20 years ago today, on September 8, 2002, the match Russia vs. The Rest of the World began in Moscow. It was a rapid match with the world's best players at that time. The Russians wanted to follow up on the USSR vs. the World matches from 1970 and 1984, but things did not go as desired. Dagobert Kohlmeyer was in Moscow in 2002 and now shares memories of a better time. | Photo: Evgeny Bareev, Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparow wonder what's going. | Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky | All other photos: D. Kohlmeyer
In memory of Vasily Smyslov on the 100th anniversary of his birth fide.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fide.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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My friend, Max was excited. “See, isn’t that Garry?”
Then he was perplexed. “But this was how he looked 40 years before. What is he doing here now on the cover of ChessBase Magazine?”
“They are running a special on his ascent to the world championship through the Interzonal and the Candidates’ in which he beat Beliavsky, Korchnoi and Smyslov in succession”, I explained.
Moscow Interzonal 1982. Young Garry Kasparov contemplates his next move against Efim Geller. His anxious opponent and Misha Tal wonder what he would play. The game ended in a draw. | Photo: Boris Dolmatovsky, ChessPro
Max was bemused. “Not Smyslov! He would have retired long since after those matches with Botvinnik.”