JuNE-Korchnoi becomes Leningrad champion by three points. JUNE 29-JuLY 7-Petrosian scores 4-0 on sixth board of a USSR-U.S. return match in Moscow. JULY 21-AuGUST 9-In Antwerp, Spassky be­ comes the first Soviet player to win the World Junior Championship. AUGUST 14-SEPTEMBER 22-Petrosian places fourth and Spassky ties for seventh in an In­ terzonal at Goteburg. Spassky earns the inter­ national grandmaster title. SEPTEMBER 3-27-Korchnoi scores 8-1 on sec­ ond board at a USSR teams championship in Lugansk. Tal is 5½-3½. NOVEMBER 11-DECEMBER 10-Tal is the surprise winner of a 23rd USSR Championship semifi­ nals in Riga. Korchnoi ties for fourth place. DECEMBER 28-JANUARY 6, 1956-Korchnoi shares first prize at a Hastings international. Spassky is awarded a Soviet government medal for "Valorous Labor:' 1956-JANUARY IO-FEBRUARY 15-In the finals of the 23rd USSR Championship, Spassky ties for first, Korchnoi is fourth and Tal ties for fifth. MARCH 27-APRIL 30-Petrosian and Spassky share third place in a Candidates tournament in Amsterdam. APRIL 5-15-Tal plays abroad for first time, at the World Student Team Championship in Upp­ sala, and gets the best score on third board. Ko­ rchnoi is 6-1 on first board. MAY-JUNE-Korchnoi wins a 24th USSR Cham­ pionship quarterfinals in Frunze by 4½ points. JUNE 17-28-In the first USSR-Yugoslavia match­ tournament, in Belgrade, Korchnoi scores 4½3½ and Petrosian is 4-4.

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016 SEPTEMBER-Korchnoi is awarded the interna­ tional grandmaster title. OcTOBER-Petrosian wins a Moscow Champi­ onship playoff match from Vladimir Simagin. NOVEMBER 18-DECEMBER 18-At a 24th USSR Championship semifinals in Tbilisi Petrosian is first, Korchnoi ties for third and Tal ties for fifth. Spassky also advances by winning a championship semifinals in Leningrad. 1957-JANUARY 20-FEBRUARY 22-In a big sur­ prise. Tal captures the 24th USSR Championship finals in Moscow. Spassky ties for fourth, Korch­ noi and Petrosian tie for seventh. This is the first time all four play in same individual event. MARCH-APRIL-Korchnoi, hors concours, wins the Uzbekistan Championship in Tashkent with 12-3 score. Tal's father dies. Tal goes into a deep depression that ends after winning a Riga blitz tournament on May Day. JuNE-Korchnoi shares first in a Leningrad Cham­ pionship. JULY 1-16-In another USSR-Yugoslavia match­ tournament, in Leningrad, Korchnoi scores 5½-1½ and Petrosian is 5-3. JULY 11-26-Tal and Spassky have the best scores on the first two boards, as the Soviet team wins the World Student Team Championship in Reykjavik. AUGUST 22-28-In the inaugural European Team Championship, in Vienna, Tal scores 3-2 on fourth board, Spassky is 3½-1½ on fifth, Pet­ rosian is 4-1 on sixth and Korchnoi is 5½-½ on eighth. During a FIDE Congress, Tal is granted the international grandmaster title in a negotiated deal. OcTOBER-Korchnoi vacations at Gagra and meets his future wife Bella. OCTOBER 24-26-ln a Leningrad-Hungary match in Leningrad, Spassky has a win and a draw on first board and Korchnoi draws twice on third board. OCTOBER 25-NovEMBER 9-Tal leads a Riga team in a match tour ofltaly, scoring eight wins and two draws. NOVEMBER 11-DECEMBER 10-Spassky shares first place in a 25th USSR Championship semi­ finals in Leningrad.

343

NOVEMBER 11-DECEMBER 11-Petrosian wins an­ other championship semifinals, in Kiev, while Korchnoi triumphs in a third, in Sverdlovsk. DECEMBER 31-Tal meets actress/singer Sally Landau and they soon begin dating. 1958-Petrosian undergoes a nasal operation that improves his ability to deal with tournament time tension. JANUARY 12-FEBRUARY 14-Tal's dramatic last­ round win over Spassky decides the 25th USSR Championship finals in Riga. Petrosian finishes second. Spassky loss to Tal costs him an Inter­ zonal invitation. Korchnoi ties for ninth. He marries Bella after the tournament. APRIL 12-MAY 12-Tal finishes third in a Latvian Championship. JuNE-Korchnoi ties for second in a Russian Fed­ eration Championship in Sochi. JUNE 22-27-In Zagreb for a USSR-Yugoslavia match, Korchnoi is 2-2 on third board. JULY 5-20-Tal and Spassky are the top boards on a gold-medal Soviet team in the World Stu­ dent Team Championship at Varna. JULY 3-16-At a USSR Republic Teams Champi­ onship in Vilnius, Korchnoi has the second best score on first board and Petrosian is sec­ ond best on board two. AUGUST 5-SEPTEMBER 12-In another surprise, Tal wins the Interzonal at Portoroz. Petrosian ties for third and qualifies for his third Candi­ dates tournament. SEPTEMBER 30-OcTOBER 23-Tal and Petrosian have the best scores of reserves at the Olympiad in Munich. OcTOBER-Tal tops the world rating list and re­ mains there until April 1961. DECEMBER-Korchnoi ties for second at a 26th USSR Championship semifinal in Tashkent while Spassky ties for first in a semifinals in Rostov. DECEMBER 5-7-Spassky and Korchnoi draw two games each on the first two boards of a Mos­ cow-Leningrad match in Moscow. 1959-Spassky marries Nadezhda Konstantinovna Latyntseva but the marriage quickly falls apart. Petrosian, setting his sights on the world championship, replaces his trainer, Andre Lilienthal, with Isaac Boleslavsky.

344

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

JANUARY 9-FEBRUARY 11-Petrosian finally be­ comes national champion. Spassky and Tal share second place at the 26th USSR Champi­ onship finals at Tbilisi. Korchnoi is ninth. MARCH 9-17-Spassky scores 2-2 and Korchnoi is 2½-1½ in a Leningrad-Budapest match in Budapest. MAY 13-JuNE 2-Spassky wins the Leningrad Championship by three and a half points. APRIL-Korchnoi, hors concours, wins the Ar­ menian Championship by two points. APRIL 6-20-Spassky ties for first in a Chigorin Memorial international in Moscow. MAY 18-20-Petrosian scores 1-1 on second board of a Moscow-Belarus match in Moscow. MAY-Tal threatens suicide during a bitter row with Sally Landau and then becomes bedrid­ den in a lethargic "stupor:' MAY 19-JuNE 8-Tal wins a Zurich international tournament. His first "attack of kidney trouble'' follows. JULY 1-19-In a USSR-Yugoslavia match in Kiev, Petrosian scores 3-1 on second board while Korchnoi is 3½-½ on seventh board. JULY 27-AuGUST 5-Tal is 7½-½ and Petrosian in 6½-½ in a USSR-West Germany match in Hamburg. AUGUST 6-14-At a USSR teams championship finals in Moscow, Spassky's 3½-1½ is the best first-board score and Tal's 1½-3½ is the worst. On third board, Petrosian has the best result, ahead of Korchnoi. Mikhail Botvinnik avoids playing Tal. LATE AUGUST-After a misdiagnosis, surgeons remove Tal's appendix. SEPTEMBER 6-OCTOBER 31-Tal heads for a world championship match after a stunning victory in the Candidates tournament at Bled-Zagreb­ Belgrade. Petrosian is third. SEPTEMBER 10-26-Korchnoi wins a Krakow in­ ternational. DECEMBER-Ta! marries Sally Landau. DECEMBER-Korchnoi wins a 27th USSR Cham­ pionship semifinals in Chelyabinsk. Spassky shares first place in a championship semi­ finals in Tallinn. DECEMBER 4-22-Spassky wins a Riga interna­ tional, ahead of fourth-place Tal.

1960-"This was the critical year of my life;' Spassky recalled. His first child, Tatiana, is born but his marriage heads towards divorce and his relations with his trainer Alexander Tolush worsen. Tal becomes editor of new bimonthly magazine, Sahs. He edits it until 1970. JANUARY 7-17-Petrosian shares first prize at a Beverwijk international. JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 26-It is Korchnoi's turn to become national champion, at the 27th USSR Championship finals in Leningrad. Petrosian is second and Spassky ties for ninth. MARCH 15-MAY 7-Tal defeats Botvinnik, 12½8½, in a match in Moscow and becomes eighth official world champion. He is soon in agony from a hard-to-diagnose kidney ailment. MARCH 29-APRIL 15-Spassky shares first place with Bobby Fischer at a Mar del Plata interna­ tional. MAY 24-JuNE 7-Korchnoi is third at a Central Chess Club international in Moscow. JUNE 23-JuLY 21-Korchnoi ties for first in a Buenos Aires international. JULY 15-AuGUST 2-A Spassky-led Soviet team finishes an embarrassing second to the United States in the World Student Team Champion­ ship after he loses to American William Lom­ bardy in a key match. He is temporarily banned from foreign travel for the first time. JULY 26-AuGUST 1-Korchnoi finishes fourth in a Santa Fe, Argentina, international. JULY 27-AuGUST 5-At a USSR-West Germany match, Tal scores 7½-½ on first board and Pet­ rosian is 6½-½ on second. AuGUST-Petrosian captures a Copenhagen in­ ternational. AUGUST 4-6-At a Leningrad-Budapest match in Leningrad, first board Spassky scores 3-1. AUGUST 20-SEPTEMBER 16-Spassky wins a 28th USSR Championship semifinals in Rostov. OCTOBER 1-15-In another USSR teams cham­ pionship finals, in Moscow, Korchnoi scores 3½-2½ on first board, Petrosian has 4-1 on second board, and Spassky gets 5 ½ -2½ on third. OCTOBER 12-Tal's son Georgy is born. OCTOBER 16-NovEMBER 9-At a FIDE Olym­ piad in Leipzig, Tal earns the silver medal on first board, Korchnoi gets a bronze medal on

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

345

fourth board, and Petrosian earns a gold medal on sixth board. DECEMBER 3-5-Korchnoi beats Botvinnik 1 ½­ ½ in a Moscow-Leningrad match in Moscow. Spassky has a draw and a loss on second and Petrosian has a win and a draw on third. Both Tal and Botvinnik ask Korchnoi to be their second in the upcoming championship rematch but he refuses. DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 8, 1961-Tal wins the only foreign individual tournament he entered as champion, at Stockholm. He soon suffers a recurrence of "kidney colic:'

OCTOBER 14-NovEMBER 5-Korchnoi wins a Bu­ dapest international by two points. NOVEMBER 16-DECEMBER 20-Spassky gains his first national title at the 29th Soviet Champi­ onship finals in Baku. Tal ties for fourth but suffers a new kidney attack afterwards and has to be rushed by ambulance to a hospital. DECEMBER-For the first time the four rivals (plus Botvinnik) occupy the five highest places in world ratings. This continues until May 1962. DECEMBER 22-29-In the USSR clubs champion­ ship finals, Petrosian has the worst score on first board, 1½-3½. Korchnoi is 3-2 and Tal 2-3.

1961-Match Botvinnik-Tal, the new world cham­ pion's book on his 1960 match is published in Riga to high praise. Spassky switches trainers, leaving Tolush for Igor Bondarevsky. JANUARY 11-FEBRUARY 11-Petrosian is again na­ tional champion, ahead of Korchnoi, in the 28th USSR Championship finals in Moscow. Spassky ties for fifth and another last-round loss costs him a place in the 1962 Interzonal. MARCH 15-MAY 12-Botvinnik regains his title from Tal, 13-8, in a world championship re­ match in Moscow. APRIL 5-10-Korchnoi and Spassky each score 3½ out of 4 on the first two boards of a Bu­ dapest-Leningrad match in Budapest. MAY-Petrosian begins 33 months as the world's number one rated player. MAY 10-21-In a Yugoslavia-USSR match in Bel­ grade, Petrosian scores 4-1 and Korchnoi is 42. MAY 27-JuNE 12-Petrosian takes second place in a Zurich International. JUNE 21-JuLY 3-At the European Team Cham­ pionship in Oberhausen, Tal finishes 5½-3½ on second board, Petrosian is 6-2 on fourth and Korchnoi has 8½-½ on sixth. JuLY-Korchnoi ties for the top score, 5½-1½, in a master-versus-candidate master tournament in Svetlogorsk. AuausT-SEPTEMBER-Spassky shares first in a Leningrad Championship, which is also a semifinals of the 29th USSR Championship. SEPTEMBER 3-OCTOBER 3-Tal wins the strong­ est international of the year, at Bled. Petrosian ties for third.

1962-Spassky meets his future second wife, Lar­ isa Soloviev, at a Leningrad-area beach. JANUARY 27-MARCH 6-Soviets begin to see Fischer as a threat to the world championship title after he wins an Interzonal at Stockholm. Both Petrosian and Korchnoi also advance to the Candidates tournament. APRIL 29-MAY 20-Spassky is second at a Havana international. SPRING-Tal is rushed to a hospital and under­ goes emergency surgery. MAY 2-JuNE 26-Petrosian wins the Candidates tournament at Cura�ao amid suspicions of an agreement among him, Keres and Yefim Geller to draw their mutual games. Korchnoi, the early leader, finishes with an even score. Tal is forced to withdraw because of illness. JULY 3-4-In a USSR-Netherlands match at the Hague, Petrosian on first board, Tal on fourth and Korchnoi on fifth each score a win and a draw. JULY 7-27-Spassky wins first-board prize and Soviets take the team gold medals at the World Student Team Championship in Marianske Lazne. SEPTEMBER 16-OCTOBER 10-Petrosian (on sec­ ond board), Spassky (third) and Tal {sixth) each win board gold medals at the Olympiad in Varna. OCTOBER 20-NovEMBER 2-In a USSR teams championship in Leningrad, Spassky has the best first-board score, 6-2. Tal scores 4½-3½. Korchnoi is 5-3 on second board. END OF OcTOBER-Petrosian is notified that Botvinnik will defend his world championship title in 1963.

346

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

NOVEMBER 3-5-In a Leningrad-Moscow match in Leningrad, Spassky draws two games on first board, ahead of Korchnoi, who scores a draw and a loss. NOVEMBER 21-DECEMBER 20-Korchnoi wins, Tal ties for second and Spassky shares fifth place in the 30th USSR Championship finals in Yerevan. 1963-Tal begins the new year with another hos­ pital operation and does not play chess until July. Petrosian becomes chief editor of Shakhmatnaya Moskva. Spassky launches his comeback with a second place in the 31st USSR Championship semifi­ nals in Kharkov. MARCH 22-MAY 20-Petrosian becomes the ninth world champion after defeating Botvin­ nik 12½-9½ in a title match in Moscow. JUNE 1-10-At a USSR-Yugoslavia match in Ri­ jeka, Korchnoi scores 4-2. JuLY-Spassky has the top score, 5½-½ in a Len­ ingrad team championship, ahead of Korch­ noi. JULY 2-28-Petrosian shares first prize at the first Piatigorsky Cup in Los Angeles. JULY 4-26-Tal wins a Miskolc, Hungary, inter­ national by two points. AUGUST 7-16-In a USSR teams championship in Moscow, Tal scores 6-4, Korchnoi is 5½-2½ and Petrosian is 5½-3½. AUGUST 25-SEPTEMBER 24-Korchnoi wins a Havana international a half point ahead of Tal. OCTOBER 29-NovEMBER 20-Tal is second in an international tournament in Moscow. NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 27-Spassky shares first in the 31st USSR Championship finals in Leningrad. Korchnoi is tenth. DECEMBER 30-JANUARY 8, 1964-Tal wins a Hastings international by a half point. 1964-JANUARY 5-Korchnoi loses to Bronstein on the top board of a Leningrad-Moscow "tele­ match:' JANUARY 7-17-Spassky finishes second in a play­ off of the 31st USSR Championship finals in Moscow. JANUARY 13-31-Tal wins a Reykjavik interna­ tional. FEBRUARY 18-MARCH 10-A controversial "Tour-

nament of Seven" Zonal in Moscow ends in a Spassky victory. Korchnoi ties for fifth and fails to qualify for Interzonal. MAY 20-JuNE 22-At the Amsterdam Interzonal, Spassky and Tal tie for first and advance to the 1965 Candidates matches. JUNE 10-15-Korchnoi scores 4-2 and Spassky is 1-1 in a USSR-Yugoslavia match in Leningrad. JULY 9-25-Tal wins a Kislovodsk international. JULY 9-AuGUST 4-Petrosian shares first prize in a Buenos Aires international. AUGUST 1-28-Korchnoi wins a Leningrad Cham­ pionship and qualifies for the 32nd USSR Cham­ pionship finals. AUGUST 19-20-First board Spassky draws both games and second board Korchnoi draws and loses one game in a Leningrad-Belgrade match in Leningrad. AUGUST 26-SEPTEMBER 14-Spassky finishes fourth in a Sochi international. AUGUST 29-31-Korchnoi defeats Tal 2-1 in a "living chess" match in Leningrad. SEPTEMBER 22-0cTOBER 14-Spassky wins a Belgrade international a point and a half ahead of second-place Korchnoi. NOVEMBER 2-25-In the Olympiad at Tel Aviv, Petrosian scores 9½-3½ on first board and Spassky has 10½-2½ as second reserve. NOVEMBER 11-21-In the USSR team cup finals in Moscow, Tal gets 4½-1½ and Petrosian has 3½-2½. DECEMBER 2-16-Petrosian becomes Trade Unions champion in Moscow. DECEMBER 26-JANUARY 26, 1965-Korchnoi wins the 32nd USSR Championship finals in Kiev by two points. Tal is third despite playing sev­ eral games "under doctor's instruction" in his hotel room. 1965-MARCH 4-26-Tal again becomes Latvian champion. APRIL 7-23-Spassky beats Keres 5½-4½ in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Riga. APRIL 12-MAY 9-Petrosian places third in a Za­ greb international. MAY 26-JuNE 9-Spassky eliminates Geller 5½2½ in a Candidates match semifinals in Riga. JUNE 6-16-At the European Team Champion­ ship finals in Hamburg, Petrosian is 6-4 on

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016 first board and Korchnoi scores 5½-3½ on third. During a simultaneous exhibition tour afterwards, Korchnoi is invited to defect but declines. JUNE 26-JuLY 10-Tal beats Lajos Portisch 5½2½ in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Bled. JULY 5-15-Korchnoi scores 4-1 and Spassky is 2-3 in a USSR-Yugoslavia match-tournament in Vrnjacka Banja. JULY 17-19-Korchnoi scores a win and a draw in a Leningrad-Belgrade match in Belgrade. JULY 26-AuGUST 8-Tal ousts Bent Larsen 5½4½ in a Candidates match semifinals in Bled. AUGUST 8-26-Korchnoi dominates a Gyula, Hungary, international with 14½-½. AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 15-Spassky ties for first at a Sochi international. SEPTEMBER-Korchnoi begins a four month reign as the world's number one rated player. SEPTEMBER 17-OcTOBER 7-At a Yerevan inter­ national, Korchnoi wins, a point ahead of Pet­ rosian. NovEMBER-Korchnoi wins both games from Petrosian in a Moscow-Leningrad match in Leningrad. NOVEMBER 1-26-In the Candidates match finals in Tbilisi, Spassky defeats Tal 7-4 and wins the right to play a match for the world champi­ onship. NOVEMBER 21-DECEMBER 24-Korchnoi only ties for tenth place in the 32nd USSR Champi­ onship finals in Tallinn. DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 8, 1966-Spassky ties for first in a Hastings international. 1966-Spassky marries Larisa Soloviev. JANUARY-Spassky gives a revealing interview to British journalist Leonard Barden under the condition it will not be printed until he be­ comes world champion. He begins six months as the world's top rated player. JANUARY 14-28-Petrosian is first, 8-2, in a train­ ing tournament in Moscow. Korchnoi scores 4-6. MARCH 20-APRIL 7-Tal shares first prize in a Sarajevo international. But kidney problems return and he does not play again until July. APRIL 9-JuNE 9- Underdog Petrosian upsets Spassky 12½-11½ in a world championship

347

match in Moscow. He is the first champion since Alexander Alekhine to win a title defense. APRIL 24-MAY 11-Korchnoi triumphs, 12½-l½, in a Bucharest international. JUNE 10-20-Korchnoi scores 3½-1½ at a USSR­ Yugoslavia team tournament in Sukhumi. JUNE 21-JuLY 11-Korchnoi wins an international at Sochi. Spassky enters at the last minute and ties for fifth. JULY 17-AuGUST 15-Spassky wins the second Pi­ atigorsky Cup, in Santa Monica, California, and earns enough prize money to support his next world championship try. Petrosian ties for sixth place. JULY 22-AuGUST 8-Tal falls sick at a Kislovodsk international and plays one game from his hotel bathtub. He finishes with an even score. SEPTEMBER 19-20-In a training match in Mos­ cow, Tal beats Bronstein with one win and three draws. SEPTEMBER 24-OcTOBER 6-At a USSR club championship in Moscow, Tal and Petrosian score 6-4, ahead of Spassky's 4½-5½. OCTOBER 25-NOVEMBER 20-For the first time all four rivals play on the same Olympic team, in Havana. Tal is injured in a bar incident but he, Petrosian and Korchnoi win their board prizes and the Soviets earn team gold medals. NOVEMBER 27-DECEMBER 18-Tal wins a Palma de Mallorca international by a point. DECEMBER 28, 1966-FEBRUARY 2-In the 34th USSR Championship finals and Zonal at Tbilisi, Korchnoi ties for third and qualifies for a play­ off. 1967-JANUARY 11-29-Spassky wins a Bever­ wijk international. MARCH-Korchnoi wins both games in a Lenin­ grad-Belarus match in Leningrad. MARCH 6-13-Spassky has two draws in a Rus­ sia-Ukraine match in Uzhgorod. APRIL 1-12-In a playoff to choose Interzonal qualifiers, Korchnoi, Gipslis and Taimanov score 2-2. Taimanov is eliminated on tie breaks. APRIL 22-27-Spassky scores 2½-1½ in a Rus­ sia-Hungary match in Budapest. APRIL-MAY-Korchnoi registers 4½-1½ on first board in a Leningrad team tournament. MAY 7-9-Korchnoi loses both games in a Mos­ cow-Leningrad match in Leningrad.

348

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

MAY 16-JuNE 14-Korchnoi wins a Leningrad "Jubilee" international. MAY 21-JuNE 16-In the other "Jubilee," in Mos­ cow, Tal ties for second place, Spassky ties for sixth and Petrosian shares ninth. JUNE 22-JuLY 5-Korchnoi has the top score, 83, in a USSR-Yugoslavia match-tournament at Budva. Tal is second-best, 6½-4½. JULY 2-Spassky's wife Larisa gives birth to a son, Vasily. JULY 23-AuGUST 3-In the finals of a Soviet re­ public championship in Moscow: Spassky scores 4-1, Korchnoi 3½-1½ and Petrosian 2½-2½. Tal scores 4-1 in a second section. SEPTEMBER 8-28-Spassky lands in a five-way tie for first place at a Sochi international. OcTOBER-Tal scores a win and a draw in a Latvia-Rumania match in Riga. OCTOBER 3-13-Spassky ties for third in a Win­ nipeg international. OCTOBER IS-NOVEMBER 15-Korchnoi ties for second and qualifies for the Candidates cycle at the Interzonal in Sousse. OCTOBER 21-NOVEMBER 5-Petrosian ties for second in a Venice international. DECEMBER 7-27-The 35th USSR Championship finals at Kharkov is run as a Swiss System of 126 players. Tal ties for first. 9-28-Korchnoi places first by three points in a Wijk aan Zee international. Tal ties for second. APRIL 2-18-Spassky beats Geller S½-2½ in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Sukhumi. APRIL 2-28-Petrosian ties for second in a Bam­ berg international. APRIL 20-MAY 15-Tal eliminates Svetozar Glig­ oric 5½-3½ in a Candidates match quarterfi­ nals in Belgrade. MAY 8-20-Korchnoi ousts Samuel Reshevsky S½-2½ in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Amsterdam. MAY 25-JuNE 17-Petrosian ties for first in a Moscow Championship. MAY 31-JuNE 5-In a Leningrad-Bucharest match in Bucharest, Korchnoi scores a win and a draw. JUNE 26-JuLY 15-Korchnoi ousts Tal S½-4½ in a Candidates match semifinals in Moscow. 1968-JANUARY

JULY 5-64 is revived as a newspaper, edited by Petrosian. JULY 5-20-Spassky beats Larsen S½-2½ in a Candidates match semifinals in Malmo. SEPTEMBER 6-26-Spassky becomes a world championship challenger again after defeating Korchnoi 6½-3½ in a Candidates match finals in Kiev. OCTOBER 17-NovEMBER 7-At the Olympiad in Lugano, Petrosian scores 10½-1 ½ on first board, Spassky 10-4 on second and Korchnoi 11-2 on third. NOVEMBER 13-23-Tal triumphs at a Gori inter­ national. NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 15-Korchnoi wins a Palma de Mallorca international. Spassky ties for second. Petrosian is fourth. DECEMBER 10-24-Tal finishes 6-5 in a USSR team cup in Riga. DECEMBER 27-Petrosian defends his 260-page dissertation, "Certain Problems of the Logic of Chess Thought," for a master of philosophical science degree at Yerevan State University. DECEMBER 30-FEBRUARY 1, 1969-An ill Tal ties for sixth place in the 36th USSR Championship finals in Alma-Ata. 1969-FEBRUARY-Korchnoi has the top score, S½-½, in a team tournament in Volgograd. MARCH 12-MARCH 22-Tal loses to Larsen 2½5½ in a Candidates playoff match in Eersel. MARCH 20-APRIL 7-Korchnoi wins with 12-3 at a Sarajevo international. APRIL 14-JuNE 17-Spassky becomes the tenth world champion by defeating Petrosian, 12½10½, in a title match in Moscow. Tal annotates the games as a journalist from a Riga hospital bed. MAY 18-JuNE 8-Korchnoi wins a Luhacovice in­ ternational. JUNE 30-JuLY 6-In a USSR-Yugoslavia match in Skopje, Spassky and Petrosian score 1½-1½. JULY-AUGUST-In a Trade Unions Championship in Leningrad, Korchnoi has the top score, 72. AUGUST 27-SEPTEMBER 17-Korchnoi shares first in a Havana international. SEPTEMBER-Spassky trains with Botvinnik for about 20 days in Pitsunda.

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016 SEPTEMBER 5-OCTOBER 12-In the 37th USSR Championship finals in Moscow, Petrosian shares first. Tal ties for 14th place in a field of 23. OCTOBER 8-28-Spassky wins a San Juan inter­ national. NOVEMBER 22-DECEMBER 14-Petrosian is sec­ ond, Korchnoi ties for third and Spassky is fifth in a Palma de Mallorca international. NovEMBER-Tal has a diseased kidney removed. DECEMBER 16-JANUARY 6, 1970-Tal ties for first in a Tbilisi international. 1970-Tal and Sally Landau divorce and he briefly remarries. Tal wins a Georgian Championship in Poti. JANUARY 19-29-Petrosian beats Polugaevsky in 37th USSR Championship playoff in Moscow. MARCH 29-APRIL 5-In a USSR-Rest of World match in Belgrade, the Soviets win by the nar­ rowest margin. Spassky scores 1½-1½ on first board, Petrosian is 1-3 on second board, Korchnoi gets 1½-2½ on third board and Tal is 2-2 on ninth. APRIL 8-9-Fischer wins an unofficial "world speed championship'' in Hercegnovi. Tal is sec­ ond, Korchnoi third and Petrosian fourth. APRIL 12-MAY 8-Korchnoi ties for second, a half point ahead of Petrosian at a Rovinj -Zagreb international. APRIL 16-MAY 7-Spassky wins a match­ tournament in Leiden. MAY 9-18-At the European Team Champion­ ship in Kapfenberg, Petrosian scores 3½-2½ on first board, Korchnoi has 4-2 on second, Tal is 5-1 on seventh, and their team wins eas­ ily. JUNE 22-JuLY 2-Korchnoi finishes 3-1 in a Len­ ingrad-Prague match in Leningrad. JULY 13-AuGUST 1-Spassky shares first in an Amsterdam international. JULY 15-21-In a training match in Leningrad, Korchnoi loses to David Bronstein, 1-4, but improves his handling of the clock. SEPTEMBER 5-27-At an Olympiad in Siegen, Spassky beats Fischer and scores 9½-2½ on first board. Petrosian is 10-4 on second board and Korchnoi has 11-4 on third. OCTOBER 1-13-Tal is eliminated in the quarter­ finals of a USSR Cup in Dnepropetrovsk.

349

OCTOBER 4-22-Petrosian ties for sixth in a Vin­ kovci international. OCTOBER 13-NOVEMBER 2-In a Grandmasters Versus Young Masters tournament, Sochi, Tal has the best overall result, 10½-3½. Korchnoi scores 6-8. NOVEMBER 25-DECEMBER 28-In the 38th USSR Championship finals in Riga Korchnoi wins. Tal is denied an invitation. 1971-Tal is married for the third time, to An­ gelina (Gelya) Petukhov. JANUARY 12-30-Korchnoi wins and Petrosian ties for second in Wijk aan Zee. FEBRUARY 20-MARCH 13-Tal ties for first in a Tallin international. MARCH 31-Petrosian dominates a five-minute tournament in Moscow with 14½-½. Korchnoi is second and Tal shares fourth. MAY 13-JuNE 6-Korchnoi, by 5 ½ -2½, ousts Geller in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Moscow. MAY 13-28-Trailing 4-3, Robert Hubner resigns to Petrosian in a Candidates quarterfinals match in Seville. JUNE-First steps are taken to reassemble Spas­ sky's 1969 team of seconds, Igor Bondarevsky, Nikolai Krogius and Geller. JUNE-In a training match in Leningrad, Korch­ noi and Anatoly Karpov tie 3-3. JUNE 9-30-Tal ties for second in a Piarnu inter­ national. JULY 4-28-Petrosian defeats Korchnoi 5½-4½ in a Candidates match semifinals in Moscow. JuLY 19-31-Spassky is third at a Goteborg inter­ national. AUGUST 1-10-In a USSR team championship in Rostov-on-Don, Spassky scores 3½-½ and Tal is 4½-1½. AUGUST 19-A 26-page analysis of Fischer's play, conducted by Isaac Boleslavsky, Lev Polu­ gaevsky and others is given to Petrosian and Spassky. AUGUST 24-SEPTEMBER 3-Spassky ties for first in the Canadian open championship in Van­ couver. He also shares third in a Toronto in ternational open. SEPTEMBER 14-OcTOBER 18-Tal ties for second in the 39th USSR Championship finals in Len­ ingrad.

350

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

SEPTEMBER 30-OcTOBER 28-In the final Can­ didates Match in Buenos Aires, Fischer beats Petrosian 6½-2½ and wins the right to chal­ lenge Spassky for the world championship. NOVEMBER 9-16-Korchnoi scores 4-1 in a USSR­ Yugoslavia match in Yerevan. NOVEMBER 17-Spassky byp asses the Sports Com­ mittee and asks the Communist Party Central Committee to let him negotiate terms of the Fischer match. He is rebuffed. NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 19-In a Moscow in­ ternational, Karpov wins, Petrosian ties for fourth, Spassky and Tal share sixth and Korch­ noi is 11th. DECEMBER 21-Spassky and his seconds open a training camp at Krasnaya Pakhra, outside Moscow. DECEMBER 29-JANUARY 15, 1972-Korchnoi shares first prize at a Hastings International. 1972-FEBRUARY 2-Bondarevsky notifies the Sports Committee he is no longer helping Spas­ sky. FEBRUARY 11-13-In a Latvia-Leningrad match in Leningrad, Tal and Korchnoi draw two games with one another. FEBRUARY 27-The Sports Committee asks Pet­ rosian, Korchnoi, Tal and other members of a grandmaster "consultative council" for detailed analysis of the strong and weak points of Fis­ cher and Spassky. MARCH 1-12-in a USSR teams championship fi­ nals in Moscow, Petrosian has the best score, 3½-1½. Tal is 2½-2½ and Korchnoi is 2-3. MARCH-APRIL-Members of the "consultative council;' including Tal, Korchnoi and Petro­ sian, submit their analyses. Spassky dismisses their advice and refuses to discuss it with them. MARCH 19-APRIL 7-Petrosian is second in a Sarajevo international. MAY 11-12-Korchnoi ties for third and Tal is sev­ enth in a national blitz tournament in Moscow. MAY 29-JuNE 17-Korchnoi is second in an Am­ sterdam international. JUNE 25-JuLY 2-Petrosian scores 3-1 and Ko­ rchnoi is 2½-1½ in a USSR-Yugoslavia match in Ohrid. JULY 11-SEPTEMBER 3-Fischer becomes the 11th world champion, defeating Spassky, 12½-8½ in a match in Reykjavik.

JULY 5-18-Tal wins a Vilyandi international. AUGUST 16-SEPTEMBER 7-Tal wins a Sukhumi international. SEPTEMBER 19-OcTOBER 13-In the Olympiad in Skopje, Petrosian scores 10½-5½ on first board, Korchnoi is 11-4 on second, Tal 14-2 on fourth. NOVEMBER 16-DECEMBER 19-Completing his comeback, Tal wins the 40th USSR Champi­ onship finals in Moscow by two points. NOVEMBER 18-DECEMBER 14-Petrosian ties for first in a San Antonio international. NOVEMBER 26-DECEMBER 17-Korchnoi shares first in a Palma de Mallorca international. 1973-JuNE 28-Korchnoi shares first place with

Karpov in an Interzonal tournament in Lenin­ grad. It is his best-ever result in terms of perform­ ance rating. OCTOBER 2-26-Spassky wins the Soviet Cham­ pionship in Moscow and becomes a favorite to challenge Fischer in the 1975 world champi­ onship match.

1974-JANUARY 14-29-Spassky crushes Robert

Byrne 4½-1½ in a Candidates match quarter­ finals in San Juan. JANUARY 16-FEBRUARY 13-Korchnoi beats Hen­ rique Mecking in a Candidates quarterfinals in AuausTa, Georgia, by 7½-5½. JANUARY 18-FEBRUARY 17-In Palma de Mallorca, Petrosian defeats Lajos Portisch 7-6 in a Can­ didates match quarterfinals. APRIL 10-MAY 10-Spassky is upset by Karpov 4-7 in a Candidates match semifinals in Len­ ingrad. APRIL 12-24-In a bitterly contested Candidates match semifinals in Odessa, Petrosian aban­ dons play against Korchnoi when trailing 1 ½3½. Their hostility becomes public and perma­ nent. SEPTEMBER-Korchnoi is ranked second in world ratings, a position he holds until January 1982. SEPTEMBER 16-NovEMBER 22-Korchnoi loses to Karpov 11½-12½ in the Candidates match finals in Moscow. It turns out to be a de facto world championship match because of Fischer's subsequent refusal to defend his title in 1975. After the match Korchnoi belittles Karpov's play and he is denounced in the Soviet press. Pet-

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

351

rosian i s blamed fo r inciting anti-Korchnoi feeling.

Korchnoi loses his challenge to Karpov, 5-6 in Baguio, Philippines.

1975-Having divorced Larisa, Spassky remar­ ries, over Soviet government opposition. His third wife is Marina Yurievna Shcherbachova, a French citizen descended from an anti-Commu­ nist general. NOVEMBER 28-DECEMBER 22-In his former hometown of Yerevan, Petrosian wins his fourth and last Soviet championship.

1979-APRIL 10-MAY 19-A "Tournament of Stars" tournament in Montreal is won by Tal and Karpov. Spassky ties for fifth place. Tal becomes the third highest rated player in the world. SEPTEMBER 23-OCTOBER 20-Petrosian ties for first in an Interzonal in Rio de Janeiro and begins his last bid for the world champion­ ship.

1976-JuLY-Korchnoi gives an interview with the Agence France-Press news agency in which he denounces the Soviet decision to boycott the upcoming Olympiad in Haifa, Israel. After play­ ing in an international tournament in Amster­ dam, and fearing reaction to the interview, he de­ fects. Soviet officials react by waging a boycott by their players of tournaments in which Korchnoi participates.

1980-MARCH 8-25-In their fourth and final match, Korchnoi again defeats Petrosian, by 5½3½, in a Candidates quarterfinals in Velden, Aus­ tria. MARCH 23-APRIL 13-Tal loses a Candidates match quarterfinals, to Polugaevsky in Alma Ata by 5½-2½. MARCH 30-MAY 3-In Mexico City and Xalapa, Mexico, Spassky draws a Candidates match quarterfinals with Portisch with a 7 -7 score. He advances to the semifinals under tie-break rules because he had won more games with Black. JULY 20-AuGUST 20-Korchnoi outlasts Polu­ gaevsky 7½-6½ in a Candidates match semi­ finals in Buenos Aires. DECEMBER 20-JANUARY 11, 1981-Korchnoi's Candidates match finals in Merano, Italy ends abruptly when Robert Huebner abandons play while trailing 3½-4½.

1977-FEBRUARY 27-APRIL 3-Korchnoi, now stateless, again eliminates Petrosian in a Candi­ dates match, in 11 Ciocco, Italy by 6½-5½. FEBRUARY 28-APRIL 19-Spassky ekes out a 8½7½ win over Vlastimil Hort in a Candidates match quarterfinals in Reykjavik, after falling ill late in the match. JULY 2-AuGUST 6-Korchnoi crushes Polugaev­ sky 8½-4½ in a Candidates semifinals in Evian Les Bains and qualifies for another finals match. JULY 3-AuGUST 19-Spassky advances to the Candidates finals for the first time in nine years by beating Portisch 8½-6½ in a semifinals match in Geneva. NOVEMBER 21-JANUARY 12, 1978-Friendly rela­ tions between Spassky and Korchnoi are rup­ tured when they trade accusations of unethical behavior during Korchnoi's 10½-7½ victory in Candidate finals in Belgrade. 1978-Tal's autobiographical book V Ogon Ataki is published. It later appears in English as the acclaimed The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal. Korchnoi's autobiography, Chess Is My Life, is published. Tal, serving as Karpov's trainer, criticizes Korch­ noi in print before the Karpov-Korchnoi world championship match. Korchnoi severs rela­ tions with him. JULY 17-OcTOBER 17-In the longest world championship match in more than 50 years,

1981-OcTOBER I-NOVEMBER 18-Korchnoi is badly outplayed 7-11 by Karpov in a world cham­ pionship match in Merano. 1983-Spassky gives up Soviet citizenship and plays for France in later Olympiads. FEBRUARY-Spassky scores his last major victory in a strong international tournament in Linares. 1984-AuGUST 13-Petrosian, 55, dies in Mos­ cow after a long illness. 1985-OcTOBER 12-NovEMBER 2-Tal ties for fourth place and Spassky ties for sixth in a Can­ didates tournament in Montpellier. Tal draws a playoff match with Jan Timman but loses his chance to advance to Candidates matches because of tie breaks. This is the last Candidates appear­ ances of Tal and Spassky. 1988-FEBRUARY-Tal wins the world blitz championship in St. John, Canada.

352

Appendix A. Chronology: 1929-2016

1991-Korchnoi survives a Candidates match quarterfinals with Gyula Sax, 5½-4½, in Wijk aan Zee but loses in the semifinals to Timman 4½2½ in Brussels. It is his last Candidates appear­ ance. 1992-APRIL 23-MAY 5-In an international tournament in Barcelona, an ill Tal shares eighth place, with Korchnoi and Mikhail Gurevich, but wins his last-ever tournament game. JUNE 28-Tal, 55, dies in Moscow of multiple ail­ ments.

SEPTEMBER I-NOVEMBER 4-In "world champi­ onship rematch" in Belgrade and Sveti Stefan, Spassky loses to Fischer 5-10, with 15 draws. 2006-SEPTEMBER 11-23-Korchnoi wins a World Senior Championship in Arvier, Italy. OCTOBER 1-Spassky suffers a stroke during a lecture in San Francisco. 2012-In a break with his French family, Spassky leaves France and returns to live in Russia. 2016-JUNE 6-After suffering a stroke, Korchnoi dies in his adopted home of Wohlen, Switzerland.

Appendix B: Ratin g s Comparison Using the retroactive ratings o f Chessmet­ rics.com we can chart the changes in relative strengths of Tigran Petrosian, Viktor Korchnoi, Boris Spassky and Mikhail Tal during the period covered in this book. Petrosian first appears on the Chessmetrics list in April 1946 when he was rated number 69 in the world. Had there been ratable events, he would have joined the top 200 much earlier. Korchnoi made the list in August 1950, when he was number 131. Spassky first appeared in May 1953 at number 61. Tal first appeared in June 1954 at number 183. They were never the world's four highest rated players. They occupied four of the five highest ratings from December 1961 to April 1962 when the other top player in that period was Mikhail Botvinnik. After Bobby Fischer became number one they were rated second to fifth in August 1967 to April 1968. The four were in the top ten on 138 of168 monthly lists from August 1957 to Decem­ ber 1972. Here are their standings on the January lists. 1 947 1 948 1 949 1 950 1 95 1 1952 1 953 1 954

Petrosian Korchnoi 51 36 50 42 39 1 18 22 97 15 32 22 6

Spassky

1955 1956 1957 1 958 1 959 1 960 1961 1 962 1 963 1 964 1 965 1966 1 967 1 968 1 969 1970 1971 1972

(Petrosian) (Korchnoi) (Spassky) (Tal) 6 10 15 68 13 41 5 8 6 9 15 20 5 7 10 9 1 11 7 8 1 3 9 4 2 1 5 6 1 2 5 4 1 2 4 8 1 5 6 8 2 3 6 4 1 2 7 3 2 3 6 4 2 5 4 3 2 11 4 3 2 14 5 3 2 7 4 16 2 7 3 10

Tal was ranked number one from October 1958 to April 1961, when he lost his world championship rematch. He returned to the top spot from April to August 1965 and again during June and July 1966. That is a total of 38 months. Petrosian was number one for 33 months, from May 1961 to January 1964, when Bobby Fischer's 10-0 victory in the U.S. Championship was rated. Korchnoi was number one for four months, from September 1965 to December 1965. Spassky was number one for six months, from January 1966 to August 1966.

Tal

25

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Chapter Notes Preface 1. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), said on page 4 that he was born July 23, 1931, not the correct March 23, 1931. Korchnoi, Korchnoi's 400, repeats this on page viii and page 1. The mistake was still being made in a profile of him in 64, November 2002. 2. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 123. 3. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 27. 4. Short's column in Sunday Telegraph, June 20, 2004. 5. http : //facts.kiev.ua/archive/2 0 0 9 - 11-20/ 101796/index.html and https://www.chess.com/blog/ Spektrowski/an-interview-with-angelina-tal.

Introduction 1. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 109. 2. Ibid. and http://whychess.com/en/node/4192, accessed November 7, 2016. 3. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 122. 4. Ibid. , page 123. 5. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 91. 6. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 124. 7. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. In https:// kevinspraggettonchess.wordpress.com/?s=spassky&s ubmit=Search he said, "Before I played important games I usually tried to bathe, to put on a good �hirt _ and suit, look comme il faut. But on this occas10n I had analyzed incessantly and came to board looking very disheveled and fatigued:' 8. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 68. 9. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 110. 10. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1990. 1 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 12. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 186. 13. Tal and Damsky, Attack, page 126. 14. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 65. 15. Ibid. 16. Sport-Express, March 4, 2016; Kingpin, au-

tumn 1998; and Shakhmaty v Rossii, February­ March, 1997. 17. 64, April 1999. 18. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 167. 19. Vechernyaya Moskva, 2007. http://www.vm­ daily. ru/article.php?aid=4l35l. Accessed October 18, 2007. 20. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 125. 2 1 . 64, November 2006. 22. Vechernyaya Moskva, http://www.vmdaily. ru/article.php?aid=41351. Accessed October 18, 2007. 2 3 . http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2 0 0 9 - 11 -2 0/ 101796/index.html. 24. Sovietsky Sport, June 15, 1975. 25. https:/ /kevinspraggettonchess. wordpress. com/?s=spassky&submit=Search. 26. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 11. 27. Cafferty, Tal's 100, page 21. 28. https:/ /kevinspraggettonchess. wordpress. com/?s=spassky&submit=Search. 29. Sport Express, January 30, 2015. After his studies ended in 1960 he "worked for 15 years in a closed institution in connection with the cosmos;' apparently in the Soviet aerospace industry. 30. Damsky, Grossmeister Geller, page 8. 3 1 . New in Chess, issue 6, 1990. 32. New in Chess, issue 1, 1990. 3 3 . http :www. euruchess. org/cgi-bin/index? action=viewnews&id=2052. Accessed March 27, 2009. 34. https:// chesspro.ru/ enciklopediya/naslednik­ kazackogo-roda and http://chesspro.ru/thesaurus/ mikhalchishin_old_photo_1949. 35. Ibid.

Chapter I 1. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April-June, 1999. 2. Timman, Timman's Titans, page 47. 3. Time, April 11, 1969.

355

356

Notes-Chapter 1

4. Ibid. 5. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 163. 6. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 537. Vartan Petrosian said in 64, June 2009, that his father learned when he was 12. 7. 64, February 2016. 8. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 539. 9. Ibid. 10. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 90. 1 1 . Time, April 11, 1969. 12. Ibid. 13. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 16. 14. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 18. 1 5. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 16. 16. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 20. Early biographical details of Korchnoi from his Chess Is My Life (1977) , pages 7-8, and (2004), pages 12-15. I n the 1977 ver­ sion he did not mention Jewish relatives. 17. New in Chess, issue 3, 2011. 18. http:/ /e3e5.com/article.php?id=l756. Other war details from Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), pages 8-10, and (2004), pages 15-16. 19. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 15. 20. http: chesspro.ru/_events/2009/stein.html. 2 1 . 64, October 2003. 22. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 15. 23. Sport- Weekend, August 21, 2009. Accessed August 23, 2009. Cannibalism numbers from Reid, Leningrad, page 288. 24. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 16. 25. Sports Illustrated, December 12, 1977. Korch­ noi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 9, said, "The dead lent the living a helping hand!" 26. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 9, said his stepmother got his spice cake and pastries but he wonders how it could be made because there was no ordinary flour available. 2 7. http:/ /bulvar.com. ua/ gazeta/ archives/ s48_ 65794/7826.html. 28. New in Chess, issue 3, 2011. 29. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 12, and (2004), page 17. 30. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 17. 3 1 . 64, March 2006. 32. Time, April 1 1, 1969. 33. 64, March 2006. 34. Korchnoi has given several versions. In Izves­ tia, July 19, 2007, he said: "In the Leningrad Pioneer home I recall the master of sport Batuev. When I was about 13 he was surprised by how I played blind­ fold with an acquaintance and decided to test my strength. We played a Hungarian Defense and I held until I blundered around move 16. He was satisfied. 'You will become a master:" In Chess Is My Life (1977), page 12, he said of Batuev, "He sat me down with my back to the board" and "I held out for about 20 moves:' In (2004), Batuev "placed me in a corner without a board" and he lasted "about 18 moves:' In

Sports Illustrated, December 12, 1977, he changed the name of his opponent: "One day when I was 12 or so, Zak made me sit with my back to the board. He played white and called out the moves. I remem­ ber that I played the Hungarian defense and I lasted for 20 moves. Zak said, 'Good boy, someday you'll be a master."' 35. http://www.euruchess.org/cgi-bin/index.cgi? action=viewnews&id=2052. Accessed March 27, 2009. 36. 64, July 2003. 37. Korchnoi, My Best Games, volume 1, page 13. He added in an interview, "This explains why I didn't become world champion;' http:/ /www. izvstia.ru/ sport/ article3092023/. 38. 64, March 2006. 39. http:///www.jjew.ru/index.php?prn=6682. 40. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 13. 4 1 . Vasiliev, Tigran, page 24. 42. 64, June 1999. 43. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April-June 1999. 44. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 36. 45. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 25. 46. Sport- Weekend, May 29, 2011. 47. Marshall Chess Club lecture, August 18, 2017. 48. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 27. 49. http://chesspro.ru/view/ gavrilov_petrosian. 50. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 19. 5 1 . 64, October 2002. 52. Ibid. 53. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 7. 54. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 33. 55. Sovietsky Sport, http:/ /sovsport.ru/others/ chess/ articles/505904-10-j -chempion-mira-boris­ spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal-parshivo. 56. Ibid. 57. Ibid. 58. 64, January 2007. 59. Sport-Express, http:/ /www.sport-express.ru/ fridays/reviews/973473/. 60. Ibid. 6 1 . Pskovskaya Pravda, October 19, 2007, Sport­ Express, March 4, 2016, Kingpin, autumn 1998, http : / /www. euruchess. org/ cgi-bin/ index . cgi? action=viewnews&id=l961 and Sovietsky Sport, http://sovsport.ru/ others/ chess/articles/505904-10j-chempion-mira-boris-spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal­ parshivo. 62. Taimanov, Zarubezhniye, page 123. 63. 64, July 2003. In svobodanews.ru, January 26, 2006, he added, "I didn't have shoes, I had shorts and an undershirt:' https:/ /www.svobodanews.ru/ Transcript/2006/0l/2006/0l/26/20060126123520300. html. 64. Kingpin, autumn 1998. 65. 64, July 2003. 66. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page ix. 67. Sosonko, Russian, page 123. Korchnoi, Chess

Notes-Chapter 2 Is My Life (1977), page 12, said, "Zak had a knack of recognizing an ability for chess in a child who had just been brought to the Palace by his mother, and who at the moment hardly knew how to move the pieces:' 68. 64, issue 23, 1980. 69. Ibid. 70. rsport.ria.ru/interview/20150102/7992290275. html. 7 1 . http:/ /www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=23. 72. Moskovsky Komsomolets, January 28, 2017, http://www.mk.ru/sport/2017 /0l/29/shakhmatist­ boris-spasskiy-teryal-soznanie-posle-partii-i-pod­ karmlival-messinga.html. 73. Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1991. 74. 64, May 2009. 75. http://www.fide.com/ component/ content/ article/l-fide-news/3942-nalchik-gp-interview-with­ boris-spassky. Also, https://kevinspraggettonchess. wordpress.com/?s=spassky&submit=Search. 76. Kingpin, autumn 1998. 77. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 599. 78. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 79. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ boris-spassky-2016-interview. 80. www.facts.kiev.ua /2007/01/07.htm. Accessed January 1, 2007. 8 1 . https:/ /kevinspraggettonchess. wordoress. com/?s=spassky&submit=Search. Also Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 82. Tal's friend Sosonko said Robert Papirmeister was his father in Sosonko, Russian, page 24, as did Evgeny Gik in chessnews.ru, November 9, 2016, http://www.chess-news.ru/node/22295. Vasiliev, Ak­ teri, page 144, said Dr. Tal's real surname was Muzusovich but it was "difficult" and that is why he was known by a simpler name, Tal. 83. Landau, Lyubov, page 44. 84. http:forum.kasparov.ru/viewtopic. php ?t= 14168. Accessed August 31, 20079. 85. Landau, Lyubov, page 44. 86. Sosonko, Russian, page 22. 8 7 . http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2 0 0 9 - 11-20/ 101796/index.html. 88. Landau, Lyubov, page 46. 89. http ://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2 0 0 9 - ll-20/ 101796/index.html. 90. http:/ / forum.kasparov.ru/viewtopic. php?t =14168. Accessed August 31, 2009. 9 1 . Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1983. 92. Landau, Lyubov, page 47. She said Robert's divorced ex-wife and his child died in a Nazi con­ centration camp. 93. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 145. 94. Chess Life, May 1967. 95. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1983. 96. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 87. 97. 64, December 2003.

357

98. https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 99. Koblents, Vospominaniye, pages 96. How the Tal-Koblents relationship developed is unclear. In Tal, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tai, Tal did not mention Koblents until page 13 when he describes him as one of the masters in a tournament held at the end of 1950. He is quoted in Kirillov, Team Tai, page 87, as saying he first met Koblents at a simul­ taneous exhibition, no date given. Soviet masters used to give simuls before screenings at movie the­ aters and Tal remember "being so enthralled by our game that I was late for the movie" and eventually lost. He said he did not remember when he was "in­ troduced to him as an 'up-and-coming player:" 100. Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986. 1 0 1 . 64, January 2007. 102. Ibid. 103. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1949.

Chapter 2 105.

1 . Bronstein and Furstenberg, Sorcerer's, page

2. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 70. 3. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 36. 4. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1984, and Sosonko in 64, June 2009. 5. 64, May 2008. Chessmetrics ranks him from 11th to 13th in the world from May 1939 to March 1941. 6. 64, July 2009. This appears more accurate than Vasiliev, Tigran, page 36, which said Petrosian spoke to "Ratmir Makogonov:' who said he should talk to Kasparian because Kasparian would have been a great player if he had left Armenia. 7. 64, June 1999, and 64, June 1990. 8. Petrosian, Shakhmatniye, page 44. 9. Ibid. , page 46. 10. Ibid. , page 49. 1 1 . Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 19. In (2004), page 22, he added that he trained by run­ ning up to three kilometers at a time. 12. http:/ruschess.com/Grands.Korchnoi/main. html. Accessed October 23, 2004. 13. Petrosian, Shakhmatnyie, page 64. Games notes on pages 64-67. 14. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, pages 94-5. 15. FIDE Revue, issue 4, 1963. 16. Ibid. 17. Sosonko, Evil-Doer, page 199. 18. Koblents, Vospominaniye, pages 96-97. 19. Shakhmaty v Rossii, November-December 1998. 20. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 45. 2 1 . Ibid., page 43. 22. Prorvich, 19th Pervenstvo, page 11. 23. Averbakh, Center-Stage, page 63.

358

Notes-Chapters 3 and 4

24. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 15. 25. worldchessrating.com, December 19, 2003. Accessed December 19, 2003. 26. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 16. 27. New in Chess, issue 5, 2016. 28. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 15. 29. Korchnoi, My Best Games, volume 1, page 23. 30. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 17. This is omitted (2004). 3 1 . Ibid. 32. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 29. 33. Nine years after the tournament, downed U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was tried and convicted of espionage in the hall. 34. Kasparov, My Great, Part III, page 9. 35. Geller, Grandmaster Geller, page 26. 36. Shakhmaty v SSSR, January 1952. 37. 64, June 2009. 38. New in Chess, issue 1, 2012. Averbakh in Noev Kovcheg, February 14, 2012, said Rona asked several players who was more talented and was told "Of course, Tigran! " She made her decision based on that, http:/ /noev-kovcheg.ru/mag/2012-03/3063. html. 39. Averbakh, Center-Stage, page 119. 40. 64, October 2007.

Chapter 3 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 2. http:/ /chesspro.ru/_events/2008/neistadt85. html. 3. Nikitin in Crestbook.com, December 2009 said, "When I received the title of master of sport of the USSR-then this title was valued more than in­ ternational master:' 4. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot. 5. 64, issue 19, 1982. 6. Tolush, Alexander, page 23. 7. Ibid., page 5. 8. 64, April 1999. 9. Ibid. 10. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 18. 1 1 . New in Chess, issue 4, 1989. Korchnoi belittled both Spassky and Tolush by saying "the tutor not only had a hand in his chess education but also in his general education, his human education:' 12. Vechernyaya Moskva, http://www.vmdaily. ru/ article.php?aid=41351. Accessed October 8, 2007. 13. 64, January 2007. 14. http:/ /www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=23. 15. Landau, Lyubov, page 17. 16. Magnitsky Metal/, January 21, 2006, http:// magmetall.ru/ contribition/2513.htm. 1 7. http://www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=23. 18. Kingpin, autumn 1998.

19. 64, September 2005. 20. Sport- Weekend, February 6, 2011, http://sport­ weekend.com.index.php?option=com_content&task =view&id=5499&Itemid=l. 2 1 . Szily, Mar6czy Geza, page 21. 22. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 22. 23. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1952. 24. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 84. 25. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 5. 26. New in Chess, issue 2, 2002, and 64, October 2002. 27. Prokhorovich, Mezhozonalny, page 201. 28. Ibid. , page 203. 29. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 117. 30. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 21. 3 1 . http://chesspro.ru/ details/voronkov_20_ champ_ussr. 32. Ibid. 33. 64, January 2007. 34. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March 1997. 35. Vestnik, August 25, 1992. 36. Ibid. In Kingpin, autumn 1998, he said, "It was Soviet vlasti that helped me win the title!" 3 7. Sport-Express, http:/ /www.sport-express.ru/ fridays/reviews/973473/. 38. Interview with the author and Marcy Soltis, October 4, 1984. 39. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 28. He added that after that game Tal "was proud if he managed to save a draw against me:' 40. 64, May 1999. 4 1 . Ibid. 42. Karpov, Karpov, page 92. 43. Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1991. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 60 said that before the 1955 Interzonal "he considered that by careful play he could defi­ nitely come third or fourth, and this was all that he aimed for:' 44. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 44 said "Those years were very joyful. Petrosian was later to remember them as he happiest of his life:' 45. Ibid. , page 32. 46. Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986.

Chapter 4 1 . Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 25. 2. Korchnoi, Wade and Blackstock, Korchnoi's 400, page 3. 3. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 84. 4. Konstantinopolsky, 21st Pervenstvo, page 16. 5. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 22. 6. Ibid., page 34. 7. www.sportsdaily.ru/articles/grossmeyster­ mark-taymonov-vsya- moya-zhizn- sploshnoy­ otdyih-59929. Also Sport- Weekend, February 7, 2001 and http:/ /www.e3e5.com/ article.php ?id=279. 8. Geller, Grandmaster Geller, page 40.

Notes- Chap ters 5 and 6 9. Details of Buenos Aires trip come from Taimanov, Zarubezhniye, pages 18-31, and Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 543. 10. Abramov, Shakhmaty 1954, page 231. 1 1 . Geller, Grandmaster Geller, pages 44-45. 12. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977), page 26. But his teammates included Alexander Nikitin, who earned a gold medal on fourth board, and Nikolai Krogius. 1 3 . Abramov, Shakhmaty 1954, page 33. There was a separate Saar-land team in the 1954 Olympiad. 14. Taimanov, Zarubezhniye, page 69. 1 5. 64, May 1999. 16. Ibid. 1 7. Ibid. 1 8. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 6. 19. New in Chess, issue 6, 1997. 20. Taimanov in Sport- Weekend, February 6, 2011, http://sport-weekend.com.index.php?option= com_content&task=view&id=5499&Itemid=l. 2 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 122. 22. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 21. 23. http://whychess.com/en/node/4192 and Sport­ Express, http://others.sport-express.ru/reviews/4315/, accessed March 5, 2010. 24. Chess (UK), Christmas 1985 issue. 25. Ibid. 26. http://whychess.com/en/node/4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 27. Landau, Lyubov, page 102 and 64, October 1998. 28. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 21. 29. http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/winter 143.html. 30. 64, June 2003. 3 1 . http://www.ogoniok.com/archive/2003/4785/ 06-53-55/. 32. 64, June 2009.

Chapter s 1 . Botvinnik quoted by Yuri Razuvaev in 64, October 2008. Spassky quoted in 64, January 2007. 2. Vladimir Simagin, 22nd Pervenstvo, page 67. 3. 64, January 2007. 4. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977) , page 27. 5. Chess (UK), March 20, 1972. 6. Beilin, Shakhmaty 1955, page 7. 7. 64, January 2007. 8. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 165. 9. Chess (UK), Christmas 1985 issue. 10. Ibid. 1 1 . Koblents, Dorogami, page 29. 12. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 183. 13. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977) , page 27. 14. Argumenty i Fakty, April 8, 2009. http://spb. aif.ru/ society/ article/ 6538. 15. Pergamon Chess, July 1988.

359

16. 64, December 2007. 17. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March 1997. 1 8 . https:/ /www.svobodanews.ru/Transcript/ 2006/0l/2006/0l/26/20060126123520300.html. 19. 64, January 2007. 20. Beilin, Shakhmaty 1955, page 27. Evans and Nicolas Rossolimo tied for first prize. Rossolimo won on tie breaks and drove home to New York in the car. 2 1 . British Chess Magazine, March 1956. 22. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977), page 30. 23. 64, March 2006. 24. 64, March 2003. This continued to the final days of the USSR. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 94, said Tal kept one-sixth of the 50,000 Canadian-dollar first prize at the World Blitz Championship in 1988. The rest went to the Sports Committee. 25. 64, September 2000. 26. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (2004) page 17, 64, September 2005, and Izvestia, July 19, 2007. Korch­ noi was awarded the title of grandmaster of the USSR in 1954. He was the 17th to earn it. 27. http://sport-weekend.com/index.php?option =com_content&task=view&id-5643&Itemid=l. Krabbe from https://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/ chess/fant 100.htm. 28. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 62 and Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 121. 29. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 121. 30. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 63. 3 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 32. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977), page 13. 33. Sovietsky Sport, http:/ /sovsport.ru/others/ chess/articles/505904-10-j-chempion-mira-boris­ spasskij-a-debjuty-ja-znal-parshivo. Accessed Jan­ uary 20, 2012.

Chapter 6 l. Shakhmaty v SSSR, May 1959. 2. Raetsky and Chetverik Tai, page 8. 3. Cafferty, Tals 100, page 10. 4. Ibid. 5. http://chesspro.ru/thesaurus/mihalchishin_ protivoborstvo_ischeznuvshih_stran. 6. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (1977), page 32. 7. 64, March 1986. 8. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 235. 9. Shakmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986. 10. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 175. 1 1 . Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 101. 12. Korchnoi, Chess ls My Life (2004), page 36. 13. New in Chess, issue 3, 2011. 14. Koblents, Dorogami, page 62. 1 5 . https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 16. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 57.

360

Notes-Chapter 7

17. Cafferty, Tals 100, page 23. 18. Sosonko, Russian, page 23. 19. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 182. 20. Ibid. 2 1 . 64, November 2014. 22. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 61. 23. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 182. 24. http://chess-news.ru/node/17179. 25. Chessmetrics.com says his performance rat­ ing was 2752. Gligoric's was 2718 and Reshevsky's was 2720 in winning Dallas 1957, the strongest for­ eign international of the year. 26. Muller and Stolze, Magic Tactics, page 65. 27. Shakhmaty v SSSR, May 1959. 28. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 63. 29. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 36. 30. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 39. 3 1 . Koblents, Dorogami, page 7. 32. https://web.archive.org/web/20091123072603/ http://www.facts.kiev.ua/archive/2009-11-20/101796/ index.html. 33. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 113. 34. Ibid., page 115. 35. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 178, and Cafferty, Tals 100, page 27. 36. Koblents, Dorogami, page 79. 37. 64, January 1993. 38. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 113. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 66 said it was an antibiotic. 39. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 113. 40. 64, June 1999. 4 1 . Ibid. 42. Koblents, Dorogami, page 85. 43. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1990. 44. Ibid. 45. Geller, Grandmaster Geller, page 113, and Damsky, Grossmeister Geller, page 138. 46. http:/ /www.chessintranslation.com/2011/03/ anti-hero-evgeny-vasiukov-on-viktor-korchnoi/. 47. Ibid. Vasiukov met Fischer again in 1971 and asked Bobby if he remembered the result of their games. "Of course I remember. Why only the result?" he said and reeled off the moves of a French Defense they played 13 years before, according to Taimanov in Sport- Weekend, February 6, 2011, http://sport­ weekend.com.index.php?option=com_content&task =view&id=5499&Itemid=l. 48. New in Chess, issue 7, 1988. 49. 64, October 2002. 50. Averbakh, Center-Stage, page 108. 5 1 . 64, July 2003. 52. Sport-Express, https://chess24.com/en/read/ news/boris-spassky-i-m-waging-a-war. 53. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 381. 54. http://chesspro.ru/view/gavrilov_petrosian. 55. Tal, Life and Games (1976), pages 69-70. 56. 64, October 1983. 57. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/

mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part22. 58. Ibid. 59. Cafferty, Tals 100, page 25. 60. Damsky, Grossmeister Geller, page 136. 6 1 . Koblents, Dorogami, page 98. 62. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 462. Pet­ rosian said he, not Geller, expressed doubts about Tal's position. 63. Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986. Tal added that it became a running joke: When he showed Koblents one of his wins, Koblents would say, "Misha, you are a genius:' Tal would reply, "I know" and they would both laugh. 64. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 106, said "be­ fore making his move and capturing the piece, Filip offered a draw:' Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 128, said Black's position seemed better after his 27th move when he "unexpectedly" offered a draw. In https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail­ tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-22, Tal revised his version: "My partner defended very well, and then offered a draw, and with a good reason. What should I do? I saw a bishop sacrifice, but then I could even lose. In chess, it often happens that the only way to win lies on a narrow road over the abyss. Not everyone likes to walk there . . . . I quickly per­ suaded myself that I had to sacrifice:' 65. Korchnoi, My Best Games, volume 2: Games with Black, page 142. 66. Koblents, Dorogami, page 38. 67. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 192. Koblents denied this in Vospominaniye, page 132. Tal did not mention either version in Tal, Life and Games. 68. Ibid. 69. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 107. 70. Landau, Lyubov, page 22. 7 1 . Ibid. 72. Ibid., page 26. 73. Ibid. , page 28.

Chapter 7 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 121. 2. Ibid. 3. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 87. 4. 64, July 2009. 5. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 121. 6. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1990. 7. Averbakh in Noev Kovcheg, February 14, 2012, http://noev-kovcheg.ru/mag/2012-03/3063.html. 8. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 21. 9. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 542. 10. Tal Life and Games (1976), page 109. Tal added, "Thus by not taking first place at Tbilisi, I performed a good deed for chess:' 1 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 122. 12. New in Chess, issue 1, 2012.

Notes-Chapter 8 13. Shakhmaty v SSSR, March 1961. 14. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 36. In the 2004 version, page 37, he wrote "I lacked the strength to refuse expert help:' 15. Flohr, Skvoz, page 123. 16. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 118. 1 7. Landau, Lyubov, page 30. 18. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 19. 64, October 2001. 20. Beilin, Shakhmaty 1958-1959, pages 274-277. 2 1 . Ibid. 22. Udovich, Match Veka, page 65, and Shakh­ maty v SSSR, July 1972. 23. Landau, Lyubov, page 33. 24. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 25. Landau, Lyubov, page 13. 26. Ibid. , page 31. 27. Ibid. , page 33. 28. Ibid. , page 35. 29. Ibid. , page 36. 30. Koblents, Dorogami, page 116. 3 1 . Ibid. 32. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 147. 33. Winter, Capablanca, page 249. 34. http:/ /chess-news.ru/17179. 35. Krogius, Psychology in Chess, page 44. 36. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 171. 37. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 38. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 148. 39. Krogius, Psychology, page 142. 40. Donner, The King, page 39. 4 1 . Ibid., page 39. 42. Landau, Lyubov, page 38. 43. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ botvinnik-lO0th-anniversary-party-at-suzdal-part2. 44. Ibid. 45. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 120. 46. Ibid. 47. Landau, Lyubov, page 55. 48. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 49. Landau, Lyubov, page 55. 50. Ibid. 5 1 . Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 117. 52. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 120. Tal said, "Everyone knew that nine days before Bled, I had an operation:' In https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/ Spektrowski/mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come­ alivequot-part-3. 53. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 121. 54. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3.

361

55. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 474. 56. Tribuna, January 31, 2012, http://www. tribuna. ru/news/sports/pravaya_ruka_chempionov/. 57. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 210. 58. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 121. 59. Ibid., page 119. 60. Ibid., page 122. Tal claimed only the last two draws with Petrosian were agreed in advance. 6 1 . Landau, Lyubov, page 49. 62. Linder and Linder. Koroli, page 476. 63. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 64. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 210. 65. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 122. 66. http://whychess.com/en/node/4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 67. https:/ /worldchesshof.org/ exhibit/memo rable-life-glimpse-complex-mind-bobby-fischer. 68. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 69. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 70. http://whychess.com/en/node/4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 7 1 . Vasiliev, Akteri, page 212. 72. Cafferty, Tals 100, page 31. 73. Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986. 74. Tribuna, January 31, 2012, http://www.tribuna. ru/news/sports/pravaya_ruka_chempionov/. 75. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 93. 76. Sosonko, Russian, page 20 and http://why chess.com/en/node/4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 77. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 152. 78. Landau, Lyubov, page 59. 79. Ibid. , page 60. 80. Ibid. , page 62.

Chapter s 1. Vechernyaya Moskva, http://www.vmdaily. ru/ article.php?aid=41351. accessed October 18,2007. 2. January 21, 2005, www.euruchess.org/cgi-bin/ index.cgi?action=viewnews&id=583. Also 64, Oc­ tober 2001. 3. Van Reek, Grand, page 150. 4. 64, October 2007. 5. http://whychess.com/en/node/4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 6. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 472. 7. chess-news.ru, 11/9/2016. http://www.chess­ news.ru/node/22295. 8. Landau, Lyubov, page 59. 9. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 36. 10. Chess (UK), March 20, 1972. 1 1 . 64, January 2007. 12. Ibid. 13. German, Shakhmatny, page 109.

362

Notes-Chapter 8

14. Ibid. 15. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 38. 16. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 526. 17. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 39. 18. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 106. 1 9 . http:/ /bulvar.com. ua/ gaze ta/ archives/ s48_ 65794/7826.html. 20. Sosonko, Rise and Fall, page 119. 2 1 . http://chess-news.ru/node/2064 and http:// www.chessintranslation.com/2011/03/anti-hero ­ evgeny-vasiukov-on-viktor-korchnoi/. 22. www.sportsdaily.ru/articles/grossmeyster­ mark-taymonov-vsya-moya-zhizn-sploshnoy-otdyih59929. 23. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 44. 24. Zagainov, Porazhoniye, page lll. 25. Narodnaya Volya, July 21, 2009. 26. Zagainov, Porazhoniye, page 111. 27. Ibid., page 20. 28. Yet on Chess Is My Life (1977), page 78, Ko­ rchnoi spoke of players who "feel enmity towards their opponent" and said this category includes him. 29. Facts.kiev. ua, June 13, 2007, and Sport- Week­ end, March 22, 2001, http://sport-weekend.com/ index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id= 5643&Itemid=l. Taimanov gave a similar account in www.sportsdaily.ru/articles/ grossmeyster-mark­ taymonov-vsya-moya- zhizn -sploshnoy-otdyih59929. 30. Landau, Lyubov, page 69. Averbakh quoted Tal as saying "Botvinnik won't be able to argue with me, because I am ready to concede him everything!" In http:/ /whychess.com/ en/node/ 4192. Accessed November 7, 2012. 3 1 . Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 153. 32. Ibid. , page 155. 33. http://www.chess-news.ru/node/17179. 34. Landau, Lyubov, page 68. 35. Tal, Life and Games (1976), pages 171-2. 36. Landau, Lyubov, pages 68-9. 37. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 125. 38. Koblents, Dorogami, page 152. 39. http://www.chess-news.ru/node/17179. 40. 64, March 2016, and in Sport- Weekend, Feb­ ruary 6, 2011, http://sport-weekend.com.index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=5499&Itemid=l. 4 1 . Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 42. 42. Van Reek, Grand, page 150. 43. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 39. 44. Chess (UK), May 1992. 45. Fakty, January 7, 2009. 46. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, pages 115-116. 47. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1990. 48. 64, June 1998. 49. Landau, Lyubov, page 69. 50. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 239. 5 1 . Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1960. 52. Koblents, Vospominaniye, pages 156-7.

53. Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 17, 1986. 54. http:/ /chesspro.ru/interview/andrzej_fili powicz_interview. 55. Landau, Lyubov, page 180. 56. Ibid. 57. Players Chess News, September 6, 1982. 58. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 170. 59. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 60. Kasparov, My Great, Part II, page 432. 6 1 . https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-quotwhen-pieces-come-alivequot-part-3. 62. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 89. 63. Sports Illustrated, May 30, 1960. 64. Landau, Lyubov, page 70. 65. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1959. 66. German, Shakhmatny Yezhegodnik 1960, page 78. 67. Ibid. , page 83. Lombardy, Understanding, page 116, said he surprised Spassky by choosing this variation and "Boris surprised me by castling short!" 68. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 43, said the first ban was for two years. 69. 64, January 1992. 7 0. http : / /vest.lv/news/on- uehal-miskoi-avernulsya-gross. 7 1 . Kirillov, Team Tai, page 93. 72. Grodzensky and Romanov, Khod, page 144. 73. Koblents, Dorogami, page 59. 74. Vasiliev, Akte ri, page 87. No game like this appears in standard databases. 75. Ibid. 76. Landau, Lyubov, page 71. 77. Ibid. 78. Ibid. , page 75. 79. Koblents, Dorogami, pages 173-4. 80. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 44. 8 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 324. 82. Ibid. , pages 322-23. 83. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 44. 84. 64, April 1999. But in Chess Is My Life (1977), page 50, he wrote, "I think that 1964-65 were the years of Spassky's best form:' 85. https:/ /kevinspraggettonchess. wordpress. com/2012/01/30/boris-spassky-turns-75-years-young/. 86. Chessworld, January-February 1964. 87. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 88. Kingpin, autumn 1998. 89. 64, January 2007. 90. Chess Life, December 1980. 9 1 . Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 487. 92. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 106. 93. 64, November 2006 and Chaika, May 19, 2006, http://www.chayka.org/node/1082. 94. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 107. 95. Koblents, Dorogami, pages 183-4.

Notes-Chap ter 9 96. Beilin, Shakhmatny 1961, page 15. 97. Bjelica, Grandmasters, pages 207-8. 98. Beilin, Shakhmatny 1961, page 16. 99. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 178. 100. Beilin, Shakhmatny 1961, page 27. 1 0 1 . Landau, Lyubov, page 181. 102. Koblents, Dorogami, page 191. 103. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 197. 1 04. 64, November 2006, and Chaika, May 19, 2006, http:/ /www.chayka.org/node/1082. 105. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 195. 106. 64, November 2006.

Chapter 9 1. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/ll/ mikhail-tal-and-contemporary-chess/. 2. Ibid. 3. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 123. 4. Tribuna, January 31, 2012, http:/ /www. tribuna.ru/news/sports/pravaya_ruka_chempionov/. 5. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 43. 6. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 45. 7. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 239. 8. Sports Illustrated, May 30, 1960. 9. Bellin, Shakhmatny 1961, page 14. 10. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 192. 1 1 . Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 182. 12. http://www.chess-news.ru/node/22295. 13. Landau, Lyubov, page 108. 14. http://www.gmsquare.com/SallyTal.html. 15. Landau, Lyubov, page 112. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid., page 113. 18. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 19. Ibid. 20. Van Reek, Grand, page 151. 2 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 22. Van Reek, Grand, page 151. 23. http:/ /www.spraggettonchess.com/borisspassky-turns-75-years-young. 24. Tolush, Alexander, page 5. 25. http://chesspro.ru/ details/bonadrevsky_100. 26. 64, January 2007. 27. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 45. 28. 64, issue 19-20, 1994. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 48, said his 1963 trip to Cuba was "to all appearances" being "wrecked" until factory workers of his Trud sports society wrote a joint letter, with many signatures "demanding that I should be allowed to play abroad:' 29. Kotov, V Shutki, page 294. 30. Bulletin of Central Chess Club, issue 5, 1961. 3 1 . Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 20, 1986. 32. Beilin, Shakhmatny 1961, page 244. 33. Bjeclica, Grandmasters, page 164. 34. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 50.

363

35. http://chesspro.ru/ _events/2012/ asrian2_ enc.html. 36. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 46. 37. Ibid. , page 44. 38. Ibid., page 45. 39. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 239. Vasiliev said Tal suffered severe kidney pain right after the Soviet championship and had to be taken by ambu­ lance to a hospital, Akteri, page 233. 40. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 195. 4 1 . Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 241. 42. Landau, Lyubov, page 55. 43. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 241. 44. Sports Illustrated, August 20, 1962. 45. Chess Life & Review, January 1977. "Surely he wasn't being serious;' he said in Chess Is My Life (1977), page 45. In Bohm and Jongkind, Bobby, page 38, he said, "Fischer was actually angry not only on his behalf but on mine:' 46. Bohm and Jongkind, Bobby, page 37. 47. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 45. The Geller-Petrosian game was 18 moves, not 10. 48. Bohm and Jongkind, Bobby, page 37. 49. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 51. 50. Tribuna, January 31, 2012. http://www. tribuna. ru/news/sports/pravaya_ruka_chempionov/. Aver­ bakh said, "Three of our grandmasters-Keres, Pet­ rosian and Geller-decided not to risk, to conserve strength, considering the long duration of the four­ cycle tournament and the difficult, hot climate:' 5 1 . Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 242. 52. Landau, Lyubov, page 145. 53. http://www.gmsquare.com/SallyTal.html. 54. Timman, Curafao 1962, page 26. 55. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 164. In Tigran, page 110, Vasiliev wrote, "Korchnoi must burn him­ self out. No man could continue to expend such colossal amounts of physical and nervous energy in every game:' 56. Timman, Curafao 1962, page 139. 57. Beilin, Shakhmaty 1962, page 42. 58. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October, 1962. 59. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 99. 60. Chess Cafe.com, August 23, 2002. Accessed August 23, 2002. 6 1 . https:// chess24.com/en/read/news/paulkeres-vii-last-chance-in-curacao. 62. 64, December 2002. 63. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 113. 64. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16 .article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 65. Ibid. Mikhail Petrosian believed this hap­ pened before the final game. 66. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 45. In New in Chess 3/2001, he said Petrosian "did not have much of a fighting spirit which is why it was impor­ tant that his wife was with him:'

364

Notes-Chapter 10

67. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 45. In the 2004 version this was translated as "a painstak­ ing nighttime analysis;' page 51. 68. Benko, Pal Benko, page 128. Benko misre­ membered the Keres game as occurring in the last round. So did Petrosian in Shakhmaty {Riga), issue 7, 1969: "You know in Cura<,:ao in 1962 Benko in the last round defeated Keres and that guaranteed me victory in that tournament:' 69. New in Chess, issue 3, 2001. 70. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 104. 7 1 . Vasiliev, Tigran, page 116. 72. Sosonko, World, page 218 and New in Chess, issue 1, 2012. 73. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), pages 4546. Omitted in (2004). 74. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16. article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html.

Chapter IO 1 . 64, October 2007. In the same article, Boris­ lav Ivkov wrote, "It's a great wonder that he became world champion:' 2. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 53. 3. Soviet Life, March 1969. 4. New in Chess, issue 3, 2001. 5. Averbakh, Centre-Stage, page 132. 6. Ibid., page 136. 7. Tal, Life and Games {1976), page 243. 8. Muller and Stolze, Magic, page 154. 9. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 244. 10. https:/ /chess24.com/en/read/news/spassky­ stars-as-mamedyarov-crushes-tal-blitz. 1 1 . Sport-Express, https://www.chess.com/blog/ Spektrowski/boris-spassky-2016-interview. In Muller and Stolze, Magic, page 153, Spassky said this hap­ pened when he returned to his hotel "about half past three in the morning:' He added, "If I had got in only a few minutes later he would not have survived the blaze:' 12. Chess Herald, issued 4, 1994. 13. 64, April 1999. 14. http:///www.facts.kiev.ua/2007/01/07 .htm. 15. 64, January 1997. 16. http:/ /whychess.com/ en/node/2546. 1 7. Van Reek, Grand, page 151. 18. Tribuna, http://www.tribuna.ru/news/sports/ posledniy_match_patriarkha/. It also said he wanted the match to start April 1, not in March, because he had sore throats in winter. But his son Mikhail said he wanted the match to begin in May because his ears hurt in winter, http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive. date-2008_06_16.article-priemnuiy_sun_tigrana_ petrosyana-mikhaila/article.html. After much back and forth, FIDE scheduled a March 23 start. 19. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 382.

20. 64, July 2009. 2 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 386. 22. Chess Life, July-August 1963. 23. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April-June, 1993. 24. Asrian in 64, March 2012. In an interview with the author and Marcy Soltis on October 4, 1984, Spassky said he urged Botvinnik to have Geller as his official second. Botvinnik replied, "You don't choose as your second a man who is under the shoe of his wife:' 25. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 26. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16. article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 27. http://chesspro.ru/thesaurus/tigran_petrosian_ 85. 28. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 147. 29. Botvinnik, Achieving, page 172. 30. Chess Life, June 1963. 3 1 . 64, May 1999. 32. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 140. 33. http://chesspro.ru/view/gavrilov_petrosian. 34. 64, June 2003. 35. 64, June 2009. 36. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 49. 37. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 246. 38. Chess Horizons, March/April 1993. 39. https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-tv-interview-in-1987. 40. Tal, Life and Games {1976), page 248. 4 1 . Sports daily, http://sportsdaily.ru/articles/ zhivyie-shakhmatyl-peterburga-37924. 42. 64, March 2011. 43. Ibid. 44. Moscow Times, June 6, 2003. http://carls chreck.com/ displayArticle.php?article_id=89. 45. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-tv-interview-in-1987. 46. http://sobytiya.net. ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16. article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/article.html. 47. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 53. 48. Kashdan, First Piatigorsky, page xi. 49. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004) page 52. 50. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 422. 5 1 . 64, July 2009. This was their last decisive re­ sult. 52. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 76. 53. Gudok, August 7, 2016, https://www.chess. com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky-new-interview­ lokomotiv-society-saved-me-twice. In Van Reek, Grand, page 150, Spassky said in 1961 that Lokomotiv had found a one-room apartment for his estranged wife so she moved out of the Spassky home "and peace was restored:' 54. Gudok, August 7, 2016 https://www.chess. com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky-new-interview­ lokomotiv-society-saved-me-twice.

Notes-Chap ter 11 55. Ibid. 56. Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012 and http:// sovsp ort.ru/ others/ chess/ articles/ 505904-10-j ­ chempion-mira-boris-spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal­ parshivo. 57. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 160. 58. Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012 and http:// sovsport.ru/ others/ chess/ articles/5059 0 4 - 1 0 -j ­ chempion-mira-boris-spasskij-a-debjuty-ja-znal­ parshivo. 59. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 49. 60. Averbakh, Cen tre-Stage, page 164. Also, http://chesspro.ru/thesaurus/mikhalchishin_smyslov said the Smyslov decision was made "a few days" be­ fore the Zonal began. 6 1 . Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 50. The (2004), page 53, called Spassky a "strikebreaker" and Bondarevsky "a Stalinist:' 62. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 50. 63. Kotov, V Shutki, page 312. 64. Shakhmaty v SSSR, July 1964. 65. Kasparov, My Great, Part III, pages 240-3. 66. Sports Illustrated, May 30, 1960. 67. Fakty i Kommentarii, http://facts.kiev.ua/ archive/2008-11-29/92238/index.html. 68. Landau, Lyubov, page 114. 69. Ibid. , page 126. 70. Ibid. , page 122. 7 1 . Ibid. , page 123. 72. Ibid. Landau also said that a government minister with whom she had become involved in­ tervened on his behalf. 73. 64, July 1992. 74. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 253. 75. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 76. Sosonko, Smart Chip, page 8. Sosonko, Rise and Fall, page 193, said that after Petrosian and Bronstein tied for first in the Moscow Champion­ ship (1968) Petrosian refused to take part in a playoff match because if he lost Bronstein "would declare himself the de facto world champion:' 77. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 165. 78. Chess Life & Review, January 1970.

Chapter ll 1. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 210. 2. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 60. 3. Chess Review, June 1965. 4. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 5. Sports Illustrated, May 30, 1960. 6. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 55. 7. 64, issue 19-20, 1994. 8. www.jjew, March 23, 2007. 9. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 55. 10. euruchess.org, May 11, 2004. http://www.eu­ ruchess.org/ cgi?action=viewnews&id=461. Accessed October 26. 2007.

365

1 1 . Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 245. 12. 64, October 2006, and in Chaika, May 19, 2006, http://www.chayka.org/node/1082. 13. Sport-Express, August 21, 2009. 14. Landau, Lyubov, page 126. 15. Ibid. , page 135. 16. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 312. 17. Ibid. 18. Chess Review, November 1965. 19. Tal and Damsky, Attack, page 23. 20. Ibid. , page 24. 2 1 . Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 494. 22. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 312. 23. Chess Review, December 1965. 24. Tal and Damsky, Attack, page 1. 25. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 462. 26. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 316. 27. Ibid. 28. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 165. 29. http://sobytiya.net. ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16 .article -priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 30. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 165. Other personal details from this and 64, February 2007. 3 1 . http://chesspro.ru/view/ gavrilov_petrosian. 32. Chess Life & Review, May 1976. 33. http://chesspro.ru/view/ gavrilov_petrosian. 34. 64, June 2009. 35. http://sobytiya.net. ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16. article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/article.html. 36. http://chesspro.ru/view/ gavrilov_petrosian. 3 7. http://sobytiya.net. ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16 .article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 38. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1990. 39. New in Chess, issue 8, 2010. 40. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16 .article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 4 1 . Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1990. 42. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16 .article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 43. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1990. 44. Chess Life & Review, January 1977. 45. Chess Is My Life (1977), page 52. 46. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 108. 47. 64, 20/1980. 48. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 55. The passage in his Shakhmaty bez Poshchadi, page 80, could be translated as "something had to be done:' In both versions he called it "gossip'' but did not deny it was true. 49. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March 1997. 50. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 317. 5 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 52. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 318. But in

366

Notes-Chapter 12

Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 623, Tal is quoted as saying "I wasn't surprised" by the Marshall. 53. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March 1997. 54. Tal and Darnsky, Attack, page 135. 55. http://www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=3l6. 56. Sport-Express, March 4, 2016 and https:// www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky2016-interview. 57. Ibid. 58. Ibid. 59. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 240. 60. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 318. 6 1 . Ibid., page 319. 62. http:/ /www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=3l6. 63. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 159. 64. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 65. Chess Life, July 1966. 66. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 53. Not in (2004). 67. Vasiliev, Tigran, page 162. 68. Kingpin, autumn 1998. 69. Ibid. 70. Chess Life, July 1966. 7 1 . Rudolf Zagainov, Porazhoniye, page 38. 72. Sosonko, World, page 218. 73. Chess Life, July 1966. 74. 64, June 2009. 75. Shakhmaty {Riga), issue 5, 1982. 76. Shekhtman, Games, volume 1, page 7. 77. 64, June 2009. 78. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April 1997. 79. It was a 45-minute documentary aired in spring 1969 and described in 64, February 2007. 80. 64, March 1997. 8 1 . Kingpin, autumn 1998. 82. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 215. 83. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 89. Vasiliev apparently misremembered by saying Petrosian got up after making his 35th move and that Spassky resigned after making his reply. 84. Vechernyaya Moskva, October 18, 2007. http:// www.vmdaily.ru/article.php?aid=4l35l. 85. Chess Life, July 1966. 86. 64, February 2007. 87. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March 1997. 88. 64, February 2007.

Chapter 12 1. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 2. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 348. 3. Ibid., page 258. 4. Shakhmaty v SSSR, September 1966. 5. Kashdan, Second Piatigorsky, page 3. 6. Ibid., page 32. 7. New York Times, August 17, 1966.

8. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1966. 9. 64, June 1997 and www.facts.kiev.us July 19, 2007. But Gregor Piatigorsky wrote, "Unlike some of the other people in the audience she was extremely quiet and she spoke in a whisper so as not to disturb the grandmasters during the play;' Kashdan, Second Piatigorsky, page xx. Also, Petrosian told Larry Evans (Chess Life, January 1968) that he had a winning po­ sition against Fischer in the last round but gave him a draw because he wanted him, rather than Larsen, to finish second. Computers see nothing like a win­ ning position. 10. Kashdan, Second Piatigorsky, page xxi. 1 1 . 64, January 1997. 12. Sport-Express, March 4, 2016 and https:// www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky2016-interview. 13. 64, October 2004. 14. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 349. 15. Shakhmaty v SSSR, March 1991. 16. Korchnoi, Shakhmaty, page 81. 17. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. Similar version in Sport­ Express, August 28, 2009. 18. http:/ /forum.kasparov.ru/viewtopic.php?t= 14168. Accessed on August 31, 2009. 19. Cuba/66, page 97. 20. 64, issue 22, 1989. 2 1 . Ibid. 22. Sport-Express, March 4, 2016 and https:// www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky2016-interview. 23. 64, March 2001. 24. Ibid. Korchnoi, in Shakhmaty, page 76 repeats the story and quotes him as saying, "Unfortunately he has no understanding of the Catalan Opening!" He said he beat Che three times in simuls. 25. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 475. 26. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 350. 27. http:/ /whychess.com/ en/node/4192. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 149, indicates this happened at the Por­ toroz Interzonal. 28. 64, June 2005. 29. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 58. 30. http://en.chessbase.com/post/viktor-korchnoi­ dies-at-85. 3 1 . https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tal-tv-interview-in-1987. 32. 64, May 2005. 33. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 34. Chess Life, July 1964. 35. Chess Life, February 1968. 36. New in Chess, issue 5, 1992. 37. Muller and Stolze, Magic, pages 102-3. Bakh said he introduced the two in 1967. When Koblents completely relinquished his role is unclear. In Team Tai, page 45, Kirillov said that Koblents was assisting

Notes-Chap ter 13 Tal in the 1971 Soviet Championship when they had "a contretemps" after a Tal loss "and the Maestro left town:' Kirillov said he was asked to be Tal's sole sec­ ond for the tournament. 38. http://russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_ tal_the_eyes_of_colleagues_and_friends/. 39. https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ mikhail-tals-blindfold-simul-for-documentary) . Other details from http:/ /en.chessbase.com/post/a­ genial-genius-at-work-tal-blindfold-simul-in-video and Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 474. 40. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 4 1 . http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/06/ analysing-by-the-riverside-with-bobby-fischer/. 42. http://jermuk2009.fide.com/interview-with­ gm-svetozar-gligoric-continuation.html. 43. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2010/06/ analysing-by-the-riverside-with-bobby-fischer/. 44. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April 1997. 45. 64, June 2004. 46. Koblents, Vospominaniye, page 115. 47. Damsky, Grossmeister Geller, pages 9-10. 48. Sosonko, Russian, page 75 and 64, June 2004. 49. 64, issue 22, 1989. 50. 64, July 2008. How much time Petrosian de­ voted to 64 is unclear. Bejlica, Grandmasters, page 200, said "for six months" before his 1969 champion­ ship match "the editor's chair [was] vacant because Petrosian has been preparing:' 5 1 . 64, June 2009. 52. Sosonko, Evil-Doer, page 205 about the es­ trangement from Igor and page 187 for the son out of wedlock. 53. 64, June 2009. 54. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 172. 55. Chess Life & Review, May 1969. 56. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1968. 57. https://www.svoboda.org/a/129672.html. 58. chesstoday.net, November 26, 2000, posted on gmsquare.com, http://www.gmsquare.com/Sally Tai.html. 59. Chess Life, December 1968. 60. https://www.svoboda.org/a/129672.html. 6 1 . Chessville.com, April 7,2004, https:/ /archive. is/bjuIN. 62. https://www.svoboda.org/a/129672.html. Nikitin said in 64, February 2007 that the order was "his second and last government award:' 63. 64, April 1999. 64. Sosonko, Russian, page 25 and 64, April 1999. 65. chess.news.ru, April 30, 2012, and http:// chess pro.rut_events/2011/barskii5_enc.html. But Korch­ noi believed he had hypnotic power over Tal. In Muller and Stolze, Magic, page 110, he said, "There seems to be no other way to explain his catastrophic overall result against me:'

367

66. Zagainov, Porazhoniye, page 20. 67. Landau, Lyubov, page 56. 68. Ibid., pages 185-6. 69. Shakhmaty v SSSR, January, 1991. 70. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 63. 7 1 . Shakhmaty v SSSR, January 1991. In Chess Is My Life (2004), page 61, Korchnoi said, "it was obvious he was doing the utmost to encourage Tat:' 72. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 45. 73. Sosonko, Evil-Doer, page 228. 74. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 361. 75. Ibid. 76. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 243. 77. https://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ viktor-korchnois-interview-after-the-1968-korchnoi­ tal-candidates-match. 78. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 363. 79. Chess Life, December 1968. 80. Sports Illustrated, December 12, 1977. 8 1 . http://chesspro.ru/_events/2007 /voronkov_ henkin.html. 82. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 65. In (2004), page 61, he described himself as "anxious:' 83. Chess Life, May 1969. 84. Byrne, Anatoly Karpov, page 174. 85. Kasparov, My Great, Part III, page 277. 86. http://www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=3l6. 87. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), pages 6465. 88. https:/ I chess24. com/ en/read/news/borisspassky-i-m-waging-a-war. 89. Ibid. 90. 64, June 1999. 9 1 . Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 541. 92. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 363. On page 423, he said "I became extremely nervy when, once again at the last minute" he was excluded. 93. 64, June 1995.

Chapter 13 1 . Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 365. 2. 64, issues 34-36, 1969. 3. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 67. 4. Valery Asrian in 64, January 2011. 5. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 219. 6. Ibid. Spassky later modified his views, saying that if he lost to Petrosian, he would play in candi­ dates matches if they were made longer: "I will no longer play short matches:' Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 7, 1969. 7. 64, January 1997, with other details of Spas­ sky's preparation. 8. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April 1997. 9. 64, April 2009. 10. Zagainov, Porazhoniye, page 20. 1 1 . Keene and Levy, Siegen, pages 23-24.

368

Notes-Chapter 13

12. 64, April 2009. 13. 64, June 2004. 14. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 123. 15. 64, June 2014. 16. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 55. 1 7. FIDE Revue, issue 4, 1963. 1 8. Chess Review, January 1969. 19. http:/ /bulvar.com. ua/ gazeta/ archives/ s48 _ 65794/7826.html. 20. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 221. 2 1 . Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 47. 22. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 99. Time expenditure from Alberic O'Kelly de Galway, Campeonato del Mundo 1969, page 134. 23. Chess Life, December 1968. 24. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 125. 25. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 558. 26. Chess Life & Review, January 1970. 27. Shakhmaty v Rossii, April 1997. 28. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1969. 29. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ boris-spassky-new-interview-lokomotiv-society­ saved-me-twice. Spassky glossed over the break in a tribute to Bondarevsky in http://chesspro.ru/details/ bondarevsky_100: "Of course . . . there were des­ perate disputes and conflicts that are inherent in any process of preparation, but this did not prevent us from working productively:' 30. Shakhmaty v SSSR, March 1969. 3 1 . Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 125. 32. Ibid. 33. http://www.chessintranslation.com/2012/01/ spassky-i-knew-the-openings-badly/. 34. Vasiliev, Akteri, page 245. 35. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1969. 36. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 125. 37. Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012. 38. Kasparov, How Life, page 25. 39. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1969. The de­ scription of the audience reaction to 25. Bd3 is con­ tradicted by O'Kelly, Campeonato, page 145, which said Petrosian replied almost instantly. 40. Ibid. 4 1 . 64, June 2004. 42. http://www.sport-express.ru/fridays/reviews/ 973473/. 43. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 125. 44. 64, January 1997. 45. Kasparov, My Great, Part III, page 79. 46. Kramnik in Izvestia, March 14, 2007, http:// www.izvestia.ru/ sport/ article3102044/. 47. http://sobytiya.net.ua/archive.date-2008_06_ 16. article-priemnuiy_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana­ mikhaila/ article.html. 48. Sport-Express, March 5, 2010, http://others. sport-express.ru/reviews/ 4315/. 49. Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012, http://sov

sport.ru/others/chess/articles/505904-10-j-chempion­ mira-boris-spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal-parshivo. 50. Sosonko, World, page 228. 5 1 . Shakhmaty v SSSR, December 1969. 52. Inside Chess, July 17, 1989. 53. Shakhmaty v SSSR, February 1970. 54. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 130. 55. 64, March 2016. 56. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 411. 57. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 144. 58. Muller and Stolze, Magic, page 109. Tal, in Life and Games (1976), page 411, said he was told that someone, apparently a spectator, exclaimed, "Not bad for a dead man, don't you think?" 59. Evgeny Gik identified her as Irina Mikhaila in http://www.chess-news.ru/node/22295. 60. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 474. 6 1 . Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012. http://sov sport.ru/others/chess/articles/505904-10-j-chempion­ mira-boris-spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal-parshivo. 62. Sport-Express, March 4, 2016, https://www. chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky-2016interview. Also https://www.svoboda.org/a/129672. html. 63. 64, August 2013. 64. www.svobodnanews.ru, July 19,2007. 65. Inside Chess, July 10, 1995. 66. Keene and Levy, Siegen, page 22. 67. Baturinsky, Stranitsy, page 31. 68. 64, April 2000. 69. 64, August 2002. 70. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 412. 7 1 . Alburt and Lawrence, Three Days, page 110. He added, "During the years when I was champion of the world, probably that was the most annoying and unpleasant event:' 72. 64, February 2007. 73. Sovietsky Sport, January 20, 2012. http://sov sport.ru/others/chess/articles/505904-10-j-chempion­ mira-boris-spasskij -a-debjuty-ja-znal-parshivo. 74. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 170. 75. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 69. 76. Koltanowski in Chess Life & Review, July 1970. 77. Tal, Life and Games (1976), page 413. 78. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 70. In (2004), he explained Portsch's decision differently: "It is probable that he was satisfied with winning by the minimum margin;' that is, a 2½-1½ score with Korchnoi. 79. http:/ /chesspro.ru/interview/portisch_inter view. 80. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 520. 8 1 . Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 71. 82. http://www.hrt.hr/ enz/sahovski-komentar/ 361627/. 83. 64, January 1992. 84. Ibid. 85. 64, March 2001.

Notes-Chapter 14 86. Tai, Life and Games (1976) , page 416. 87. Taimanov and Cafferty, Soviet, page 150. 88. http:/ /www.chess-news.ru/node/22295. 89. http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2009-11-20/101796/ index.html and https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spek trowski/an-interview-with-angelina-tal. 90. http:/www.newsvostok.ru/v-sokol-nikah-tal­ vyigral-sem-samovarov/. 9 1 . http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2009-11-20/101796/ index.html and https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spek trowski/an-interview-with-angelina-tal. 92. Ibid.

Chapter 14 1. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 183. 2. Ibid. , pages 217-18. 3. Ibid. , page 214. 4. Shekhtman, Games, volume 2, page 91, and Shakhmaty {Riga) issue 7, 1969. 5. 64, November 1999. 6. Linder and Linder, Koroli, page 547. 7. 64, May 1999. 8. Tai, Life and Games {1976), page 416. 9. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 29. 10. http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2009-11-20/101796/ index.html). 1 1 . russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 12. New in Chess, issue 1, 2017. 13. Sport-Express, August 28, 2009. 14. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 75. Korchnoi said they played "at Karpov's home" but made no mention of the location in (2004). 15. Karpov, Karpov, page 73. 16. Ibid. , page 80. 17. Sport, April 17, 2008, http://sportdaily.ru/ issue.aspx/766/24796/ch. 18. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 75. 19. Chess Life & Review, August 1971. 20. Shakhmaty v SSSR, August 1971. 2 1 . Sosonko, Evil-Doer, page 110. 22. 64, October 2001. 23. Posted on MK.ru on January 30, 2017. Similar version in Shakhmaty v Rossii, issues 2-3, 1997. 24. www.facts.kiev July 19, 2007. How religious Spassky is remains unclear. "I call myself a 'half-be­ liever: Sometimes I'm a firm believer, sometimes I become an atheist;' he said in https:/ /www.chess. com/blog/Spektrowski/boris- spassky-2016-inter view. 25. https:/ /www.svoboda.org/a/129672.html. 26. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ boris-spassky-2016-interview. 27. Edmonds and Eidinow. Bobby, page 67. 28. Ibid., page 54.

369

29. http:/ /www.spraggettonchess.com/walter­ dobrich-writes-about-spassky/. 30. https:/ /www.svoboda.org/a/129672.html. 3 1 . Lecture at the Chicago Chess Club, February 1974, Michigan Chess, September 1974. He said he lost to Petrosian because he was "exhausted" by the Geller match but also because the semifinals were in Moscow. 32. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 79. 33. Shakhmaty v SSSR, October 1971. 34. Lecture at the Chicago Chess Club, February 1974, Michigan Chess, September 1974. "People j oked . . ." from Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 79. 35. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 273. 36. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 79. 37. Ibid. 38. 64, January 2001. 39. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life {1977), page 79. 40. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 109. 4 1 . http : / / ch e s s p r o . r u / t h e s au r u s / tig ran_ petrosian_85. 42. http:/ /bulvar.com. ua/g azeta/archives/s48_ 65794/7826.html. 43. Chess Life, January 1977. 44. http:/ /bulvar.com. ua/gazeta/archives/ s48_ 65794/7826.html. 45. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 273. 46. Ibid. While Korchnoi believed his "war" with Petrosian began in 1960 and Averbakh felt their re­ lations were spoiled in 1971, Mikhail Petrosian said, "Korchnoi and our family had good relations" until 1974 and said he spent his honeymoon in Leningrad as guests of the Korchnois, http://sobytia.net.ua/ archive.date-2008_06_16.article-piemnuly_sun_ tigrana_petrosyana-mihail/ article.html. 47. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, pages 120-6. 48. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ nikolai-krogius-quotp reparing- for-the-match­ against-fischerquot-excerpts-from-boris-spasskys. 49. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 240. 50. New York Times, July 23, 1971. 5 1 . http://chesspro.ru/_events/2007 /voronkov_ henkin.html. 52. 64, June 2016. 53. Plisetsky and Voronkov. Russians, page 221. 54. The letter, signed, "Modest chess worker" and Chebanenko's name, is now in Moscow's Chess Mu­ seum, 64, June 2017. Gufeld in 64, August 2000, said Lev Polugaevsky showed him one of his old note­ books in which he, too, analyzed the key move. Gufeld said, "The notebook proved that Polugaevsky discovered 11. . . . d5! ten years before the match!" 55. Byrne to the author, November 1971. 56. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 80. 57. Kasparov, My Great, Part III, page 108. 58. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 284. 59. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 75.

Notes-Chapter 15

370 60. 61. html. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71.

Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 173. http:/ /noev-kovcheg.ru/mag/2012-03/3063. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 288. Ibid. , page 289. 64, February 2014. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 96. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 242. Ibid. , page 277. Sports Illustrated, November 8, 1971. Bjelica, Grandmasters, page 173. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 294. Ibid.

Chapter IS 1. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 302. 2. 64, June 1997. 3. Chess (UK), April 20, 1972. 4. 64, April 1999. 5. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ nikolai-krogius -quotpreparing- for-the-match­ against-fischerquot-excerpts-from-boris-spasskys. 6. Ibid., with other details of Spassky's preparations. 7. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 298. 8. Ibid., page 299 and https:/ /www.chess.com/ blog/Spektrowski/boris-spassky-new-interview­ lokomotiv-society-saved-me-twice. 9. Muller and Stolze, Magic, page 319. 1 0 . http ://facts.kiev.ua/ archive/20 0 9 - 11-20/ 101796/index.html. 1 1 . http:/ /www.e3e5.com/article.php?id=l275. 12. 64, November 2006. 13. Kirillov, Team Tai, page 140. 1 4. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977) , page 84. 15. euruchess.org, May 11, 2004. http://www. euruchess.org/ cgi-bin/index.cgi?action=viewnews& if=461. Accessed October 26, 2007. 16. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 80. In the 2004 version, page 75, he suggested Petrosian avoided punishment because "on his return to Mos­ cow Petrosian began speaking and writing about some kind of supernatural forces that supposedly interfered with his play:' 1 7 . https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ nikolai-krogius- quotpreparing- for-the-match­ against-fischerquot-excerpts-from-boris-spasskys. 18. Ibid. 19. Rossiiskaya Gazeta, http://www.rg.ru/Anons/ arc_2002/0129/3.shtm. 20. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 301. 2 1 . New in Chess, issue 7, 1988. 22. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, pages 318-9. 23. Ibid., pages 324-6. 24. Ibid. , pages 315-8. 25. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 105.

26. Shakhmaty (Riga) , issue 22, 1970. In Chess (UK) March 20, 1972, he said, "This is great encour­ agement to me. Korchnoi's forecasts always go wrong:' 27. New in Chess, issue 1, 2012. 28. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ boris-spassky-new-interview-lokomotiv-society­ saved-me-twice. 29. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 339. 30. rsport.ria.ru/interview/20150102/792290275. html. 3 1 . Shakhmaty v Rossii, January 1997. He also said he did not need a translator: "We can do everything ourselves:' 32. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ nikolai-krogius- quotpreparing- for-the-match­ against-fischerquot-excerpts-from-boris-spasskys . 33. https:// docs.google.com/ document/ d/lFrQda Gpj0XNaKNOL7Zw3jSr8sDu-HKo3APILBylYdPg/ edit. 34. Karpov, Karpov, page 100. 35. Shakhmaty v Rossii, February-March, 1997. 36. Ibid. Soviet officials later denied it was an emotional conversation. 37. 64, June 1997. 38. Vechernyaya Moskva, October 18, 2007. http:/ /www.vmdaily. ru/article.php?aid=4l35l. 39. https://docs.google.com/document/ d/lFrQda Gpj0XNaKNOL7Zw3jSr8sDu-HKo3APILBylYdPg/ edit. 40. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 339. 4 1 . Ibid. , page 345. 42. Chessbase.com on July 21, 2017, disputed this, saying he took 37 minutes to choose 19 . . . . Rads and only nine for his 21st move. Fischer spent 59 minutes to reach move 21. http://en.chessbase.com/post/ bobby-fischer-in-iceland-45-years-ago-5. 43. https://www.stabroeknews.com/2015/features/ 03/15/anatoly-karpov-talks-bobby-fischer/. 44. Karpov, Karpov, page 98. 45. Keene and Levy, Siegen, page 21. 46. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 200. 47. Plisetsky and Voronkov, Russians, page 353. 48. Ibid., page 349. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 202, quotes Spassky as saying, "Don't spend time on this nonsense. Fischer would never play that:' 49. https:/ /www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ nikolai-krogius- quotpreparing- for-the-match ­ against-fischerquot-excerpts-from-boris-spasskys. 64, January-February 1999 and August 2000. Pliset­ sky and Voronkov, Russians, page 350, credits 14 . . . . Qb7 to Averbakh without elaboration. 50. Plisetsky and Voronkov. Russians, page 258. 5 1 . Ibid. , page 315. 52. http:/ /www.chess-news.ru/nodel83l4. 53. Byrne and Nei, Both Sides, page 113. 54. Shakhmaty v SSSR, November 1972.

Notes-Epilogue 55. https://www.svoboda.org/ a/129672.html. 56. Analysis comes from Shakhmaty (Riga), issue 33, 1972 and Russians, page 372. 57. 64, June 1997. 58. Plisetsky and Voronkov. Russians, page 385. 59. Ibid., page 384. Edmonds and Eidinow, Bobby, page 290, has Tai call his play "simply shocking:' 60. Ibid. 6 1 . Rossiiskaya Gazeta, July 19, 2007.

Epilogue 1 . http ://sovsport.ru/ others/ chess/ articles/ 505904-10-j -chempion-mira-boris-spasskij -a-deb juty-ja-znal-parshivo. 2. Shakhmatny Vestnik, July 1992. 3. http://facts.kiev.ua/archive/2 0 0 9 - 11-20/ 101796/index.html. 4. 64, March 2010. 5. Tribuna, January 31, 2012. http://www.tribuna. ru/news/sports/pravaya_ruka_chempionov/. 6. Sport-Express, March 5, 2010, http://others. sport-express.rut reviews/ 4315. 7. 64, February 2007. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (1977), page 29, said this was for "incautious political pronouncements:' 8. New in Chess, issue 7, 1988. 9. https:// chess24.com/ en/read/news/boris­ spassky-i-m-waging-a-war. 10. Karpov, Karpov, page 120. 1 1 . Chess Life & Review, January 1977.

371

12. Interview with the author and Marcy Soltis, October 4, 1984. 13. Sport- Weekend, January 29, 2009. http://sport­ weekendcom/index.php?option=com_content&task­ view&id=2936&Itemid=l. Accessed January 29, 2009. 14. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 120. 15. Argumenty i Fakty, April 8, 2009, http://spb. ai£ru/society/article/6538. 16. Korchnoi, Chess Is My Life (2004), page 119. 17. New in Chess, issue 5, 1992. 18. New in Chess, issue 3, 2011. 19. 64, March 2010. 20. http://chesspro.ru/view/gavrilov_petrosian. 2 1 . 64, November, 2002. 22. Euruchess.org posted May 11, 2004, http:// www.euruchess.org/ cgi-bin/index.cgi ?action=view news&if=461. 23. russiachess.org, November 14, 2011. http:// russiachess.org/news/report/mikhail_tal_the_eyes_ of_colleagues_and_friends. 24. Sosonko, Russian, page 30. 25. worldofchess.ru, November 30, 2017, https:// worldofchess.ru/panorama-sobytij/167 -zhanna-tal­ papa-prosto-khotel-igrat-v-shakhmaty- zhit-a­ ne-sushchestvovat. 26. https:/ I chess24. com/ en/read/news/boris­ spassky-i-m-waging-a-war. 27. 64, October 2001. 28. https:// chess24.com/ en/read/news/boris­ spassky-i-m-waging-a-war.

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Biblio g raphy Periodicals The main sources were the Russian language mag­ azines 64, Shakhmaty v SSSR, Shakhmaty (pub­ lished in Riga), Shakhmaty v Rossii and Shakh­ matny Vestnik The main English language sources were New in Chess, Chess Life, Chess Life and Re­ view, Chess (published in the UK), Inside Chess and Sports Illustrated.

Reference Karpov, Anatoly, ed. Shakhmaty, Ensyklopedichesky Slovar. Moscow: Sovietskoye Encyclopedia, 1990. Linder, VJ., and I.M. Linder. Koroli Shakhmatnogo Mira. Moscow: Terra-Sport, 2001. Romanov, I.Z. Shakhmatny Slovar. Moscow: Fizkul­ tura I Sport, 1964.

Memoirs, Game Collections and Other Basic Chess Sources Abramov, Lev, ed. Shakhmaty za 1951-2. Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1953. __, ed. Shakhmaty za 1953 goda. Moscow: Fiz­ kultura i Sport, 1954. __, ed. Shakhmaty za 1954 goda. Moscow: Fiz­ kultura i Sport, 1955. Akopian, G.E. Volshebnik Shakhmat. Erevan: Aias­ tan, 1981. Alburt, Lev, and Al Lawrence. Three Days with Bobby Fischer and Other Chess Essays. New York: Chess Information and Research Center, 2003. Alexander, C.H.O'D. Fischer v. Spassky, Reykjavik 1972. Oxford: Penguin, 1972. Averbakh, Yuri. Centre-Stage and Behind the Scenes. Alkmaar: New in Chess 2011. Baturinsky, V.D. Stranitsy Shakhmanoi Zhizni. Mos­ cow: Fizkultura i Sport 1983. Bellin, Mikhail. Shakhmaty za 1955 goda. Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1956.

__. Shakhmaty za 1958-1959 goda. Moscow: Fiz­ kultura i Sport, 1960. __. Shakhmatny Yezhegodnik 1961. Moscow: Fiz­ kultura i Sport, 1963. __. Shakhmatny Yezhegodnik 1962. Moscow: Fiz­ kultura i Sport, 1964. Benko, Pal, and Jeremy Silman. Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions. Los Angeles: Siles Press, 2003. Bjelica, Dimitrije. Grandmasters in Profile. Sarajevo: Zavodza Izdavanje Udzbenika, 1973. Bohm, Hans, and Kees Jongkind. Bobby Fischer: The Wandering King. London: Batsford 2005. Botvinnik, Mikhail. Achieving the Aim. Oxford: Per­ gamon, 1981. Bronstein, David, and Tom Furstenberg. The Sor­ cerers Apprentice. London: Cardogan, 1995. Byrne, Robert. Anatoly Karpov: Road to the World Championship. New York: Bantam, 1976. __ and Ivo Nei. Both Sides of the Chessboard. New York: Quadrangle, 1974. Cafferty, Bernard. Tals 100 Best Games, 1961-1973. New York: Pitman Publishing, 1973. Cafferty, Bernard, and Mark Taimanov. The Soviet Championships. London: Cadogan: 1998. Clarke, P.H. Petrosians Best Games of Chess, 194663. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1973. Damsky, Yakov, ed. Grossmeister Geller. Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1976. Donner, J.H. The King. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2006. Dvoretsky, Mark. Dvoretskys Analytical Manual, sec­ ond edition. Milford, CT: Russell Enterprises, Inc., 2013. Edmonds, David, and John Eidinow. Bobby Fischer Goes to War. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. Euwe, Max, and Jan Timman. Fischer World Cham­ pion! Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2002. Flohr, Salo. Skvoz Prizmu Polveka. Moscow: Soviet­ skaya Rossia, 1986.

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Plisetsky, Dmity, and Sergey Voronkov. Russians Versus Fischer. London: Everyman Chess, 2005. Raetsky, Alexander, and Maxim Chetverik. Boris Spassky: Master of Initiative. London: Everyman Chess, 2006. __. Mikhail Tal, Tactical Genius. London: Every­ man Chess, 2004. Ragosin, Vyacheslav, ed. Shakhmaty za 1947-1949. Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1951. Reid, Anna. Leningrad. New York: Walker & Com­ pany, 2011. Shekhtman, Eduard. The Games of Tigran Petrosian, Volume 1: 1942-1965; Volume 2: 1966-1983. Ox­ ford: Pergamon Chess, 1991. Sosonko, Gennady. Evil-Doer: Half a Century with Viktor Korchnoi. Middletown: Elk and Ruby Pub­ lishing House LLC, 2018. __. The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein. Latvia: Elk and Ruby Publishing House LLC, 2017. __. Russian Silhouettes. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2009. __. Smart Chip from St. Petersburg. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2006. __. The World Champions I Knew. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2013. Timman, Jan. Timmans Titans. Alkmaar: New In Chess, 2016. Taimanov, Mark. Zarubezhniye Vstrechi. Leningrad: Lenizdat, 1958. Tal, Mikhail. The Life and Games ofMikhail Tal. New York: RHM Press, 1976. Second edition, London: Gloucester Publishers, 1997. __ and Iakov Damsky. Attack with Mikhail Tal. London: Gloucester Publishers, 1994. Tolush, Valentina. Alexander Tolush. Moscow: Fizi­ kultura i Sport, 1983. Van Reek, Jan. Grand Strategy: 60 Games by Boris Spassky. Alkmaar: New in Chess, 2003. Vasiliev, Viktor. Akteri Shakhmatnoi Stseni. Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1986. __. Tigran Petrosian, His Life and Games. Lon­ don: Batsford, 1968. Winter, Edward. Capablanca. Jefferson, NC: McFar­ land, 1989. Zagainov, Rudolf. Porazhoniye. Moscow: Computer Chess Publishing House, 1993. Zak, Vladimir. Puty v Sovershevstvovaniya, Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1981.

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Index of Opponents Korchnoi versus:

Averbakh, Yuri 233 Bastrikov, Georgy 67, 134 Boleslavsky, Isaac 239 Bronstein, David 299 Byrne, Robert 259 Csom, Istvan 232 Diez del Corral, Jesus 278 Fischer, Bobby 193 Flohr, Salo 81 Geller, Yefim 71, 305 Gipslis, Aivars 255 Goldberg, Grigory 75 Hort, Vlastimil 255 Kamyshov, Mikhail 55 Karpov, Anatoly 304 Kluger, Gyula 181 Lipnitsky, Isaak 72 Marsalek, Josef 180 Minev, Nikolai 84 Penrose, Jonathan 292 Petrosian, Tigran 29, 79, 192, 238, 311 Platonov, Igor 301 Portisch, Lajos 294 Razov 23 Rovner, Dmitry 22 Smyslov, Vasily 55 Sokolsky, Alexey 80 Spassky, Boris 36, 63, 94, 105, 135, 153, 203, 215, 248, 272, 318 Stein, Leonid 214 Suetin, Alexey 155 Taimanov, Mark 50, 103 Tal, Mikhail 99, 120, 136, 269, 270, 296 Tarasov, Vitaly 113 Vasilchuk, Yuri 30 Yanofsky, Abe 187 Yukhtman, Jacob 117 Zak, Vladimir 54

Petrosian versus:

Bakhtadze 18 Bannik, Anatoly 49, 114 Bednarski, Boguslaw Jacek 274 Benko, Pal 100 Bisguier, Arthur 86 Botvinnik, Mikhail 206, 207 Bronstein, David 152 Cherepkov, Alexander 52 Filip, Miroslav 190, 196 Fischer, Bobby 195, 295, 314, 316 Flohr, Salo 16 Fridshtein, Grigory 52 Fuchs, Reinhard 233 Geller, Yefim 211 Giorgadze, Tengiz 25 Gligoric, Svetozar lll, 210 Goode, Royal 87 Hort, Vlastimil 302 Kasparian, Genrikh 28 Keres, Paul 27, 49, 66 Kopilov, Nikolai 57 Korali, Hector 83 Korchnoi, Viktor 29, 79, 192, 238, 311 Kotov, Alexander 45, 68 Larsen, Bent 230 Letelier Martner, Rene 220 Lyublinsky, Viktor 45 Malashkia 17 Matanovic, Aleksandar 130 Matulovic, Milan 323 Milic, Borislav 91 Novotelnov, Nikolai 58 Pfeiffer, Gerhard 171 Pogrebissky, Iosif 43 Portisch, Lajos 249, 256 Reshko, Aron 25 Savon, Vladimir 289 Schmid, Lothar 266 Simagin, Vladimir 31, 48

377

Smyslov, Vasily 59, 107, 146 Sorokin, Nikolai 26 Spassky, Boris 122, 154, 241, 242, 244, 249, 281, 282, 285, 286 Szabo, Laszlo 69 Tal, Mikhail 147, 188, 303 Terpugov, Evgeny 60 Teufel, Jurgen 266

Spassky versus: Aftonomov 42 Barda, Olaf 74 Bilek, Istvan 257 Boleslavsky, Isaac 118 Boucchechter, Ariel 220 Calvo Minguez, Ricardo 279 Chepukaitis, Genrikh 64 Ciric, Dragoljub 199, 297 Estrin, Yakov 62 Fischer, Bobby 327, 329, 330, 332 Foguelman, Alberto 161 Geller, Yefim 93, 264 Keres, Paul 222 Klages, Jurgen 96 Klovans, Janis 213 Korchnoi, Victor 36, 63, 94, 105, 135, 153, 203, 215, 248, 272, 318 Kozma, Julius 96, 124 Larsen, Bent 267 Lee, Peter 237 Lombardy, William 166 Medina Garcia, Antonio 102 Milic, Borislav 102 Nikitin, Alexander 41 Petrosian, Tigran 122, 154, 241, 242, 244, 249, 281, 282, 285, 286

378 Pietzsch, Wolfgang 197 Polugaevsky, Lev 174 Quinones, Oscar 219 Reshko, Aron 138 Shman 35 Smyslov, Vasily 36, 185 Stein, Leonid 259, 308 Tal, Mikhail 5, 104, 234, 235, 236, 319 van Oosterom, Joop 101 Zaitsev, Igor 173

Tai versus: Antoshin, Vladimir 321 Aronin, Lev 90 Averbakh, Yuri 88

Index of Opponents Barcza, Gedeon 202 Benko, Pal 144, 145 Boleslavsky, Isaac 119 Botvinnik, Mikhail 165, 176, 178 De Greiff, Boris 127 Donner, J. H. 141 Filip, Miroslav 128 Fischer, Bobby 148 Geller, Yefim 122 Gipslis, Aivars 98 Gligoric, Svetozar 263 Gurgenidze, Bukhuti 97, 114 Hamann, Svend 247 Kholmov, Ratmir 39, 261 KlaviQs, Janis 125 Koblents, Alexander 159

Korchnoi, Viktor 99, 120, 136, 269, 270, 296 Kupper, Josef 140 Larsen, Bent 228, 276 Leonov 40, 47 Olafsson, Fridrik 131 Pachmann, Ludek 182 Petrosian, Tigran 147, 188, 303 Portisch, Lajos 217, 225 Spassky, Boris 5, 104, 234, 235, 236, 319 Suetin, Alexey 290 Szukszta, Janusz 109 Tolush, Alexander 158 Wade, Robert 253 Wintr, Stanislav 168 Zilber, Josif [Israel] 77

Index of Openin g s­ Traditional Names Alekhine's Defense 332 Anti-Griinfeld Defense 232, 302 Belgrade Gambit 88 Benoni Defense 74, 145, 308 Bogo-Indian Defense 263 Budapest Defense 16 Caro-Kann Defense 225 Caro-Kann Defense, Advance Variation 152, 176, 182 Caro- Kann Defense, Classical Variation 161, 165, 241 Caro-Kann Defense, Exchange Variation 40 Caro- Kann Defense, Two Knights Variation 28, 90, 135, 138, 159 Catalan Opening 297, 318 Dutch Defense 21, 50 Dutch Defense, Stonewall Variation 29 Dutch Indian Defense 144, 323 English Opening 18, 41, 72, 81, 86, 127, 180, 192, 230, 266, 272, 294, 299, 311 Falkbeer Countergambit 64 French Defense, Burn Variation 117, 188, 202 French Defense, Exchange Variation 117 French Defense, Tarrasch Variation 25, 49, 52, 80, 258, 274, 296 French Defense, Winawer Variation 120, 178, 211

Griinfeld Defense 27, 289, 301, 314 Griinfeld Defense, Exchange Variation 94 Giuoco Piano 122 Hungarian Defense 23, 55 Irregular Benoni Defense 60 King's Gambit Accepted 168 King's Indian Defense 68, 87, 105, 292, 295 King's Indian Defense, Classical Variation 52, 97, 154 King's Indian Defense, Panno Variation 79, 107, 249 King's Indian Defense, Siimisch Variation 91, 101, 104, 109, 119, 210 King's Indian Defense, Yugoslav Variation lll, 181 Modern Benoni Defense 114, 124, 141 Modern Defense 242 Neo-Griinfeld Defense 43 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad Variation 222, 237 Nimzo-Indian Defense, Rubin­ stein Variation 57, 66, 100, 134, 238, 279, 282 Nimzo-Indian Defense, Siimisch Variation 5, 93 Philidor's Defense 321 Pirc Defense 67 Polish Defense 244 Ponziani Opening 62

379

Queen's Gambit Accepted 42, 146, 153, 173 Queen's Gambit Declined 35, 190, 233, 281 Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange Variation 45, 83, 220 Queen's Gambit Declined, Ragozin Variation 130 Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch Variation 203, 255 Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower-Makagonov­ Bondarevsky Variation 305, 327 Queen's Indian Defense 47, 174, 215, 303 Reti Opening 185, 217 Ruy Lopez, Anti-Marshall Variation 213 Ruy Lopez, Breyer Variation 102 Ruy Lopez, Classical Variation 219 Ruy Lopez, Marshall Gambit 220 Ruy Lopez, Old Main Line 128, 270 Ruy Lopez, Open Variation 99, 155, 239 Ruy Lopez, Ragozin Variation 286 Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defense, Doubly Deferred 197 Scotch Game 22 Semi-Slav Defense 39, 171 Sicilian Defense 278

380

Index of Openings-Traditional Names

Sicilian Defense, Alapin Variation 84 Sicilian Defense, Dragon Variation 17, 36, 36, 253, 259 Sicilian Defense, Kan Variation 158, 235, 247, 290 Sicilian Defense, Najdorf Variation 58, 69, 77, 114, 125, 136, 140, 147, 166, 330

Sicilian Defense, Nimzowitsch Variation 113, 199 Sicilian Defense, Richter­ Rauzer Variation 96, 103, 118, 257 Sicilian Defense, Scheveningen Variation 214, 304, 319 Sicilian Defense, Sozin Variation 193, 261, 327

Sicilian Variation, Closed Variation 236, 264 Slav Defense 26, 59, 63, 256, 267 Torre Attack 46 Two Knights Defense 71 Veresov Opening 54

Index of Opening s-ECO Codes AOO AO4 AO6 AIO All A13 A14 A17 AIS A2O A2S A3O A31 A33 A34 A36 A4O A43 A46 A4S A49 A52 A57 A61 A7O A7S AS7 AS9 A9O A96 A97

266 217, 242 185 180 230 72 272 127 41 311 18 266 192 294 81, 299 86 244 74, 145 46, 60 68 105 16 308 124 141 114 323 144 29 31 50

BOS BO7 BIO Bll

332 67 90, 152, 225 28, 135, 138, 159

B12 B13 BIS B19 B22 B25 B29 B42 B43 B44 B61 B63 B67 B71 B74 B77 BS2 BS3 BS4 BSS BS9 B9O B92 B93 B94 B96 B97 B99

176, 182 40 161, 165 241 84 236, 264 113, 199 290 158, 247 278 257 96, 118 103 36 17, 30, 36 253, 259 235, 319 304 214 327 193, 261 125 58 69, 77 136, 147, 166 140 330 114

CI6 CIS C31 C36 C41 C44 C47

css

C64 C79 CS3 CS4 CS9 C92 C94 C9S

211 120, 178 64 168 321 62 22, 88 23, 55 122 71 219 197 99, 155, 239 213 220 286 102 128, 270

DOO D1O D14 D25 D2S D29 D31 D32 D35 D37 D3S D41 D43 D44 D45 DSS D74

54 63, 256 26, 267 153, 173 42 146 289 255 83, 220 35, 190, 281 130 203 233 39, 203 171 305 43

cso

C53

CO3 49, 80 274 CO7 25, 296 cos 52 CO9 258 CIO 188 C l l 117, 202

cos

381

D8O DS2 DS3 DS7

27 314 301 94

EO6 EO9 Ell E12 E14 E17 EIS E24 E26 E3O E31 E44 E47 ESO E53 E54 E6O E63 E64 E66 E67 E7O E77 ESO ESI ESS ES6 ES7 E94 E95 E9S

297 318 263 174 303 47 215 48 5, 93, 100 237 222 134 279, 282 238 66 57 79, 232, 301 107, 249 181

lll

292 87 295 104 210 101 109 91, 119 52 154 97

General Index Page numbers in bold italics indicate illustrations Abramov, Lev 108, 125, 232 ''According to position," playing 17, 45, 81, 133, 159, 274 Akopian, Andrannik 28 Akopian, Vladimir 175 Alatortsev, Vladimir 305 Alberto, Roman Toran see Toran Alberto, Roman Alekhine, Alexander 22, 24, 141, 182, 271 Alexandrov, Alexander 75 Alkhimov, Alexander 231 All-Union Scientific Research Institute of Physical Training 313 American Chess Foundation 293 Antoshin, Vladimir 321-2 Arkhangelsky, Boris 35 Armenian Championship 28-29 Armenian chess federation 208 Aronin, Lev 41, 90, 114, 174, 176 Arzumanian, Ashot 133-4 Asrian, Valery 61, 133, 205 Averbakh, Yuri 1-2, 5-7, 9, 12, 46, 52-3, 61, 76, 81, 86, 88-91, 105-6, 116, 122, 124, 127-8, 134, 143-4, 146, 148-9, 151, 176, 187, 194, 201, 204, 211, 214, 233, 242, 253, 288, 310, 312, 316-7, 321, 327, 335 Azbel, Zelda 19

Beilin, Mikhail 35, 77, 168, 203, 262, 265, 308 Belkadi, Ridha 84 Belushi, John 230 Benko, Pal 67, 100, 149, 192, 227 Beria, Lavrenti 57, 164 Bernstein, Ossip 84 Bertok, Mario 146 Bhend, Edwin 140 Bisguier, Arthur 85, 117, 194 Bjelica, Dimitrije 277-8, 316 Blagidze, Alexander 53 Blindfold chess 18, 23, 34, 211, 261-2 The Blues Brothers 230 Boleslavsky, Isaac 11, 52, 68, 73, 76, 94, 118-20, 122, 134, 157, 162, 201, 205, 241, 277, 280-2, 284-87, 330 Bondarchuk, Sergei 83, 231 Bondarevsky, Igor 24, 50, 58, 66, 83, 85, 102, 151, 166, 175, 184, 187, 197-8, 212-4, 220, 234-6, 241, 245, 252, 258, 272-4, 273, 279-80, 282, 284, 287, 291, 321, 324-6, 334 Borba 144 Borisenko, Georgy 12 Botvinnik, Mikhail 11, 25, 34, 58, 66, 68-9, 75, 77, 88, 93, 96, 101, 107, lll-2, 123, 128-9, 131, 132, 133-4, 140-3, 157, 163-7, 163, 168, 176-80, 187, 195, 201, 203-8, 211, 224, 236, 242-4, 250, 269, 294, 301, 304, 307, 309, 317, 320, 325, 327, 335 Brinck-Claussen, Bj0rn 234 Bronstein, David 5-6, 8, 21, 43, 52, 57, 66-8, 72, 83, 88, 91, 94, 107-9, lll-2, 115-7, 120, 122-3, 127, 131, 136, 146, 149, 152-3, 156, 161, 169, 177, 182, 298-9, 301, 312 Bulletin of the Central Chess Club 185, 265 Buslaev, Alexander 17, 28 Bykova, Elizaveta 168 Byrne, Robert 314, 333

Babadzhanian, Arno 231 Bagirov, Vladimir 13, 154, 199, 278 Bagramian, Ivan 206, 274 Bakh, Alexander 116, 260 Bannik, Anatoly 13, 46, 121, 206 Barden, Leonard 91, 238, 258, 320 Batuev, Andrei 22-3, 105 Baturinsky, Viktor 291-3, 309, 317, 321 The Beatles 230 Bebchuk, Yevgeny 307

382

General Index Cafferty, Bernard 299 Calero, Ivan 209 Canadian Chess Chat 194 Candidates matches: 1965-10, 102, 215, 218, 222-3, 234-7, 254, 280, 312, 319; 1968-11, 215, 262-5, 267-74, 269; 1971-305-7, 309-17, 310, 320; 1974-211, 241, 335; 1977-336; 1980-211 Candidates tournaments: 1953-70, 76, 83, 97; 1956-102, 106-8, lll, 133; 1959-2, 26, 127, 130, 143-9, 159; 1962-3, 108, 137, 152, 156, 187-96, 189, 203, 205, 227 Capablanca, Jose 17, 24, 45, 81, 91, 140-1, 153, 166, 252 Cardoso, Rodolfo 131 Carlsen, Magnus 268 Caruso, Enrico 244 Castro, Fidel 141, 252 Central Chess Club 69, 123, 137, 142, 218, 291, 295, 303, 326 Central Committee (Communist Party) 214, 216, 217, 231, 267, 321, 335 Chalyapin, Fyodor 244 Cheating, suspicions of 31, 51, 54-5, 103-4, 106, 154, 156, 192, 297, 303, 310-2 Chebanenko, Vyacheslav 314, 330 Chekhover, Vitaly 64 Cherepkov, Alexander 71 Chess Archives 164 Chess Is My Life 2, 30, 94, 117, 154, 156, 172, 190, 196, 233, 270, 297, 310, 314 Chess Life! Chess Life & Review 189, 207, 311 Chess Oscar 277 Chess Praxis 17-8 Chess Review 69, 110, 170, 197, 199, 225, 228-9 Chessmetrics.com 3, 29, 353 Chigorin, Mikhail 24, 64 Chistiakov, Alexander 44 Churchill, Winston 87 Ciric, Dragoljub 199 Communist ideology 12, 53, 102, 141, 160, 267 Communist Party membership 19, 224, 291 Cuellar, Miguel 187 Damjanovic, Mato 224 Davidovich, Bella 165-6 Davis, Angela 309 Demichev, Pyotr 321, 326 Divinsky, Nathan 194 "Doctors Plot" 15-6, 132 Donner, J.H. 141-2 Dorazil, Wilfried 227 Dubeck, Leroy 326-7 Dvoretsky, Mark 225 Dymov, Gennady 24 Ebralidze, Archil 16-7, 23, 28, 40 Edmondson, Ed 205, 327 Estrada Theater 206, 240, 281, 283 Estrin, Yakov 62

383

European Team Championship 180-1, 224, 297 Euwe, Max 69, 76, 109, 164, 197, 222, 241, 286-7, 294-5, 310, 326 Evans, Larry 85, 102, 117, 201 Exchange sacrifice 10, 44, 45, 49, 58-9, 67, 69, 72, 76, 99, lll, 115, 138, 152, 154, 176, 211, 238, 272, 315 Fateeva, Natalya 323 FIDE 117, 128, 130, 187, 216, 267, 276, 293, 326 Filip, Miroslav 103, 188 Filipowicz, Andrzej 164, 260 Fischer, Bobby 1-2, 10-1, 51, 53, 110, 123-4, 125, 126, 127-8, 148-9, 151-2, 161, 163-4, 170, 171, 174-5, 182-3, 186-7, 190, 193-6, 201, 220, 224, 238, 249-50, 252-3, 255, 259, 266, 277, 293, 294-7, 301-4, 309-17, 318, 320-l, 322, 323-34, 335-6, 353 Fizkultura i Sport 196 Flohr, Salo 7, 16, 45, 81, 117, 139, 160, 178, 208 Fridman, Rosa 21 Fridshtein, German 270 Frumkin, Anatoly 188 Furman, Semyon 61, 82, 101, 201, 274, 280, 293, 329 Gagarin, Yuri 179 Gavrilov, Andrei 29, 125, 207-8, 229, 337 Geller, Alexander 275 Geller, Oksana 205, 281 Geller, Yefim 1-2, 11-2, 43-6, 51-3, 57, 58-61, 66, 68-9, 71-2, 76, 79, 82-3, 85, 86, 88, 92-5, l03, 108, 110-12, 118, 122-3, 128, 136, 146, 154-6, 160, 162, 175, 181-2, 184, 187-8, 190, 193-6, 200-1, 203, 205, 209, 211, 223-4, 234-5, 239, 241, 254, 259, 264-5, 267, 271, 275, 277, 281, 284-5, 2889, 302, 304-6, 3 06, 313, 325-30, 332 Georgia Championship 17-18, 25-7, 291 Gik, Evgeny 183, 300 Ginzburg, David 9, 122 Giorgadze, Tengis 25-6, 76, 205 Gipslis, Aivars 97-8, 124-5, 188, 254-5 Gliekhman, Joseph 270 Gligoric, Svetozar 31, 87, 104, lll, 127, 141, 145, 157, 210, 237, 243, 259, 262-3, 308 Goglidze, Sergo 66 Goglidze, Viktor 66, 290 Goldberg, Grigory 75, 166 Golombek, Harry 206-7 Golz, Werner 171 Gorbachev, Mikhail 321 Gorky Park 116 Gorshkov, Sergey 200-1, 204 Grandmaster draw 42, 44, 70, 74, 76, 171, 175, 188, 190, 224, 230, 257, 274, 286, 289, 292, 297, 307, 310 Grandmaster title 71, 103, 105, 115, 117, 175 Grossmeister 323 Guevara, Che 252

384

General Index

Gufeld, Eduard 60, 147, 154, 184-5, 265, 275 Gurgenidze, Bukhuti 115, 166, 291 Hecht, Hans-Joachim 201 Horowitz, Al 85, 101 Hort, Vlastimil 259, 274 Housing problems 15, 19, 117, 162, 184, 212, 239 Hiibner, Robert 302, 307 Ilivitsky, Georgy 95 Interzonal tournaments: 1952-57, 60, 69-70; 1955-95, 102-3; 1958-5-6, 117-8, 123-4, 126, 126-32, 146; 1962-146, 187; 1964-214, 216-9, 313; 1967-254, 259-60, 301; 1970-301; 1976 (playoff) -191 Iosifian, Andronik 231 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 249 Ivkov, Borislav 61, 128, 151, 227 Ivonin, Viktor 325 Jansa, Vlastimil 168, 224 Kadar, Janos 232, 295, 303 Kalantar, Karen 28 Kamyshov, Mikhail 55 Kan, Ilya 55 Karpov, Anatoly 10, 24, 28, 94, 101, 239-41, 270, 303-5, 308, 310-1, 312-3, 318, 323, 326-7, 329, 335-6 Kashdan, Isaac 210, 249-50 Kasparian, Genrikh 28-9, 44 Kasparov, Garry 3, 8, 10, 59, 94, 121, 149, 172, 222-3, 225, 246, 272, 286 Keres, Paul 1-2, 17, 27, 39, 45, 49-50, 57, 59-60, 64-8, 72-3, 76, 84, 88, 99, 102, 107-8, 110-3, 117, 121, 128, 131, 141, 144-9, 181, 184, 187-8, 190-l, 194-6, 200-l, 203, 205, 210-l, 220, 2223, 237, 241-2, 255, 271, 284, 297, 303-4, 307, 308, 312, 325, 330 KGB 32, 65, 85, 102, 153, 181, 184, 200, 204, 211, 216, 224, 234, 260, 291, 307, 309, 322, 326 Khachaturian, Aram 206, 309 Khalifman, Alexander 127 Khasin, Abram 12 Khenkin, Viktor 272, 314 Kholmov, Ratmir 13, 82, 105, 115, 136, 248, 256, 261 Khrushchev, Nikita 91, 123, 160, 214 Khrushchoba 162, 212 Kirillov, Valentin 90, 270 Kirov Park 33 Klages, Jiirgen 96 K!avit;ts, Janis 78, 125, 167 Klovans, Janis 213 Koblents, Alexander 6-7, 40, 51, 79, 90, 98, 112, 115-6, 118-22, 126-31, 140, 143, 146, 148-9, 157, 159, 164, 168, 171-2, 176, 225, 228, 260 Kolobov, Nikolai 45 Koltanowski, George 85, 294

Kommunalka 19, 32, 162 Komsomol 12, 32, 66, 224, 307 Komsomolskaya Pravda 187, 314 Konstantinopolsky, Alexander 71, 81 Kopilov, Nikolai 57 Korchnoi, Bella (wife) 117, 192, 201, 232 Korchnoi, Igor (son) 154 Korchnoi, Lev (father) 13, 18-20 Korchnoi, Viktor: childhood 2, 11, 18-23; death 337; education 21, 53, 203; family 18-20, 154; health 21, 47, 82, 98, 208, 259; introduction to chess 19; memory 21-2; personality 10-11, 21, 24, 94, 156-7, 209, 307, 312; photographs 41, 55, 199, 251, 269, 293, 306, 308, 310, 322; playing style 10, 24, 71-2, 80, 95, 99, 113, 203, 214, 222; relations with Petrosian 10, 41, 51, 79, 137, 239, 277, 297, 309-13, 336-7; relations with Soviet authorities 200-1, 232, 251, 313; re­ lations with Spassky 10-1, 34, 36, 106, 175, 185, 272, 320, 325-6, 334, 336; relations with Tal 10, 75-6, 98-9, 99-100, 120, 209, 250-1, 268-71; relations with trainers 22-3 Korchnoi, Zelda (mother) 18 Korchnoi's 400 Best Games 36 Koroleva, Shura 244 Kotov, Alexander 6, 57, 68, 70, 88, 110, 118, 137, 162, 185, 195, 214, 297, 313 Kots, Yuri 197 Kovacevic, Vladimir 297 Krabbe, Tim 106 Kramnik, Vladimir 172, 288 Krogius, Nikolai 104, 125, 155, 203, 204, 250, 254, 279, 313, 321, 324-6, 328-30, 333 Kruskops, Janis 39-40 Kuperman, Iser 134, 230-1 Kupreychik, Viktor 157 Landau, Sally 2, 37-38, 65, 132, 137, 139-40, 1423, 147, 149-52, 157-8, 164, 166, 169, 178, 183, 194, 216-7, 232, 291, 323, 337 Larsen, Bent 11, 122, 126-7, 136, 218, 227-8, 25960, 267-8, 276-7, 282, 294, 310, 313 Lasker, Emanuel 10, 21, 24, 81, 252 Latyntceva, Nadezhda 151 Lazarev, Yefim 162, 216 Lein, Anatoly 254 Lenin 102 Leningrad Pioneer Palace 11, 16, 22-4, 33, 36, 66, 71, 94, 166, 184, 305 Levenfish, Grigory 24, 36, 102 Lilienthal, Andrei 45, 57, 61, 67, 76, 79, 134, 139 Linder, Isaac 2, 148 Linder, Vladimir 2, 148 Literaturnaya Gazeta 185 "Living" chess 209 Ljubojevic, Ljubomir 148 Lokomotiv sports society 212, 321 Lombardy, William 167 Lutikov, Anatoly 51, 110

General Index Lyubov i Shakhmaty, Elegiya Mikhaila Talya 132 Makogonov, Mikhail 45 Makogonov, Vladimir 44-6 Malich, Burkhard 170, 224 Malkin, Viktor 169, 217, 243, 279, 335 Marianske Lazne 188, 1 99 Marovic, Drazen 199 Marshall, Frank 10, 64, 220 master title, international 63, 74-5, 82 master title, Soviet 29, 31, 55, 63, 78, 88-90 Matanovic, Aleksandar 129 Matulovic, Milan 260, 294, 324 Mecking, Henrique 268 Mednis, Edmar 101 Messing, Wolf 234-6 Mihailov, Nikolai 66 Mikenas, Vladas 149 Mikhalchishin, Adrian 110 Mikoyan, Anastas 231 Milic, Borislav 96, 102 Milner-Barry, Philip 87 Model, Abram 35, 37 Moiseev, Oleg 12 Molotov, Vyacheslav 110 Moscow Circus 179 Moscow Pioneer Palace 240 My Great Predecessors 2, 59, 149 My 60 Memorable Games 148 Nadareishvili, Gia 137, 275 Najdorf, Miguel 76, 83, 106, 171, 183, 197, 237, 294 nardy 15, 229, 231 Nedelya 229 Nei, Iivo 29, 324-6, 328-31, 334 Neishtadt, Yakov 61 New York Times 85, 250 Nezhmetdinov, Rashid 82 Nikitin, Alexander 12, 32, 40, 41, 50, 65, 73, 75, 102, 153, 167, 175 Nikolaevna, Tatiana 83 Nimzowitsch, Aron 17, 24, 117, 274 NKVD 32 Noakh, Mikhail 47 Novopashin, Arkady 221 Novosti news agency 243 nyevyezdny 167, 187, 217, 232, 303, 335 Obukhova, Nadezhda 244 Ogonyok 117, 133 Oistrakh, David 83, 231 O'Kelly, Alberic 245, 272, 287 Olafsson, Fridrik 130-1, 146, 212 Oliver, Maria Rosa 161 Olympiads: 1950-83, 91; 1952 69, 83; 1954-83, 85, 100; 1956 lll; 1958-131, 132; 1960-46, 170, 170-2; 1962-119, 200-2; 1964 219-20;

385

1966-1, 250-2, 251; 1968-1, 4, 274-5; 1970293; 1972-323 Osnos, Vyacheslav 157, 270, 306 Pachmann, Ludek 209 Panno, Oscar 130-1 Panov, Vasily 48 Pavey, Max 101 Pavlov, Alexander 284 Pavlov, Sergei 321, 327, 329 Penrose, Jonathan 171 Peron, Juan 83 Petrosian, Hmayak (brother) 15 Petrosian, Mikhail (son) 50, 195-6, 206, 229-31, 288 Petrosian, Rona (wife) 50, 61, 88, 95-96, 119-20, 134-5, 162, 180, 183, 192, 195, 201, 205, 207-9, 219, 229, 229-32, 244, 250, 281, 287, 297, 316 Petrosian, Tigran: Armenia and Armenians 279, 44, 83, 133-6, 206-7, 209-10; chess "hunger" 205, 241; childhood 15-8; deafness 15, 125; death 337; depression 243, 317; education 24, 28, 210, 274; health/physical training 23, 82, 85, 125, 195, 205, 208, 278, 317, 337; hobbies 23, 229-30; introduction to chess 24; intuition 70, 303, 316; nerves 9, 11, 196, 242, 278, 288, 316-7; personality 8, 12, 18, 25-28, 45, 76-7, 82, 92, 133, 211-2, 229-31, 266, 285, 312; photo­ graphs 57, 86, 126, 132, 166, 189, 207, 209, 229, 240, 251, 283, 293, 310; playing style 10, 40, 45, 48, 52, 77, 86-7, 92, 108, 122, 277, 303; relations with Korchnoi 17, 41, 51, 79, 137, 239, 277, 297, 309-13, 336-7; relations with Spassky 8, 15, 220, 326, 334; relations with Tal 17, 88, 112, 147, 191; relations with trainers 17, 40, 134, 205, 241, 280, 285, 316-17 Petrosian, Vartan (father) 15-6 Petrosian, Vartan (son) 61, 92, 229-31, 242, 266 Petukhov, Angelina (Gelya) 37, 118, 300, 303-4, 323, 335 Piatigorsky, Gregor 210, 249 Piatigorsky, Jaqueline 210, 249 Pilnik, Herman 67 Pioneers, Young 11-2, 15-6, 21, 24, 26, 33, 39, 44, 66, 71, 94, 166, 184, 240, 318 Plachetka, Jan 168 Plisetskaya, Maya 309 Politburo 214 Politika 110 Polugaevsky, Lev 11, 12, 140, 174-5, 186, 203, 224, 230, 248, 251, 251-2, 260, 289-90, 297, 330 Pontanin, Andrei 133 Popov, Oleg 179 Portisch, Lajos 12, 67, 99, 101, 217-8, 225, 259, 295 Postnikov, Dmitry 63, 73, 85, 102 Pravda 307 psychology, chess 8, 39, 99-100, 129, 148-9, 169, 227, 245, 285, 328 Pushkin Theater 163, 164

386

General Index

Quinones, Oscar 219 Ragozin, Vyacheslav 79, 144 Rakhmaninoff, Sergei 38, 132, 166, 337 Razuvaev, Yuri 116, 120 Reshevsky, Samuel 10, 101-2, 106, 161, 237, 264, 294 Reshko, Aron 25, 138-9, 199 Ridin, Vladimir 85 Riga Pioneer Palace 39, 116, 260 risk in chess 62, 77, 96, 112, 171, 180, 277-80, 285, 289, 294, 298 Robeson, Paul 87 Rokhlin, Yakov 35 Romanovsky, Pyotr 41-2, 72, 141, 153, 156 Roshal, Alexander 10 Rovner, Dmitry 6, 118 Rubinstein, Akiba 203 Sahovski Glasnik 109 Sahs 168 Saidy, Anthony 253 Saigin, Vladimir 88-90 Sakharov, Yuri 13, 168 Savon, Vladimir 289 Schmid, Lothar 266, 327 Serov, Alexey 265 "Seven Steps Beyond the Horizon" 262 Shakespeare, William 247 Shakhmatnaya Moskva 265, 303 Shakhmatny Bulletin 125, 265 Shakhmatny Listok 204 Shakhmaty (Riga) 168 Shakhmaty v SSSR 29, 34, 50, 53, 55, 55-6, 69, 109, 129, 133, 139, 153, 156, 161, 166, 174, 179, 194, 209, 240, 248, 250-l, 273, 283, 286, 288, 293, 306, 308, 310, 322, 330 Shamkovich, Leonid 254, 330 Short, Nigel 6, 272 Simagin, Vladimir 31-2, 69, 104-5, 116, 157, 169, 205, 323 simultaneous exhibition 16, 34-6, 168, 224, 2401, 252, 261, 292, 300 64 46, 265, 271, 277, 282, 288, 291, 303 Skuratov, Oleg 22 Sliwa, Bogdan 71 Smejkal, Jan 168 Smyena 209 Smyrnov, Pavel 85 Smyslov, Nadezhda 244 Smyslov, Vasily 10, 36, 44, 53, 55, 55-7, 66, 68, 73, 76, 86-7, 108-12, 128, 131, 146, 184, 203, 214, 222-3, 237, 244, 255, 279, 286, 294, 325, 327 Sobolevskaya, Larisa 216, 225 Soloviev, Larisa 258, 281, 334, 336 Sorokin, Nikolai 26 Sosonko, Gennady 2, 32, 45, 51, 53, 61, 159, 254, 260, 262, 265, 270, 288, 299, 306, 326, 337 Soviet Championship: 14th 23, 38; 16th 57-9;

17th 43-7; 18th 49-50; 19th 52-3, 55-60; 20th 62, 67, 71-3; 21st 79-83; 22nd 93-5; 23rd 98, 104-6; 24th 5, 112-117, 119, 149, 206; 25th 5-9, 7, 37, 117-123; 26th 134-37; 27th 152-6; 28th 173-6, 219; 29th 185-6; 30th 203-4; 31th 213; 32th 239, 247; 34th 254; 35th 269; 37th 2889; 38th 299-300, 303; 41st 336 The Soviet Championships 299 Soviet Chess Federation 64, 78, 104, 166, 185, 194, 210, 214, 232, 262, 267, 276, 291 Soviet Junior Championship 25, 56, 79 Soviet Life 199 Soviet Union (magazine) 150 Sovietskaya Rossiya 185 Sovietsky Sport 72, 242, 285, 336 Spartak sports society 44-5, 88, 229, 242, 312 Spasskaya, Ekatarina 32-3, 244 Spassky, Boris: acting ability/poker face 15, 245, 250, 264, 269, 314; childhood 11, 32-7, 321; education 75, 174, 204, 238; emotions/nerves 15, 73-4, 174-5, 278, 281, 283-4, 309, 327, 334; evacuation 32; family 11, 32-4; health/stamina 95, 105, 174, 212, 294, 309, 337; hobbies/sports 17, 27, 95; introduction to chess 32-3; intuition 42, 62, 96, 153, 200; laziness 11, 75, 137, 238-9, 279, 320-1; "locomotive" 240, 280, 326; marriages 151, 174, 212, 267, 336; "melancholic" 247, 284, 331, 336; memory 175, 279, 327, 330; personality 15, 33-4, 95, 108, 197, 204, 213, 291, 320; photographs 7, 34, 41, 251, 273, 283, 288, 308, 322; playing style 10, 41-2, 62, 64, 97, 101, 118, 203-4, 277; relations with Korchnoi 10-1, 34, 36, 106, 175, 185, 272, 320, 325-6, 334, 336; relations with Petrosian 8, 15, 220, 326, 334; relations with Soviet authorities 9, 35-6, 63-4, 73, 102, 185, 200, 204, 212, 214, 252, 292, 307-9, 336; relations with Tal S-9, 14, 17, 62, 201-2, 218, 234, 334; relations with trainers 33-4, 64-5, 184, 212-3, 252, 279, 284, 324-31, 334; relations with women 108, 151, 238; writing 199, 207-8, 238 Spassky, Georgy (brother) 60 Spassky, Vasily (father) 32 Sports Committee, USSR 76, 85, 95, 103-4, 121, 123, 160, 162, 199, 208, 214, 224, 231, 277, 291, 294, 310-l, 313, 320-l, 324-6, 329, 334, 335-6 Sports Illustrated 190 Stahlberg, Gideon 67, 87, 103 Stalin 13, 57, 66, 82, 91, 102, 307 Stein, Leonid 11, 20, 162, 175, 184, 185, 187, 203-4, 214-5, 218-9, 221-2, 224, 232-3, 251, 254, 2579, 293, 294, 303, 308 Stipends, government 12, 36, 291, 321 Stoltz, Gi:ista 87 Stolyar, Yefim 121 Stolyarov, Sergei 83 Suetin, Alexey 68, 71, 89, 97-8, 118, 155, 203, 205, 211, 258, 285, 312, 314 Suslov, Mikhail 214

General Index Sveshnikov, Evgeny 260 Szabo, Laszlo 67, 69-70, 73, 323 Taimanov, Mark 11-2, 16, 20-2, 24, 28, 33, 37-8, 50, 64, 66, 76, 82-3, 85, 87, 93-5, 103-6, 110-2, 117, 120, 122, 135, 139, 146, 151, 156-7, 160, 209, 216, 225, 247, 251, 254-5, 268, 289-91, 293, 299, 303-4, 313, 314, 316-7, 323, 337 Tal, Georgy (son) 90, 170, 225, 290, 323 Tal, Ida (mother) 7, 37-8, 98, 112, 116, 157, 216, 291 Tal, Mikhail: acting ability 148, 269, 323; calculation 91, 115, 119, 129, 140; childhood 379; death 337; drinking/drugs 143, 194, 269, 290, 304, 323, 336; education 38, 53-4, 125; evacuation 71; family 22, 69-74; health 37-8, 110, 116, 118, 121, 143, 169, 176-8, 188, 194, 201, 208, 234, 237, 269, 285, 288, 290, 323, 335-7; introduction to chess 38-9; intuition 91, 120, 140, 218, 227, 277; marriages 4, 149-50, 216, 220, 291, 300; memory 91, 168, 183, 227, 236, 262, 277; personality 4, 110, 112, 115, 118, 191-2, 217, 234, 297, 304, 323; photographs 7, 110, 126, 132, 139, 163, 168, 170, 189, 251, 269, 322; playing style 10, 40, 48, 54, 77, 87, 91, 99, 101, 109, 115, 129, 140-3, 145, 169, 203, 222, 277, 303; relations with Korchnoi 10, 75-6, 98-9, 99100, 120, 209, 250-1, 268-71, 336; relations with Petrosian 17, 112, 147, 191; relations with Soviet authorities 170, 208, 216-7, 251, 300, 335; relations with Spassky 8-9, 14, 17, 62, 185, 2012, 218, 234, 334; relations with trainers 39-40, 65-6, 106, 120-1, 143-4, 148-9, 157, 159, 225, 227; relations with women 137, 151-2, 198, 216, 250-1, 300, 337; "sanguine" 247, 253, 261-2; smoking 158, 177, 201, 323; writing 168, 206, 242, 276-7, 285, 289, 299-300 Tal, Nekhemya (father) 37-8, 98, 116, 140 Tal, Yakov (brother) 69, 116, 300 Tal, Zhanna (daughter) 323, 327 Tal-Botvinnik, 1960 163 Tarasov, Vitaly 31, 72 Tartakower, Savielly 21, 84 TASS 281 Tchaikovsky, Peter 205, 317 Terpugov, Evgeny 60 Terrazas, Filiberto 252 Tbilisi Pioneer Palace 12, 16, 26, 240 Timman, Jan 192 Tolush, Alexander 6, 11, 35, 56, 64-6, 73-4, 76, 96-98, 105-6, 108, 115-7, 119, 124, 153, 174, 184, 284, 325, 329 Tolush, Valentina 64, 156, 166, 184 Toran Alberto, Roman 132 Tournaments, International (individual): Budapest 1952 66; Bucharest 1953 11, 73-5; Belgrade 1954 82, 91-2; Bucharest 1954 71; Hastings 1955-56 103; Moscow 1956 lll-2; Riga 1959 158-9; Zurich 1959 140-2; Beverwijk 1960 160; Buenos Aires 1960 161; Copenhagen

387

1960 160; Mar del Plata 1960 164; Bled 1961 181-3, 212; Budapest 1961 181; Hastings 1961-2 197; Havana 1962 197-8; Havana 1963 198-9, 199, 208, 216; Miskolc 1963 208; Piatigorsky Cup 1963 210-1; Buenos Aires 1964 220; Gyula 1965 232; Yerevan 1965 233; Zagreb 1965 230; Hastings 1965-6 237, 246; Kislovodsk 1966 247; Palma de Mallorca 1966 253; Piatigorsky Cup 1966 249-50, 279; Sochi 1966 248; Leningrad 1967 256; Moscow 1967 256-8; Bamberg 1968 266; Palma de Mallorca 1968 277; Wijk aan zee 1968 261; Havana 1969 277; Luhacovice 1969 277; Palma de Mallorca 1969 292; San Juan 1969 292; Sarajevo 1969 277; Tbilisi 1969-70 290; Amsterdam 1970 297; Hercegnovi 1970 295-6, 301; Leiden 1970 295; Rovinj -Zagreb 1970 297; Gi:iteborg 1971 292; Moscow 1971 292, 318-20; Piarnu 1971 303; Tallinn 1971 303; Wijk aan Zee 1971 302; Hastings 1971-2 311, 323; Amsterdam 1972 311; Palma de Mallorca 1972 311; San Antonio 1972 323; Sarajevo 1972 323; Wijk aan Zee 1972 321; Tal Memorial (Moscow) 2011 251, 261; Tal Memorial (Moscow) 2016 201 Trifunovic, Petar 225-6 Tringov, Georgi 219 Trud (newspaper) 237 Trud sports society 64 Tukmakov, Vladimir 322 "Uncle Robert" 6, 37-8, 110, 132, 137, 140, 149, 169, 194, 291 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)Argentina match 83 USSR- France match 84 USSR-Great Britain match 87 USSR-Hungary match 100 USSR-Rest of the World match 10, 139, 293, 294 USSR-Sweden match 87 USSR-Uruguay match 83-4 USSR-USA matches 82, 85-7, 86, 100-1, 160, 201, 252 293 USSR-Yugoslavia match 110 USSR Cup 299 United States Chess Federation 205, 293, 326 Vaitonis, Povilas 69 Validol 196 Vasilchuk, Yuri 25, 28 Vasiliev, Viktor 2, 17, 53, 116, 203, 243 Vasiukov, Yevgeny 104, 110, 123, 142-3, 156, 180, 301, 308, 330 Vatnikov, Josef 208 Vechernyaya Moskva 261 Veinstein, Boris 8, 122-3 Veksler, Roma 142 Velimirovic, Dragoljub 262-3 Vishnevsky, Alexander 231 Vokuchava, Aleksandr 275

388

General Index

Volpert, Larisa 34, 65-6 Vukovic, Vladimir 144 Vysotsky, Vladimir 209 Wagner, Richard 208, 244 World Championship matches and tournaments: 1921-252; 1948-39; 1951-lll, 312; 1957108; 1958-128; 1960-5, 163, 163-6; 1961176-9; 1963-113, 204-8; 1966-18, 97, 237, 240-6, 329; 1969-273, 280-7, 316-7, 329; 1972-11, 317 World Junior Championship 79, 96, 101-2, 304 World Student Championship 66 World Student Team Championship 79, 84-5, 95-7, 109, 116, 124, 166, 197, 199, 261 World War II evacuations 20, 32

Yakovlev, Alexander 321 Yanofsky, Abe 187 Yatsekevich, Oleg 22 Yerevan Pioneer Palace 45 Yudovich, Mikhail 166 Zagainov, Rudolf 157, 241 Zaitsev, Igor 203 Zaitsev, Lev 76, 85, 86 Zak, Vladimir 23-25, 33-4, 36, 39-40, 50-1, 64, 66, 222, 237, 284 Zakarian, Yanik 208 Zonal tournaments 5, 57, 95, 117, 173, 185, 213-6, 218, 254, 288 Zorin, Leonid 288, 323